Linger

F O R T Y - S I X

"I would like to apologize for all of the words that come out of my brother's mouth from here on out."

 "Daniel, he's not that bad."

"He's embarrassing!"

"He has a lovely family. I like them." I turned to him with a smile.

He simply sighed keeping his eyes on the road as we drove to the banquet.

"I just didn't intend for them to find out about us that way." Daniel spoke up. "That wasn't the purpose behind me asking you for a kiss. You know that, right?" He turned to me, concern evident in his eyes.

"Are you sure it wasn't just a tiny bit of the reason?" I teased, smiling at him. 

He kept his gaze forward on the road yet it wasn't hard to miss the satisfied smile growing on his lips.

I laughed quietly. "Does Jade know where you work?"

He nodded. "The Blue Jackets have played at the school field a couple of times." 

"Somehow she thinks I go to a completely different school than where you teach." 

"Did you tell her that we--"

I chewed on my lip, shaking my head as I hesitantly lifted my eyes to him.

Daniel, however, let out a small chuckle, taking me by surprise. 

I laughed along. "What?"

"We are probably not supposed to be lying to my family, are we?" he asked lowly, his eyes connecting with mine. 

"We're not supposed to be doing a lot of things," I replied simply, leaning back in my seat. 

He chuckled. "True." 

"It doesn't feel like that though," I told him sincerely, shaking my head. "Being with you . . . feels right." 

A small smile grew on his lips. "Doesn't feel like your stuck with your teacher on some never-ending field trip?" 

"Yeah, like, aren't you sick of hanging out with your student for so long?" I rolled my eyes playfully at him. 

He let out a laugh as we stopped at a red light. "This is why I like being with you." He reached for my hand, giving it a squeeze. "It's just so easy to just be here together and talk."

Warmth blossomed in my heart. "It is. Kinda forget that you're my teacher sometimes. " 

"Then who am I?"

"The super gorgeous guy who always bakes for my sister's soccer team on Saturdays." I gave him a playful smile.

He laughed, starting the car into motion as the light flickered green. "How is that our lives are so connected in almost every way possible, yet we had to meet in the least fortunate situation out of all of them?"

"Do you think that if we would've met sooner at one of the games, we would've still ended up together?" I asked him, my fingers fiddling with the heart charm on my necklace.

"Of course! I mean, I didn't fall for you just because you're my student! That'd be just a phase that wouldn't last long. Being your teacher is simply how I met you, not the reason I admire you. It's a completely different thing, darling."

"It is . . ." I replied, trying to process all that he had just told me. And I agreed with him. If I had liked Daniel just because he was my teacher, that'd be silly & wouldn't last long at all, especially after I graduate. There was more to a person than just their occupation, and Daniel was so much more than just my history teacher. He was an incredible guy that I enjoyed spending time with, who just so happened to be my teacher as well.