8. Chapter Eight
Tonight is my favorite activity that I plan for the residents at Sunrise Springs: dance lessons. Once a month, I have a pair of instructors come in to teach them a different ballroom-style dance. The residents love it, and I love watching it.
I mean, what’s cuter than senior citizens waltzing with each other? Practically nothing. Although Winston is a worthy contender.
I need all the cute entertainment I can get today to distract me from my encounter with Tyler at Evie’s dance studio. I was five minutes late to my activity coordinator shift because I had stupidly stopped there.
I’m not sure what possessed me to offer to help him. Well, I guess the pizza for me and my besties tomorrow…but I should’ve left him to manage the eager women himself. Instead, I found myself wrapped around him like cling wrap, running my hands through his hair—that’s just as soft as it looks, by the way—pretending we’re an item.
It almost seemed like Tyler was affected by me. Then he’d gone and traced his finger over my lips and… I shake my head. It isn’t possible. There’s no way Tyler Reed was flirting with me. Absolutely not. It was all fake—a show for the ladies.
Putting on a smile, I walk out of my office and into the activities room, where a dozen residents are waiting.
“Who’s ready to dance?” I speak louder than usual, making sure they can hear me.
“I’m always ready to shake what my mama gave me.” Darla shimmies, her white curly bob bouncing with the movement.
I hold a hand over my mouth to cover my laughter. I know I’m not supposed to have favorites, but Darla’s my favorite resident for a reason.
“We don’t shake our booties or”—Lorraine lowers her voice—“our chests in ballroom dance, Darla. We should be beautiful and elegant.”
The female dance instructor claps her hands to get everyone’s attention. “And today, we’ll be learning the dance you’ve all been waiting for: the tango.”
“Everybody, go ahead and grab a partner,” the male dance instructor says.
Darla’s smile widens. “Thank the heavens they’re finally giving us a saucier dance. We’re old, not dead.” I press my lips together to hide my smile as she leans over to Lorraine and loudly whispers, “I might even be able to throw a booty pop in this one.”
Lorraine tuts while Darla steps closer to me. “I’m going to ask Ed to be my partner. He’s a hot commodity since he’s the only man here with any hair left. I’m sure he can still get down and groovy.”
I can’t fight my smile anymore as she sashays across the room, calling, “Yoohoo, Ed.”
When Darla sees another woman heading toward him, she practically sprints the remaining distance, wrapping her arm through Ed’s and sticking her tongue out at the other woman as he escorts her onto the dance floor.
It’s official. I want to be Darla when I grow up.
My cheeks hurt from smiling throughout the lesson. I watch all the residents get into the tango and attempt to hit each step with precision. It’s adorable and the perfect reminder of why I love planning this activity each month. It’s also just the distraction I need.
When the instructors are packing up, Darla joins me along the wall and pats my arm. “That was the best one yet, dear.”
“The tango was made for you.”
“Thanks for noticing.” She beams. “I’ll take any opportunity to strut my stuff.” Darla taps her lips. “Now, if only I can get Ed to agree to go on a date with me. He thinks I’m too enthusiastic for him.”
“He doesn’t know what he’s missing.”
“That’s what I’m saying.” Darla fluffs her hair. “It’s his loss.”
I gently squeeze her arm. “It sure is.”
“Escort me back to my room, dear?”
“Of course.”
She loops her arm through mine as we walk out of the activity area toward her room. “You know what I’m most surprised by, though?”
“What?” I ask, ready for whatever outrageous thing might come out of Darla’s mouth.
“That you haven’t been snatched up yet.”
I take it back. I guess I wasn’t prepared for everything she might say—specifically, my non-existent love life. Most people are surprised to hear that I’d rather be single. I just value my independence, and there hasn’t been a man I’ve met who’s changed my mind otherwise. Plus, watching my parents’ marriage implode didn’t exactly leave me believing in the idea of true love.
I wave off her comment. “I have my whole future ahead of me. I’m young. There’s still plenty of time to find someone.”
“If you decide otherwise, I have a handsome nephew I can set you up with.”
I don’t even want to think about how much older her nephew might be than me. “Thank you. I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Do you know what dance they’ll teach us next?” She nudges my hip with hers. “If they need some ideas, I’ve always wanted to learn how to twerk.”
I giggle at the mental image, but it quickly turns into a nightmare of residents throwing out their backs. Clearing my throat, I say, “Maybe I can suggest another upbeat dance like the salsa.”
Darla shrugs. “I guess that works too.” When we stop in the hall in front of her room, she pulls me in for a hug. “Thanks for another wonderful activity.”
“I only arranged the instructors.” I push my hair behind my ear. It’s always been difficult for me to accept compliments.
“You do so much more than that for me with your activities.” She pats my arm and then winks at me. “You keep me young.”
