Free Reye's Gold by Ruthie Robinson

away so she could get into her truck.
    “See you soon,” he said as she backed her truck out and drove away.
    He shook his head and smiled to himself as he watched her truck go down the road. Some of his parts needed time to cool before he went back into the restau rant. He wanted her badly. Bare, his skin touching hers, laid out before him, on top and under him, in all the ways that were possible. He would have to throw himself into his studies this week if he wanted to hold on to his sanity until Saturday. Perhaps afterwards, he could finally put her into perspective. He would scratch an itch that had plagued him since the party. Who was he kidding? His obsession with Reye had begun at the airport, when she fell on her butt and then sat there, smiling and laughing at herself. He couldn’t wait.

Chapter 5
    Reye arrived home just as her cell phone rang. It was Sam. “Hey, it’s my annoying big brother Sam calling,” she said by way of greeting.
    “I saw you leave with Mr. Defender. Is he the one you were talking about the other night?”
    “Yes, nosey, his name is Stephen. Remember when I spent the week in Dallas taking care of Jack’s rug rats?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Well, we met at the airport on the way back and got to know each other a little on the plane ride home.”
    “You like him?”
    “Yep, he invited me to a party that didn’t end too well. One of his fraternity brothers said some things about African-American women that I found offensive. I guess I needed to make sure Stephen didn’t feel the same way.”
    “Are you sure now?”
    “I think so. I want to try, anyway. What do you think?”
    “It’s your call, your consequences. Just be careful.”
    “I will.”
    “You know I’m always around if you need to talk.”
    “Look at you, being nice to your little sister. Thanks, Sam, that means a lot to me.” Reye hung up and her cell p hone rang again. It was Stephen this time. Her heart did a little dance. Please don’t be calling to cancel, she thought. “Hello.”
    “Hey, it’s Stephen. Just making sure you hadn’t changed your mind about Saturday.”
    “Nope, it’s still on, and I’m looking forward to it.”
    “Yeah, that makes two of us. Do I need to bring any thing?”
    “Nope, just you.”
    “I will. Take care and I’ll see you Saturday.”
    * * *
     
    Reye’s after-school class was growing. She looked around the room at the three additional children that had joined the program since she’d started. Her group now totaled ten. She had learned a lot about the kids, and a lot about herself, since joining the center. As part of the university’s degree course work, she’d been introduced to the concept of teaching children based on the way in which they received and processed information. Luckily she’d paid attention, not realizing she’d have to put her knowledge to use so soon.
    Tutoring the kids at the center had challenged her perceptions about how kids learned. Her involvement with them, her need to see them succeed, drove her to find out as much as she could to help them. Her free time was now spent reading, researching, practicing, and testing theories learned on and with the kids during the program. The belief that one could identify the way i n which a particular child learned opened a door for her.
    She began to understand her own issues with learning, finding answers to questions that had plagued her growing up. She now understood why she’d done better with some teachers and less so with others. Her favorite teacher had been her third grade teacher, Mrs. Sanchez, an older Hispanic lady. She’d sat with Reye, continuously reviewing the sounds that letters made, over and over until Reye understood. Reye had fallen behind her other classmates in school, and she needed the extra attention. Mrs. Sanchez had also used pictures to help Reye remember. But it had been the repetition that made the information stick with her. Mrs. Sanchez had shown so much patience, along with