Hey :) thank you for your patience and I'm pretty sure you deserve this chapter! Don't forget to click on the link to listen to the song attached. It's my personal favourite - just amazing. Picture showing Andrew Cooper as David Cooper.
Chapter dedicated to destinie0831 for being such an amazing fan and messaging me about the story :)
"Nick, are you coming?" yelled David as he looked at his watch which was marking 6:55pm. Dinner reservation was in five minutes time, and David truly hated to be late. Nick, his brother, did not mind being late as it seemed that he cared more about his looks than other people's opinion of his punctuality.
Nick showed up at the kitchen where David was waiting impatiently. He seemed to have taken extra time getting his hair done perfectly. David also assumed that choosing the outfit - dark jeans and a striped blue and grey dress shirt - had taken quite some time, as well.
They grabbed their coats and put them on before leaving their apartment and entering the elevator. This dinner was their way of bonding, since both brothers were ever so busy with their jobs. Nick, an attorney, was busy preparing for several court cases while David had spent his Christmas holidays correcting the students' tests.
In two days, David would return to his teaching job and all of his free time would be gone. Once again, David would have to wake up early, wear proper clothes, and see Sadie every single day of the week - but he did not want to think about that for now. At that moment, he aimed to make the best out of that night and enjoy himself to the full.
The restaurant was only a few minutes away from their place so it was unnecessary to drive there. Walking was also beneficial for the two brothers as their jobs forced them to sit down for hours without moving about - unless they were to cross train while correcting papers or sorting divorce files.
The cold January air entered David's lungs as he shivered and secured his coat as tightly as possible to his chest. Nick sighed as kept up with David's sprint to the restaurant and commented, "You seem troubled tonight, Dave."
David sighed, putting his cold hands into his pockets and slowed down his pace. Suddenly, he stopped walking altogether and replied, "No, I just want to get to that darn restaurant; I'm hungry."
Nick raised an eyebrow but did not push his brother into saying what was worrying him. This is because he had a pretty good idea what was up with David that night. He was not stupid - he was an attorney for goodness' sake. He could see the mixed emotions in David's eyes: attraction, love, and maybe fear?
Following another couple of minutes of uncomfortable silence, the two brothers finally reached the restaurant. The receptionist greeted them and asked for their last name so that she would confirm the booking. "Alright," she smiled. "So it's a table for two, then. Follow me, if you please."
She was wearing a really short skirt, and David noticed that his older brother simply could not make it more obvious that he was crushing on her. Nick glanced at David and mouthed, "Hot!" while the last sighed and shook his head disapprovingly.
His inner conscience said, 'You should not be disapproving of your brother flirting with an adult receptionist - after all, you flirt with one of your under age students all the time.'
David blushed and hoped that he had not said that to himself out loud because first people would think he was insane and, even worse, he could be taken to jail. As soon as they reached their table he noticed that Nick was being helped by the receptionist to take off his coat. Seeing this, he hastily took off his coat to avoid having her touch him. As soon as she realised this, the receptionist sighed and said, "Well, I guess that's it. I'm Sarah so call me at my desk if you need me. One of our waiters should bring a menu soon."
The brothers sat down at their table and saw Sarah disappear into the restaurant. Nick eyed his brother and expressed his disappointment, "That was rude."
David moved uncomfortably on his chair and sighed but did not say anything.
Nick was very concerned for his younger brother. This was not like David at all. The real David was sarcastic and funny. This David was blunt and barely spoke ten words in an hour.
Nick smiled gently and asserted, "Listen bro, you have to cheer up. You look like a teenager who doesn't want to go back to school. What happened to you?"
A waiter interrupted their talk as he handed a food menu each and listed the specialities of the day, together with a list of wines and other delicacies. David could feel his brother tapping one of his feet nervously and smiled to himself. This was so like his brother - he always wanted to do things straight away without having to wait.
He hated that Nick was forcing him to talk when he truly did not feel like it. Tonight was supposed to be relaxing and nice but Nick was using this dinner to find out more about the situation at Yorkwood High.
After what seemed like ages, the waiter left them to their menus. To avoid further inquiring, David started going through the pages to see what he would like to eat while Nick waited impatiently to get his brother's full attention again. "I might have penne with salmon sauce as my main course," said David, trying to change the subject. "What about you?"
Nick cleared his throat and said, "Oh, um, same thing, probably," he opened his menu and had a look at the pasta selection. After a couple of seconds he continued, "Actually I'll have mushroom-filled ravioli with creamy sauce."
"Sounds good," smiled David as he had a look at the starters section. "Let's get garlic bread for our starters," Nick nodded approvingly and David continued, "I'll get some sparkling water for tonight - I've been avoiding alcohol these last couple of weeks."
"Oh?" voiced Nick. "Well, you seem to be improving. I guess I was wrong about you, bro," David raised an eyebrow but did not reply as Nick continued, "I'm getting some still water so I won't mess with your alcohol cravings."
David could see that Nick was trying to upset him, however he seemed to enjoy seeing his older brother pissed because he would not say anything. So, to continue teasing Nick, he smiled and winked at him.
At that moment, the same waiter showed up to take their food and drink orders. As David ordered his food, he saw a blonde girl approaching a table close to them. With her, there was a redhead. Was David in a movie or something? Because this scene was something which happened only in chick-flicks. Great, now he was comparing his life to girl movies.
David hid his face as soon as he realised that it was no other than Sadie who was sitting down close to their table. With her, there was Drew and two other adults. So much for a relaxing night, thought David.
