“What kind of stuff?”
“Oh, you know; candles, lotion, anything with an apple logo. Coffee mugs are popular, too. Magnets and bookmarks. It’s kind of them to think of me at all. Some of the kids just bring something their parents bought, which is good, but some of them actually pick something out for me, and that means a lot. They go out of their way to pick it for me because they want to make me happy.”
“Your students love you.”
“I guess they do.” She blushed as she smiled and had another bite of her food.
“If they’re smart, they do. I know I sure like you.”
“Oh, stop. That’s because I let you get in my pants.”
He gave her a funny look. “Yeah, let’s not make that correlation, okay? It just makes me think of Reagan.”
Alex choked on her drink. “Oh, hell, Grant, leave it to you to equate what I said with a teacher and a student getting together.”
“Sorry.”
She rolled her eyes and ate her dinner. She didn’t really blame him. She figured it would take him a few years to get over the way Hudson and Reagan had come together. Maybe once they got married, he’d back off. That was if they were going to get married, which Alex certainly didn’t know. That sent her down a path of wondering what Grant had in mind for long-term. She wasn’t expecting an engagement ring so soon or anything since they’d just begun an actual dating relationship and not a sex-on-call relationship. But, she could see them meshing well in the future. They had the same schedule, after all. At least for the most part.
“So you’re working every day until the twenty-third?” she asked him after setting her fork down and picking up her wine.
“Yeah, it’s a combination of my boss making me, and needing the money for the trip.” He set his fork and knife on his empty plate and folded his hands on the edge of the table.
“Is it going to eat into your finances? You know I said I would chip in. It would only be fair to split it.”
“I don’t want you paying for any of it, Alex. We’re going to see my sister, so it should be my responsibility.”
She frowned. “But it’s a vacation for me, so why shouldn’t I pay my way?”
“Because your boyfriend is stubborn and wants to pay for you.”
“Clearly.”
They finished up and held hands on the way to the car. Grant held her door for her and got in on the passenger side. He had never offered to drive, and she supposed that was hard for someone that was used to being in charge of everything. He’d had his way for a long time, and she hoped he was at least a little flexible in his thoughts and routine. Otherwise, she would never fit in with him.
“So, are you going to come in?” she asked as she drove.
He looked over. “If you want me to.”
“Are you exhausted?” It was seven-thirty, and he was usually only awake for another hour and a half.
“I’m fine.”
“You say that a lot.”
“But only when it’s true. Alex, I want to spend the night with you, and it doesn’t matter how tired I may or may not be. If you’ll have me, I want to stay. I haven’t seen you in weeks.”
“You have to get up early for work, though, don’t you?” She glanced at him as she pulled into the parking lot of her complex.
“My clothes are in the saddlebag. I’ll try not to wake you when I get up.”
“You thought ahead.” The thought warmed her.
“I hoped you’d let me stay with you. We haven’t seen each other that much since Thanksgiving, and I miss you.”
“Hardly at all.” She took the space next to his motorcycle so he could get his stuff.
“And I want to change that.”
