15. Kayla
15
KAYLA
D on’t look for him, don’t look for him.
I repeat this refrain ad nauseam while staying as busy as possible in the minutes before the play begins.
But when I’m standing in the middle of the stage, waiting for the audience to grow quiet so I can give a brief introduction to start us off, I can’t help myself. My eyes scan the sea of faces before me. I see Annie and several other teacher friends. I see many, many strangers. I do not see Trevor.
I push aside my disappointment and put on my best welcoming smile. I thank the parents for coming and assure them with teacherly enthusiasm that their children are about to wow them. Then I go sit on my stool right in front of the stage where any child who needs help with a line or movement can see me.
The production goes more smoothly than I could have hoped for and I feel a sense of pride and triumph as I step onto the stage once again to wrap us up.
“Thank you all so much for coming. I hope you’ve enjoyed our holiday production tonight. The kids have worked so hard and I’m very proud of all of them. I also want to take just a minute to thank a few other people who were instrumental in making this play a reality. Thank you to Coach Arnold, our gym teacher, for staying late to help me set everything up this week.”
I pause to clap in recognition of the coach and the audience joins me. I repeat the process for the PTO parents who volunteered to run our light and sound booth, Annie who helped me audition the kids, the art teacher who helped with the costumes, and the third-grade teacher who helped me wrangle kids at each practice.
“And last but not least, I want to say a special thank you to Trevor Martin, the guy at the hardware store who took it upon himself to help me build some of the set pieces you see behind me. Our stage wouldn’t look half as good without his skill and willingness to help.”
My eyes mist a little as I say this. I really couldn’t have done it without him. I wish he was here to share it with me.
I dismiss the audience with instructions for how the parents can retrieve their pint-sized actors and step off the stage with a sigh of relief, making my way to Annie.
“Hey! It was great. You were great. The whole thing was great!” She pulls me into a hug.
“Thanks, girl.” I give her a squeeze and then pull back, glancing around one last time.
“Are you looking for Trevor?”
I haven’t told her about my realization from this afternoon, but she could surely tell I haven’t been myself since the party. It’s possible I might’ve been a bit of a mopey roommate this week.
“Yeah. I was hoping he’d come, but I guess he couldn’t make it.”
“Actually…” She discreetly points behind me. I turn and suck in a breath. Trevor is weaving through the crowd, methodically making his way toward us, a determined look on his face .
When he finally reaches us he stops, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his jeans. “Hi.”
“Hi.” My voice sounds a bit breathy, but I don’t care.
Annie nudges me. “I think I heard someone call my name. Bye.” I barely even notice as she slips away into the crowd milling around us.
“You came,” I say.
“I said I would.”
“I know, but I didn’t see you in the crowd and after last Friday…and then I didn’t hear from you this week, so I thought…” My voice trails off at the look of confusion on his face.
“I got here a little late so I sat in the back. What about last Friday?”
“Well, it seemed like you really hit it off with Gracelyn, so I thought maybe you might be busy tonight. You know, with her.”
He’s already shaking his head. “Gracelyn is nice, but I made sure she knew I’m not interested in pursuing anything with her.”
“Why not?” My curiosity temporarily overcomes my sense of relief at this news. Objectively speaking, Gracelyn is attractive, smart, and fun to be around.
“I told her I have feelings for someone else.”
“Oh.” My heart sinks again. “That’s great, Trevor.”
Trevor smirks and takes a step forward, lowering his voice. “I think you might know her, actually.”
“Yeah?” I try not to let my misery show as he nods.
“She talks a lot. She’s got blonde hair and she’s about yea tall.” He holds his hand up level with the top of my head, his gaze never breaking from mine. “Her brown eyes pull me in and make me lose track of time.” His eyes flick down to my mouth for a second and my breath hitches as I begin to understand. I drift toward him, pulled inexplicably until we’re nearly touching. I have to lift my chin to look into his face .
“Kayla, these past few weeks have been the happiest I can remember in a long time. It’s like you opened up a whole new world for me. Is there any chance that you would consider spending more time with me?”
I grin as I nod. “I would love that. Especially if it involves making s’mores in your new fireplace.”
“It’s a date.” He leans forward and I rise on my tiptoes to meet him.
“Ahem.”
A throat clears beside me just as our lips brush in the briefest kiss known to mankind. I jump back in surprise, fighting the urge to growl in frustration until I note that the interloper is my boss.
“Oh, Mrs. Landry, hello.” I reach up and smooth my hair nervously, purposely not looking at Trevor. “I hope you enjoyed the show.”
“I did. I wanted to come over here and tell you I was impressed with how well you handled everything for your first time directing.” She glances back and forth between me and Trevor, a smirk on her lips and a twinkle in her eye. “I hope I haven’t interrupted anything.”
“I was just, uh, thanking Trevor for his help. With the set. For the play.”
“I see. Let me help you with that.” Mrs. Landry extends her hand and Trevor grips it. “Thank you for your help, sir. We are all most appreciative.”
“No problem.”
“Well, I’ll let you get back to your…conversation. Have a good night, Ms. Wright. Thanks again for all your hard work here.”
I watch her walk away, a giggle burbling up. I turn to find Trevor smiling as well.
“Where were we?”
“I think,” he reaches out and places a gentle hand on my waist, tugging me toward him until our bodies meet. My hands slide up almost of their own accord to rest on his chest. “We were right about here.”
He leans down and captures my mouth with his, his arms tightening around me. I feel my entire body blush with heat as my eyes slide shut and our lips move together.
He pulls back much too soon, that adorable half smile curving up one side of his captivating lips. He transfers his grip to my hand, threading our fingers together and tugging me forward up the aisle. “C’mon. We need to go to the grocery store.”
“The grocery store?” I let him pull me along, slightly dazed by the last few moments.
“You wanted s’mores and I’m going to give you s’mores.”
“Right now?”
“Yep. I just have to grab a few things from the store first.”
“Like what?”
He winces. “Like marshmallows, graham crackers, chocolate, and some sticks to roast with.”
I laugh. “So, basically everything.”
He stops me as we exit the auditorium. “Not everything. I have the thing I need most right here.” He lifts a hand to brush his thumb over my cheek.
I shiver under his touch. I can’t believe that only an hour ago I thought he wasn’t interested in me, that he might choose someone else.
I turn my head and press a quick kiss to his palm.
“Don’t get distracted,” I say as seriously as I can manage, stepping back and heading for the door. “You promised me a s’more and I already warned you that I’m not pleasant to be around when I get hangry.”
“Sounds like there’s not a moment to waste.”