On Monday night, Reine was right on time as she pulled into the parking lot of the Montgomery Preparatory School, one of the most exclusive all-boy secondary educational institutions in the region. Although most streets no longer showed signs of last weekend's blizzard, large heaps of snow still stood in various corners of the dark - and disappointingly empty - lot.
Reine hated waiting almost as much as she hated the dark; hopefully Gabe wouldn't delay for long.
After ten minutes of alternating her attention between the clock and the surrounding street, she decided to find out what was going on. Unable to locate the cell phone in her bag, she ducked under the dashboard to search the floor.
Her hand felt the rogue gadget just as a car pulled up nearby. She bolted up and smoothed out her disheveled hair.
A black Range Rover was idling in the adjacent parking spot. The cars were facing in opposite directions, and they both lowered their windows.
"Hey," she cheerfully called over to Gabe. It was a relief to see him finally arrive, however, she wasn't about to let him think he was off the hook so easily. "I was starting to think you'd bailed on me."
"Did you have any trouble finding the place?" He ignored her statement, making it clear he wasn't in the same jovial spirit as on Friday or even yesterday when they last spoke.
Reine shrugged. "Not really. But can you now tell me what we're doing here?"
"I'll show you if you turn off your engine and come over."
Slipping the phone into her pocket, Reine did as he instructed; however, it was out of pride rather than obedience. She was long past the days in which she would do something she didn't agree with. She'd already come this far, and she wasn't about to leave now.
She hadn't even completely climbed into the passenger seat when he held up something and thrust it in her direction.
It was her scarf.
"Here you go. Sorry I couldn't get it back to you sooner," he said in a much more formal tone than the words warranted.
Reine took it and placed the soft fabric around her neck. "Thanks."
"How's the hand?" He looked at her gloved appendage.
"It's fine. I told you it was nothing."
"Good to hear," he remarked dryly, his tone once again belying the intent of the words.
She definitely wasn't imagining things. His laid-back, sincere attitude from the other night had been replaced with wound-up anxiety. This wasn't the same person who just recently didn't seem to have a care in the world.
He rolled up his window. "So you asked what we're doing here. Well, first we're going to drive around to the other side of the campus. We'll leave your car here since there's no need to go separately. You'll see the rest when we get there. Okay?"
"Fine."
She couldn't believe how she initially misjudged him. As they drove out of the parking lot, Reine snuck glances at his face to perhaps find the answer to his behavior. She couldn't look directly into his eyes, so - unlike during their first meeting - it was now almost impossible to try to read into his emotions. However, she did notice something else that had initially eluded her attention.
His casually tousled hair was wet, reflecting the light from the streetlamps they passed. And now that they were sitting in close proximity, she also noticed the fresh, masculine scent of body wash filling the air around him. He must have just showered before hurrying to meet her, not even taking time to dry his hair.
A twinge of guilt ran through her for joking with him for being late. She then remembered a part of their conversation from Friday night that possibly explained everything.
"How was your first day at the new job? Oh, and did your stuff make it down okay?" Maybe his foul mood was just the result of too much stress from all of the changes in his life lately. A new house and new job would make anyone cranky.
"I spent all of yesterday unpacking, but the place is still a big mess." He turned left at the first stop sign and headed parallel to the school grounds.
"And work? Did you have a bad start?"
"Yeah, I guess you could say that." He didn't elaborate further. After a few more minutes of driving, they arrived at the end of a cul-de-sac that led into a small cluster of snow covered trees. Parking by the curb, Gabe got out without another word.
Walking to the back of the truck, he opened the rear door before looking for something in the trunk. Reine joined him just as he was pulling out a large, red, plastic disk from among the clutter.
He paused and looked her up and down. "You're taller than I remember."
She took a step back and raised her right foot, showing him the four inch platform heel of her black, leather boot. "You didn't quite inform me of the dress code for this little excursion."
"Nice." He drew out the single syllable and nodded.
At least his mood was finally improving.
"I do what I can," she replied cryptically. If she had to struggle to get answers out of him, then he'd have to do the same.
Raising an eyebrow, he turned and led the way around the car. Heading toward the cluster of trees, he looked over his shoulder. "What does that even mean?"
"Eventually I'll win over my students with my intellect, but the first couple of classes I have to make a different kind of impression," she explained, following the path in the snow his footprints were clearing.
He glanced at her again without breaking his stride in the ankle deep snow. "Are you sure you want to make that kind of impression on horny college boys?"
She ignored the insinuation. "It's a scientifically proven fact that height, age, race, and gender all have a bearing on the amount of respect a person receives from those around him. Or her. I can only change one of those, so - like I said - I do what I can."
He scoffed. "Does that really work?"
