“Yeah. I was feeling...
“You shouldn’t.” His hand reached out and stroked Lane’s hair. “You shouldn’t feel that way at all.”
“I guess I know that now,” she said, feeling slightly breathless as his hand slipped down to her shoulder. It moved from side to side, sliding the blouse against her skin. “Each moment is something... to be treasured.”
“Exactly.”
Did he notice there was no strap on her shoulder?
“Nothing is trivial,” he said. “Everything counts.”
“Yeah.”
He rubbed the side of her neck. “You’re one very tense young lady,” he said. “Your neck muscles feel like rock.”
“Yeah. Hasn’t been exactly a banner day.”
“Same here.”
The gently kneading hand sent warmth flowing through her body.
“Does that feel better?”
She nodded. Her head felt heavy.
Mr. Kramer stepped behind her. She heard a desk squeak against the floor as it was pushed out of his way. Then both his hands were on her shoulders, rubbing, squeezing.
“How’s that?”
“Wonderful,” she murmured. His fingers moved up and down. The front of Lane’s blouse moved with them, caressing her breasts. She took a shaky breath. She lowered her head.
He swept her hair out of the way so it hung past the side of her face. Then he rubbed her neck just below her ears. She felt drowsy, felt as if he were squeezing warm fluid into her head. She shut her eyes. She sighed.
“Nothing like a neck rub to make things right,” he said. His hands moved lower, his gently plying fingers easing down inside the collar of her blouse. They were warm and smooth on her bare skin.
She wondered how she could feel so lazy and so excited, both at the same time.
She felt powerless to move.
Her head wobbled as he massaged her.
The top button of her blouse popped open. Lane knew where his hands were. He hadn’t unfastened the button. It had simply pulled out of its hole because of the way he was spreading her collar.
She wished he
She imagined him unbuttoning her blouse, spreading it open, taking her breasts in his big, powerful hands.
“I’d better call it quits,” he said, “before you get too relaxed to mark the papers for me.”
“Just a little more?” she asked, her voice a quiet murmur.
His hands went away from under her collar. They squeezed her shoulders. “Some other time. Hey, someone might come in and get the wrong idea.”
She supposed that was true. She couldn’t expect Mr. Kramer to risk his job for the sake of giving her an innocent massage.
He patted her shoulder in a coachlike fashion. “Now let’s see you grade those papers.” He stepped out from behind her and started walking toward his desk.
“Mr. Kramer?”
Looking around at Lane, he raised his eyebrows. His face was slightly red.
“I feel a whole lot better now. Thanks.”
“Glad to help.” He continued to his desk, sat down, and started shuffling through papers.
Lane began to check the spelling sentences. Her neck and shoulders seemed to keep the warmth of his touch. She felt as if she were glowing inside.
She realized that the neck of her blouse was still spread apart. Hunched over the desk, she looked down at herself. Below where the button had pulled open, she saw the shadowy side of her right breast.
Had Mr. Kramer noticed?
Probably not, she decided. After all, he’d been standing behind her.
She didn’t fasten the button or straighten her blouse, and she remained pleasantly aware of the small gap as she went on correcting the papers.
She hoped Mr. Kramer was aware of it, too.
Each time she looked up, however, she found him bent over his papers.
Finally he stood up and carried a folder to the far side of the table. He slipped it into his briefcase. “How’s it going, Lane?”
“I’ve just got a few left.”
“Well, I’m afraid it’s time to close up shop. I’ll finish them off tonight.”
“Fine.” She arranged them neatly inside the folder, eased out of her seat and approached the table. Stretching across its top, she handed the folder and pen to her teacher.
As he took them, she saw his eyes lower briefly. A glimpse, then he was looking at her face. “I sure appreciate the help, Lane.”
“Glad to be of service.” Bending over, she placed her hands on the table and stared at the small book from which he’d read “Grave Musings.”
She could feel the way her blouse was hanging, its front not touching her chest at all. I can’t believe I’m doing this, she thought. Why don’t I just rip it open instead of being so tricky?
She felt as if she were blushing from head to toe. But she couldn’t bring herself to straighten up.
She opened the book’s cover and flipped to the title page. “
“Few people have,” Mr. Kramer said. “He’s a rather obscure poet from upstate New York, lived around the turn of the century. I happened onto that little volume in a secondhand store when I was a teenager. For a while there he was my favorite poet.”
“Is everything in here as grim as ‘Grave Musings’?” Lane asked, turning to the table of contents. Though she glanced at the listed titles, none of them registered.
“Oh, that’s one of his more pleasant pieces. He had quite a morbid turn of mind.”
“I wonder if Dad’s ever heard of him. Sounds like DePrey might be right up his alley.”
“I tell you what. Why don’t you take the book home tonight, let him have a look at it.”
“Could I?” she asked, finally looking up at him.
He smiled. He had tiny speckles of sweat in the whiskers above his lip. “Just don’t lose it.”
“Oh, I won’t.” She lifted the book and stood up straight, feeling her blouse pull against her breasts. “Maybe I’ll even read it myself, since he’s a favorite of yours.”
He laughed softly. “Hope you enjoy it. Now, you’d better run along. Thanks again for your invaluable services.”
“My pleasure,” Lane said.
She returned to her desk, gathered her books and binder, and headed for the door. Stopping with one foot in the hallway, she looked around. Mr. Kramer was staring at her. “Hey,” she said, “thanks again for the neck rub.”
“My pleasure,” he said.
“Bye.”
“Have a nice evening, Lane.”
My evening, she thought, will be a drag after this. But she said “Thanks” before leaving the room.
In the corridor she fastened her button.
Twenty-nine
The alarm clock startled Larry awake Friday morning. As Jean stopped the noise, he rolled over and
