Reye's Gold (16 page)

“I am really sorry for this week. Can we get past this?”

“I think we just did.”

S
he leaned in for another kiss, which he gladly gave.
“You make me crazy,” she said, her head resting against
his.

“Yeah?” he said. He moved his lips to her neck.
“Yeah,” she responded, loving the feel of him.
“Can I come by tonight?” he asked, his lips contin uing their movement up her neck, now leaving small kisses below her chin.

She sighed, but nodded. “Give me about a hour,” he
said, helping her with her clothing. “I need to run by my
apartment first.”

“Okay.”

He tugged her into his arms again. “I’ll see you later,
and again I really am sorry about this week,” he said, kissing her one last time.

Opening the door, looking both ways, he left. Reye
waited for a minute, then followed on legs filled with jelly. Her body tingled. She remembered a line from
Ghost,
her favorite movie. “You’re in danger, girl.” It was
her favorite line from that movie, one that she repeated
occasionally, and it seemed appropriate for this moment.
Yep, she was in danger.

Reye arrived home thirty minutes later and took a
shower, washed her hair, and changed into some sweats
and a t-shirt. She put on a CD and turned off the lights
except for the table lamp next to the sofa in the living
room. She located several fat candles that she kept
around and lit them, placing them in the living room.
She then turned off the remaining lamp and sat back on
the couch to wait for Stephen. She didn’t have to wait
l
ong. She went to the door when he knocked and let him in. He dropped his books by the door and followed her
back to the couch, taking a seat next to her. They were both quiet as they listened to music.

She took a moment to look at him. He’d changed
into some much-worn jeans and a yellow polo-style shirt
that clung to his upper body. He was beautiful to her, filling her with both joy and dread. She knew she was
attractive, but not as much as he. She wondered how she
matched up to the other women he had been with. He
also had that whole arrogant, confident, I’m-used-towealth thing working for him.

Stephen was glad to be here. He sat on the couch and pulled Reye over to him to rest her head on his chest. He
kicked off his sandals and put his feet up on the table in
front of him. He hadn’t felt this relaxed all week. He
looked down at her, and he was touched by how beautiful
she was. He’d missed her this week. He loved her soft
skin, wide smile, and sparkling eyes. He moved his hand
through her hair and down to trace over her lips.

It was quiet except for the John Mayer CD playing in
the background.

“Reye, you know I didn’t use a condom earlier.”

“Really?” she said, thinking to tease him. As she looked
up to his face, she changed her mind. He was serious.

“Relax, I’ve used birth control for a while now for rea
sons other than sex. You don’t have to worry, no babies
for me. I’m clean, too, if that’s what you’re afraid of. I
know I came on strong to you in the beginning, but I’ve
never been really sexually active.”

“
I’m not worried, just making sure. I’m clean, too. You were my first. Really,” he said, acknowledging the look of
disbelief on her face. “My dad and mom drilled condom
use into me from sixth grade onward. Taking instruction
from my dad, that I could handle, but my mother was
something altogether different. I’ve always used a condom.”

“Feel free to continue, if you want. I’m okay, either
way.”

He didn’t want to go back to protection, or at least not with her. What they did earlier had been unbeliev
able; she’d felt incredible wrapped around him.

“I am glad you came over,” Reye said.

“I am, too.” He paused. “Joe and his comments about
you after the game last week and from the frat party
before hit me unexpectedly. When people say things like
that it always comes as a surprise to me. In this day and
age, I wouldn’t expect to hear those things. I’m sorry
again that I let them get the best of me. Just be patient with me, Reye. This is uncharted territory for me, too.”

“I know,” she said, “but your task is easier. I make it
easier, you know, with me being beautiful, smart, and
sexy.” They both laughed.

She turned in his arms and kissed him.

“Ready for bed?” he whispered in her ear as his hand
moved to capture her breast.

She laughed again. “Did anyone tell you that you
have a one-track mind?”

“It’s a guy thing,” he replied, smiling back at her. She
stood up, blew out the candles, reached for his hand, and
led him to her bedroom.

I’m beat,
Reye thought, walking towards the center’s
main entry, heading home and looking forward to some
major face time with her couch. Stephen had called ear
lier, telling her that he would be spending the night at the
law library. Poor guy, she’d miss him, but she could defi
nitely use the sleep.

“Reye.” She turned at the sound of her name to find
Dr. Houston walking towards her. She was impeccably
attired in a pretty black and pink floral skirt paired with
a sleek black top and, of course, there were the matching
three-inch heels on her feet. She’d bet good money that
Dr. Houston had a personal clothing fairy tucked away at
her home somewhere.

“Do you need to get home or can you take a minute
to talk with me?” She’d stopped walking and was now looking up at Reye for an answer.

“Sure, I’ve got a minute.”

