Damaged Beyond Repair by Kashmira Kamat (KittyKash) (best short books to read TXT) 📗

"You look beautiful." He complimented, the corners of his mouth pulled back in an amused smirk.

That compliment made all the iron-curling and sore feet worth it.

"You don't look bad yourself."

He chuckled; reaching towards the passenger side of the car he summoned a large bouquet of roses. "This is for you."

"Thanks." I smiled, accepting the flowers.

He nodded and opened the passenger side door like a true gentleman and climbed behind the wheel. He put the car into drive, "Do you know why I gave you flowers?"

"Because they are pretty?"

"They remind me of you, Alana." He said simply. "You are like a flower. Delicate, innocent, and beautiful at the same time, whenever you enter my classroom I feel at ease. I want to keep looking at you."

Was I really hearing this?

"Thank you, sir."

"Call me Rowan when we're not in class."

I nodded.

"So?" he turned to face me, "where to?"

"I don't know many places around here." I could feel the nervousness settling inside me, damn. He's just a guy, scratch that. A Man. He has all those things Chez does, but my mind was such a devil. Chez was close to a brother, the guy who'd seen me in my undies when we were four. Made a mega difference.

"You're the Boss." Then he added, "I always give a lady the first choice."

How many ladies are we talking about here?

"I'd love to see what you have in mind."

"Yes, Ma'am."

The drive took longer than I imagined. Dates weren't supposed to be uncomfortable, but this one sure was taking that turn. Occasionally Rowan would change tracks on the attached I-pod, or sing along silently while I thought of ways I fire up quick conversations. So when I asked, 'Is Minnie with Cary at your apartment?' He responded with a 'yes,' without taking his eyes off the road and when after a while I asked, "Do you ever wear a shirt other than in college?" he said 'No.'

He might as well carry white cardboard neon sign's painted with a 'Y' and an 'N', why take so much trouble in talking? A minute later he said, "Sometimes."

Add an 'S' to the neon signs.

I guessed it was going to be difficult to get the professor to talk.

I went back to counting the passing trees and the lamp posts. He picked on the fact that I was mad, and by the grace of god started to talk. He asked me what my future plans were going to be or where I'd studied earlier, what subjects were my favorites, so basically, all we talked about was either study-related or my pathetic future plans. I couldn't blame him though; it wasn't his fault if his brains worked like a professor when not on duty.

The car maneuvered into a Chinese restaurant, where he ordered noodles that did not look edible but he promised me it was the best in town so I took his word for it, taking a bite. It was great. Then when we were done with dinner, Rowan took upon himself to order for dessert, never once asking me what I wanted, but who the hell was I to complain anyway? Considering I was given a choice which I decided to royally blow it.

There was one that that I was able to gather, the fact that he was a shy man; the strict teacher demeanor now seemed like a façade. He would sneak glances at me while I ate and the way he sneaked glances did a lot of things to my heart.

I had expected another round of discussion on future, but he surprised me with the way he chose to change tracks. We discussed my parents, friends, my interests, and everything that was about 'Me'. He didn't seem like a sport where revealing personal information was concerned. Talkative or not, this man could practically play dumb and still manage to intrigue me. I decided to break the ice and use the spade in hand to do some good amount of digging while I can.

"Sir..."

"Rowan is fine." He corrected me with a smile.

I took a deep breath. "Rowan, Uh..not trying to pry or anything but, I'd like to ask you something if that's okay?"

"Shoot."

"I was wondering what Ed has against you? I'm not sure why I got the impression that he doesn't like you much."

I watched him shrug, the spoon in his hand hovering mid-way, he put the spoon back on the plate. "His sister and I were in a relationship. Things went badly when it ended. Ed's just upset."

"His sister?" I asked.

"She cheated on me." He admitted. His expressions turned sour as if he'd just swallowed a thorny cactus. "There are things in my past that I'm still not comfortable talking about but, I promise you I will tell you when the time is right."

I didn't press the issue any further. It was a given he didn't want to talk about it. How many ex-girlfriends did he have exactly? That woman last night was one and now it was Ed's sister. Geez.

The rest of the dinner went with us talking about food and other subjects that didn't even qualify as a conversation type, though I still found myself enjoying his company. He paid the dinner bill with a shiny credit card and then offered me a long drive. I jumped at the suggestion, at that point I would've said yes to anything, even if he'd asked me to do pest control in his home with him.

I know, Bummer.

He pulled his car near the curb which was our pick up point, a little farther away from the dorms. I glanced at the dash and realized it was late. I imagined how difficult it would get if we were to get serious. It would get a lot tougher to sneak in and out without being noticed.

The car plunged into silence as he killed the engine; he ran his knuckles on my cheek. "Did you have a good time?"

"I did. Thanks." I said.

He took a deep breath and said, "I'd love to do this again someday."

"Me too." That said, I stepped out of the car and made my way towards the dorms, I heard the engine revive as he drove away.