“Do you use any of this equipment?” Joel indicates the camera cases and light stands in the corner.
“We do, but the medium is changing so fast and phones are becoming more technically capable, so for the first assignment I let them choose.”
“Huh.” Joel sits back in his chair. “I guess all those hours glued to your phone have paid off.”
This gets an eye roll from his daughter, but she’s smiling too.
“For their final assessment they’ll use a digital camera, but they can use other equipment as well.”
Joel cocks his head. “What’s the final assignment?”
He regards me with intense brown eyes, and my throat suddenly feels dry. I’m not sure if it’s his intense gaze or the way his broad frame looks as he leans back in his chair, a tight white t-shirt pulled over his torso, casual jeans with faded patches on the knees, his arm resting casually on the back of a chair.
“I’m sure Dana’s told you about the field trip.”
Surprise flickers in his eyes, but he masks it. He wouldn’t be the first parent to be kept in the dark about what their kids are up to at school.
“For the final assignment, we head to Pine Creek Camp for three nights. It’s in an environmental preservation area.”
He cocks his head. “The one on the other side of the mountain? Near where the hippies live?”
“They’re not hippies, Dad.” Dana lifts her eyes to the heavens and shakes her head, the typical gesture of teenage girls the world over.
“There is an off-grid community there,” I add. “Plenty of interesting stories and willing interview subjects. The assignment is worth forty percent of their final grade. We need the permission slips back so we know how many students are coming.”
Joel turns to his daughter, who has the computer mouse in her hand, making adjustments to her final edit.
“I must have forgotten.” Joel runs a hand down his face, and it catches in his stubble.
I’m sure he didn’t forget. If he didn’t know about the camp, then Dana’s not communicating with him. A typical teenager, but he seems to take it hard.
He suddenly looks tired, like a man holding too much. Like he’s used to carrying weight alone. For a moment he reminds me of my dad, late nights at the dining room table in hushed conversations. Usually before he deployed to somewhere he couldn’t tell us.
A younger, sexier version of my dad.
“I’ll sign it and Dana can bring it in tomorrow.”
The bell rings, signaling the end of the interview. Joel stands at the same time I do, and I realize too late we’re too close. My chest grazes the front of him, and I step backward into my desk. His hand shoots out to catch me, strong and fast.
“Sorry...” My breath catches as his fingers clasp my bare skin, causing heat to course up my arm. I stare up at him, and my neck tilts backward to see his eyes. He’s tall and strong and smells like fresh grass and coffee.
He releases my arm and takes a step back. “It was nice to meet you, Brooke.”
His arm goes around Dana’s shoulders, and they head out of the classroom.
The door closes behind them, and I lean back on my desk, my arm still tingling from the heat of Joel’s touch.
“Get it together,” I mutter to myself.
This is no time to get all giddy over one of my student’s dads. That’s the kind of behavior that will get you a reputation. I’ve already got the eyes of the faculty on me as the new teacher on a temporary contract. The last thing I need is to be accused of flirting with a hot single dad.
The bell rings again, and I take a deep breath, ready for my next interview. But I can’t forget Joel’s penetrating stare and fiery touch, and my arm tingles with heat for the rest of the evening.
3
JOEL
The muted sounds of a sports game come down the hallway as we arrive home half an hour later. Dana toes off her shoes and heads straight upstairs. Family photographs and kids’ artwork line the wall of the stairwell, and her shoulder brushes one as she goes past, knocking it sideways and making it tilt. She doesn’t even slow down, and a moment later I hear her bedroom door shut.
