In the staff room, Aria and Lucas were seated directly across the table from each other, trying to keep their eyes off one other. Once a month, Ms. Rollins, the principal, held an informal catered lunch to give the teachers and herself time to discuss any ongoing issues, brainstorm ideas for the classrooms, and focus on plans for building community at the school.
At the moment, the conversation was about plans to begin a tradition of holding a spring carnival at Lakewood. People had different ideas about what the purpose of the carnival should be. Aria listened but didn't contribute anything.
Mr. Jaegerson, the 4th, 5th, and 6th grade science teacher, was in favor of using it as a fundraising event. "If we sell tickets for $1 each, that people need to buy food and drinks and play games, we could raise a substantial amount of money. We could advertise in the community to bring in more families than just those at Lakewood."
Lucas said, "I think the focus should be more on fun than fundraising. Having a school carnival in the spring is a great way to wrap up the school year, and it's something the kids can look forward to all year long."
Jaada added, "And we ask the parents for money during the school year in various ways: wrapping paper sales, contributions to the annual fund, and the silent auction at the gala. I think it's a lot to ask the parents to pony up again."
Ms. Rollins looked at Aria. "Aria, what do you think? You've just come from a big urban school. Do you have any thoughts about the carnival?"
Aria, who was still keeping pretty quiet at meetings while she found her footing, said, "We did have fundraisers during the year. Our big one was a huge rummage sale, which the parents organized and ran. In the spring, we had a field day, where we went to a park and had all kinds of games and competitions. The kids looked forward to that all year. I think it's great for the kids to have a big fun event at the end of the school year."
Lucas watched Aria carefully as she spoke. When she turned from talking to Ms. Rollins, she saw Lucas staring at her. Her cheeks turned pink and she looked down to doodle on the pad of paper in front of her. Good grief, she felt like she was in third grade again, when she had a crush on Loren Fletcher and she could hardly bear to talk to him in class. This meeting could not end soon enough.
*****
Lucas wasn't trying to embarrass Aria; he was genuinely interested in what she had to say. He couldn't help it if he found her green eyes and quiet smile distracting. He let his eyes linger on her, until he realized she had stopped talking and he was still staring. Okay, buddy, time to move on, he told himself. One more day until they had dinner together. He would have to be satisfied with that. When the meeting broke up, he watched Aria and Jaada rush out together. He wondered what they were up to.
*****
Jaada and Aria tied their tennis shoes and dashed out the door, trying to get a short walk in before they had to be back in their classroom and gym. Jaada elbowed Aria as they set a brisk pace around the block. "Okay, lady, what was that all about?"
"What was what all about?"
"At the staff meeting, you and Lucas—you know, making googly eyes at each other."
"We were not making googly eyes at each other."
"Mmm hmmm. The whole meeting, you were either doing that or deliberately trying to avoid looking at each other. We could power the school air conditioner with the electricity zipping between the two of you," Jaada said.
"That's an exaggeration, Jaada!"
"Maybe, but there's definitely something cooking between the two of you. What's going on?"
"I'm not sure, but there is something there." Aria told Jaada about the dinner with her mother, the field trip, and the surprise visit from Lucas and Lily.
"Sounds like you two have been spending a lot of time together."
"Yes, it does, doesn't it? I didn't plan any of this. It just kind of happened...and now, now we've got a date tomorrow night."
"A real date? Wow, this is serious." Jaada looked sideways at Aria as they trotted down the sidewalk. "Are you excited?"
"There are so many reasons why this is a bad idea, but yes, I am."
"So you're Lily's teacher. I can see that being a concern. What else?"
"I don't know if I'm ready to trust someone yet, to let myself care about a man, even a good man."
"Because of what happened in Pittsburgh."
"Yes. I can't go through that again. I won't."
"You know, Lucas is a different person, with his own values and unique personality. You can't lump all men together."
"I'm not!" Aria said.
"Then it's only fair to Lucas, and to you, to give him a chance. To relax and enjoy your time together without comparing him to what's-his-name."
"Jake."
"To Jake. That sounds like a high school quarterback's name. Were you a cheerleader?"
"No!"
"No wonder it didn't work out."
Aria, in spite of her worries, dissolved into laughter. She stopped and hugged Jaada, something she had never done before. And she felt the tightness in her heart loosening bit by bit.
*****
Jeans and a sweater. No. Leggings and a dress. No. Hair up. No. Hair down. No. Aria was working herself into a frenzy trying to figure out what to wear on the date with Lucas tonight. Clothes lay strewn across her bed, and Dizzy lay on top of a good many of them. He watched Aria with interest.
"Dizzy, you are not helping. Which outfit do you like? I don't even know what this date means. Which means I don't know what to wear. He said casual. Like casual restaurant? Casual friends? Casual sex? I certainly hope that's not what he's thinking." She sighed and flopped onto the bed next to Dizzy. The mellow notes of Norah Jones filled the room, but the music did not relax Aria like normal. She ran her fingers through Dizzy's curly coat over and over again. Slowly her heart rate settled, and she found her equilibrium.
