Surprised, he said, “No, go right ahead.” He held her gently until she stopped shaking.
When her breathing slowed, she leaned back, moved her hands to his chest, and looked up at him. “Thanks, I have a bit of a temper,” she admitted
He looked down, their faces only inches apart, brilliant green eyes stared into his. Caught up in those eyes, he stopped breathing for a second. Finally, he said, “So, I noticed. You feel better now?” He wanted desperately to kiss her, but decided not to risk it. He let his hands drop.
Smiling she said, “Yes, I do.” She released him and stepped back. As they walked back to class she said, “You know I really appreciate your letting me handle that.”
“I didn’t want to spoil your fun,” he said grinning
She laughed. “Thanks for distracting Clay. I’m not sure I could have handled them both.”
“I’m not willing to bet on that. Hey, I was protecting Clay.”
Sara laughed again. Joshua thought it was the best sound he’d ever heard. He walked her to her class and then rushed to get to his. The rest of the day was a blur. Thanks to Nathan‘s tour, he managed to find all his classes. He took notes automatically, but his mind was not on the lectures. All he could think about was Sara’s face looking up at him with those astonishing green eyes. After class, he found his notes were surprisingly complete in spite of his distraction.
Nathan was waiting for him outside his last class. “Come on, I’ll drive you home.”
“Great, I‘d appreciate a lift.”
“I suppose you know that he won’t just let it go?” Nathan started.
“Hey, I didn’t do anything. She beat him up,” Joshua joked. Then more seriously, “You don’t think he’ll try anything with her, do you?”
Shaking his head Nathan said, “No, I am pretty sure, you’re the one he’ll blame.”
Joshua kept walking. “Then I’m not worried. I can take care of myself.”
Nathan stopped him with a hand on one arm. “Against how many, Joshua? I told you, he won’t come alone.”
As if on cue Frank, Clay and three other muscular football-types stepped out of the shadow of the trees and onto the path directly in front of them.
“Speak of the devil,” Nathan said. “And look he’s brought his faithful sidekick and the three stooges, Curly, Moe, and Larry, if I‘m not mistaken.”
“Why don’t you run along home, Nathan? You don’t have to be a part of this. I‘ll make sure Joshua gets home after he learns some manners,” Frank sneered, locking eyes with Joshua.
Nathan stopped short, but stood his ground.
Frank stepped up to Joshua and poked his finger into his chest. “I told you to stay away from her.”
Joshua raised both hands in front of him and with a smile said, “Hey, I don’t want any trouble. I realize you’ve had a hard day what with being beaten up by a girl and everything, but I have to tell you. I don’t think she likes you.” Without warning, he grabbed Frank’s hand, twisted his arm behind him, and kneed him in the rear shoving him into Clay. “Some people just don’t like being touched.”
The three stooges, as Nathan had called them, rushed forward, surrounding them. One grabbed Joshua from behind. Joshua bent his knees and threw him over his head. The other two grabbed Joshua’s arms dragging him over into the shade to pin him with his back against a tree. The one Joshua had thrown, scrambled to his feet, and grabbed Nathan when he tried to help.
With a smirk on his face, Clay walked casually up to where the thugs held Joshua. He drew back and punched him in the gut. Joshua doubled over. Then bracing his back against the tree, he reared up and kicked Clay in the groin. Clay doubled over and fell to the ground, moaning in pain, the smirk replaced by one of anguish.
Meanwhile, Nathan bent over as if he was going to be sick. The man holding him, caught up in watching the fight, loosened his grip. Nathan reared up and smacked his elbow as hard as he could into his nose. One stooge down.
Frank, hate distorting his features, apparently hadn’t noticed Nathan. Concentrating on Joshua, he stepped around Clay. With fury blazing in his eyes, he came forward and hit Joshua in the face, splitting his lip.
Joshua tasted blood, but his eyes never left Frank’s face.
Frank pulled his arm back for another punch.
Nathan came up behind the two goons holding Joshua. Grabbing a tree branch off the ground, he swung and hit one in the back of the head. Two stooges down.
With one arm now loose, Joshua swung around and punched the other in the throat. He went to his knees gasping for air. Third stooge down and out.
