Chapter 22: Bobby’s good fortune during summer vacation continues(13)

Lois Tillman, an English teacher at Jamestown High School, got out of the bed she’d spent another lonely night in, put on her robe, and walked out to her kitchen. She made herself a cup of tea, went into the living room, turned on the TV, curled up on the sofa, and tried to concentrate on the morning news, but she couldn’t. Her husband, Rod was a physical education teacher and football coach at the school where she taught. Football was all he lived for and he spent most of the summer running football camps, which meant that, as usual, she had to spend the summer alone.

She wasn’t able to concentrate on the news program and stared to doze off, but was awakened by the sound of someone knocking at her back door and went to see who it was. She wasn’t expecting anyone to visit.

Bobby Draper, one of her better students, was standing on her back porch. She opened the door and said, “Good morning Bobby, what brings you here so early?” She was actually quite glad to see him. It would be nice to have someone to talk with for a change.

“Ah, I’m sorry to bother you,” Bobby said. “But I did something this summer I’d like you to look at.”

“Why don’t you come in, then,” Lois said. “And you aren’t bothering me. My husband is away at football camp. It will be nice to have someone to talk with for a change.”

“Uh, OK,” Bobby said.

Lois realized she was still in her pajamas and robe and thought it might be a good idea if she got dressed. “Why don’t you help yourself to some tea, or coffee, or something,” she said. “I’ll go upstairs and change.” She went to her room, took off her nightgown and got in the shower. “I wonder what Bobby wants to talk with me about,” she thought as she stood under the hot, piercing spray. She was startled when, as she swept the suds-filled washcloth over her breasts, tingles of delight raced through her body. “What is wrong with me?” she mused. “Rod goes away for a few weeks and I turn into some kind of sex maniac?” Even though she felt a little ashamed doing it, she continued to caress herself with the soft, soapy cloth and, as a result, took a lot longer in the shower than usual.

When she was finished with her shower, Lois put on a pair of shorts and a loose T-shirt. She hardly ever wore underwear at home, mainly because she was usually alone and didn’t figure she needed to. As she pulled the T-shirt slid down, it brushed her erect nipples and got a rush of excitement that made her legs feel weak. “Lois Tillman, you have to get hold of yourself!” she scolded herself. She combed out her shoulder-length blonde hair, put on her glasses, and headed downstairs.

Bobby, wearing a T-shirt and jeans, sat at the kitchen table. A thick folder lay on the table in front of him and he held a cup of hot chocolate in his hands. He looked up and smiled when Lois walked into the kitchen.

Lois realized that the young man had a funny look in his eyes, glanced down, and saw that her partially-erect nipples showed very clearly through her T-shirt. “Damn, I should have put on a bra,” she thought. “Well, too late now, I guess. I can’t really go back upstairs and do that.” “Ah ... did ... um ... ah ... you have breakfast, Bobby?” Lois asked.

The young man laughed... “I can’t get out of the house in the morning without eating breakfast,” he said. My mom says breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” He chuckled. “Robert, you have to eat your breakfast it you want to stay healthy,” he said in a fairly accurate impression of his mother, a woman Lois knew.

Lois couldn’t help but giggle at his performance. “You know, she’s right,” she agreed. “Since you’ve already had breakfast, would you mind if I get some and eat while we talk?” she asked.

Bobby shook his head. “Nope,” he said.

Lois got herself a bowl of cereal, put milk and sugar on it, then sat back down at the table with her young visitor. “So ... what brings you here this morning?” she asked, then she forked a spoonful of cereal into her mouth.

Bobby’s face turned red. “Ah ... I ... um ... I wrote ... um ... a ... you know ... book,” he stammered.

Lois couldn’t help but be surprised. She finished chewing the food in her mouth and swallowed, then she said, “You did? What kind of book?”

“Ah ... I ... I’m not sure, exactly,” Bobby said. “It kind of tells the story of an average kid’s experiences in high school, I guess.”

Lois put more cereal in her mouth, chewed it, and swallowed. “Is it fiction or non-fiction?” she asked.

“Ah ... I ... I’m not sure,” Bobby answered. “I mean, most of it is, you know, kinda based on me, I guess, but some of it isn’t what really happened.”

“What made you write a book?” Lois asked. She’d been teaching English a long time and had a number of very good students - including Bobby - but never had a student of hers written a book.

Bobby shrugged and his face got a little redder. “Ah ... I dunno,” he mumbled. “I ... it was just, you know, something I kinda wanted to try. Ah ... do you think it’s stupid I did it?”

“Oh, no, not at all!” Lois replied quickly. “It’s just that I’ve never had a student who wrote a book before.”

“Oh,” Bobby said.

“Let me clean up the dishes and get the table cleared, then I’d like to read your book,” Lois said. She stood up and picked up her cereal bowl and the cup her tea was in.

Bobby got up when she did and when he saw that the sink held the dishes Lois had used for dinner the night before, he insisted on helping her wash them, even though she said he didn’t have to.

The two of them stood at the sink, Bobby washing the dishes and rinsing them, Lois drying them and putting them away. He suggested that they do it that way. “You know where the clean dishes go,” he explained to Lois, and she had to agree. As they worked at the sink, their hips brushed and when they did, a jolt of pleasant sensation rattled Lois, stiffening her nipples and making them stand out through the soft fabric of her T-shirt.

“I don’t know why this is happening to me today! I ... I’ve never felt like this before, why now?” she mused.

After they finished the dishes, they sat down at the table and Lois began reading Bobby’s book while he sat there next to her watching her face closely, as if he was trying to figure out what she was thinking as she read.

The premise of the story was telling about the life of an average kid who as he went through his junior year in high school. It wasn’t the most exciting topic and could have been a real dud of a book, but Lois found what Bobby had written wasn’t at all boring. In fact, he managed to draw the reader into his protagonist’s life and make them really care. She was surprised how fresh and creative he’d was.

After she finished a couple of chapters, Lois put the manuscript down and turned toward Bobby. In doing so, she accidentally brushed against him and again felt a jolt of pleasure race through her. “Bobby, this is quite good,” she said.

“Do ... do you really think so?” the young man asked. “You ... you’re not just saying that are you?”

“No, not at all. I think you do an amazing job,” Lois said. “I’m surprised and pleased.”

“Ah ... thanks,” he said. “Um, is there stuff I could, you know, change, that might make it better?”

Lois didn’t have a lot of editorial experience, but she had noticed some areas where his grammar was clumsy and some of his phrasing could stand a little tuning up. “There isn’t a lot I’d change,” she said. “You’re one of those rare people who are able to write the way they talk,” she said. “That’s really a gift. But I think it...” she went on to point out some of the areas in the parts she’d read where she felt changes would help the story.

Bobby reached for his pen, which was lying on the table in front of Lolis. When he did, his arm brushed against one of her semi-rigid nipples. His unintended touch sent an even stronger rush of pleasure through Lois’s body. She found it extremely difficult to concentrate on what they were doing for a few seconds. She also felt a lot warmer.

They got very wrapped up in going over the manuscript Bobby had brought and, before either of the knew it, the morning had passed. They hadn’t taken any breaks, they were so involved in what they were doing. Finally, hunger pangs made Lois look up at the clock. “My God, Bobby, look what time it is,” she exclaimed.