Josh realized that Sister Monica wouldn't have an answer for him by class on Wednesday. Still, he hoped for a signâa certain hidden message in her movements, her smile, the way she looked at him when their eyes met. But there was nothing. She simply went through her regular in-class routinesâengaging the students in discussion, expostulating on the meanings and nuances of Shakespeare's words, trying to bring the material to life for 21st-century students. And he had to give her creditâshe was a fantastic teacher. It was clear that she knew her stuff and loved to teach.
She turned to write something on the blackboard, the outlines of her butt barely visible, encased, as it was, by a pair of loose-fitting brown slacks. The same ass he had spanked, again and again, on Monday, causing her to moan with pleasure. How was he supposed to come to grips with the fact that he might never touch that beautiful, smooth butt again? God, he felt so lonely these past two daysâalways longing to be near her. Longing to know what she was thinking. She had to be leaning one way or the otherâeither to remain a nun and ditch him, or renounce her vows and begin to see him regularly.
"So, given that, what do you think the play is saying about human nature here?" she asked, turning around to face the class. He barely heard the question. He just stared (not too obvious, he hoped) at her faceâthe full, kissable lips, the slightly too long nose, the hint of an overbite (that he found extremely sexy), the high, fashion-model cheekbones. The lustrous red hair, constrained by two of her annoying hairpins. She was still beautiful, even with her hair pinned upâshe couldn't be anything but beautiful, really, no matter what she did with her hair. And she looked no older than thirtyâit still amazed him that she was thirty-seven years old. But when she had her hair loose, when it flowed over her shoulders like winter fire, she looked no older than a graduate studentâshe could readily pass for twenty-five.
It was scary how much he wanted her, how much he needed her. He desperately wanted to rid himself of these feelings. They made him far too vulnerable.
His eyes lowered, and he looked at her chest. He adored her breasts. They were absolutely perfectâfull and soft and high, without being too big. Just right. He felt them again in his mind, the supple flesh, kneading under the gentle force of his fingers, the perky, sensitive nipples that liked to be pinched. What he would give to kiss those breasts, massage them, fondle them after class.
He shook his head. This was no good. He had to snap out of it. If he didn't, he'd lose his mind, fail his courses. He just hoped Sister Monica didn't wait too long to reach her decision. He couldn't take many more days waiting like this.
When the class ended, he didn't wait around. He just left along with everyone else. He glanced back at her once, just before he walked through the door. She was looking off into space, as if not really seeing at anything at all.
âŁ
On Friday, it was more of the same. No word from Sister Monica. She just taught class, same as always. When the period ended, he lingered for a moment, hoping to catch her eye. He did, too. But she just looked away.
He couldn't take it. He needed to talk to herâif even to say hello! Things shouldn't be so distant, the two of them acting like strangers.
Once the other students were gone, he took a deep breath and approached her desk. She was standing, fiddling with the Shakespeare textbook, clearly uncomfortable by his nearness.
"I had to at least talk to you for a second," he said. "It's been so hard not even saying a word to you since Monday."
She swallowed, continued to look down at her desk. "I know," she said. "I miss you, Josh."
He grabbed her, gently, by the shoulders, turning her around so they faced each other. "Can't we talk about it . . . about us . . . now? Even if you haven't made up your mind . . ."
She shook her head. "What good would it do? I want to know what I'm going to decide before we talk about things."
He glanced out the door. The hallway was rapidly emptying. He longed to kiss her. But he restrained himself. This wasn't the time.
"Can you at least tell me if you're leaning a certain way?" he wanted to know. He was so desperate for her answer! Couldn't she see that?
She bit her lower lipâa little tick she had that always drove him wild. In his mind's eye, she was naked, underneath him, panting, sweating, her body rushing toward a thundering climax.
"I don't want to say anything until I'm absolutely sure," she said. "Please be patient with me, Josh. I know it's hard. I promise, I'll tell you next week. I'm going to think about this, probably nonstop, all weekend. I should know for sure by Monday."
The torture would persist, then. She hadn't tipped her hand, one way or the other.
Suddenly, he felt her arms around himâbut only briefly. Just a hug, a chaste hug you would give anyone. "Please try not to worry so much, Josh," she said.
He offered a smile, or tried to. It was a pretty feeble attempt.
âŁ
That evening, he went to the Borders bookstore up the road. He needed to get off campus, to go somewhere and just hang out, people-watch for a while, decompress.
He ordered a stale bagel with cream cheese from the cafĂŠ, sat down at a table by the window, overlooking the parking lot and beyond that, the main road. There was a lot of trafficâa constant drone of mufflers, an ongoing parade of headlights piercing through the darkness.
He bit into the bagel. It tasted like cardboard, coated with a helping of sawdust for added texture and flavor. The only thing that made it edible was the cream cheese.
"Hey!" a female voice suddenly called out. "Josh. Is that you?"
He jerked his head up, and there was Lori Belkamp. She was an English major like him; they had shared several classes. He liked Loriâshe was smart, perky, and witty. She wasn't taking Sister Monica's Shakespeare course this semesterâbut that was because she already hadâlast fall. "It's a tough course," she'd warned Josh late last year, knowing that he was signed up for it the following semester. "But Sister Monica rocks." At the time, little did he know how true that was. . . .
"Mind if I join you?" she asked, but she sat down before he answered. She had also ordered a bagelâblueberry, by the looks of itâand a bottled water. "Wow. It's good to see you. It sucks that we don't share any classes this term."
"I know," he said. He wasn't really in the mood to talk, but he didn't mind the intrusion. Something to take his mind off Sister Monica for a while.
"So, how do you like Sister Monica?" she asked, as if on cue. "She's awesome, isn't she? I hope I get her next year for Milton and Donne and the religious poets."
"She's . . . great," he said, and took another bite out of his sawdust special. "She really makes it interesting." You could say that again.
"I always found it hard to believe she's a nun," Lori said, as she bit into her bagel, then made a face at it. "She's so cool. I mean, not that nuns can't be cool . . . but, well, you know. I guess she goes against the stereotype."
He nodded. You could say that again.
"So . . . you doing anything tonight?" Lori wanted to know.
Through the window, there was a screeching of brakes, then a horn beeped. But he didn't hear any impact. A close call, apparently.