There are new assignments to grade; I send them rapidly off to him.
He sends them back quickly, with a little email stating, “Keep up the great work. You’re making my job a whole lot easier. Text you soon.”
I laugh aloud. Even though we are apart, I find him to be sweet and charming. Obviously, I’m attracted to him, and I lust after his body, but I’m starting to see the type of person that he is, and that makes me want to be with him even more.
The lust I have is turning to actual feelings… I hope that doesn’t make me sound crazy. I force myself to watch TV and put these thoughts out of my head. It’s way too soon to be thinking about stuff like this.
I still feel horrible, but I am hungry. I get up to make me a snack, then sit back down to watch tv. I see that I have an email from a student. They have a question about one of the assignments. I quickly respond and help them. I’m proud of how fast I am able to work.
I’m also very glad that Chris takes notice of that. His compliments make me even more happy about my job. Working from home is fun, but his constant texts and communication have made it more enjoyable for me. I didn’t think that was possible. But I guess stranger things have happened.
Later in the afternoon, he texts me back.
“Are you free this evening?”
My heart pounds excitedly.
“Yes. Whatever time is good for you,” I reply.
His text back is just as fast.
“We can meet at the park around 5 or 6 pm, maybe walk for an hour two before it gets dark?” He even texts me the directions. Fortunately, it’s not too far from where I live
“Sounds perfect to me! See you there.”
I put my phone down, then run to my room in excitement. I’m in a hurry to get ready, but I want to make sure I look perfect. I try on my outfit and make sure I want to wear it.
After I’m ready, it’s 4:30 pm. I decide to head out; the park is still a few minutes’ walk from my house. Besides, I’m hoping that the fresh air will make me feel a little better.
Chapter 7
Chris
It’s around 5 pm, and I’m standing at the entrance to the park. I feel excited and a little nervous, but I’m not sure why. Maybe I’m worried that she won’t show up. I know I shouldn’t be worried about that, though.
She texted me that she was on her way already. I can honestly admit that these past few days of working and talking with her have been fun; though nothing compares to seeing her in person, I’m glad that we still found out a way to communicate with each other. I don’t know how I would have gotten through the weeks without some way of talking to her.
I look up from my thoughts and see her walking towards me. I can’t keep the smile from my face. I wave to her and she waves back. She walks over and stands in front of me.
“Hello,” she says.
She sounds a little out of breath. I’m happy to see her, but I notice something is wrong with her face. It looks pale but flushed at the same time.
“Are you ok?” I ask, concerned.
“Oh, yes. I just hurried over here because I didn’t want to be late, and I’m nervous and excited. I think I walked a little too fast, though,” she says.
I don’t think that’s the real reason for her looking this way, but I decide to let the matter drop. What she said was cute and sweet; the thought of her being excited to see me makes me so happy.
She covers her mouth and coughs a little.
“Excuse me. I’m sorry, I have no idea where that came from,” she says, embarrassed.
I chuckle a little and say, “Well, if you do have the virus, then we’ll have to be quarantined together, since you exposed me to it.”
She smiles and laughs at my joke, and I feel happy again. Honestly, it wouldn’t matter to me if she did have the virus. I want to take care of her and keep her safe.
We turn and walk slowly into the park. She glances at me occasionally as we talk. I watch her looking around, taking in all the sights. There aren’t too many people out, and we do our best to keep our distance from the others that we do run into.
“So, grading the assignments is easy?” I ask her.
She nods her head, looking more at the ground than at me.
“Yes, much easier than I thought it would be. Thanks again for allowing me to take such a big responsibility in all of this,” she says with a smile.