Love Lessons

Mike was on the treadmill after midnight, his sneakered feet pounding the rubber as he ran, his measured breathing echoing in his ears. He was the only one making use of the exercise equipment at this hour. He was going to be tired tomorrow, but he’d been too wired to sleep.

He had been like this ever since he’d left Catherine’s apartment. Their kisses, the feel of her slender body in his arms, had left him almost quivering with adrenaline and testosterone. Hence, the treadmill.

Three miles into his run, he wondered if Catherine was worth the effort of pursuing her. They really didn’t have much in common. Except for Bob—who liked everyone, especially women—his family and friends were convinced she was all wrong for him. She didn’t like the kind of movies and activities he liked, not even the same kind of food. She liked sushi, for crying out loud.

Physically they connected. Sparks flew whenever they kissed. Hell, even a touch could make his pulse race. He hadn’t been this attracted to anyone in a long time. And yet, here he was, burning off sexual energy on a treadmill in the middle of the night.

By the fourth mile, he had almost convinced himself to give it up. He didn’t need this frustration in his life. Up until a few months ago, he had been perfectly content with everything just the way it was. He hadn’t worried about classes or homework or studying or trying to impress anyone. He hadn’t felt the need to apologize for his education or his career. He had thought of himself as a young man with his whole life ahead of him, plenty of time to accomplish whatever he eventually decided to do.

He never should have attended that stupid high school reunion. Nothing had been the same since.

Finally growing tired, he slowed to a walk to cool down. So now he had a whole list of reasons why he shouldn’t continue to attempt a relationship of any kind with Catherine. But he couldn’t stop thinking about the way he had felt when he’d been so certain she was going to tell him she didn’t want to see him again socially.

It had made him feel sick. A little panicky. And when she had admitted that she was attracted to him despite their differences, he had been flooded with so much pleasure and relief that it made him uncomfortable just thinking about it now.

Don’t get hooked, Clancy, he warned himself. Not on this one.

He had gone twenty-eight years without having his heart broken. He didn’t want to change that now.

Chapter Ten

To give him credit, Mike was only five minutes late arriving at Catherine’s apartment Saturday evening. Because she had come to know him well enough by now to have built in an extra fifteen minutes to their travel time, she didn’t mind so much.

He’d had his hair trimmed, she noted immediately. It was combed so neatly he looked like a kid who had been spiffed up for a school picture.

He wore a brown sweater with a thin black stripe across the front with khaki slacks and brown moc-style shoes. While he was dressed casually enough for the occasion, she could tell he had given some thought to his clothes. Maybe even purchased something new to wear. She was touched by the care he had taken to make a good impression with her friends.

“You look very nice,” she told him.

He smiled and brushed his mouth lightly across hers. “Thanks. So do you.”

She had worn one of her new outfits—a long tiered skirt patterned in brown, orange and gold with an orange gauze shirt and a brown corduroy jacket that fit snugly and ended at her waist. Paired with her new brown boots, it was an outfit that worked well with Mike’s—casual, but still nice. This was much more “her” than the vampy costume she had worn for Halloween, but still a bit more festive than her usual work clothes.

Mike settled comfortably into the passenger’s seat of her small car, apparently content with being driven rather than being behind the wheel. She gave him free rein with the radio, and he tuned in the same rock station he had played in his truck. “I like this song,” he said when a new number began.

“Who sings it?”

He seemed a little surprised that she didn’t know. “It’s Green Day. ‘Wake Me Up When September Ends.’ It’s been around for a while.”

“I don’t follow music very closely. The last CD I bought was a compilation of Celtic music.”

“Yeah? I like Celtic music. There are several really good Celtic groups who play in some of the local clubs.”

Finally something they agreed on. She even liked the song playing on the radio. They both liked Celtic music and this one song by some group called Green Day. They were obviously a match made in heaven, she thought ironically.

The Kuppermans had recently moved into a four-bed-room house in a neighborhood just outside of Benton, a little over twenty miles southwest of Catherine’s apartment. Though they had no children as yet, they used two of the extra bedrooms for home offices, and the other for a guest room. They were considering starting a family now that they had established their careers. With Wayne having just turned thirty-five and Karen thirty-two, they were aware that time was becoming an issue.

Several cars were already parked in the driveway. Catherine parked at the curb by the mailbox.

“Is there a special occasion for this party?” Mike asked as they walked to the front door.

“Karen and Wayne just moved into this house at the end of September and they’ve been decorating ever since. Karen said it’s finally ready for their first dinner party.”

“And this is someone you know from work?”

“Yes. She and I met at a science conference when we were both second-year grad students. We stayed in contact, then she convinced me to interview here when I was looking for a position two years ago. She introduced me to her longtime friend Julia Montgomery and the three of us have spent a lot of time together since.”

She rang the doorbell, then smiled encouragingly at Mike. “You’ll like everyone here. They’re all very nice.”