Click on my name for the previous story called The Choir Trip or the first two parts of this story.
Hilly sat down in Ben's car with a rumble of anticipation in her stomach, then Ben shut her door. He danced around the front of the car with an eager grin. After he opened the driver's side door and plopped down next to her, he said, "Ready to study some algebra?"
She leaned back against the door and put her fingernail between her teeth to give him a coy look. "Drive fast."
The previous evening had been a blur of homework and safety class research with a few breaks in between to introduce Ben to Violet over a video call. After she told him all about her little purple friend, she decided at the last minute to keep her study plans a surprise.
During the day at school Hilly kept teasing Ben with kisses and secret touches. His frustration had him waiting by her locker at the end of the day to lead her to his car. He'd held her hand and carried her books for her, making her feel like one of the girls in the old romances her mother read.