“Come on. Let’s leave all this and crack open that other bottle of wine. I think it’s a Tori Amos night.”
Mark watched the show: his little drunk Cadence whirling around the living room belting the lyrics to his favorite songs. He cracked up at the beginning of her interpretive dance to “Baker Baker.” That was until he really watched her. Spinning on her feet and twirling her wrists above her head. Dropping her arms in defeat. Hanging her head, hair falling forward in a golden curtain. Walking in circles. Going nowhere in particular. Falling to the floor then reaching her body long. Pulling her knees in. Cradling herself and rolling over. Standing tall and looking him directly in his eyes.
Sad face. Sad girl. Just the tiniest bit lost in this new world.
“Did you like that?” she asked. Her hair tumbled about her flushed cheeks. Her wine-stained lips curled into an unsure smile. Her large blue eyes glossed over with uncertainty.
“Beautiful,” he whispered. “The most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
She grinned and asked for another glass of wine.
“All gone,” he said apologetically.
She crawled into his lap and nuzzled his neck. “Then take me to bed.”
He picked her up and carried her to the bedroom, laying her gently on the comforter.
“Covers?”
She shook her head.
“PJs?”
She shook her head.
“Me?”
She nodded and reached for him.
He crawled in beside her and took her in his arms. He held her until he heard her heavy breathing. Then he kissed her temple and left to clean the kitchen.
“Met your girlfriend today,” Dylan joked. He and Mark sat at the bar of their favorite sushi restaurant waiting for Miranda to show up. She was the fourth girl in three weeks. Dylan met her at his store when she came in to buy a record for her boyfriend.
Mark chuckled. “Funny.”
“Well, she’s totally the girl you’ve been telling me about,” Dylan went on. “Am I wrong?”
“No. But she’s not my girlfriend,” Mark replied. “Aren’t you worried about this Miranda chick? She just dropped her boyfriend for you like that.” He snapped his fingers. “I’d be worried about her intentions.”
“I’m not looking to marry her,” Dylan said. “I’m looking to score.”
Mark rolled his eyes.
“Now back to Miss Cadence.”
“What about her?”
“What about her? She’s young. She’s pretty. Great taste in music. I see the attraction, man, I do.”
Mark ignored him and watched the game.
“But she’s still your student.”
“I realize that,” Mark replied.
“I know my moral compass points in a slightly different direction than most, but it’s still there. And even I would steer clear of that. At least until she graduates.”
“Well, I’m trying.”
Dylan leaned in. “Try harder.”
Mark shuddered then scowled at his involuntary reaction to Dylan’s words. He sulked throughout dinner as he watched his friend flirt with Miranda, who drank way too many martinis. How was Dylan always finding these chicks who drank like fish? It was a complete turnoff. He pushed away his spicy tuna roll and Red Stripe.
“I’m gonna take off,” he said abruptly in the middle of laughter. “I’ve got an early morning.”
“Okay, dude. Take it easy,” Dylan said.
“Nice to meet you, Miranda,” Mark said.
“You too,” she replied. “I’m sure I’ll see you again.”
Mark smiled and left the restaurant. “I’m sure that’s not gonna happen,” he mumbled.
He drove home to the sounds of DJ Shadow’s “Mutual Slump.” He was in one hell of a slump, though he wasn’t sure who else was. He guessed it was DJ Shadow.
“I hear you, man,” Mark lamented, beating his steering wheel with his palms. “This blows.”
He thought of Cadence’s pretty face, watching him in class, making him just the slightest bit nervous when she concentrated really hard on what he wrote on the whiteboard. He looked for the signs of frustration that sent his heart over the edge every time. Because she was so beautiful trapped in frustration. Furrowed brow. Teeth sinking into her lower lip. Soft sigh. Face propped in her tiny hands. That’s always when she gave up and started thinking about other things. He wanted to open her brain and make her understand. But not the things he wrote on the board. He wanted her to understand him. His intentions. His growing infatuation. His inevitable love.
He walked into his empty apartment and stood in the middle of the living room. He looked around for signs to point him in the right direction. Everything said to pursue her. Open her brain. Make her understand. He didn’t know if he had the guts to say it out loud. He thought giving her things, showing her kindness, would speak the message plainly. He thought that maybe she understood and was trying to fight it herself. He couldn’t know that she decided that very evening to stop fighting it. That she was going to storm into his room the following day and confront him. Make him tell saher. And then hug him for the first time.
***
“Cadence!” Mark called from the front door. He threw his messenger bag and coat on the floor.
She peeked her head around the corner.
“Yes?”