“Let’s go to my office,” Dr. Houston said as she
turned and led the way with Reye trailing along behind her. When they entered the office, Dr. Houston moved
to sit behind her desk. Reye took the seat immediately in
front, facing her.

Always direct, Dr. Houston started. “Reye, first I
want to thank you for the amazing job you’ve done with
t
he children and the after-school program. You have gone
above and beyond what’s been asked of you. I really
appreciate the hard work and dedication you’ve shown
our children. You have a gift for working with kids.”

“Thank you,” Reye said, feeling a little overwhelmed
by the praise. “I’m learning as much as I’m teaching, and
it’s been great volunteering.”

“I’m glad. So, as to why I’ve asked you here. I would
like you to consider taking a more permanent position
with us instead of a volunteer. I would like to offer you a paid position. You would continue to work with the chil
dren in the after-care program. The only major change
would be that I need you to be here every day. Your
schedule would remain the same otherwise. Is that some
thing you’d be interested in?”

“Yes, I’m interested, but why the change?”

“The board, parents, and the children love the work
that you’ve done here so far, and we’ve gotten more than a few request from parents wanting you to spend even more time with their kids. Do you think it’ll interfere with your
studies? I realize this is your last year at the university, and I wouldn’t want it to jeopardize you graduating.”

“No, I could manage the extra days and I could cer
tainly use the money,” she said, looking into Dr.
Houston’s smiling face.

“Great!”

“Now, I have a question for you,” Reye said.
“Shoot.”

“I’ve given some thought to coaching the kids, you
know, helping them learn the game of soccer. I could
w
ork with them following the aftercare program in the
evenings and maybe some on the weekends if there is
interest. Who knows, maybe we could eventually play as
a team in the spring league. I know of several recreational
leagues in the city.”

She rushed on, leaning forward in her chair enthusi
astically. “I think it would be helpful for the kids to have
another outlet. One that would keep them fit while
helping them gain confidence in other areas of their lives.
I’ve always been involved in sports, and it helped me
when school was difficult. I think it would be good for
them, too.”

“Okay, I haven’t said no. What are the costs?”

“Let me put something more formal together for you.
Off-hand, there are uniform costs, but those can be kept
to a minimum. There are rec. league fees, but I could
look for sponsorship for parents who can’t afford to pay.”

“Well, you do your research. We would need to get
the parents’ permission, but if they’re willing to let their
children play, I don’t see why we can’t make it work,” Dr.
Houston offered.

“Yes!” Reye shouted, beyond excited.

* * *

Reye sat down at her kitchen table to study for
school, thrilled with the progression of her life so far. She
was excelling in her classes at the university, the after-
school program had grown, and she would get to coach a
soccer team, having received approval from the parents.

T
he first practice was scheduled for next Monday. And,
finally, there was Stephen, her first relationship in a very
long time. Well, technically it wasn’t a relationship, but
he did spend most evenings and nights at her house and
that had to count for something, didn’t it? It had been
four weeks since the last game, but when she added the
two before that it came to a total of six weeks. It was her
longest non-relationship so far. She’d steered clear of
probing his prior dating history, and he hadn’t volun
tarily offered any information about it. She avoided dis
cussing anything that had to do with the future or the
past with Stephen. She wasn’t going to press him. Right
now she was happy with her life.

* * *

Reye sat in the passenger side of Stephen’s car as he
drove them home from a movie. It was their first and
only venture outside of her home so far. They were now
driving over to his apartment. He needed to pick up
some additional clothes and books. He drove into the
gate of what she knew were townhouses for the up-and-
coming in Austin. This neighborhood was clearly out of her price range.

“You live here?”

“Yes.” She was surprised and impressed, at least with what she’d seen so far.

He pulled up to a garage that apparently belonged to
his town home and, on cue, the garage door opened. After parking inside, he preceded her up a set of steps
t
hat led into a small room equipped with a washer and
dryer. He continued on into a kitchen that was large and
beautiful. Maple cabinets and stainless steel appliances
gleamed and converged with beautiful hardwood floors.
She couldn’t name the wood, but she knew it was not
your standard local hardware store laminate.
Wow,
she thought, taking it all in. A bar separated the kitchen from
the living room and the dining room. The breakfast area stood off to the side of the kitchen. Stephen walked on
toward his bedroom down the hall while she wandered
into the living room, trying not to gawk. Floor to ceiling
windows let in the sun and looked out to the unit’s shared swimming pool. Nice view. Framed artwork
graced the walls, sitting alongside a lovely flat screen TV.
What student lived liked this? A large sectional leather sofa sat on hardwood floors that continued from the
kitchen. “Wow,” she said again, out loud this time, rec
ognizing quality and its cost from having renovated
houses with her dad. A hallway led to two bedrooms,
Henri’s on the right and Stephen’s on the left. She walked
into Stephen’s room, which was also spotless and beauti
fully decorated.