MY PROFESSOR AND I

Chapter two

Zoey has never been away from home and the two days she has spent in school have been the most peaceful days of her life, excluding the constant calls and text messages she gets from her mother. “Where are you going? Can I come with you?” Zoey asked Linda as she picked up her car key from the table. She was tired of sleeping all day and needed a breath of fresh air, Linda told her she was going to town to pick up her clothes from her friend’s boutique, she sat back down to wait for Zoey who hurriedly put on a black crop top, a black baggy jean, and pink crocks with little designs on top. She picked up her purse and her phone and followed her roommate to town.

After watching Linda pick and try out outfits for over an hour she was tired and thirsty, she looked out the window and saw an ice cream truck parked just across the road. “You want an ice cream?” She asked Linda as she headed towards the door, she ran out of the boutique and headed straight to get herself and Linda ice cream. As she crossed the road she saw the truck moving so she ran after it not paying attention to anything else, she was thirsty and that was her only hope of getting something sweet, cold and refreshing. She was a few steps away from the truck when she ran into someone, a man, his books and everything he was holding fell on the floor. She apologized without looking and helped him pick them up, when she finally looked up the ice cream truck was far gone already. “Oh damn,” she screamed out.

She apologized again when she noticed the man was still standing in front of her, she looked up at him this time. He had a smile on his face, “You wanted an ice cream that bad huh?” He said laughing. Zoey stared at the floor embarrassed. “Follow me, I know an ice cream shop just by the corner here, and I know for a fact that it tastes better than the one you bumped into me for.” Zoey caught herself staring at him as they were walking towards the ice cream shop. He was six feet tall, he had brown hair, blue eyes, full lips, and broad shoulders, you could tell he was a regular at the gym. He looked like the character in romance novels, like the ones she used to read and fantasized about. They finally got to the store after walking for about seven minutes under the scorching sun, Zoey ordered two cups of ice cream, she was about to pay but he handed the owner his card instead, she smiled and thanked him. They both sat down to lick their ice cream.

“I don’t mean to come off as weird but you are so beautiful, you can bump into me anytime any day and I wouldn’t mind,” he said with an awkward smile on his face. “My name is Desmond.” He stretched out his hand for a shake, they shook hands and she told him her name too. She felt so shy around him and could barely look at his face, being an only child to religious strict parents did not help her at all, she never mingled with the opposite s*x, she was only allowed to have female friends, and her daily routine was school, church and her mom’s supper market. She had no social life and no privacy.

Sitting at the ice cream shop licking ice cream with Desmond felt different and she liked the feeling. She looked at the time and stood up in a hurry, she had been away for thirty minutes, and she was sure by now Linda would be looking for her. She ordered two cups of ice cream and was walking away when Desmond tapped her shoulder from behind. “You really want to run off like that without giving me your number or at least saying goodbye,” he said with a smile. She apologized and collected his phone from him, she typed in her number, gave him back his phone and ran off. Zoey met Linda standing outside the boutique looking around, she had a worried look on her face. “Where the f**k have you been girl? I was this close to calling the police to report you missing” Linda screamed out. Zoey apologized and handed her a cup of ice cream. They stopped by a fast food before heading back to the hostel.

She was about to eat dinner when her phone vibrated, she smiled when she saw it was a text from Desmond, they chatted almost all night and she agreed when he asked her to take her on a date the next day since she would be free.

Zoey spent the whole day locked up in her room when Linda went to class, she ate cereals and drank milk because she was too lazy to go out and cooking wasn’t allowed in their hostel, she planned on going shopping for the date but looking at her account balance she could not afford to spend recklessly or for pleasure. Her school fees ate deep into her parent's savings as they did not want her to take loans, they hated the idea of owing any money to anyone, not even the government.

