The Dating Lesson

The group tries to regain their pride by laughing and saying “Congratulations on the baby” as they’re leaving, but they leave none the less.

Once they’re gone, I’m not sure what to say so I just stand here, trying not to cry.

“We need to talk,” he says.

I start to tell him no, but he grabs my hand and pulls me toward the coffee shop. He orders our usual drinks and starts to lead me toward a corner booth.

“No,” I tell him. “There are too many nosy people here. If you want to talk, we can go back to my dorm room.”

He agrees and we walk back to the dorms. I try to ignore everyone watching us, but it’s difficult. I hate that we’re such a spectacle. People think it’s some torrid affair, but it’s not. It’s just two single people who fell for each other and who work hard for what they want and where they are in life. I want to scream at them all and tell them just how hard I had to worked to ace my finals, and that Leo had nothing to do with it. No one would believe me, of course. I wish I didn’t care what anyone thought, but I do. I can’t help it.

Luckily there’s no one in the halls of the dorm. I don’t want any new rumors getting started. We go inside and I shut and lock the door behind us. I’m really glad not to have a roommate right now.

“Kimmy, look,” he starts to say. I interrupt him.

“Don’t apologize,” I tell him. The last thing I want him to do is lessen what we had. I already feel horrible enough.

“I wasn’t going to. I don’t regret a single thing.” The tightness in my chest increases and I’m a little shocked by his words. How can he not regret anything? What we’ve done could potentially ruin his career.

He takes me by the hand and leads me to the bed where we sit facing each other. “I refuse to regret falling in love with you. You know I didn’t give you a good grade because of our relationship. You deserved every high mark you received. You’re smart and talented. You didn’t need to cheat, unlike Brenna who did. She tried to get away with it, but several of her professors caught her and she was expelled.”

He’s not telling me anything I didn’t already know. Brenna was expelled for cheating and yet she gave me hell. Not long ago I would have thought she was a bitch for doing such a thing—I guess I still do think that a little bit; she tried to ruin everything for me just because she was unhappy. But she owned up to her mistakes and after meeting her at the pub and talking, I don’t hate her anymore. I just feel sorry for her. It doesn’t make my situation any easier, though. We were bound to get caught anyway. We weren’t exactly being subtle about our relationship. We were constantly going to trendy restaurants popular with college kids. Someone was bound to find out at some point. I was just hoping if we were caught, it wouldn’t happen until the end of my time here. I was dumb for thinking that. I can’t blame all of this on Brenna.

I kiss Leo. Everything inside me melts. I’ve missed him so much. He kisses me back, hard. Our tongues reunite. It feels like forever since I’ve been this close to him and I don’t ever want to spend that much time apart again.

He pulls away to look into my eyes. He holds my face in his hands and says, “I love you.”

Tears start to well up in my eyes. “I love you, too.”

“I’m going to do something crazy,” he says.

My heart races and I nod. “Okay?” A small tinge of fear rises up inside me. For a moment I think he might end it.

He sinks to his knees on the floor in front of me while I sit on the edge of the bed. He pulls a small velvet box out of his pocket, and suddenly I’m about to jump out of my skin. But nervousness and excitement keep me glued to the mattress.

“Marry me. If you’re worried about people thinking you slept with me to gain something, I’ll give them proof that we aren’t just a fling. I’ve been in love with you all along. This isn’t just some student/teacher affair. What we have is real, and I want to spend the rest of my life proving that to you. So, will you marry me?”

I laugh and cry at the same time. I nod my head, but realize he’s waiting for a real answer. “Of course I will.”

He smiles. “Good. Because I wasn’t about to take no for an answer.”