Chapter 23 #2
“It meant we were never alone. Some of us had a bit more issue with that than others, but mostly it’s always been a good thing. But you seem close to your siblings. JP at least.” I reached into the basket and started pulling out containers to build our plates.
“We are close. But there’s a fifteen-year age gap between us. He has a different dad than me and Paisley. But hell, even with her, there are eight years between us. I was a hundred percent an oops.”
“What was that like? Having that big a gap between all y’all?”
“It was this weird mix of being both the baby and the only child, because JP was off to college before I was even in school at all, and I was in elementary school when Paisley graduated high school. But they came home often, and we always stayed in touch. JP managed to stay my person, even while taking the theater world by storm.”
“I thought he seemed like a real performer.”
“Oh, he is. He’d won an Obie before I graduated high school, and he’s been nominated for the Tony Awards twice.”
I blinked. “Shit. That’s a big deal.”
“It is.” Something in her tone had me wanting to dig.
“Why do you say it like that?”
“Don’t get me wrong. I adore my brother, and I’m thrilled to pieces he’s made a career doing something he’s both passionate about and talented at.
But he’s a hard act to follow. Paisley, too.
She became this well-known indie romance author.
And I’m… still trying to figure out what I want to do when I grow up.
” Her voice held an odd mix of grief and frustration.
I passed her a plate. “That’s not graphic design?”
“Thanks. This looks great.” She lifted a crostini loaded with fresh bruschetta and took a bite. “Mmm. Good.”
I thought maybe she’d try to change the subject, but once she’d swallowed, she continued, “It’s something I enjoy, and I’m good at.
Most importantly, it was something I knew I could take on the road.
Since I graduated college, I’ve been traveling the world, seeing everything I wanted to see on my own terms and supporting myself as I went because I wasn’t stuck in an office job. ”
Years. She’d spent literally years traversing the globe. Our lives couldn’t have been more different.
“I confess, I have a hard time wrapping my brain around that. I’ve always been here.” Would that bother her? Did she want someone as well-travelled as she was?
“Did you ever want to leave?” There was curiosity instead of judgment in her tone.
“You know, there are things I’d like to see. Places I’d like to visit and whatnot. But no. This is home. This is roots and family, and those are really important to me.” Anyone considering getting involved with me needed to know that.
“I’m a little envious of your family. They’re awesome.”
I grinned. “Even when they’re shanghaiing you into doing community theater?”
“Even when. I’m not sure about doing the show.”
That took a little shine off the evening.
Not because I was eager to get up on stage myself, but because I worried about her reasons for not wanting to.
Deciding it was smarter to be honest, I put it out there.
“Is that because you don’t think you’ll be here long enough to do the show?
Because frankly, I need to know that before I get in any deeper with you. ”
Her hand shot out to cover mine. “No. No, it’s not that. It’s because I’m not here to be the center of attention. I’m here to figure my life out, and I thought I might could do something to help here. This was not how I imagined doing it. Plus, how can they cast a show they haven’t even picked?”
I turned my hand beneath hers to link our fingers again. “All that’s fair. Though, if anybody can cast a show without even holding proper auditions, it’s the Sasspatch Society.”
“Force of nature,” Swayze agreed.
“Listen, I know it’s a lot for them to ask of you.
But our little theater is kind of known for its performances.
And you may not have an award under your belt like your brother, but you more than proved you’ve got the chops.
This could be a really great fundraiser for the library.
It could help a lot. If that’s really what you want to do here…
this is a good way to do it. Plus, it gives us more chances to spend time together. ”
She snorted. “With chaperones.”
“I was thinking more along the lines of private rehearsals.” I stroked my thumb along her knuckles. “Do we need chaperones?”
She leaned in, voice dropping into an almost purr. “I think you’re under no delusions of exactly how potent you are, Colter Gibson.”
Grinning, I murmured, “Baby, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.” I tugged her to her feet, enjoying the little frown of disappointment. “Hold what you’ve got.”
I retreated behind the curtain and adjusted the lighting, bringing it down low, except for the twinkle lights strung up for stars. Then I returned to where she stood. “No, you face that way.” I turned her so her back was to my front. Then I shifted the music and settled my hand at her waist.
The opening bars of “I’ve Had the Time of My Life” began to play, and I dipped my head toward her ear. “I believe it was said I’m supposed to prove I know what to do with… what was it? Chekhov’s pelvis?”
She was laughing as I spun her out into the first turn and into the dance.