I’m glad you passed,” he said, in a tone that suggested he was wrapping things up.
She didn’t want him to leave. Not yet. She wanted, somehow, to make things feel normal between them, so there weren’t awkward silences. “Have a seat,” she said, a little too eagerly, indicating the porch swing.
He watched as she went over and sat there herself. She stopped short of patting the spot next to her.
“I don’t want to interrupt your celebration,” he said, standing still under the light. “I just came by to see about the test and to give you these.” He reached into the front pocket of his jeans, took out a small key ring with two keys on it and tossed them to her.
Remarkably, she caught them, and closed her hand around them as if they were alive. They were warm from his body heat. “What are these for?”
“The bus,” he said, cocking his head slightly and giving her half a smile. An I-know-you’re-tipsy-so-I’ll-be-patient half smile. “Remember?”
“Well, yes.” She felt her face grow hot. Of course they were the bus keys, what was she thinking? Two small glasses, that was all she’d had. “I just meant…” She felt the keys, searching for an excuse for her stupid coy act. “There are two of them. What’s the second one to?”
“It’s a spare. Keep it in your wallet or something, in case you lock yourself out.”
“I’m not going to lock myself out.”
“Okay. Just in case.”
“Geez, you have no faith in me at all.”
“Don’t take it personally, Grace. I don’t have faith in anyone.”
She suspected he was kidding, but she couldn’t stop herself from baiting him. “Especially me, Luke. You’ve never had faith in me.”
He gave a broad shrug. “I have as much faith in you as I need to. I’m sure you’ll do a fine job.”
Fine. She’d always hated that word. “Thanks,” she said half-heartedly.
“Grace? Are you pouting?” He definitely looked amused.
“No.”
“Good.”
“Fine.”
Quiet settled between them.
“So, I guess I’ll go,” Luke said, starting to turn.
“Wait, Luke.” She felt as though she had to stop him. As though she had somehow to fix their conversation before she let him go. Before it got stuck in his brain as one more Bad Experience with Grace.
He looked back. God, had his eyes always been so blue? “What?”
She scrambled for something to say but came up short. “Nothing. I just…making sure…school starts at nine?”
“Nine-fifteen.”
“Ah. Well, there you go. Good thing I asked.”
He gave her a curious look but said, “Right. Wouldn’t want to get them there too early.”
She nodded and tried to look as if she was taking in more than just the sight of him, standing there looking sexy in the thick, hot air. She fully realized it was the champagne that made him look so good, and she didn’t want to say or do anything she’d regret later. “Good to know,” she said.
“Grace?”
“Hmm?”
“I was kidding. It doesn’t matter if they get there early. Just don’t get them in late.”
She forced herself to stop nodding and just leveled her eyes on his. “Deal.”
“You’ve got the list of students that I gave you the other day?”
“In my car.”
“You’re sure you haven’t lost them?”
“I haven’t lost them, Luke, come on, what kind of idiot do you think you’re dealing with?”
“Did I say you were an idiot?”
“Not in so many words, but you didn’t expect me to pass the test and you don’t expect me to be able to keep track of the key, and now you’re at least half convinced that I’ve lost the list of students I’m supposed to pick up. Is it me, or have you had really big problems with bus drivers in the past?”
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