Teach Me, Mr Way

Chapter 12

In the end, I finally agreed, a little bit nervous because this would be our first real date. He handed me a dress shirt.
“Trust me. I wouldn't have you wear it if I wasn't going to wear one, too.” I chuckled and put on the black button down shirt, tucking it into my black jeans. The look in his eyes told me that he thought I looked good, so I smiled, watching him dress in a dark grey shirt and black jeans, following up with a red tie.
“Wow… you look… wow…” he laughed softly.
“Thanks. Now, would you like to know where we're going? I was going to ask you the other day to come with me, but Brendon was being really clingy.”
“I saw… I… might have been a little jealous…”
“Of Brendon? He's not even my type. Besides, he might be popular, but he isn't you. Don't get me wrong, he's a nice enough kid, but he's got way too much of a forehead for my taste.” I started to giggle as he came up to me, kissing me gently.
“Mmm… okay. Where are you taking me to?”
“Well, there's an exhibition at a local artist gallery of the works of the senior art students of three different high schools…” I looked at him a moment, wrapping my head around the information. “I might have entered some of my students work.”
“Mine?” I bit my lip, surprised that he'd not said anything sooner.
“I wanted to let the college recruiters see your work. I think you're going to go far, and I wanted to give you the best chance of getting a full ride.”
“And then Brendon kept being clingy and you didn't get a chance to ask.” He nodded.
“I truly hope that you can forgive me for not letting you know sooner…”
“Gerard, we're good. I'm not going to hold a grudge or anything. You did what you thought was best.”
Soon, we were in his car, driving to the art gallery in the next town. As we entered, I looked around at the many different works of art that the teachers had entered on behalf of their students. Suddenly, I saw mine. It was the portrait of my mom, perfectly framed and matted, and a little etched crystal plaque standing in front of it. My jaw dropped as I looked from it to Gerard, him sporting a huge grin.
“Congratulations, Frankie. You received Best of Show on this one. That's why I wanted to tell you about it sooner.” An older woman walked up to us, smiling softly.
“Are you the artist, young man?” I nodded, still too floored to speak. “I want to tell you that I am thoroughly impressed with your work.” Finally recovering my voice, I thanked her, and she introduced herself as the owner of the gallery, telling me that several different college recruiters had noticed my portrait as well.
“See, Frankie? I knew your work was that good.”
Later that evening, after the showing, Gerard and I stopped at a nice little restaurant.
“We're celebrating, Frankie. You did awesome!”
“How did you get my mom's portrait to enter it?” Gerard blushed a little.
“The last time that Brendon knocked you down, it fell out of your portfolio of work. I hadn't meant to keep it, but the competition was coming up and I I knew you'd do great. I promise I didn't mean to keep you out of the loop, Frankie.”
“Well, you're forgiven…” I grinned, “...but you owe me one thing.” He gave me a funny look.
“What do I owe you?”
“I'll tell you when we're in private.”
“In pri… oh. Oh!” Gerard blushed and I giggled softly. We had a great time at that little restaurant, good food and good company. It was the first time I'd ever seen him that relaxed, so at ease with anyone. I made a mental note that I wanted to come back here with him some time.
Back at the car, he came around to my side to unlock the door, trapping me between himself and the side of the vehicle. He looked down at me, a serious look in his eyes.
“Frankie, I… I want us to be together. I… I know that I love you. But we'll have to keep it quiet for a while.”
“I know…” He leaned in and kissed me, a sweet, soft loving kiss. When he slowly pulled away, I smiled up at him. “I’ve been thinking about a way around the student/teacher relationship thing.”
“Really? Do tell.” He kissed my forehead as he opened the car door for me.
“Well, if I were to apply to graduate early, I wouldn't be your student anymore, right?”
“Yeah… hmm. I hadn't thought of that.”
“So, I could take a little time off, get a summer job and save some money for school, and be able to be yours without you getting into trouble for dating me.” I got in the car, biting my lip as he went around to his side and got in. He drove in silence for a moment before he answered me.
“You really have been thinking about it… when were you thinking for graduation?”
“Christmas. I'll be 18 on Halloween, and hopefully I'll have heard from the schools by then.”
“Then we'll work on it together, okay?” He smiled over at me, and I nodded, smiling back.
When we pulled up to his apartment building, I groaned when I saw who was sitting on the front steps. Brendon was waiting, giving us a funny look before shrugging.
“I, um… thank you for entering my picture in that show, Mr. Way… and taking me to see it. I'd better get home…”
Before anything else was said, I turned, running back to the house so I could get away from the sadness and jealousy that swamped me.