"I'm not going to overthink this." She dug through the clothes on the bed for a pair of skinny jeans, which she paired with a loose, brightly embroidered blouse and brown boots. "There, pretty but not overdone." She added a pair of gold hoops and debated over perfume. In the end, she squirted it into the air and walked through the cloud of scent. It was a date after all, she told herself.
The doorbell rang, and she jumped. Aria hugged Dizzy and told him to clean up while she was gone. She made herself walk slowly to the door, so she wouldn't be out of breath when she answered it. When she opened it, she saw Lucas standing on her step holding a bouquet of daisies. He wore jeans and a dark red polo shirt, and he smelled amazing. "Hi," Aria said.
"Hi yourself." Lucas grinned and held out the daisies. "These are for you."
Aria took the daisies and looked down into the happy flowers. "Thanks. That's very sweet."
"You're welcome."
"Do you want to come inside for a minute so I can put these in water?"
"Sure." Lucas followed Aria into the living room and looked around with interest. The room reflected what he knew of Aria's personality completely—elegant and restrained, with pops of rich color here and there. She disappeared into the kitchen and came back with a vase filled with water, the daisies poking gaily above the rim.
"I love daisies. They're simple but beautiful flowers. And it's hard to feel sad when you have daisies around," Aria said. Lucas watched Aria set the vase on the coffee table, pushing some books over to make room for it.
Dizzy came bounding into the living room, wiggling with excitement when he saw Lucas. Unfortunately, Dizzy was wearing a pair of stockings across his back and wrapped around one leg. Lucas smothered a laugh and tried to decide how to handle it. "Looks like you were helping your Mama get dressed tonight, Dizzy." The dog wagged his tail and bumped into Lucas.
When Aria heard Lucas's comment, she looked up from the daisies she was arranging and saw what was on Dizzy's back. "Oh! Dizzy! Where did you get those?" She snatched the stockings off Dizzy's back and untangled his leg. Aria balled up the stockings and tossed them into the bookcase. Lucas chuckled.
"Well, that was embarrassing." Aria pushed her hair back and sighed. "I guess we better leave before Dizzy figures out any other awkward tricks."
Lucas walked toward her, his eyes intent. "In a moment." He gently put his hand under her chin and tipped her face up to his. "I've been wanting to do this for weeks." He kissed her, lightly at first and then more deeply. Their lips slid across one another's—caressing, exploring, inviting. Aria felt the electricity in the air crackling around them, and her arms slid around Lucas. He caressed her back as he lingered over her lips. The heat flickered through her body like lightning before a summer storm. Finally, Lucas pulled back, still holding her. Aria stood breathing deeply, a little shocked at her own reaction. She had never felt anything this jarring before. It was both wonderful and unsettling, a bonfire in her living room. She felt completely off-kilter.
Lucas was experiencing the same reaction. He had expected the kiss to be nice, maybe even exciting. But not stop-your-world shattering. He found himself disbelieving that this tidy, cool, calm woman in front of him could set off a volcano in his soul. But she had, and Lucas knew things would not be the same going forward. It was best to get some distance and air. "Well, that was...um...surprising. In a good way," he hurried to say when he saw Aria's brows draw together. He took her hand. "How about some seafood? I'm getting hungry."
Aria allowed herself to be escorted out the door, only stopping to grab a light coat. Her heart was still slamming against her chest and her lips tingled, but she walked slowly out to his truck. Lucas opened the door for her, and she climbed in. The evening had barely started, and her head was spinning. What could possibly be next?
*****
Aria was surprised to learn that the next thing was a long, satisfying conversation with Lucas. Over her broiled salmon and his shrimp scampi, they talked about everything from her favorite books as a child to his grandparents' collection of old sleighs. They shared their best and worst teaching moments, and what they wanted to accomplish as teachers. Aria found out that Lily and Lucas had had a dog, Cricket, who died a year ago. She was gratified to know that she had picked them out as dog people without knowing their story. Dizzy had picked them out as well. That was definitely a good sign.
As the evening wore on, Lucas was happy to see that Aria was truly relaxing and opening up to him, not just about the hard parts of her life, but also the things that brought her joy.
She said, "I totally understand that everyone needs to eat healthful foods to be healthy, whether that's fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy, etc. And I try to eat healthfully. But I've accepted that it's not going to be my healthful cooking that I eat. It's going to be someone else's—takeout, frozen, deli, whatever."
Lucas was horrified. "Cooking good food is one of the great pleasures in life, Aria. When I'm cooking, I'm totally in the moment. I don't think about anything else. And when I'm done, Lily and I have a great meal to enjoy together."
"I feel the same way when I bake a strawberry rhubarb pie, or pumpkin streusel muffins, or chocolate eclairs! I just don't have the meal cooking gene. Making desserts is where I shine. Does the school ever have a bake sale?"
"I don't think so, but it looks like we need one. You could probably stock it single-handledly," Lucas said. He paused for a moment. "Maybe we could work out a deal one night: I cook you dinner and you make the dessert."
Lucas could see her considering all the ramifications. She arrived at some type of decision and nodded. "I'd like that." She hugged herself. "Lucas, we need to talk about Lily."