After she followed the pretty young lady at the desk, Sadie sat down at the table with Drew and his parents. It was very nice of them to invite her for dinner. They had treated her as part of their family ever since they first met her and she was happy about that.
She glanced around the restaurant and smiled. It felt nice that, for once, she went out to dinner and no one knew who she was. If she were to have dinner at a restaurant with her father everyone would be talking about them and they would not have time to enjoy their meals. Once she had ended up on the front page of The Yorkwood Times, just because she had gone out to dinner with her father.
From the corner of her eye, Sadie saw a man leave the table beside them. When she looked at that direction, there was a young man at the table who seemed to be waiting for someone else. Sadie thought that he looked absolutely gorgeous and smiled at him when he looked her way. Drew, who was sitting opposite to her cleared his throat and she returned her gaze toward him, hoping that she would have time to admire the guy who was sitting at the other table later on.
She talked to Drew and his parents about her father's job and how she wanted to move to New York with her sister, Emma. The parents encouraged her to keep studying to accomplish her dreams while Drew seemed unhappy about her wishes and dreams for the future. Lately, she had been video-calling Emma and they had gotten pretty close to each other. It seemed that the tension which had arose between them had cooled down and their relations were improving.
Again, she glanced at the handsome man at the other table, only to find Mr Cooper sitting opposite to him. Sadie blushed as her eyes made contact with her teacher. She froze and had to take a sip of the water which the waiter had just brought to their table.
After clearing her throat, Sadie excused herself and hurried to the bathroom. She had no idea that Mr Cooper had so much power on her: her heart was pounding and felt as if it was going to burst; her eyes were sparkling, almost watering; her hands were shaking.
Looking at the mirror, Sadie realised that there was a certain glow to her face, and it was not the natural-coloured blusher which she had used. After staring at her reflection for a minute or two, Sadie decided to exhale her stress and wash her hands. Dinner should be on their table in a few minutes and she did not want it to get cold, although she did not wish to eat her spaghetti with Mr Cooper sitting a few metres away from her.
After drying her hands, she turned to leave the bathroom, only to find Drew standing behind her with a concerned look on his face. "Drew," she whispered. "You scared me. Wait, what are you doing here? This is a girls' bathroom."
Drew sighed and asked, "Are you alright? I saw Mr Cooper and realised why you had to leave the table."
"Oh, Drew," she chuckled. "Always there to save me like Prince Charming," Drew smiled and looked away, but Sadie reassured him that she was fine, "I'll join you in a minute, Drew; I just need to freshen up."
After Drew left the bathroom, Sadie sighed. The problem was so much worse than she had thought: was Drew aware of her feelings for their teacher? She had no idea it would be so hard to be in the same room again with Mr Cooper after not seeing him for almost a month after their encounter.
As Sadie was leaving the ladies, she saw Mr Cooper waiting at the hall which connected both bathrooms. Trying to avoid him, she pretended not to have seen him and attempted to leave. After all, who would talk to their teacher if they saw him at the bathroom? That would be awkward, right?
However, Mr Cooper was determined to talk to her and made sure she would not leave before he said what he needed to say to her. He stood in front of the main bathroom door and breathed heavily. "Sadie," he muttered, "Can we talk, please?" He emphasised the please.
"Mr Cooper," she began. "Why would I talk to you here?"
Mr Cooper rubbed his eyes and seemed tense. "Sadie, I beg you, hear me out."
Sadie crossed her arms and tapped her right foot against the floorboards. "I'm listening but hurry up because my spaghetti will get cold."
Mr Cooper smiled. Why did she have to be so funny? This was a serious moment. Instead of saying anything to her, Mr Cooper moved towards her and placed his lips on hers. This was such a spontaneous moment, that David himself was not expecting this.
Sadie felt Mr Cooper take her first kiss and she did not mind this at all. She felt him place his arms around her waist, moving her closer to him, as she was getting used to the rhythm in which he was kissing her. Her eyes were closed but she stole a peek through her right eye, to see whether Mr Cooper had his eyes closed as well, which he did. Wow, she thought.
Suddenly, to her disappointment, Mr Cooper pulled away from her arms and muttered, mostly to himself, "Crap!" He opened the main door which led to the restaurant, leaving Sadie wondering whether she had been hallucinating or not. She then touched her lips with her index finger and smiled to herself. Then, Sadie realised she had to get back to Drew and his family, and tried her best not to show anyone that she had just been kissed by her history teacher in a bathroom.
When she got back to the table, she glanced at Mr Cooper who seemed busy eating his penne and talking to the other man. She shifted her gaze to Drew and smiled at him. "Is everything alright?" asked Drew's mother.
"Um, yeah," nodded Sadie. "Everything's perfect."
As their waiter came to their table and served their dinner, Sadie once again looked at Mr Cooper's direction and found him staring at her. In return, Sadie gave him a warm smile. However, when the other man who was sharing a table with Mr Cooper talked to him, the last seemed to tense up and looked away from her.
Sadie had never in a million years thought that she would be kissed by the handsome Mr Cooper. Later that night, when she was in bed, she gazed at her starry ceiling which her mother had decorated for her as a young girl, and relived the moment. Closing her eyes, Sadie smiled as she recalled the way Mr Cooper had kissed her. It seemed so urgent, so sudden. It was as if he had wanted to do this for a long time.
Until that day, Sadie had never been interested in sharing her life - her future - with someone. Things had changed now. Mr Cooper was her priority.
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