Free The Memory Thief by Emily Colin Page B

full plates of food, my students included, and were busy eating. Luckily, this meant that although plenty of people glanced up when we walked in, and a few waved to us, none of them felt compelled to offer us a seat.
    I tried to serve myself, but Aidan was having none of it—”This is a date,” he said, rolling his eyes—so instead I went to sit down, as far from my fellow faculty members as possible. Several of them turned their heads to follow my progress as I made my way to a corner table.
    I amused myself by imagining what type of gossip would be circulating among the cabins tonight; then Aidan arrived, balancing two heaping plates like an experienced waiter. “Here you go,” he said. “I didn’t know what you liked, so I got everything.” He set my plate in front of me with a flourish and settled down on the bench seat across the table.
    â€œYou are truly nuts,” I said, staring down at my overfull plate, on which collard greens, ham, sweet potatoes, biscuits, macaroni and cheese, and something that looked suspiciously like Jell-O salad all jostled for their fair share of space.
    â€œYou’re welcome,” he said, spreading his napkin on his lap and handing me mine. He reached for the pitcher in the middle of the table and filled our water glasses, then lifted his in a toast. “Here’s to not stepping on that copperhead. And to our first date,” he said, grinning so widely that I couldn’t help but smile back. I lifted my glass and touched it to his. We could have been anywhere, that was the crazy thing. While he was looking at me, I didn’t hear the noise of the dining hall or notice any of the other people eating. It was just me and him, and it was freaking me out.
    Aidan wasn’t nearly as oblivious to our surroundings. “People are staring at you,” he told me.
    â€œUh-huh.”
    â€œWhy is that, exactly?”
    â€œMy incredible charisma, for one thing. And my amazing grace.”
    One side of his mouth twitched upward in a smile. “Oh. I see. Any other reasons, or is that it?”
    I poked the Jell-O salad with my fork. “Those are the other people who teach in this program with me. I usually sit with them. They’re probably taking bets on who you are and why I’m over here with you.”
    â€œDoes that bother you?” he said, peppering his macaroni.
    â€œNot really. I mean, I don’t date—I haven’t for a while—and they’re not used to seeing me with a guy, so that’s part of it. And then they’re just gossipy, by nature, and they’ve been up on this mountain for a week with only each other and the kids for company, so they’re getting pretty desperate.”
    He absorbed this. “Why don’t you date?”
    â€œI got out of a relationship about a year ago and I’ve been taking a break. It’s not that I don’t date,” I said to clarify. “It’s more like I’ve been on hiatus.”
    â€œI guess I should be honored then.”
    â€œSomething like that.” How the hell we’d found our way into this territory so soon after we’d sat down was beyond me. I stabbed morosely at a forkful of collard greens.
    â€œThey’re still staring,” he remarked.
    â€œBig surprise,” I said to my plate.
    â€œWant me to give them something to stare about?” His voice was mischievous, and I looked up to discover that he’d turned the full force of his eyes on me. God, his eyelashes were long. I’d never seen eyes quite that color before, such a powerful, arresting blue.
    He cleared his throat. “See something you like?”
    Blood rushed to my cheeks, and I dropped my gaze—not much use, given that I wound up staring at his full lips instead. Figuring that I might as well resign myself to having a completely humiliating day, I forced myself to raise my head. “No to the first,” I said.