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teacher.”
    “Could
I bring you something to drink?  Wine?  A soda?  Tea?”
    “Iced
tea would be nice.”
    “Iced
tea it is.  Don’t move.  I’ll be right back.”
    He
left me and I followed every line of his body as he walked away.  He was so
sexy and alluring in that suit.  So dashing.  But I wasn’t the only one to
notice.  The head of virtually every girl in the large room turned to him as he
walked on.  They smiled, they pouted, they winked and they perked up their
attributes, anything to win a glance from him.  If he garnered them with the
glance they worked so hard for, I couldn’t tell from my vantage point, but
judging by their disappointed pouts, I had to say he hadn’t.  Adding insult to
injury, he beamed when he returned to me with a tall glass of iced tea and the
girls around me huffed and groaned their discontent.
    “I’m
new here.”  Bobby handed me the glass.  “Would you mind showing me around a
bit?”
    I
took the glass and took a sip as I studied him from over the rim of the glass. 
I barely recognized the brash young man I’d met earlier that day.  He was so polite,
calm… a real gentleman.  Taking in a deep breath, I let my guard down and
looped my arm through his.  “Have you visited the courtyard yet?”
    He
shook his head and I led him into the hall and out the broad doors that opened
onto the magnificent garden.  Other than the faint glow that spilled from the
surrounding windows, a sprinkling of tiny white bulbs was the only source of
light, but it was enough to impress Bobby.
    “I’m
glad you brought me out here.  I probably never would have ventured out here on
my own.  I’ve never really been the type to garden.”
    “On
your own, maybe not, but in my class you certainly will.  In addition to the
beautiful and fragrant flowers, we also have a vast vegetable and herb garden. 
The use of fresh produce is so important to the success of any recipe.  It
lifts it up, raising it to a level that no dried herb can achieve.”
    Taking
in a long whiff, Bobby followed his nose and headed to the left, took the right
where the path forked and went directly to the herbs.  “Ah, yes.  Now this I
can appreciate.  Rosemary and…”  He took in another whiff.  “Basil.  Is there
anything on God’s green earth that smells better than basil?”
    “Your
sense of smell is impressive.” I came up beside him, directly in front of the fragrant
basil.  “There’s also…”
    “Don’t
tell me.”  He held up a finger as he let his nose discover the various aromas. 
“Savory.  Oregano.  Sage.  Um… and chives.  Garlic chives to be precise.”
    I
couldn’t help but giggle.  He was being so charming and so adorable.  He was
positively irresistible when he wasn’t trying so hard to be suave. 
    “I
love coming out here,” I said.  “You absolutely have to come during the day. 
The beauty of the floral forms, the brilliance of the colors and the sublime
scents… it’s almost sensory overload.”
    We
strolled side by side on the narrow path until we reached the rose bushes. 
Bobby picked up a perfect white rose that’d been cut earlier and left on the
ground.  “Such a beautiful flower.  Why would someone throw it away?”  He held
it out to me.  “I think it needs someone kind and loving to tend to it.”
    With
a wistful smile, I accepted the rose.  “It is beautiful, isn’t it?  No doubt
it’s someone who thought it would make for a romantic gesture.”
    “But
the girl was upset with her suitor and cast his token of affection aside?”
    I
pouted and twirled the stem of the rose between my thumb and index.  “Could
be.”  The inevitable happened.  Silly me.  I don’t know if it was Bobby’s
proximity that kept me from using better judgment, but I twirled the stem until
a nice spike of a thorn cut through my thumb.  “Ouch.”
    Bobby
grinned, took the rose away and held up my thumb to his scrutiny.  “Maybe
that’s why the