With both arms loose, Joshua turned on Frank who’d backed up. Advancing quickly, Joshua put all his weight into the punch. Frank went down. Clay was still down and doubled over from the kick. Only Nathan and Joshua were standing, when a campus cop came bicycling up.
“Is there a problem here?” The cop asked Nathan and Joshua.
Joshua looked around and said calmly, “No problem sir, we were just practicing some tackles. I think we’re done now.” He and Nathan hurried to the car while Frank, Clay and the three stooges struggled to get up.
Driving home, Nathan turned to Joshua and said, “You know I managed to go through grade school and high school without getting in to even one fight. I spend one day with you, and I’m already outnumbered and in a brawl.”
Joshua laughed. “Your first fight, huh? You kicked ass, and no one even laid a hand on you.”
“I have to admit it felt great.” Then they were both laughing.
“Oh, don’t make me laugh, that hurts,” Joshua groaned. “I wasn’t as lucky as you.”
“Yeah, well that‘s cause you‘re the one with the big mouth,” Nathan replied, which started another round of laughter.
Nathan dropped Joshua off in front of his grandfather’s house. Joshua made sure he avoided Mrs. Stewart until he’d cleaned up and changed shirts. He looked in the mirror. His lip was split on the inside. The ache in his side told him he probably had a bruised rib. However, once the swelling went down, no one would be able to tell anything had happened. He felt sure Frank and his friends wouldn’t be telling anyone about this fight.
Joshua went to the music room and sat down at the piano. Somehow, his fingers played the notes while his mind reviewed the fight. He hadn’t been in that many fights himself, and yet he’d felt confident that he would have no trouble defeating them, even though they were significantly outnumbered. Where had all this newfound strength and confidence come from? Joshua’s right hand strayed to his pocket, searching for the crystal. He fingered it while he wondered if Frank would dare to confront him again. Joshua was certain of only one thing, Frank or no Frank, he intended to go on seeing Sara.
The next day at school Joshua made a point of meeting Nathan coming out of the class he shared with Sara. They all went to lunch.
Unwrapping her sandwich, Sara said, “You know, I kind of feel sorry for Frank.”
“Why,” they both asked.
“Well, I saw him this morning. No, don’t worry, he didn’t come anywhere near me,” she said when they both visibly tensed. “But I noticed that he had a split lip and a black eye. I didn’t really mean to hit him that hard.”
Nathan choked on his coke. Joshua stifled a chuckle with a cough. He turned away to reach over and slap Nathan on the back. When Joshua was more in control of his face, he turned back to Sara and said, “Seriously, you really should watch that temper.”
She looked confused, but let it go.
The three of them had lunch together for the next couple of days. After that, Nathan made sure he had other plans, leaving Joshua and Sara alone. Frank kept his distance, but Joshua and Nathan knew that it wasn’t over.
Chapter Eight
Sara and Joshua continued to lunch together. So far, most of their conversations had centered on their classes, schoolwork, and a critique of the teachers. When Sara asked Joshua where he grew up, he’d given her a brief description of his nomadic childhood. When he’d asked, she’d replied simply, Arizona, and then changed the subject. Joshua felt a growing need to know this fascinating, yet contradictory woman. He’d felt the softness of her touch, seen the ferocity of her temper. He’d watched her confidently debate a science theory with Nathan, and in the next instant recede into shyness when surrounded by people she didn’t know.
One day at lunch, after exhausting the usual topics, he asked, “Most of the students here live in the dorms. I’m living with my grandfather because I transferred in at the last minute. You chose not to live in the dorm. Why?”
Concentrating on picking apart the remains of her sandwich, she answered, “I guess you could say I’ve never been very social. I’m not into drinking or partying. I chose to major in Physics because I wanted to do research alone in a lab. I’m hoping that if my grades are good enough, I won’t need to network or build a political base to get a job. I needed a quiet place to study away from distractions.” She looked up at him. “Living with my grandmother is easy. There’s no pressure from her to make sure I have a balanced life, make friends and date, like there was at home. My grandmother’s a doctor; actually, she’s one of the foremost authorities on Neurology in the country, so she’s gone a lot. I like being alone.”
