“I just saw the strangest thing,” he said, bending down to kiss her neck. “Nick was storming out of his room and gave me the best ‘go to hell’ look I’ve ever seen.”
Maggie wiggled as his lips touched her skin. She was ticklish on that one spot and no matter how many times she had told him, he insisted on kissing her there.
“Kevin,” she said, trying not to giggle, “do you think he’s OK?”
“Who?” His hands were beginning to wander across her body.
“Nick. I heard these really strange sounds coming from his room.”
“Oh, don’t worry. He’s harmless. Really. Let’s not talk about him right now, hmmm?” His hands slid underneath her shirt.
“Kevin, I’m concerned.” She pushed his hands away and pulled back. She looked into his eyes.
“Maggie,” he said, exasperated, “not more than an hour ago you were telling Nick off for his choice of words. Now, you’re worried about him? He’s a big boy; he can take care of himself. And while I’m a big boy too, I want you to help take care of my needs.”
“Did he seem all right when you passed him in the hall?” Maggie asked, holding his hands away from her.
“Yes. Listen, I’ll talk to him tomorrow once he’s cooled off some.”
“Why didn’t you do it tonight when it happened?”
Kevin sighed, evidently frustrated in more ways than one. “After what happened before we took that time off, it is in the best interest of everyone not to say anything in the heat of the moment. If I had known that then, we wouldn’t have had that problem, you know?”
“And you wouldn’t have met me, either.”
“Right. Now, would you like to see what I have to show you?”
Maggie grinned. “You know, I guess it’s true what they say about men.”
“And what is that?” He was running his fingers through her hair, kissing her neck.
“That you are at a disadvantage. Two heads and only one brain. And the brain is never where it needs to be.”
“Magnolia!” Kevin exclaimed in surprise, looking at her. “I have never heard you say anything remotely dirty like that before!”
“I know,” she said, admittedly ashamed of herself.
“Well, I guess you’ll have to stay after class, huh? Come with me, I’ll let you bang my eraser.”
She laughed aloud at that, following him into the bedroom.
***********
The next morning, she awoke before Kevin. He was sleeping soundly beside her, his breath in a deep, even rhythm. She eased out of bed and closed the door to the room. After showering, she realized she was starving. She looked through the suitcases she had brought and decided that it would be acceptable to wear jeans and a pullover to breakfast. Glancing at her watch, she figured he’d sleep until at least an hour before they left the town. That would give her a couple of hours by herself.
Wandering into the dining area, she found a table in the corner and sat down with her back to the wall. It was a habit she had formed from eating in the school cafeterias. Never turn your back on them, you might miss something. She had just ordered some pancakes and was reading the headlines from the local paper when a shadow fell over her.
“Nick,” she said, surprised to see any of them up this early.
“Mind if I sit here with you?”
“No, not at all. Go ahead.”
He pulled out a chair and joined her at the table. The waitress came over and Nick ordered his breakfast. He sat there, drumming his fingers on the table.
“What’s on your mind?” She asked, putting a hand on his to quell the noise.
“I, uh, I wanted to say I was sorry for what I said last night.” His eyes were downcast, interested in the place mat.
“Did Kevin talk to you already?”
“No. He’s going to talk to me? Damn. Sorry, I didn’t mean to say that,” he hurriedly apologized.
Maggie looked at Nick, wondering what to say. Best to be truthful, she thought. While it might hurt, it was the best policy.
“Nick, I’m not sure what you mean by that. I don’t care if you say ‘damn’. I don’t care if you say anything else like that. It’s your business, not mine.”
“Then what brought on your attacking me like that?”
“I didn’t mean for it to be like that. Honest. It’s just that you went way overboard in what you were saying. I don’t care who or what you do. I don’t even know you. The thing of it was you were just being crude. Maybe you’re all like that around each other. Hey, I know guys will do that kind of stuff. But the way you were talking about her is what really got to me. Did you even know her name?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Nick began.
“Yes it does matter. Despite all outward appearances, I’m sure she has feelings. You were just totally disregarding that aspect of the situation.”
“Would you let me explain something?” He asked, staring her in the eyes. “It doesn’t matter what her name is because nothing happened. I was so mad about what you said to me. Something must’ve seeped in, though, because when I got to the room, I told her I wanted her to leave. She got pissed off and started shouting at me, saying all kinds of hurtful things.”
“Like what?” Maggie inquired.
“Oh, stuff like the rumors must be true. Maybe I did like guys better than girls. Maybe it would have been better if AJ had been with us. Maybe he is the better lover. Then, she said the worst thing of all.”
Her eyes grew wide in apprehension.
“She said,” Nick continued, “that maybe the real reason I wanted her to go was because I couldn’t get it up and I didn’t want to admit it! Can you believe that? I can handle all the other thing she said, but that was a low blow. As if that has ever happened! Then, she had the nerve to start throwing things at me before she left. I was so glad when she did. I was afraid I was going to have to call security on her ass.”
Maggie was biting her bottom lip, trying to contain a smile. She put on her best ‘I’m so sorry look’, hoping it was convincing.
“It’s not that funny, either. So don’t laugh,” Nick told her, seeing through her ruse. “Anyway, after she left, I had to get out of the room. I passed Kevin in the hall and didn’t even speak to him. I went out and walked around for a while, thinking things over. Maybe I’m too much of a slut. What do you think?”
“I don’t…”
“Yeah, I know you don’t know me that well. I finally came back to the room, sat down, and wrote this. As much as I can’t believe you assigned me a report, I really can’t believe I actually did it for you.” He reached into his back pocket, took out a folded piece of paper and tossed it on the table at her. “You never said what to do it on, just three pages. It’s not really a report, just some thoughts in my head. I get tired of being the big dumb blonde, you know? I am more than just a pretty face, after all. Maybe some day soon, someone will recognize that.”
Maggie sat there at the table, speechless, as the waitress brought their breakfast to them. Nick dove into his with gusto. She took the paper and handed it back to him.
“Here, Nick, I was out of line. I’m not a teacher to you. That was just instinct to do that. You keep this and we’ll just forget about it.”
“No,” he told her, swallowing a bite of bacon. “You keep it. I want you to know that I’m not what you thought. Just don’t show it to anyone else, OK? There’s something about you that I can trust, isn’t there? I guess you’re all right. Kevin is certainly happier since he met you.”
Maggie blushed, putting the paper in her jeans’ pocket. She took a sip of orange juice as Nick helped himself to some of her pancakes.
“Yeah,” she said, taking a sudden liking to this one, “I guess there is something about me you can trust.”