Teach Me To Love

Chapter 12

Suzanne gasped and looked at Lenard in shock and horror. It was hard to accept the fact that someone had figured out that she was having problems with her memory. Not in full detail, but he had an idea very close to the actuality.

"How--wha--don--" Suzanne  began sputtering, when she realised she had to say something.

"I won't tell anyone if that's what you are worried about," he said.

"Uh, thanks..." Suzanne said unsurely.

Lenard laughed lightly and even at such a time, her body responded to the sound. The hairs on her hands stood up and her pulse raced.

"Is that why you don't want to sleep with me? Because you won't remember how good it was like after?" Lenard asked boldly.

"Don't be an ass and flatter yourself. I can't be with anyone period unless its something serious," Suzanne responded annoyed.

"With your body it is very easy to get whatever you want from any man," Lenard said bluntly, as he ran his gaze shamelessly over Suzanne's figure.

"My body? Is that all you see when you look at me? When you look at girls? I don't even know why I'm telling you anything about me. You can go to hell for all I care!" Suzanne burst out. She slammed the textbook in her lap shut, pushed her phone into her pants pocket and stood ready to leave with a blazing fire in her wake.

"Look, I didn't mean it like that. I am sorry," Lenard apologized.

"Sorry? Oh, yes you are!" Suzanne mocked and began to march away from him.

Lenard reached forward and gently grabbed Suzanne's forearm, then pulled her body into his. Her back hit against his chest and for a moment Suzanne's protest seized. She was too close to him for her brain's liking, but her body zinged at the contact.

"What can I do to help you?" he asked quietly.

"Oh, that is simple, very simple. Let me go now, walk away and never try speak to me again!"

"I can't do that," Lenard countered.

The line sounded like something someone would say in a cheesy romance movie. Suzanne was seeing red in that moment, but they definitely weren't hearts! "Yes, you can and you will!"

She raised her free hand to show Lenard exactly how he could let her go, but she never got to. He caught it and caged her in tighter to his body. His arms around her was soothing and Suzanne fought hard to control her temper. She squeezed her eyes shut, inhaled deeply and slowly began to count down from twenty.

Lenard still held her in his arms and when her heated state of anger slowly faded, Suzanne became aware of the embrace. Of how his full body felt against hers. Every cell within her stood at attention and she could have sworn someone flipped on a switch within her, one she never knew existed until that moment.

She focused on Lenard's even warm breaths which descended at the back of her neck, the evident taut planes on his stomach which she could feel even through the fabric of his shirt and the strength his muscular arms possessed. It was all too frightening how her body reacted to his touch. How her mind would wander to things that should never cross it around this period, when she was on the hunt for something serious.

Suzanne wretched herself away from Lenard, to stop her mind from heading in that direction. When she was sure her eyes wouldn't betray the sinful ideas that were slowly developing in her head, she raised her eyes to his.

Lenard was already looking at her, his eyes darker than she had ever seen them before. Unlike her, he did nothing to hide what was going through his mind and her breath nearly got stuck in her throat at the sight.

"I am so sorry about that, it was uncalled for," Suzanne said, apologising for her outburst and trying desperately to take away some heat from the air which had become charged without warning.

Lenard closed his eyes, inhaled and exhaled with much effort, then opened then once more. Much to Suzanne's amazement they were back to their normal shade. The transformation was so quick, Suzanne felt like she had imagined what she had seen in them only moments before.

"All forgiven. Would you like to join me for dinner tonight?" Lenard asked openly.

Suzanne thought for a short while. He did ask nicely, plus it was the least she could do after unleashing part of her bitter side to him, when he did nothing wrong; except try to get her into his bed.

"If you are okay with it after seeing my mini-explosion then why not?" she threw back with a dimpled one-sided smile.

Lenard grinned, clearly satisfied with her answer. "If that was a mini-explosion, I wouldn't like to be close by when you release a full blown one."

Suzanne laughed. "Yet you are still around. I don't know what you are waiting for."

"You will find out soon enough. Let's go, sweetheart," Lenard said.

Unlike the extravagant restaurant they had visited before, this time Lenard drove to a small diner. It was cozy and give a homey feeling. The enticing scents of the varying foods hit Suzanne's nostrils as soon as she entered the door and she suddenly realized how hungry she was.

As time dragged on, Suzanne gradually developed the urge to talk to someone about how she really felt: without using the reassuring words she used with her family, or the tough girl facade she put on around her friends. Maybe it was the food, the friendly atmosphere in the snug diner, or the way in which Lenard looked at her with curiosity and interest. She couldn't quite place a finger on it. "Can I trust you?" she asked quietly.

"Yes," Lenard answered and nodded for her to continue.

"You were right--" she began quietly and took a deep breath.

"About what?" Lenard asked.

"My memory. I do have problems with it, everyday, for over a month now. Everything was good when all I had in mind was to leave the campus for a while, then I woke up. I don't know if it was the following day or a week later. No one told me in detail, but from the moment I became conscious something was different, something was wrong. The hospital room was a living nightmare. At first I didn't recognise my own brother, that's how bad it is--"

Lenard inhaled sharply at her revelation and Suzanne risked a glance at him. His attention was on her. She couldn't keep her eyes on his for long. She felt fragile for revealing such a thing, but she needed to confide in someone.

"--no one knows if I will ever get it back, my full memory that is. It is through a mixture of pure hope and determination that I am still attending university."

Suzanne was grateful Lenard didn't look at her with pity, after her disclosure. That was one thing she didn't want from anyone. He didn't try to pry for anything she didn't want to reveal either. Of everything he could have asked he chose: "how does that stop you from being with anyone?"

Of course that would be one question he would want to be answered. A question Suzanne did not want to give him the  correct answer to, so she threw in the 'that's none of your business' line she used before and asked, "Do you want to get out of here?"