“It’s not a date.” Anna voiced emphatically to Briar through the phone screen.
“Right….” Briar rolled her eyes. “Ernest just happens to think 7pm on a Friday night is prime time for tutoring.”
“You are as bad as Annabelle! I’m not looking forward to when you come visit and both gang up on me.”
Briar grinned mischievously. “I have a feeling we’ll have lots of fun together.”
“Trouble is what you two are, but anyway,” Anna changed the subject, “I need to finish getting ready.”
“And you are getting all pretty because it’s not a date. Sure”
“It’s not!…but I’m not going to lie. I really like him, Briar, and I think he likes me.”
“Oh, he definitely does, so I’m going to let you go. Have fun!” Briar blew a kiss goodbye before hanging up the phone.
Anna was a ball of nerves. She honestly didn’t know what Ernest’s intentions were, but she knew it was something more than just wanting to help her with statistics. Still, she wondered if something was holding him back, always making sure their interactions centered around helping her with her classes. Tonight could be a test of that and she wasn’t sure she was ready.
~~~~~
“This is too much, isn’t it?” Ernest asked himself out loud as he stood outside Anna’s apartment building. “She’s definitely going to think this is a date.” It was 6:55 and he wanted to be on time, but he didn’t want to seem too eager. He was left alone with nothing but his thoughts while those five minutes slowly ticked by. He was all but certain she wanted more from him than just someone to help her study, but what if he was wrong? He knew he’d sent her some mixed signals, so he wouldn’t blame her if she didn’t know what he wanted, but it wasn’t as simple as it seemed. He’d felt a strong connection to her since the moment they met, and he’d been trying to hold back ever since. He was her teaching assistant, which wasn’t on the same level as a relationship with a professor, but he was still partially responsible for determining her grades and was wary of entering into anything that would be frowned upon. She was also his dead friend’s little sister. Would Harry be okay with Ernest trying to date his little sister? Their father seemed to approve and even encourage it, so maybe Harry wouldn’t mind, but it was still something he wondered about. Despite his reservations, the push and pull was killing him, and he needed to let her know of his interest before it was too late.
~~~~~
Anna was just finishing her hair when the buzzer rang at 7pm on the dot. She buzzed him up and waited impatiently for his knock on the door. Ernest being punctual did not surprise her in the least. What did surprise her was what what she saw when she opened the door. It wasn’t how gorgeous he looked in his dark fitted jeans and light blue button down shirt that made his eyes even brighter, but what he was holding in his hands.
“Hi.” Ernest smiled shyly. “You look…very nice tonight. Um. these are for you.” In one hand was a bouquet of mixed wildflowers and in the other a bottle of wine.
Anna fumbled for what to say as she took both items from him. “Thank you, but I don’t think it’s customary for the tutor to bring the student gifts. I should be the one paying you.”
His smile faltered slightly. “I’m not doing this for money.”
“Oh, I thought my dad was paying you.”
Ernest shook his head. “No. I’m doing this because I want to…for you.”
Anna felt a blush warm her cheeks but she wasn’t sure if Ernest noticed because he seemed to be too nervous to look her in the eyes. “Let me put these in some water.” Anna set the wine on the counter and rummaged through the cupboards for something to put the flowers in. Of course Harry didn’t have a vase, but she found a glass margarita pitcher that would suffice. She arranged the flowers and took a few more moments to compose herself. This was, in fact, a date.
“So…maybe we should wait until we get through some work before we open up the wine, otherwise I won’t be learning anything.” He was still there to help her with business stats, right?
“Having seen you under the influence before, I think that’s wise.” His tone was dry but the corners of his lips curved into a smile. She wasn’t going to live that down anytime soon. “I was thinking maybe after a while we could take a break an order some take-out…I mean if you didn’t already eat dinner.”
“Sounds perfect.” Anna sat at the table and opened up her text book. “Shall we?”
Anna showed Ernest some of the concepts she was getting stuck on and Ernest showed her different strategies and approaches to use. He had a gift for making something that was completely foreign to her seem so easy.
“You think you are ready to solve some problems on your own?” Ernest slid a sheet of paper in front of Anna. He sat and watched her for a while as she worked before breaking the silence. “Has anyone ever told you you’re cute when you concentrate?”
Anna’s heart began to race and she could feel her face flush again. She bit her lip and kept working without a reply because she was almost to flustered to think. “Done.” She passed the sheet back to Ernest.
