It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask how much she has or maybe even why it has to last, but I don’t.
I can always ask later.
For now, I want to enjoy our time together outside of school grounds. Even if I can’t touch her, it’s nice to be out doing something that feels more normal with your girlfriend versus her feeling so much like my student.
I mean, she is, but still.
We leave the store, and instead of heading back to campus, I head away from it. I’m not sure if she trusts me or if she simply doesn’t notice what direction we’re headed, but she seems more than content to sit and watch the scenery.
It’s not until we pull off the highway that she seems to notice we’re somewhere new.
“I thought we could get something to eat while we're out.” I pull into a little diner I’ve never seen before. I figure if it’s far enough away for me, it probably is for the rest of the school, too.
Wren is quiet, and when I park, I look over, worried I might have made a wrong call, only to find her eyes wide and a smile on her lips.
“It’s so cute!” she breathes, in awe of the place, and I mean, it’s not bad. It’s a small diner with the old fifties vibe, but the way she looks at it, it's as if it came right out of her dreams.
“So you want to grab something?”
Her smile grows impossibly wider as she nods before nearly jumping out of the car, and I have to rush to keep up.
The inside is just as retro as the outside, and honestly, probably just as old, but the more excited Wren is, the more I like the place.
It’s dead. The only other person is an older man at the counter with a cup of coffee and a newspaper.
“Sit wherever ya like. I’ll be right over.” The waitress calls from behind the counter, and I grab Wren’s hand and lead her back toward a booth. She looks down at our connected hands for a second before she smiles up at me, and I can’t resist the urge to pull her hand up to my lips and press a kiss to her knuckles.
I’ve never wanted to be fired more in my life. The ability to be like this with Wren all the time is so damn tempting.
It takes Wren a little while to decide what she wants, torn between so many options, and in the end, I just order her afew different things to try. She’d been adamant that it wasn’t necessary, but I told her she could heat them up later.
She wasn’t happy about it, but when the waitress brought the food out, all her complaining stopped.
“Oh my gosh, everything is so good!” she gushed, shoving a fry in her mouth, followed by a chicken strip and then a bite of an onion ring.
“Whoa, slow down, or you’ll throw it all up.”
“Sorry.” Her shoulders slump, and she looks down at the table, the embarrassment clear on her face.
“Hey, none of that. You can eat what you want. Enjoy it. I just don’t want you to get sick from it. Take it slow.”
“Okay.”
We eat and talk about silly things, our favorite colors, movies, books, and little things to get to know each other better, and while this is our first ‘date,’ it feels like it’s our millionth. Everything about Wren is familiar, beautiful, and addicting.
We left with three to-go boxes after splitting a shake, and she groans about an upset stomach with a smile as she climbs into the car.
“You’ve never been to a diner, huh?” I ask as we drive back to campus.
“That obvious?” she asks, looking down at her lap.
“Yeah, but that’s okay. I’m glad I got to take you for your first time. It was fun.”
She beams at me, and my heart skips a beat, knowing I’ve made her this happy with something so simple.
“I like spending time with you,” she says, her smile taking on a shy quality as she watches me as if nervous I won’t feel the same way.
As if that’s even possible, how anyone could not feel for her is beyond me.
