Authors: Amy Lynn Steele
Teach Me (2 page)
“I will finish it tonight, so no margarita for me. Thank you, Cooper,” I said a little curter than I had intended. “Or is it Ryan?”
Maybe he uses a different name for the girls he meets.
Typical surfer boy.
And here I am, thinking he is all smart and different from other guys. I must be so naive
.
“Have you two met?” Aunt Trudy asked, obviously overcome with excitement. Cooper never took his eyes off me as he squatted down next to our table.
“Yes, we have, except he told me his name was Cooper,” I told my aunt with unexpected anger and tore my gaze from his. Aunt Trudy started laughing. I don’t know why I felt so frustrated. It’s not like I even knew this guy or if I would see him again.
“It is, sweetheart,” she laughed. “His name is Cooper Ryan, but I just call him Ryan.” She touched my hand. I sat on the hard wooden chair and felt about two inches tall. Cooper laughed along with my aunt.
“I had the pleasure to meet Allison earlier today at the beach,” Cooper Ryan answered. “And I hope to see her again tomorrow.” This time his voice was lower, and he moved a little closer to me.
“Well, I need to use the ladies’ room,” Aunt Trudy announced, leaving us alone. I forced my eyes to break away from Aunt Trudy’s empty chair back to Cooper, who was still kneeling next to me. My nerves bubbled from the excitement of him being so intimately close.
“So Trudy is your aunt?” he asked as he moved to the now-empty chair. I nodded as I watched him. The dim lighting of the restaurant made him even more handsome, if that were possible.
“I visit her every summer,” I told him. “I’ll be here until the end of August, before school starts in the fall.”
Cooper’s smile made his eyes sparkle. “Will you be at the beach tomorrow?” He looked so excited. His gaze made me feel beautiful, like he
was an artist seeing the
Mona Lisa
. I didn’t know why I felt this way. I was no beauty queen. But I couldn’t help feeling like one when he was looking at me like that. For all he knew, I could be as crazy as my aunt.
“If I can get my reading done,” I said. Without another word, he slipped out of the chair and held it out so Aunt Trudy could sit back down. He informed us that he would be right back with our drinks.
“Oh, Allison,” Trudy said, “I have always liked Ryan. He is such a polite young man. And smart too.” I nodded, just listening and trying to act like I wasn’t interested. But of course I was. “And he graduated from San Diego State this past spring.”
That
got my attention.
“He is out of college already?” I stammered.
Aunt Trudy smiled and nodded. “Yes, he was on an accelerated program and was able to put four years into about two and a half. I think he is somewhere in his twenties, maybe just twenty-one.” I sighed. I was only seventeen. No way would he go for someone four years younger, even if I did turn eighteen in a few months.
“Here you go, ladies.” Cooper was back with our drinks—a margarita for Aunt Trudy and a blended concoction for me. Dinner was good, and Cooper kept coming over to our table. The more he did, the more nervous I became. He just seemed so great in so many different ways; the last thing I wanted to do was to get my hopes up.
Back at home, I grabbed my book and got settled into bed. I had a long night of reading ahead of me. I fell asleep with visions of Count Dracula and Cooper all mixed up and distorted. Truth be told, it was mostly just of Cooper and how he looked on his surfboard, floating over the waves with the sun shimmering off the water that clung to his body.
T w o
Cooper
After I spoke to Trudy when Ali was in the ladies’ room, I knew what I had to do. Knowing that Allison would be back on the beach the following day, I asked Trudy’s permission to take her niece out for dinner. I decided not to surf that day. I was nervous about asking her out and didn’t want to smell like the ocean. Trudy told me that she was almost eighteen, which makes her just about three years younger, but like any guy, I still feared rejection. I pulled my truck into an empty spot in the small lot and spotted Allison immediately. I sat and watched her before I got out.
She kept looking down at her book,
then
would slowly scan the water. Was she looking for me? That got me moving. I came up from behind her. She wasn’t reading
Dracula
; she must have finished it like she said she would. She was holding
Pride and Prejudice
. I guess she didn’t do things halfway.
“That Mrs. Bennett will get on your nerves sooner or later,” I finally said.
Allison slammed her book close and jumped as I bent down next to her. She looked so beautiful. She reminded me of Snow White. Her skin was as flawless as porcelain framed with dark, almost-black hair. Allison’s
big brown eyes were wide with surprise as she turned around to look at me. I took my sunglasses off and shifted my weight to kneel in the sand.
“I finished
Dracula
just like I said I would,” she said quickly. Her warm breath touched my face, and I realized the close proximity of our lips. I blinked a couple of times, trying to form my next thought.
“And what did you think?” I asked, moving to sit beside her on the beach blanket. I hoped she wasn’t upset at how I kept moving closer and closer—I couldn’t seem to help myself.
Allison swallowed before she answered. “I liked it better than the movie.” She shrugged but didn’t move away
“Good,” I laughed, “now I can go on respecting you.”
Stupid! She just finished one of your favorite books, and you insult her.
Real smooth
.
Ali let out a hard laugh. “Well, I’m so glad I can meet your expectations,” she said defiantly and crossed her arms over her chest—the universal symbol of personal closure. Instinctively, I reached and touched her arm lightly. I had to ignore how soft her skin was and apologize.