Zoey poured out all her clothes on the bed, staring at them pondering on what to wear, she had never gone out on a date before, not to talk of a date with a much older guy. She was turning nineteen in two months. She jumped on top of her bed and stood up, still confused about what to wear. She tried on a few of them standing in front of the mirror, none looked worthy of wearing to a date, most especially a date with a man like Desmond. Linda walked in staring at her, she watched her trying on different clothes and she just laid on her bed looking at her while eating a snack. “I don’t mean to butt in but why are you trying on all your f*****g clothes girl? Are you going on a date or something?” She asked her. Zoey turned around and nodded, she looked frustrated, she was already tired and had not been able to pick out what to wear yet.

“I gat you, girl, I think I have something that would look perfect on you,” Linda told her. She stood up and went through her wardrobe. “Ah, ah. I found the right dress for you my dear” Linda picked out a black gown from her wardrobe. She handed the gown to Zoey and ordered her to take off what she was wearing to try it on, it was like Linda read her mind. The black gown was her perfect fit, she turned around in front of the mirror admiring herself, realizing if she wanted to go into the dating world she would need to go shopping for clothes like that.

Zoey sat in front of the mirror holding her hot comb as she straightened her hair, her makeup was done and she was ready to go. Desmond texted her that he was already at the venue waiting for her, she picked up her phone, and her car key before heading out. It was four p.m. and she had to be back by seven p.m. before the gate closed.

Looking through the restaurant window and seeing Desmond sitting down there staring at his phone, she felt so shy and she felt like running back into her car and driving back to the hostel. She took in deep breaths and summoned the courage to walk into the restaurant. Desmond was wowed by her beauty, she looked totally different from the girl who bumped into him just yesterday, this was a more sophisticated and beautiful version of her. He stood up and pulled out her chair for her before returning to his seat. Zoey’s heart was beating fast as she tried to keep up with the conversation, she looked around trying to distract herself. Desmond noticed how uncomfortable she was, and he whispered to her. “I see how uncomfortable you are, wanna go somewhere else or probably take a walk around the neighborhood with me?” Zoey nodded, she picked up her purse and practically ran out of the restaurant with Desmond walking fast behind her, he could tell from her actions that this was her first date.

Being outside Zoey felt freer, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath in. “Follow me,” Desmond said stretching out his for her to hold, she held his arm and they both walked side by side to a food truck. Desmond ordered two cans of juice and two special burgers and then they strolled back toward the restaurant. “Should we eat in your car or mine?” Looking at her face he already knew the answer, he followed her to her car and they both sat in the back seat to eat while talking. “Not to make you uncomfortable, I have a question to ask, should I go on?” Desmond told her. Zoey nodded, wondering what he wanted to ask her. “To satisfy my curiosity I just want to know, is today your first date with a guy? I hope you don’t mind me asking.” Zoey nodded laughing, she told him what it was like back at home with her overprotective parents and how she had no social life until now.

Zoey looked at the time, it was six forty p.m., she had to leave now if she wanted to make it back to the hostel on time. “I have to go now, I can’t stay out much longer, or they will lock me out, “Zoey told him. He held her hands looking straight into her eyes and kissed her, Zoey’s heartbeat increased as Desmond teased her mouth with his tongue, it was her first date and her first kiss. She did not want him to stop, he broke free and pecked her on her cheek. “We Will see soon my dear. And there’s a lot more where that came from, he waved her goodbye and left her alone inside her car. She watched him walk into his car waving at her, she looked at the time, it was six forty-seven p.m., and she had just thirteen minutes to get to school before the gate was locked. She ran out of the back seat of her car to the front, she quickly inserted her key into the ignition switch and drove off, luckily for her she got to school just four minutes before the gate was locked, she took in deep breaths when she got into the school compound.

As she got inside her hostel room she saw Linda lying down on her bed naked, she rolled her eyes at her and jumped on her bed fully clothed. “You are back, I thought you were going to spend the night out when I checked the time and it was almost seven, I tried to call you then I remembered that I didn’t have your number with me” Linda got up and walked up to her, she collected Zoey’s phone from her hands and dialed her number before handing her back her phone. Zoey kept rubbing and touching her lips all night remembering her first kiss with Desmond as she felt tingling between her legs.