Lesson by Her [Book 1]

Chapter 23

So who is this person?" Kayla interrogated her daughter for the tenth time as Dusty paced nervously around the trailer.

"A girl from school," Dusty answered, aware she was only half-lying.

"What's her name?"

"Valentine."

"Is she going to come inside to meet me?" Kayla asked, visibly on edge. It was the first time she'd had to deal with her daughter going out on a date, and she felt out of her depth. She wished her late husband were there to help guide her through the situation.

He'd have known exactly what to do. He'd have invited the person in, made some friendly small talk before jokingly telling them about the colt beneath his pillow and how if they hurt his daughter, he wouldn't be afraid to use it.

But Kayla couldn't do any of those things; all she could do was watch fretfully from the trailer. "No, Mom, she's not coming in to meet you because this isn't the fifties," Dusty remarked.

"It's only proper manners to meet the parents," Kayla objected. The last thing Dusty wanted was for Valentine to come inside and meet her mother. She knew that her age would be an issue. It was better for all of them if, for the time being, her mother believed that she was just another student rather than a teacher.

"Is she going to college?" Kayla asked after a brief silence, determined to learn what she could about the mystery girl before Dusty ran out into the night to commence her date with whoever she is.

"Yeah."

"Where is she going?"

"Notre Dame." It was the first name that sprang to Dusty's mind.

"What will she study?"

"Teaching," she replied. Again, only a half lie, as Valentine had already gone to college to study teaching.

"Oh." Kayla nodded, seemingly satisfied by this piece of information. "Teaching is a noble pursuit," she added.

"It sure is." Dusty laughed, regretting telling her mother that she was going on a date. Whenever she thought she was going out with Cora she wasn't nearly as concerned.

"Is Cora dating anyone at the moment?" Kayla queried, continuing to seize the opportunity to ask her daughter questions.

"Yeah, a guy named Justin." Dusty didn't want to go into details about how she and Cora were no longer friends. If her Mom knew that people were shunning her she would only pity her, and Dusty despised pity.

"Is he nice?"

"Nice enough." Dusty shrugged. Car headlights shone just beyond the window, and before her mother could have a chance to wander out to the vehicle, Dusty bounded through the door to the trailer, sending it smacking against the dwelling's exterior.

"Have fun," Kayla called after her daughter.

"That was quick," Valentine noted as Dusty hurriedly buckled herself in, eager to leave the trailer.

"My mom is dangerously close to letting her curiosity get the better of her and coming out to meet you," Dusty explained.

"Would that be so bad?" Valentine asked as she backed out of the park.

"No, I think she'd take it really well. Hey, Mom, meet my new girlfriend . Oh yeah, she used to be my math teacher," Dusty said.

"So I'm your girlfriend ?" Valentine smiled to herself as she drove away from the trailer park.

"Hey, don't go getting smug about that," Dusty warned, though she herself was smiling also. "Where are we going anyway?"

"La Bistro Loco," Valentine answered. Dusty had heard of it before. A boutique restaurant had opened up in Charlottesville the previous year.

"It's supposed to be nice there." Dusty nodded in approval.

"Yeah, a lot of the teachers talk about it," Valentine said the words, and then something in her face froze, as though it occurred to her that she might run into a colleague on her date with a former student.

"We could go somewhere else," Dusty suggested, sensing her unease.

"No, no, it's fine," Valentine answered. "People are going to find out sooner or later. And you deserve to be taken somewhere nice. After all, we are celebrating."

****

La Bistro Loco offered the best in contemporary fine dining. The moderately large restaurant consisted of wrought-iron ta- bles and chairs, each chair filled with brightly colored cushions. On the terracotta-colored walls beautifully pieces of modern art hung. Valentine and Dusty were shown to their table, encountering now familiar faces as they walked in hand in hand. Dusty felt a surge of adrenalin when Valentine took her hand as they walked from the car.

It felt exciting and dangerous, but it also felt
right, as though within Valentine hand was right where Dusty hand belonged. To an onlooker they looked just like any other young couple in love, gazing dreamily into each other's eyes over their dinner as they discussed their dreams and aspirations.

"Are you excited about Princeton?" Valentine asked as she ate her pasta dish.

"I haven't really thought about it," Dusty admitted. "It's all happened so quickly."

"Well, you've got the summer for it to settle in," Valentine noted.

"Yeah." After dinner, Valentine walked Dusty through a nearby park, her arm wrapped around Dusty waist. She looked irresistible in a skin-tight jeans and a fitted shirt. With each step, Dusty desperately wanted to just surrender herself to yet another kiss. To her, being in Valentine's arms and tasting her kiss was like being in heaven.

Dusty had worn an old summer dress that was once a vibrant blue but had dulled with time. Her hair hung down her back, golden and luminous, but still she felt inadequate beside her more mature date. She couldn't help but notice how other people stole glances at Valentine, even though she was with her.

It made her uneasy and a little jealous. "Are you having a good night?" Valentine asked as they strolled through the park. Above them, some stars had begun to shine. "I'm having a perfect night," Dusty admitted while Valentine leaned in to kiss her. They remained kissing in the park for several minutes, getting lost in the sensation of one another.

"It's getting late. I should get you back home." Valentine sighed as she checked her watch. Dusty didn't want to leave her, not yet, maybe not ever. She kissed her again, eager to keep the magic of the moment alive for as long as she could. "If you keep kissing me, then we'll never get back," Valentine joked. "I don't want to enrage your mother."

"Maybe I don't have to go back," Dusty suggested. She wrapped her arms around Valentine's neck and then slowly lowered them down feeling her slender, curvy body, grunted as she did so.

"What are you suggesting?" Valentine asked a little breathless. Spurred on by her own yearnings, Dusty was no longer the timid teenager but a skilled seductress.

"Maybe I could come back to yours," she whispered into her ear.

"Are you sure?" Valentine asked. Dusty kissed her hard and deep to show her just how certain of her proposal she was.