Tim’s Tardiness

Rhian sat in the sandwich shop alone, feeling nervous. Making a date with her student was risky. Of course if she was caught she could easily deny that it was a date. She could say that she was just meeting him to talk about grad school, which they were. It's just that she was hoping for more out of their lunch together. But that wasn't what she was nervous about.

Tim was late.

She'd been sitting at the table for fifteen minutes, each minute that ticked by the pit in her stomach grew. Was she being stood up? It was all happening again. Rhian was mature enough to know that much of her romantic problems were her own fault, pushing men away, feeling rejected when no rejection existed, but sometimes it was real. And those times it hurt so much more.

Like a fool she had allowed herself to agree on the date. She had forsaken men! Abandoned romance! But then Tim, her prized pupil, her eye-candy, had asked her out. He had this way to him, a weight, an authority. When he wanted something, she had a very difficult time telling him 'no'. And Tim had wanted to go on a date for lunch. His words had said he just wanted to talk about school, about his future, but she could tell what he was really asking. She could tell because she wanted it too.

It would become messy. She knew it would. It was her pattern. Rhian would fall for Tim, but she would hold herself back just enough, distrust him just enough, to keep him at a distance. Then, when things either got too real, or if it got too difficult, she would find an excuse to dump him. Hopefully he wouldn’t be in her class by the time that came around. How uncomfortable would it be to have to stare at him every day as she presented her lectures?

This wasn’t a good idea. It dawned on her all of a sudden that Tim’s tardiness was a blessing in disguise, a sign of sorts, telling her to end it before it began. There was no doubt that Tim would have an excellent scholastic career, but he could study somewhere else for his post grad. The same thing went for his love life. He was a. Extremely attractive man. He could find someone else.

She stood up to leave, then heard the bell chime as the door to the restaurant opened.

He was there.

Not wanting to smile, Rhian found herself grinning anyway. How could she not? Tim was a vision. Plaid shirt, leather skirt, and those boots! For a short man, he carried himself with such power and confidence, striding across the room to her table, his behind swinging sexily as he went.

“I’m so sorry I’m late,” he said, sitting down across from her, “My last class went a couple minutes late, then I missed my bus, so I had to walk.”

“You walked?”

“In these heels, too!” Tim said grinning, “it wasn’t that far, actually, I just needed a bit more time.”

Rhian sat back down. He’d walked across campus in high heeled boots to get to her. How chivalrous! Now she felt guilty over her plans to leave. He didn’t deserve to be stood up, left like those other men. Tim was different.

She stared at him as he opened the front of his fancy backpack and pulled out a small mirror, then put it away after checking that his makeup was good. It was better than good. Rhian could take a pointer or two from him. Maybe she would, someday.

“So,” he said, breaking the silence, “what’s good here?”