I shook my head and gave my excuses to the dean. "I'm sorry, but I'm supposed to be meeting a friend. Actually, a friend of a friend."
Dean Dunkirk laughed. "A blind date, you poor soul. And here I thought a handsome man like yourself would be inundated with offers."
"Never from the right women," I confided in the older man and he chuckled.
"Sorry to interrupt," Clarity reappeared and I felt her presence like an electrical storm. "Professor Bauer, there's a woman looking for you. She said to mention that she's wearing a black flower pin?"
"His blind date," her father explained.
"Oh," Clarity's eyes jolted to mine. "I thought maybe you were married or something."
"No, I tend to tell people defining details like that right away. It saves a lot of awkwardness," I said.
She shrugged and shot me a provocative smile. "Some people can handle awkwardness better than others. Good luck with your blind date."
I watched Clarity walk away with her father and felt my attraction to her like burning magma in my bones. For twenty-two, Clarity was self-assured, sharply intelligent, and far more mature than I wanted to give her credit for.
Nine years was an impossible stretch, even if Clarity acted much older than her age. I reminded myself it was right to be meeting a woman only one year younger than me.
Jackson had told me Tara was career-driven and rising fast through the ranks of his wife's law firm. He didn't say anything about her being nearly six feet tall with shocking red-dyed hair cut close to her head in tight curls.
My blind date was indeed in a red dress that matched her hair and the black flower pin stood out in sharp relief. After those details, she departed drastically from the fantasy I had tried to focus on. Tara was rail thin with sharp angles instead of curves. Instead of a sultry walk on black high heels, she smacked her way across the gallery floor in black, leather, flip-flop sandals.
"You must be Ford; so nice to meet you. My name is Tara, but I think that Alice's husband already told you that. She told me that you are a professor but that I shouldn't expect a tweed jacket with leather elbow patches," she chattered with a wide smile.
"No, I prefer just plain leather," I said, indicating my worn, black-leather jacket.
"It's a good look; it matches your shiny, black hair. Oh! We're twins! We both match our clothes to our hair." Tara let loose a loud, jittery giggle that had people gawking.
I spent the rest of the art opening fending off Tara's future date plans that included karaoke-themed house parties and feral cat rescues.
"Thinking about that train?" Clarity asked in passing.
I grabbed her wrist and dragged her back into a conversation about Tara's bathroom grout. "I'm so sorry, Tara, but the Dean of Students has offered to do a one-on-one interview for the student paper. Now is the only time he has."
"Oh, that's sounds exciting," Tara said.
"Actually, no, it's a pretty straight-forward piece. Right, Clarity? I have to help the students prepare their questions." I caught Clarity's eyes with a desperate glance.
She puckered her lips but finally smiled. "Yes, I'm sorry, but we need Professor Bauer right away."
"Sure, okay, call me!" Tara called as I pretended Clarity was leading me away.
The other students had already gathered their notes and headed home. We slipped out the exit and around to the back parking lot as the campus art gallery closed up.
"Thanks, I owe you."
Clarity raised an eyebrow at me. "Not very mature, Professor Bauer."
"How about I give you money for ice cream and you keep quiet, kid?" I teased her right back.
She crossed her arms and smiled. "How about you give me a ride home instead?"
I bristled, worried that she planned to get me in trouble. Then I looked at her and relaxed. Everything about Clarity was open and honest. She was tired and wanted to ditch the campus gathering before her father was done shaking everyone's hand twice.
"Sure." I opened the car door for her. "Climb in."
CHAPTER THREE