Colleen's afternoon

Colleen drove away from Gary’s place thinking she had made her peace with Lil still warm from being well poked by Gary. Thinking how good the sex had been she wondered why she was always so ready for it then shrugged her shoulders when she remembered she had to get some things for her parents at the mall.

Walking back out from the mall laden with parcels and still dreamy from her fucking she cannoned into someone.

“I am so sorry,” she began then looked at the man –late 20s slightly built with an air of calm command. Colleen flinched at his steely gaze behind glasses.

“Quite alright. It's my fault for carrying so much but I so hate these shopping bags and I try to fit as much in to these reusable ones as I can. Here let me help you pack up your stuff”

Colleen thought his accent was unusual. He bent down and started putting her purchases in bags. When he had finished he stood up “there you go Ms Flannigan. You’ll be right now.”

“Hey how do you know my name? I’ve never met you.”

“No but you look so like your sister Bridget who I teach In any case I have seen you at the swimming pool. You’re pretty good at breaststroke. Perhaps Id better introduce myself. My names Jim Hawkins and I’m on exchange from New Zealand.”

“Well pleased to meet you then. Why are you carrying that case?”

“It's my saxophone and I’m just back from a rehearsal. I’m playing at the Basement nightclub tonight the usual saxophonist isn’t able to play so I’m filling in for him. Say hi to your sister and tell her I expect a great deal from her with her Faulkner assignment. She's very talented. But then I’m sure so are you. Maybe I'll see you later”

Colleen looked at his departing back. She had never thought before that meeting someone so polite and helpful could be so upsetting but Jim Hawkins seemed to have looked inside her mind and soul and not liked what he found there.

She got home and spoke to her sister who was in raptures about Mr Hawkins. It seemed most of the girls had a crush on him, that he was the best English teacher ever and he was cool, in touch with all the students – coaching water polo, helping build a skate park so that not only the good students liked him but almost the whole school “and his accent is so dreamy but you know Colleen, he can look at you quietly and you feel like you’re dirt if you do something he doesn’t like.”

“I guess I know something you don’t- that is that he plays the saxophone.”

“Oh but I do and he’s leading the school jazz band.

“Well he’s playing at the Basement tonight. Wonder if I might go along and see what he plays like”

As she was still talking the phone rang. She answered it.

“Its Gary here and Bernie and I want you to come out with us clubbing tonight. Lil's coming too its Bernie's idea I think she wants to show theres no bad blood after what Steve did to you and Lil”

Colleen blushed, for here was Bernie asking her out with Gary, Bernie's boyfriend, when she had just cheated with him. “Um I don’t know.”

“Oh come on I want you to come out too. Perhaps we can fill in more time like we did this afternoon.”

Colleen felt her cheeks burn “Look I don’t know at all.”

“You mean you’ve got something on Colleen?”

“Er no its …um”

“Well do you want to go anywhere special?” she could tell from his voice Gary was really pushing her. He was thinking I want to fuck this slut again.

She blurted out “The Basement there’s a jazz group playing and I met someone in it today.”

“O k we will all go there see you there at 8 tonight.

She went up to her room and began to think hard “how can seeing one person so briefly affect me so much- that Hawkins makes me feel dirty inside specially after what Gary and I did today- am I really a slut? It was a good screw but I don’t feel like sex now. Seems different after meeting Hawkins. I wonder what he would be like as a friend. No, he’s probably either just like other guys after a quick fuck or he’s gay.”