He scanned over her work with a pleased looked on his face. “You got them all correct. Are you sure you weren’t just making an excuse to see me again?”
“What can I say? You are an excellent teacher…but if that’s what it takes, I’m sure I’ll need help every time new units are introduced.”
Ernest smirked. “Yes, I imagine you’ll require my assistance ongoing. For the record though, I’d accept just about any excuse you made to see me.” He reached a hand across the table and lightly stroked the back of her hand with his fingers, sending shivers down her spine. He gazed into her eyes so intensely she almost got lost in his.
“I’m hungry!” Anna announce abruptly, unsure of how her body would react if they if they kept it up any longer. “What were you thinking…for food?” He probably knew that’s what she meant, but he did not need him asking what she’d been thinking in that moment.
“Do you like Thai food? Spice is one of my favorites and they deliver.”
“Harry told me about that place. He said we’d get it sometime when I came to visit.” Anna’s voice trailed off as a wave of sadness overcame her. As with her mom’s passing, everything got easier as the days went by, these moments of grief becoming fewer and farther between. But grief has no concept of appropriate timing, and she was often caught of guard every time it hit.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you sad. We can order something else” Concern and compassion were evident in his voice.
Anna managed a small smile. Some of the people she’d known much longer than Ernest had no idea to act around her when she was anything other than her normal happy self, but it didn’t scare him like it did them. He seemed to get it – to get her – like no one else could. “No, it sounds amazing. I’m sure Harry would still want me to try it.”
“I can order a few of my favorite things to share, unless you would like to order for yourself,” Ernest offered.
“Go ahead. I like surprises.”
Ernest placed on online order and they opened up the riesling he brought. Anna poured them each a glass while they waited. “How long have you known Harry?”
“We met freshman year.” Ernest paused pensively. “I believe it was in English class. I know the other guys make fun of me for not being social, but I’ve never been much for big parties or social gatherings. That’s what I liked about Harry. He liked those things, but he also didn’t mind just hanging out with me watching a game or getting together to study. In fact, I helped him through business stats as well when we were in it together.”
Anna’s jaw dropped. “Harry struggled with a class? Mr. 4.0 without even trying?”
Ernest chuckled. “I guess statistics is the Edgewater family’s kryptonite. From what I hear, you’re just a good a student as him.”
“From what you hear?” Anna questioned.
“From your father.” Ernest answered. “I suppose I should confess I know more about you than you probably think.”
“Oh god,” Anna groaned. “Please tell me you don’t know every embarrassing detail since childhood.”
“No, no, It’s all good things…mostly.” Ernest laughed. “But I must say, I was surprised when I met you.”
“And why was that?”
I could tell from the pictures he had that you were a pretty girl, but in person, well…you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.
Anna’s stomach filled with butterflies. How could she form an adequate response to that? Luckily the buzzer rang, and she didn’t have to. She went to grab some money from her purse, but Ernest insisted on paying for the food. The topic of conversation over dinner shifted to some lighter topics, and then some not so light topics. Anna learned that Ernest’s father had died of a heart attack when Ernest was in high school, and the way he was, his maturity and how he understood her all made much more sense. They talked long after their appetites were sated and the bottle of wine was empty.
Anna yawned and Ernest checked his phone for the first time all evening. “It’s getting late. As much as I’d like to stay longer, I have to get up early for my volunteer shift at the Legal Aid center.
If only he weren’t so responsible. “That’s probably a good idea.” Anna reluctantly got up and led him to the door. “You can tutor me again any time.” Anna grinned coyly.
“I look forward to another session very soon.” Ernest placed one hand on her waist, pulling her close while the other tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. He leaned in slowly and Anna tried to keep her breathing steady, thinking she knew what was coming. Instead he stopped and rested his forehead against hers. “I’m so tempted to break my rule of no kissing on the first date.” His voice was husky and barely above a whisper. “But I’m afraid if I do, it won’t stop there.”
To quell her disappointment, she focused on the positive. “So this was a date?” she asked as if she didn’t already know, just to make him say it again.
“Yes. In case it wasn’t clear from the flowers, dinner, and wine, it was a date. Goodnight Anna.”
“Goodnight,” she said as she closed the door. She didn’t move for a minute hoping for some cheesy scene from a movie where he’d realized he couldn’t wait a minute longer to kiss her, but it didn’t come. She would have to be content to bide her time until he was ready because it would most certainly be worth the wait.