Package Deal (12 page)

“I used to ride a bike
in Iowa City. It’s pretty flat,
not like here with
all
the hills I’ve seen.”

“Are you into skiing? The college ha
s a student team, and sometimes
faculty
members
ta
ke advantage of the proximity to
the mountains.”

“Not really. I’
d rather swim,
in a heated pool i
n the winter. My only problem i
s my hair freezing if
I don’t get it completely
dry b
efore I
go
outside.” S
he
chuckl
ed.

“Well, you won’
t have to worry about that here.
And the c
ampus pool is open for swimming
on the weekends
. You can get a special
family
pass for your daughter, too
.”

Th
e
y
entered
th
e
th
e
at
e
r and s
e
l
e
ct
e
d
s
e
ats n
e
ar th
e
c
e
nt
e
r. Thr
ee
oth
e
r faculty
m
e
mb
e
rs
she recognized
cam
e
in and sat down, follow
e
d
by
a few students and
num
e
rous townsp
e
opl
e
.

Throughout the romantic scenes
of the thriller
, Amanda found herself wondering if she would react the same as the heroine if Marcus was the hero.
I’m being
silly
.
This is our first da
te.
B
ut it didn’t stop her from enjoying the fantasy.
During the last climactic scene of the movie, she had nervously clutched the sleeve of his arm, until his other hand had covered hers.
Wh
e
n
th
e
y
e
xit
e
d
th
e
building at th
e
clos
e
of th
e
film, Marcus
reach
ed
for
her
hand
.

“Do w
e
hav
e
tim
e
for a nightcap?”

“I think so.”

Th
e
y h
e
ad
e
d
for on
e
of th
e
small pubs n
e
ar th
e
wat
e
rfront. Amanda ch
e
ck
e
d
h
e
r watch and
speed-dialed
her
home
phone
number
.“Ar
e
you r
e
ady for b
e
d
, C
e
c
e
?”

“
Almost
. It’s
not
nine
yet
. You said I could stay up til
l
nine
.”

“
Did Janet come check on you?”

“Yes,
she came over twice
and then she went home,
after we
had
some popcorn.”

“Good.
I may b
e
a littl
e
bit lat
e
r than nine
. And I didn’t want you
to worry.
When it’s
nine
,
I want you to go to b
e
d
,
e
v
e
n if I’m not hom
e
.”

“Okay
.”
Cecelia
yawn
e
d
into the phone
.

Amanda
slipped her phone into her pocket and
smiled at
Marcus
. “I n
ee
d
to b
e
hom
e
soon
.”

“You don’t lik
e
h
e
r to b
e
alon
e
.”

Sh
e
nodd
e
d
. “Sh
e
mind
s
m
e
and I think sh
e
would not int
e
ntionally
g
e
t into
troubl
e
, but sh
e
’
s only nine—going on ten
, as she reminds me almost daily
.”

“I und
e
rstand.
She seems more grown-up than nine
.
”

“Probably because she’
s an only child.
She
tends to be reserved
with
most peopl
e,
unless she likes them. She likes you.”

“I’m glad.”
Marcus
mouth quirked upward
as if he was sharing a secret with her
.

“
She
thinks
you’
re handsome. S
he asked me
if that’
s why I agreed to go out with you.”

“Did she now?” He
finished the last of his beer
. “Is that why you
did
?”

“Let’s just say I was curious.”
She looked around at the other couples in the pub
,
leaned toward him
,
and lowered her voice
.
“JJ told me about you.”

One eyebrow rose
.
“I hope she w
asn’t spreading vicious rumors. S
ome of the English
faculty aren’t too keen on us j
ournalism types.”

Did she dare tell him?
“No.
Her
remarks were more in the realm of which faculty members
to
watch out for.”

He gave a mock gasp. “I certainly wasn’t on
that
list, was I?”

“
Maybe
, but you
should be happy about the other list she mentioned
.”

“Mind if I ask which one?”

“The ‘up-and-
comers
.’
You know, the ones who are going to make a name for themselves.
”

He waved off the waitress when she asked if
t
he
y
wanted a second beer. “
I’m flattered she thinks so
.”

Th
e
y h
e
ad
e
d
back to h
e
r hous
e
. Th
e
living room was dark as th
e
y drov
e
up and th
e
light upstairs w
e
nt out as th
e
y approach
e
d
th
e
front door.

“Would you lik
e
to com
e
in for coff
ee
?” Amanda off
e
r
e
d
, as she opened the front door
.

“That would b
e
nic
e
.”

She
put on th
e
coff
ee
,
e
xcus
e
d
h
e
rs
e
lf
,
and
walked up
stairs.Wh
e
n
she
op
e
n
e
d
the
door
to Cecelia’s bedroom
and p
e
e
k
e
d
in,
her daughter
sat up in b
e
d
.

“Mom. Did you do it?”

“Do what?”

“Kiss him.”

“No. You told m
e
not to.
” She smiled in the dark, imagining what it might be like. Would he—before he left?
“
It was just our first dat
e
.
”

“
I chang
e
d
my mind. H
e
’
s nic
e
. Mayb
e
if you kiss him, h
e
’ll com
e
back. Th
e
n I can talk to him again.
”

“I’ll l
e
t you know.
W
e
’r
e
going to hav
e
som
e
coff
ee
b
e
for
e
h
e
go
e
s hom
e
.”
She
kiss
e
d
C
e
c
e
lia,
l
e
ft th
e
room
, and headed back downstairs
.

“Is
e
v
e
rything
ok
ay
?” Marcus pour
e
d
h
e
r a cup and on
e
for hims
e
lf.

“
E
v
e
rything is fin
e
.” Sh
e
sipp
e
d
h
e
r cup in sil
e
nc
e
.
The
dawning desire
she felt
in th
e
th
e
at
e
r
—to get to know him better, to feel his arms around her
,
was even stronger now. In the
darkn
e
ss
of the theater
,
sh
e
’d
hop
e
d
what sh
e
was f
ee
ling
was hidd
e
n,
from oth
e
rs
and from
him
.

Marcus look
e
d
at his watch. “I’d b
e
tt
e
r b
e
going.
”
He
stood up to l
e
av
e
.“I had a gr
e
at tim
e
. P
e
rhaps w
e
can do this again.”