The Student Teacher

Chapter 8: Monday

At 10:00 Ben stepped out of shower, rock hard, despite the relief he had not been able to deny himself in the shower. He couldn't get Rey out of his head. She was consuming his every minute. He had barely slept all night thinking about this lunch today. He didn't want to call it a date, because Rey hadn't. But he was desperate for it to be a date. He chose jeans and a black tee, he didn't want to seem to date-y by choosing a button down. He threw his leather jacket over it, figuring it would dress his tee up if he were underdressed. He got in his car, took a deep breath, and headed towards Rey's house.

He pulled up at 10:55, he could see that Rose's car and Poe's car were in the driveway. He felt relief that even though her friends had come home, she was letting him take her to the car. He parked the car and hopped out to go to the door and get her, but she came out while he was walking up.

"Hi," she said shyly.

"Hi," he replied, not able to take his eyes off her. "You look stunning," he said, mouth slightly agape.

"Well, it did take Rose, Finn, and Poe 45 minutes to pick the outfit," she said. Ben felt his face flush with redness. She had told her friends and they had helped her pick her outfit. It was feeling more date-ish by the minute.

Once they settled into the car, Ben cleared his throat so his voice wouldn't squeak like a prepubescent boy. "Where would you like to get lunch?" he asked her.

"Ummmm, I was thinking of this little place, it's a diner, they have the best burgers in town," she said. "But we can do whatever you want!" She added cheerily.

"Burgers sound great, show me the way," he smiled at her, his heart beating 1,000 beats per second.

She barked out directions for about 10 minutes before they reached the diner. It was out in a dead part of town and it wasn't very busy. Ben was glad for the privacy, and to hopefully be in a place where they wouldn't see any colleagues, or students for that matter.

They walked in and were seated. They both picked up their menus and started to scan. Rey put hers down within a minute. "I always get the same thing here, I don't even know why I bother to look," she smiled at Ben.

"Oh, you're quite a regular here, huh?" he asked.

"Actually, I am!" she said. "When I was doing my Masters I spent a lot of time here, writing my papers and doing my research," she added.

Their conversation flowed easily through the rest of the lunch. Easier than he thought it might. He wasn't usually outgoing or chatty. He was able to relate to the kids better than adults, which is why he went into teaching. He typically found social outings tedious. Not this, this was different.

When the check came, they both reached for it. "Benjamin Solo, last night you told me I could get the next one," she said. "Plus, I asked you on this date today," she added. Then immediately went red in the face. "I didn't mean that, the word, date," she said, quickly.

"Oh," Ben said, dejectedly. "We can split it?" he offered.

"No, I insist," she said, "Ben, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, I can see your demeanor has changed," she said.

"No, no, that's not it," he said, feelings his shoulders slump and trying to sit up straighter.

"It's not that I called our lunch a date?" she asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Not entirely," he started, how can he word this, he paused to choose his words carefully, "I was glad when you called it a date," he settled on, now taking his turn with red cheeks. He looked away, not being able to meet her eyes to see her reaction.

"You....you were glad?" she asked, he thought he might hear hope in her voice.

"Yes, " he answered.

"You wanted this to be a date," she said to herself more than asking him.

But he answered anyway, "I did, but I didn't want to pressure you. I know there's a lot to take into consideration, me being your student teacher, my mother being your boss, me being older than you," he wished he could make himself shut up.

"Ask me," she interrupted.

"What?" he said.

"Ask me," she said again.

He paused, took a breath, and looked at her, almost losing his nerve, "Rey, would you like to go out on a date with me? Soon? Like tomorrow?" he asked.

"Benjamin Solo, yes I would. Pick me up at 7:00," she answered with a flirty smile. Ben's face cracked into a smile as well.

The next day at school, he was worried it might be awkward. They had lunch the day before and were going on tonight on their real first date. He arrived early, per usual, but more anxious than usual. He walked in, visibly shaken.

"Good Morning, Rey," he announced, smiling at her like he was melting inside, hoping it wasn't coming across as dumb.

"Good Morning, Mr. Solo," she said, rather suggestively, he thought, and she batted her eye lashes at him to boot.

"You better be careful batting your lashes like that," he said, "Or the kids are going to know something is up," he cautioned.

"Oh," she feigned ignorance. "Is something up?" she smiled shyly, looking him dead in the eyes.

He could only hold her eyes for a moment, smile at her, and then go about his business. Throughout the day he caught her staring at him quite a few times, which also meant she had caught him.

Rey had left school right away, as had Ben. He wanted to get home and jump in the shower and get ready for his date. It would be torture waiting around until 7:00 to get her. He ran the shower hot and jumped in. He let his mind wander. Rey typically wore dresses and cardigans or slacks and cardigans at work. But seeing her in those tight jeans and her shoulders exposed at lunch on Sunday, he saw a whole new side of her. It perfectly complimented her personality. Sexy, but understated. Gorgeous, but humble.

He took himself in his hands, again, for the second time this week. He would have preferred not to, but he couldn't resist the thought of her. He pictured her walking toward her, slowly taking her clothes off. He started to rub slowly, but quickened his pace as his thoughts wandered. When he pictured her naked, he knew his relief was coming. A few more short and hard pumps and he was spilling into his shower.

He finished up his routine and sat on his couch. He was ready by 5:45 and just had time to kill. He tried to do some work, but couldn't keep his mind on the task. Finally, it was time to leave.

He was almost running to his car. He finally arrived outside of Rey's house, gathered his courage, and knocked on the door.