27. Mia
Mia
SOUTH brONX CLASSICAL
Friday
Loretta’s massage was fine. Mike’s treatment on Monday was fine. But the relief I needed had nothing to do with my back. There was still a dull twinge when I moved, but it had nothing on the ache Theo left me with.
Well, at least my new vibrator was getting well and truly broken in.
I was in my classroom with my program students, staring at the whiteboard when Kira asked, “You okay, Miss?” and I swallowed back a surprised yelp.
“I’m fine, love.”
“She’s not the one who has to do all this work,” Diago grumbled.
I rounded my desk and peeked at his paper. “No, but I am the one who has to read it.”
Natasha groaned, then faceplanted on her desk. “I can’t think of anything else to write.”
I waggled a finger in the air. “Try reading what you’ve got out loud. That might help shake something loose for you.”
“Then I’ll get distracted,” Amber snapped.
I clapped my hands. “Okay, everyone up. It’s meditation time.”
Miles gave me a disappointed look as everyone else stood.
I put my hands on my hips. “It’s either meditation or dancing.”
That got him moving.
I fiddled with my phone and found a playlist as Diago asked, “Why do we have to do this?”
“It helps to take a break. We all need a mental reboot sometimes.”
We laid on the ground an arm’s length from each other as soft, soothing music filled the room. I wriggled into the carpet as I shut my eyes and tried to focus on my breathing.
“Miss Walker?” Kira whispered.
My eyes flew open. Kira’s face was inches from mine. I shuffled back and said, “Yes, love?”
“Am I kissing Miles tonight?”
“If you want to.”
“I do. And my dad’s okay with it.”
“That’s great.”
She beamed at me. “I know. I can’t wait. He’s so cute.”
I tried not to laugh. “Did you watch the movie like I asked?”
“Ten Things I Hate About You? Yeah. It wasn’t my favorite.”
Kids. No accounting for taste these days.
“What’s your favorite then? I bet it’s something with Harry Styles in it.”
She snickered. “Actually, it’s the same as my mom’s. You’ve Got Mail.”
I wrinkled my nose. “I love that one too.”
“Then why’s your face like that?”
“Because Miss Fares wouldn’t let me live it down if she knew.”
Kira smiled as Diago said, “The talking isn’t heeeelpiiiiing.”
“Sorry,” I whispered.
Diago’s comment didn’t stop Kira, though. “I watch it all the time. When I miss Mom.”
I frowned. “I can’t imagine how hard it’s been for you.”
Kira gave me a soft smile. “Dad’s been pretty great. I mean, after he stopped yelling at you.”
I snorted, and Diago said, “That’s it,” as he shifted on the ground.
“He moved everything for me,” Kira went on. “I know it was what Mom wanted, but it would’ve been easier for him to keep us in Oakhaven.”
She paused then, thinking, and I probably should’ve moved us into meditative silence, especially since Diago was now up and walking, but I had to ask, “Was moving here what you wanted?”
“Mhm. I wanted to do this for Mom.”
My heart melted. It was something Lilly would say.
“She’d be so proud of you. You’re doing so well.”
Kira’s smile was like a sunbeam. “Thanks, Miss Walker. I know why she wanted us here. It’s a lot like how she pictured it.”
Natasha jumped up, shouting, “I know what to write next,” and we all stood as the soundtrack ended.
Later, as the bell rang and everyone filed out, Miles and Kira stopped by my desk to let me know they’d be at rehearsals tonight. The two goofballs couldn’t hide it. They were excited about the kiss scene.
Ugh, the kiss scene.
God, I hoped making out with a Hudson wouldn’t cause Miles as much trouble as it was causing me.
Just the thought of it was enough to make me drag my feet all the way to the staffroom door. But then, Lilly’s voice drifted into the hallway.
She was singing.
I picked up the pace, turning on my heel and stepping inside, already shrugging off my tote bag.
She looked up from her desk. “Hey. How was class?”
I put my hands on my hips and bent to check her face. No tears, no flushing. No panic. Huh.
She raised a brow. “You okay there?”
“Are you okay? You were singing.”
“Oh.” She waved her hand, and I straightened. “I’m fine. Better than fine, actually.” She wriggled in her seat. “Rutton spoke to me while you were in class and–”
I groaned. “She didn’t approve your romance canon workshop, did she?”
She took my hand. “No. At least, not yet, anyway. She said the parents have been happy so far.” Her voice rose to a squeak. “With me.”
My mouth dropped, and I squealed too. “It’s about bloody time they realized how great you are.”
I squeezed her hand as she stood, then wrapped her in my arms so I could squish her.
“I’m so proud of you, Lil.”
She let me go, grinning. Her smile was so bright it made my throat tighten. “It’s really the program. The biweekly updates show how well the class is doing. Everyone’s happy.”