Carefully watching each step in the dark among the leafless tangle of branches and scrub, it took her a few seconds to respond. "It doesn't hurt to try. And it makes me feel better."
As they exited the trees, Reine stopped to stare at the scene in front of her. The gently rolling hills were covered with at least a foot of pristine snow glittering in the moonlight. "Wow. What is this place?"
Gabe continued toward the top of the nearest embankment. "It's the school's golf course. Come on."
She took a deep breath before following again. "Do you take every girl trespassing on private property or just the ones you really want to get arrested?"
He didn't answer until she caught up with him. "Relax, it's cool. My buddy and I used to do this all the time when we were students here."
"And what exactly are we doing?"
He smirked. "Having a little fun. Watch, 'cause you're next."
Placing the plastic disk on the ground, Gabe sat down in the middle. As he raised his legs off the snow and pushed back with his arms, the sled tipped over the edge of the hill. Picking up momentum, it quickly reached the bottom.
"Woo-hoo!" he yelled as the disk gradually slowed. No sooner had it come to a stop than he was already making his way back up.
"Ready?" He placed the sled at her feet.
Reine shook her head. "Uhm, no. I'm not doing this."
"Come on, just one time." He nudged her with his elbow.
"I said no," she reiterated. "Why did you ever think I'd enjoy something like this, anyway?"
"I thought you'd appreciate the originality." He grinned; obviously pleased with himself for getting her so worked up. "I didn't have many choices for a weeknight since dinner and a movie were obviously out of the question."
Reine remembered her words from the other night. "That's not what I meant, and this wasn't supposed to be a date. You couldn't have been any more wrong since if it was, then I'd take traditional over juvenile any day."
He threw up his hands defensively. "Oh, forgive me professor for trying to show you a little fun."
Her jaw dropped. The evening was quickly turning into a full-blown confrontation.
"Are you calling me uptight or just boring?" Reine pulled herself to her full height. "You know nothing about me."
Gabe crossed his arms. "Don't go putting words in my mouth, sweetheart."
Maybe he was right, and she was just being too sensitive about an innocent remark. Nevertheless, she had to get back into control of the situation, and she instinctively went into defensive mode.
"If this is your idea of how to make good for almost breaking my hand, then you are really dim. I'm way past high school shenanigans, but apparently you aren't." She turned away and took a few steps down the side of the hill. Overcome by anger, she spoke without thinking. "Maybe you should have brought your buddy instead."
"Believe me, I would have, but that's not really possible. If you must know, I lost my best friend during our senior year," Gabe replied from the top of the snowy hill.
Reine stopped abruptly. She'd really put her foot in it this time.
Looking over her shoulder, she frowned. "Gabe, I'm so sorry."
Her overreaction undoubtedly brought back some unhappy memories for him, and she rolled her eyes in exasperation at the way the scene had played out. Perhaps if she had spent more time around others besides just Noor, her social skills would be less rusty.
Then again, she hadn't felt such strong emotion toward anyone for a very long time. So maybe he - and not her sensitivity - was to blame for this disastrous evening. At any rate, it was time to end it before she said or did something even worse. If that was even at all possible.
She started walking down again, but the her boot caught in the deep snow. Before she could catch herself, Reine landed face first in the cold powder.
Although she'd been insulting him just a few seconds earlier, Gabe rushed to her side. He squatted next to her just as she had managed to push herself upright.
"I'd ask you if you needed any help, but I have a feeling you'd probably refuse." He smiled.
"I'm such an idiot." Her face flushed. "I don't deserve you being nice to me after the way I just acted."
"Let's just forget it, okay?" He stepped back to give Reine room to stand. "I shouldn't have laid that on you, anyway. And I could have suggested you wear some proper shoes."
"I wouldn't have taken it, but it's a deal. Can we start over? I'd love to prove to you I'm not as lame as I may first appear." She reached for the large disk still in his hand.
He tilted his head. "You really want to give it a go?"
Before Reine had a chance to answer, her phone began to ring.
"Wow, two calls in as many days, that's a first." She searched her coat pocket for the device. Seeing the words 'unknown caller' made her heart beat a bit faster, but after stepping a few feet away, she answered anyway.
The call took less than a minute, but Gabe must have been able to tell by her facial expressions and curt answers something was wrong. As soon as she ended the call, he was right back at her side. "What's going on?"
When she didn't immediately answer, he continued. "Reine, is everything okay?"
She took a moment to mentally recall the events of the previous few days, which could have led to the present situation. The only new variable in her life was the man standing right next to her. She didn't even want to entertain the idea that Gabe had anything to do with what she had just heard, but she did let her guard down with him much too quickly. He was - for all intents and purposes - still a stranger to her.
However, she was a horrible liar - especially when put on the spot - so she decided to tell him the truth. "That was campus security. Someone broke into my office."