“Now don’t get me wrong, Ali. It’s just that I find people usually cop out and don’t finish the book if they can just watch the movie.” My fingers made a path down her arm to the hand that was holding her forearm in hopes that she’ll look at me. “All I’m saying is that I am impressed.” Our fingers were now touching, and I was having a hard time focusing. “I mean
you read, what, like 250 pages just last night alone. That is persistence.” My fingers lingered over her hand, and I found myself taking note of the contrast of our skin. I was spending too much time under the sun.
“I am a fast reader,” she mumbled, and I realized she was staring at my mouth, “and persistent.” I looked from our hands to her mouth. Allison’s lips were the color of pale coral petals and parted slightly when she realized I was staring at her. I needed to stay focused.
“Very impressive,” I added, hoping she knew I was talking about the reading and not her lips. Okay, a little about her lips too.
I forced myself to lean back when what I really wanted to do was hold her soft cheek in my hand and press my lips to hers. My hand was still on Ali’s, and she didn’t seem to mind. All I could concentrate on was our touch. It felt comfortable and easy, like it was the most natural thing in the world. I looked up from our hands to find her staring at me. A short second later, I leaned back. I couldn’t focus while I was so close to her. I shook my head, and my thoughts slowly came back to the reason I was there.
“No surfing today?” she asked, breaking the silence. I looked to the ocean, then back to her.
“Waves are crappy today,” I said out loud.
And I have to work, then take you out on a date
, I added in my mind. When I spoke again, I lowered
my voice, and she leaned toward me. “And I was hoping to do something different today.”
Allison arched a dark eyebrow. “And what would that be?” I could feel my face get hot, embarrassed. I bent down to her eye level again.
Just say it
, I commanded myself.
“Allison, will you go out with me tonight?” I spoke so quickly I almost didn’t understand what I said.
“You want to go out with me?” she asked, her voice sounding shocked. Both of her dark eyebrows arched on her forehead.
Oh. Crap. How arrogant am I? Allison must have a boyfriend. Wouldn’t Trudy have told me? Maybe he is a tool, and she wants me to swoop in and sweep Ali off her feet. Play it cool. I can sweep.
I forced out a hard laugh. “Of course I do,” I said, taking her hand easily. “I have never
surfed
a beach so many days in a row, but after seeing you that first day, I had to keep coming back.” I had laid it all out on the line.
Silence.
Allison’s dark brown eyes rounded in surprise. She broke eye contact with me and looked down at my hand on top of hers. I thought she was going to shake my hand off, but instead, she laced the tips of our fingers together. My heartbeat quickened.
“So,” she said, her voice low, “a date?” Her hand was warm around mine, and I couldn’t help but move my thumb back and forth over her soft skin.
“How about I pick you up at your aunt Trudy’s at six?” Her cheeks flushed, and she looked even more beautiful.
“Okay,” Ali whispered. I moved closer to speak directly into her ear. She smelled like coconut and citrus.
“I don’t think you know how adorable you are when you get embarrassed,” I whispered. I didn’t move: I was stuck in a limbo under her trance. “See you at six sharp.” I stood quickly and left before I could say anything else or act on my impulses.
Work was a blur. I remember telling Sean, my best friend, about Allison. I am pretty sure that’s all I could talk about. He remembered her from the night before and had pretty much stalked her from the shadows. At one point, he had threatened to ask her out if I didn’t. I thought I might be annoying him with how much I was talking about her, but I didn’t care.
“So,” Sean said. I turned toward him as he continued, “You going to bring this Book Girl to the bonfire tonight?”
Dang it.
I forgot all about that.
“I don’t know . . .” I let my sentence trail off. Sean knew me well.
“You forgot,” he accused
. No, I just didn’t remember
.
“I just don’t think that is a first date kind of—”
“No way,” Sean cut me off. “You will be there. It’s our traditional end-of-the-year party, our last one.” He was right.
Since we were in grade school, we always celebrated the summer with a bonfire—a way to welcome the carefree months of surf and sun. First it was with our families,
then
extended to our friends, and now it was just a huge group of people. With me going through college at an accelerated rate, this would probably be our last bash together. Sean still had two years left in college, and I’d been applying for jobs all over California, so who knows where I would end up?
“I’ll see what I can do,” I promised. Sean didn’t look happy but knew me well enough to know that trying to change my mind was useless. I didn’t care about the bonfire tonight. I had a date with Allison.
***
Before I left the house, my mother gave me some sound advice: take Trudy some flowers; it would win me some points. My mom is always saying stuff like that, teaching me the finer points on how to treat women. So on my way home, I stopped at the farmer’s market and picked up a bouquet of wildflowers for Trudy and a single sunflower for Allison. They seemed fitting for both women.
When I got there, I stood at the door, waiting to knock. It was two minutes to six. I could hear them inside giggling, but it sounded like it was
mostly Trudy. I was excited and nervous. I shifted the flowers to one hand and knocked. The laughing stopped, and a moment later, Trudy opened the door with a huge smile.
“Good evening, Trudy,” I said, holding the wild bouquet toward her. “These are for you.” I smiled as Trudy’s mouth formed an O, and she took them from me.
“Ryan,” she cooed, “you are such a charmer.” She stepped back and waved an arm in. “Come in, please.” I did. Trudy’s place was what I would call “eclectic,” but I didn’t care about her paintings and furniture. I scanned the room for Allison. Just as I was thinking her name, she appeared from the kitchen.
Time stopped. She was the most beautiful person I had ever seen. She was wearing a long flowing white skirt and a pale yellow tank top; her dark hair was pulled up high. I wanted to drop the flower I was holding and run my fingers over her skin, from the base of her neck down to her shoulder.