I thought of Ashley’s glare. “Surely not everyone.”
She shrugged. “Well, okay. Not Ashley. But she will be once Amber earns her spot.”
It was my turn to raise a brow at her. “You have a lot of faith in me, don’t you?”
“Of course I do. And I know Amber will get there too.” She squeezed my hand again. “Rutton said she has to wait until the end of term, but she isn’t looking for my replacement anymore. I think my job is safe.”
The relief I felt couldn’t be put into words. So I pulled her in for another hug and blinked back tears. She mumbled a stream of thanks into my shoulder. Thank you for being here, thank you for taking on the program, thank you for working so hard, thank you for standing up for me.
“No, Lil. You did the work. You deserve this.”
“But I couldn’t do it without you.”
I shook my head and let her go. This job meant so much to her, and if things kept going like this, it would officially be hers.
But we weren’t out of the woods yet. We were a result-based school. The parents might be happy now, Rutton might be happy now, but that could turn at the drop of a dime.
“I wish you didn’t have rehearsals tonight,” Lilly said. “We should celebrate.”
I snorted. Given where my head was lately, celebrating with my best friend would have been a welcome distraction. I needed a few shots to shake that kiss loose. But alas, the stage waits for no woman.
“We’ll do a round of boozy bingo this weekend. I’ll need it after tonight. Miles and Kira agreed to kiss.”
Lilly’s face fell. “What about Theo?”
“He gave Kira permission.”
She frowned. “That’s… surprising.”
It was. But I wasn’t about to question it. That would’ve involved talking to him.
Amphitheater
Friday Night
Gem walked into my line of sight, breaking up the staring contest I was having with the back wall of the stage. Staring at inanimate objects seemed to be my thing today.
She pushed her hands through her hair and said, “I don’t think any of this will be done in time.”
“It’ll be fine.”
She gestured at the sawed bits of wood and half-painted sets. “This looks fine to you?”
I shrugged. “We don’t need to have a big production every year, Gem.”
She sighed. “But you know that I do. I’m a one-woman army, and if the parents decide they don’t get value out of my classes, there goes my department.”
Well, she had a point. Rutton was pretty invested in parental opinions, and every department was feeling that pressure.
“It’ll be okay. They’ll finish what they’ve started.”
Gem eyed me doubtfully. “Well, Rochelle might. I overheard Kira mention that her aunt doesn’t work a regular job because she divorced a billionaire.”
I made a sound in my throat, and Gem smirked at my expression.
“Well,” I managed, “that must be nice for her.”
“Oh, no, actually. Apparently, she really loved him. She was devastated when he cheated.”
“That’s horrible.”
It seemed like between Kira’s mother and Rochelle’s divorce, the Hudson family couldn’t catch a break.
“She’s happy painting here, though. Let’s hope that holds, because I can’t have my stage looking like this on show night.”
I raised a brow at her. “Priorities, Gem. We should try keeping them straight, shouldn’t we?”
“Yeah, yeah, I know.” She sighed. “At least Kira and Miles agreed to kiss. That’s something. And you’re getting along with her father, so that’ll help. It means you won’t have to leave when he gets here.”
My heart dropped just as my stomach jumped, and it felt like they collided right in my midsection. It left me stunned.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“He should be here any minute. And I really need him to fix the set because I just don’t know if I can wait for Lilly’s volunteer to finish painting everything else.”
Theo was going to walk through that door any minute.
I gripped her forearm. “Gem, Theo can’t watch his daughter kiss Miles.”
She smirked down at me from her towering, horn-rimmed height. “Kira said he was fine with it.”
“Being fine with it and watching it happen are two totally different things. Someone should warn him.”
Gem focused on something behind me. “All right. You can warn him.”
She jutted her chin toward the door, and I turned just in time to watch Theo step through it.
The universe was playing a dirty, dirty game, and I hated that I liked it as much as I did. The look on Theo’s face should’ve been illegal.
He walked in and skimmed the room, pausing when he caught sight of his daughter. She lifted her hand and waved. He nodded at her with a soft smile and kept scanning the room.
Then his gaze landed on me. The warmth in his blue eyes and that gentle, uneven smile—I was a puddle. An absolute puddle. Which was ridiculous. As ridiculous as ice cream and pickles.
But then, my legs stalked toward him as if they weren’t made of jelly, and my stomach flipped as I watched his smile widen.
He nodded, greeting me with a gravelly, “Miss Walker,” and I was launched right back into that bookstore before the beginning of school when I thought he could pass as a sexy, sweaty, bull-wrangling cowboy.
“Oh, universe help me,” I whispered, but no one was coming to save me. Like some divine goddess was out to prove a point, heat pooled low in my belly.
“I didn’t take you as the type to ask for help,” he teased.