Again, she could have denied him his gallantry. She lifted weights at the nearby gym before school three days a week, after all, and she’d been walking alone to the parking lot for umpteen years. But whenever she handed over her burdens, he didn’t become bowed by them. Instead, his shoulders seemed a bit straighter. Whenever he walked beside her, his stride loosened and lengthened. So she’d let him be chivalrous. But she still wasn’t chatting. Once burned, twice no-way-in-hell. That resolution became harder to maintain once she saw him teach, however.