“Why Harvard?”
“I got a full scholarship. It’ll look good on my resume and I get to live with my grandmother.”
“One of the reasons I wanted to go to college was so that I could have a social life. I’ve traveled with my parents my whole life. I’ve never really had a chance to make friends or date. You don’t date?” he asked.
She bristled. Her eyes flashed. “I’ve been on dates.”
Joshua smiled and reached for her hand.
She looked down and watched as his thumb lightly rubbed her knuckles. “I just never found anyone I really cared about spending time with . . . until now,” she added in a small voice, blushing.
“Until now? Does that mean you’d go out with me, if I asked?”
She looked up, a challenge in her eyes. “Are you asking?”
He stood up. Still holding her hand, he said very formally, “Miss Whiting, would you do me the honor of your company at dinner this evening?”
Blushing, she laughed. “Yes, now please sit down. You‘re embarrassing me”
They walked close together on the way back to class. Joshua’s body seemed attuned to every move she made. He was acutely aware of her warmth, every breathe she took and the beat of her heart. Tentatively he reached out and took her hand.
She looked up and smiled.
“How about if I pick you up at seven?”
“Great.” She tore out a piece of notebook paper and wrote down her address.
At the door of her class, he looked directly into her eyes; brought the hand he had been holding up and brushed her knuckles with his lips. Her eyes widened and she held her breath. He released her hand and walked away.
When Joshua had kissed her hand, she felt a tremor all the way up her arm. When she’d seen actors do that in old movies, she’d thought it looked stupid and silly. Looking into Joshua’s eyes as his lips caressed her skin had been electrifying.
Rachel and Lisa, two of her classmates had stopped and watched the exchange. She had several classes with Rachel, a petite brunette. Sara liked her innate honesty and quick wit. They had become good friends. Lisa was a statuesque blond and, of course, a cheerleader. Since this was the only class Sara shared with Lisa, she didn’t know her well. Both girls looked at her with wide eyes when they saw Joshua kissing her hand.
When Joshua was out of sight, Sara pulled herself together and went into class. She tried to sit as far away from the two girls as possible so that they couldn’t ask her questions. She wanted to savor the moment all by herself. She knew she couldn’t avoid Rachel indefinitely, but preferred to talk to her without Lisa, a born gossip.
* * *
Joshua was elated. His hand and lips still tingled. She said yes! Now he had to decide where to take her and how to pick her up since he didn’t have a car. After his last class, he rushed home and called his grandfather at work. Maggie put him through immediately.
“Joshua, what a nice surprise. Is everything all right?”
“Everything is great. I just made a date for tonight and I was wondering if I could borrow your car.”
Joseph paused and then said, “A date, huh? Well I was saving this for a surprise, but I guess this is a
s good a time as any. I knew you would need transportation eventually, so I bought you a car. It’s an older car, but my mechanic said it’s in perfect running condition. It’s parked in the garage and Mrs. Stewart has the keys. Go out and take a look. Then call me back and let me know what you think.”
A car! Joshua couldn’t believe it. This man was a saint. Why had his father ever left home? He rushed outside to the garage. Sitting there was a silver gray 2000 Porsche 911. It wasn’t just any car. It was the car of his dreams. Could this day get any better? He called his grandfather back, thanked him profusely, and told him how much he loved it.
“I’m glad you like it. I’m sorry I won’t be home until late tonight, will you let Mrs. Stewart know I won‘t be home for dinner? Enjoy your evening.”
When Joshua asked Mrs. Stewart for the keys, he mentioned that his grandfather would not be home for dinner. Then he went out and took HIS car for a spin. It ran beautifully. With the top down, he felt like James Bond. Okay Bond drove an Aston Martin and this was a Porsche, but no one could have felt more sophisticated or cool than Joshua did at that moment. He could not believe his luck, finding that crystal had been the best thing that ever happened to him. Just a week ago he had been miserable, stuck in the jungle with his parents. Now he had everything he had ever wished for, friends, a car, and a date with a beautiful woman. It seemed like a dream. He was tempted to pinch himself, but if this was a dream, then he definitely did not want to wake up.