CHAPTER 14

Enzo parked his truck in front of her building and called. She told him not to go up, just let her know when he arrived.

She answered the phone, "Hey, are you here?"

She waved at him from her window, "I see you, I'll be right down."

Before long, she was in the truck's cabin looking as amazing as she always did, talking about how the day went.

"I'm impressed," she said, "the community, the students... everyone is way cooler than I thought."

"It's been constant work, there were a lot of problems just a few of years ago."

"Really? What kind of problems?"

He shrugged, "Poverty coupled with hopelessness. Kids needed more opportunities so we started working on bringing the attention of big universities, and you know, doing stuff stuff like camping trips, or even going to Portland and Seattle, let them see there's so much more than what they see at home."

She nodded, looking out at the road. He tried to keep everything cool, his bear was on fire every time he even thought about her."

They settled on going to a casual place, nothing too fancy. She wore a knee length flower pattern dress, light and perfect for the ocassion.

This was their night as friends. His bear was angry, snarling, clawing inside. Stay down.

"We're here," he said, going out to open her door.

"What is this place?"

The dark blue building had no windows, only a big, dark wood door. It had a nice, mysterious vibe to it, and the music filtered out to the street.

A lonely neon sign glowed on the wall, "The Brass House".

"Do you like jazz?"

"Sure," she said, "I don't listen to it that much, but I like it."

"You're gonna love it here," he said with a wink, "and the jalapeño chicken, damn, I can't wait for you to try it."

***

"Evening, sir," the bouncer told Enzo and he nodded at him.

"Hey, Mack. Busy night?"

"Just getting there. Enjoy your evening."

Enzo looked as great as always, dark blue jeans, brown rugged boots and a white tee under a plaid shirt, sleeves rolled up, of course. He looked more lumberjack fashionista than psychology expert.

Drums reached her ears, accompanied by the mellow sound of a Saxophone.

"Oh," she said, "I like it already."

They went down a small corridor that opened to their right, where purple and red lights softly lit the walls. The place was only half full, most of the customers stared at the small stage up front where a couple of black musicians played wonderfully.

It was like a scene from an old movie, a vintage bar taken out of the past and lit in beautiful hues.

They sat down and enjoyed a song before their drinks arrived, "this place is perfect," Audrey said, taking a sip of her blueberry gin blaster.

"I never knew a town this size had such great music."

"Hey, don't be mean. This might not be L.A. but we're not complete savages."

She snorted, almost spewing her drink.

"I know, you dork! But places like this are hard to find, even down there. Thank you for bringing me here."

"I'm glad you like it," Enzo replied.

"You come here often?"

He sipped his beer and shrugged, "sometimes, it belongs to a friend of mine, Ike. An old, retired marine."

"Really? That's great."

"He owns another bar near home, but that's more like a big, noisy club, not really my thing."

"Been there, done that."

"Exactly," he said, fixing his eyes on her, then looking away.

Another song began, there was no drum line this time, only the melodic sexiness of the Sax.

"So," Enzo said, breaking the brief silence, "do you have any ideas on what to do with the earnings?"

She laid back on the comfy seat, that was a good question. She talked to Larry since day one and both of them made a plan on how to fix the school. This cash would speed up the cause greatly.

"I'm thinking the graffiti, and repairing the broken windows and bathroom stalls first," she said.

He nodded. He was so easy to talk to, no judgments or the classic "I got a better idea" kind of attitude she encountered many times before when dealing with other men.

"After that I guess it's the library, I want to bring more books in."

"Always a good idea," he said.

"In the long run, we need to fix the football field and probably hire at least two other janitors.

"Well, maybe we can ask the district for more money, when they see the work you've been doing, they'll probably comply."

She stopped and looked at him, "you mean the work we've been doing. We. I guess you're right about the district admins, we'll have to keep bothering them for more funds."

"I'm sure you'll get them. Everything changed for the better since you arrived."

She tried to abide by her own rules but listening to him say that made her blush... made her want to kiss him again.

"Hey," she replied with a smile, "we said no flirting."

You knew this was going to happen you ass, don't pretend you didn't.

"I'm not flirting, you've done and cared more in the past few weeks than any other admin or principal before you. Thanks for that."

He raised his beer and she clanged it with her colorful drink.

She was nervous. Very nervous. She didn't want him to come pick her up at her door because she was afraid he'd be too much to resist and would just surrender to him.

Enzo looked at her for a moment, then looked away.

"Did you get anything today?" he asked.

"What, from the students? Everything! I got my computer checked, bought some muffins and brownies, the only thing I did not do was getting my car washed by the girls, I—"

She stopped. Every muscle in her body tensed, slowly at first, then hard. Stressed beyond belief.

"What's wrong?" Enzo asked.

She looked up at him, her heart beating hard in her chest. Fuck. Please no. Oh, fuck you're an idiot, Audrey!

Enzo put his hand over hers, his warm touch calmed her just enough to let her think straight again.

"Audrey?" he said, his tinged with worry.

She took a deep breath, shame washing over her, then looked at him quietly

"I forgot to turn off the main water line."