Were's the Love?

Chapter 6: Grocery Lists and A Trojan Horse Mistake

"So," Jason rocks back and forth on his heels outside of my classroom, "Lunch was fun."

"Yeah," I nod and glance at my empty room. How long is this going to take? I have a class in a few minutes. "Thanks for paying."

"No problem," he smiles. I can see a nervous look in his eyes as he continues to rock. "I'm sorry if Bethany made you feel awkward."

"No, it was fine," I frown. What the hell was there to feel awkward about? Was he worried about her inviting me out? Or was it the comment about me eating that "length of meat?" It's not the first time in my life that I've heard that kind of thing. I did go to college with a bunch of normal humans. They constantly make sexual references when they see people enjoying anything remotely phallic shaped. I am a little confused about him drooling, though. Does he want me to give him head? I'm not opposed to it, if I can stomach the wet dog smell long enough. It would make our sex life more interesting.

"Good," he sighs in obvious relief and squeezes my hand, "I guess I'll see you by the car once school's out? We're going shopping later, right?"

"Yeah," I force a smile. I really want to get back inside my room, but this idiot is acting worse than all the obsessive new teenage couples. If I didn't know better, I'd think that he was trying to work up the nerve to kiss me. We're adults. This isn't our first date, we've already had sex, and I have work to do. If you're going to kiss me, then do it so I can get back to work.

"Great!" Jason grins his goofy grin and plants a wet one on my cheek before he bounces down the hallway. I roll my eyes and head inside my empty room. I have just enough time to clear the slobber off my cheek before the bell rings. It's another four hours of teaching the same shit to different students. No one looks very excited with my lessons, but I'm not all that excited to teach them. They've been teaching the same boring shit for decades.

My first year as an educator, I had the brilliant idea to add a new book into the lesson plan. It was this edgy coming-of-age story written by a young woman. Oh my god! Never again! The parents and the school board had a fit. One idiot took a highlighter to their son's copy of the book and marked every curse word. I don't think that the dad has any idea that I've heard every one of those "disgusting" terms come out of his son's mouth daily. Hell, I've heard worse walking down the hallways in the morning. Kids aren't as innocent as their parents want to believe. Plus,  we live in a society that pairs people up at random in front of the whole town. It is widely known and accepted that when you are paired off, you will be having sex. In fact, it's expected. Is having your child read the word "fucking" that much worse than them knowing that is what their Gym and English teachers are supposed to be doing every night? I don't think so, but apparently, I'm the only one.

When the final bell rang, I can't help but feel relieved. I quickly gather up what I need to; completed essays and that kind of bullshit; and slowly make my way to the car. I know that Jason will be waiting for me. I used to care. I would race down and try to be there as quickly as I could so he wouldn't get mad, but he always beat me. I'm ashamed to admit that it took me longer than it should have to remember that his free period is the last one of the day. There was no way that I'd ever get to the car first, so why bother trying? Besides, I think the dog likes waiting for me. He always has that dumb smile on his face when he sees me. I can almost see his tail wagging. It's pretty amusing.

Jason is leaning against the passenger's side when I finally arrive. His lips turn up in that ridiculous grin as he opens the door for me. He really is a sweet idiot. He chatters excitedly while we pull out of the parking lot and make our way to the store.

Bread. Milk. Cheese. Cereal. I should pick up some pasta. Spaghetti sounds good. Steak! Definitely need to pick up some of that. Do we need toilet paper? No. I picked some of that up last week, but I think we need paper towels.

"So, what do you think?" Jason interrupts my train of thought. Shit. I didn't hear a word he said.

"Sure," I smile, "That sounds great."

"Really?" His eyes light up and I'm instantly worried. What the hell did I just agree to?

"Yeah," I quickly think of a way to hide my confusion, "So...What are we going to do?"

"I thought we'd do dinner and a movie. I'll pick dinner and you can pick the movie." He pauses, "Unless you don't like that idea. We could have a picnic instead."

"No, dinner and a movie is fine." Damn! I agreed to a date.

As we pull into the store parking lot, Jason is going on about different movies that recently came out. He must have looked them up during his free period. I honestly haven't heard of most of them. I really need to learn how to keep my thoughts focused when dealing with Jason. He asks for my input too often and I never know what the hell he's talking about. I should have been more prepared for his continued obsession with a date night. He mentioned it this morning. But, I never had to worry about this kind of thing with Derek or Jeremy. They made all the decisions and just dragged me along, whether I wanted to be there or not. And Derek hated dates. He'd rather spend his free time and money on an imaginary meal or weapon in a game on his phone than on a real meal with me. He bitched at me constantly when I'd go out with my friends. That's probably why I don't have any friends anymore. Not that I had many to start with.

The grocery store has more people than I like inside it and I kind of regret going there directly after school. I hate wearing my professional attire outside of the school. The looks that I get are annoying. Haven't these people ever seen a teacher outside of the classroom before? My outfit isn't inappropriate, though my shirt is a little tighter than I would like it. Seriously, did my boobs grow two cups overnight? I feel like the damn buttons are going to burst!

Jason pushes the cart while I toss random foods into the basket. I have no idea what I'm going to make with a bundle of carrots, but they look good. We make our way through the aisles and I can see Jason's hand twitching. He's so weird. If he has an itch, then he should just scratch it. Suddenly, he grabs my hand. I stop what I'm doing and look at him, wanting to ask if he needs something, but the look on his face tells me everything I need to know. The idiot just wants to hold my hand. He has this pleased grin as he continues to push the cart with one hand. Thank god we managed to grab the only cart without a broken wheel.

Can you imagine the chaos that would ensue in the grocery store if we hadn't been so lucky? Stacks of cereal boxes burying small children as our cart knocks into it. People's ankles and heels being bruised as our cart makes a sudden left turn into them. Cartons of eggs, smashed to smithereens, as our cart goes crazy! All because Jason wanted to hold my hand.

Okay. It wouldn't be that bad, but it's funny to imagine.

Now, the question is... do I force him to let go or let him continue? I don't mind it, though it is a little inconvenient. He has surprisingly soft hands and they're very warm. It's a little weird, but kind of nice. It's a little hard to shop one-handed though. He really seems to like holding my hand. I guess I'll let him have his moment until I need to grab something. That should make him happy. 

We finish grabbing what we need and make our way down the final aisle... toiletries, medicine, and feminine products. Jason doesn't seem to be uncomfortable with that last bit. I guess being a physical education teacher, he's probably well-versed in feminine wellness and general humanoid health as well. It's an unavoidable hazard of dealing with mammals, even ones that can change into birds. Women have periods...period. I don't need anything from that area, but I spot the condoms. I do a quick mental count, comparing the number of times we've had sex since the last time I bought them. We should be fine, but I'd rather not take a chance. I grab a couple boxes, just to be safe.

Jason clears his throat and tries to hide a grin.

Damn it! I forgot my first rule. Never buy condoms while your mate is with you. It is like a posting a big flashing sign above your head saying "open for business!"

Looks like I'm having sex again tonight. Joy.