"Okay, what about Lily?"
"I'm her teacher, and I don't want to do anything that could hurt her or impact our relationship at school negatively. She trusts me, and I need her to, to be a good teacher to her."
"We can keep this simple, Aria. We're just spending some time together now and then. You won't be Lily's teacher forever."
"Yes, but for now I am. What if the school finds out we're spending time together outside of school?"
"We don't have to advertise it. But what if they do find out?"
"It looks unprofessional from the outside. It probably is unprofessional. I take my career seriously, and I'm still the new kid at Lakewood. I don't want to get off to a bad start with the administration and the other staff."
"That's a lot of worries, Aria. Why don't we just take this one day at a time and see where it leads us? We can cross those bridges when we get to them."
"Lucas, I don't think you understand what a problem this might cause: for Lily, for us, for the school."
"Aria, we're literally on our first date, unless you count dinner with your mother, or the coffee planning meeting. I don't think we're at the stage yet where we have to worry about all this. Carpe diem!" Lucas spread his arms out wide. He preferred to go full steam ahead and deal with the repercussions later.
Aria sighed. She was annoyed at Lucas because she couldn't make him understand all the complications that might arise from them seeing each other, and at herself for still wanting to pursue the relationship—even in the face of those complications. While she was stewing, Lucas moved on to examining the dessert menu. "Why don't you use your expertise to pick out dessert for both of us, Aria," Lucas said as he handed her the small menu. Aria knew when she was being distracted; she had perfected the skill herself to help kids move on from things they shouldn't be doing to things they should be doing. But, like a 6-year-old, she took the bait.
"All right. Do you want to share two desserts, so we can try two different things?"
"Sounds like a plan."
"Okay, let's try two contrasting items—a heavier one and a lighter one. How about the flourless chocolate torte and then the key lime pie?"
"Sounds amazing!" Lucas said. At least they could agree on dessert, Aria sighed to herself.
*****
As Lucas slowed to pull his truck to the curb, Aria looked at him and said, "Thanks. This was a lot of fun."
"You're welcome. I hope we can find time for our joint meal soon."
"I'd like that."
Lucas got out and came around to open Aria's door. Her perfume floated out into the night air as she stepped down from the truck. The streetlight cast shadows on her face, and Lucas anticipated the taste of her soft lips again as he stared down at her.
But Aria surprised him by pushing up on her tiptoes to plant a quick kiss on his cheek, murmuring "Thanks," and dashing into her house. He watched Dizzy greet her at the door and felt jealous of a dog for the first time in his life. He wanted to be on the other side of the door with Aria, not alone in the dark.
*****
Aria sank onto the couch and patted the spot next to her. Dizzy hopped up and snuggled in close. As Aria petted Dizzy, her breathing slowed down and she could think clearly. She knew that Lucas was surprised by her hasty departure, but Aria was not ready for another moment as intense as their first kiss was. She felt a little too vulnerable right now and just wanted to circle the wagons around herself and Dizzy. She had had a wonderful time at the restaurant with Lucas, but she needed some physical and emotional space.
Which was not what she got, because the phone started to ring. A glance at the screen told Aria that it was her mother. She debated with herself over whether she should answer it, but in the end, she decided it was better to deal with her now.
"Hi, Mom."
"Hello, Aria, how are you, honey?"
"Fine, Mom. How are you?"
"I'm fine, thank you. I tried to call earlier, but it went to voice mail. Were you out?"
"Yes, I was."
"Well, that's nice," her mother said, with a hint of a question in her voice.
"It was," Aria said.
"Were you and Dizzy out for a run?" Helen asked.
"No, I was out with a friend."
"Oh, was that friend Lucas by any chance?"
"Yes, in fact it was."
"Well, that's lovely. What did you do?"
"Mom! Boundaries!" Aria rolled her eyes.
"I'm just making friendly conversation, honey."
"Which feels like an interrogation," Aria said.
"I care about you and what you do in your life."
"Okay, Mom. Was there something you wanted?"
"As a matter of fact, there was. The Literary Council is having their annual gala next week, and I have four tickets. I was wondering if you would like to come and bring a guest."
"Oh, Mom, I don't know. You know I don't like those big social events."
"But this is for a very good cause. And the tickets will go to waste otherwise. As a teacher, I'm sure you'd like to show up to support literacy initiatives in the community."
Aria put her hand to her forehead.
"And, perhaps you can invite Lucas to come with you. As a fellow educator, I'm sure he would enjoy it as well."
"I'll think about it. I have to take Dizzy out now."
"All right then."
"I'll call you later, Mom."
Aria clipped the leash on Dizzy and took him out into the yard. While he went about his work, she thought over the conversation with her mom. A gala, with Lucas? It sounded both terrifying and thrilling. And anything but low-profile. She decided to sleep on it.
Once in bed, surrounded by fluffy pillows and the pile of clothes she had pushed to one side, Aria curled up around Dizzy and drifted off into slumber. The last image she had in her mind was the sensation of Lucas's lips caressing hers.