I shoot her my warmest smile. “You’re the one who keeps me young, D.”
“D.” She holds a hand to her chest and grins. “No one besides family has called me that in years.” Darla wags a finger at me. “You know, you really should take me up on my offer to set you up with my nephew. He’s a looker, and he’ll be here to visit me soon. He—”
I hold my hands up, not wanting to get her hopes up. “I’m happily single, but thank you.”
Her sigh is fitting of an Oscar-winning actress. “Maybe one day the people I love will let me set them up.” She opens her door and dramatically waves over her shoulder. “Toodles, dearie.”
I feel lighter as I walk back to my office. Maybe a little Darla magic was all I needed to turn this day around.
I pull the slingshot back as far as I can before releasing it. An apple goes flying through the air and lands in the grass just to the right of the target. Another miss.
“Maybe if I pretend the target is Tyler’s face, I’ll have better luck,” I mutter sarcastically under my breath.
When I turn and grab another apple, I make eye contact with Alyssa, who’s looking at me like I’m one step away from losing it. Maybe I am… There’s just something about Tyler that drives me crazy.
“Kels.” She draws out my name and slowly steps toward me with her arms out in front of her like I’m a deer she doesn’t want to scare away. “Put down the apple.”
“Hilarious,” I deadpan.
“Mal! Shay!” she yells over her shoulder.
I watch them shoot their final apple together at the station next to us before they head over.
Shayna’s expression instantly turns from sunshine to a rain cloud when she looks at Alyssa. “What’s wrong?”
I fold my arms across my chest. “Nothing’s wrong.”
“She’s coding,” Alyssa says at the same time.
Shay rocks on the balls of her feet. “Already?”
“I didn’t think it would come to this.” Mallory smooths down her wavy hair.
I look between all my besties and wait for them to explain what’s happening. When they don’t elaborate, I ask, “What do you mean?”
“It’s hospital-speak here for when a patient is in critical condition and needs immediate attention.” Mallory picks up my last apple, tosses it in the air, and catches it.
“Do I look gravely ill, and none of you told me?” I pinch my cheeks, trying to add some color to them.
“You look perfect.” Shay wraps me in a hug. “That burgundy sweater really complements the green flecks in your eyes.”
I flip my caramel-brown hair over my shoulder. “Thanks for noticing.” Eyeing down my other roommates, I say, “Then what’s the code thing for?”
Alyssa’s eyes drop to the dirt. When Mallory looks like she’s hit with the realization that no one else will answer, she sighs. “Isn’t it obvious? It’s a medical term for your new boss.”
“Everything’s fine with me and Dr. Evil.”
Mallory snorts. At least someone thinks my nicknames are funny.
Alyssa gives me a sympathetic smile. “Kels, I heard you say you were going to pretend the targets were Tyler’s face. If you classify that as fine , I’m scared to know your definition of bad.”
I press my lips together, debating how much I want to tell my friends. I don’t want them to feel bad for me or encourage me to quit because I’m still not ready to tell them why I need the money. I know they would support my dream, but I’m still terrified to talk about it when it may be unachievable.
Before I can think of something to say, Shayna jumps in. “I know we usually take the hayride to pick our pumpkins, but I think this information calls for the early arrival of our fall baking tradition to cheer up Kels.”
“Do you mean…”
Shayna nods. “I think it’s time we make our girl Taylor’s chai cookies.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice.” Alyssa grabs her belt bag off the ground, dusting off the dirt before putting it on. She’s wearing the perfect fall outfit: a tan knit sweater tucked into a black jean miniskirt finished off with black thigh-high boots and a burnt-orange silk scarf tied around her half pony.
I feel casual in my burgundy sweater, leggings, and white platform sneakers, but I think anyone would feel dressed down when standing next to Alyssa. Even though she’s always dressed to the nines, she’s also one of the kindest people I know. Plus, I know that even though Alyssa almost always looks put-together, she can still rock an oversized t-shirt and shorts from her high school days. So, she’s not that different from the rest of us.
Motioning to the slingshot, I say, “I just have one more thing I need to do.” I take the final apple that Mallory hands me and place it in the slingshot. I pull it back until I can feel the muscles in my arms straining from the tension. Staring at the target, I imagine Tyler’s smug grin right in the middle of it, and I release the slingshot.
The apple soars through the air, and my friends let out a collective gasp as we watch it near the target. The apple not only hits the target but is a perfect bullseye—or, in my mind, a shot straight to Tyler’s nose.
I throw my arms into the air and cheer. All my friends shout with me and pull me into a group hug.
One of the farm employees walks over, letting out a low whistle. “It’s not often we see a bullseye.” He hands me a voucher for a free bag of apples or pumpkins of equal value. “Great job.”
I thank him, and we walk to the main store. We each select a pumpkin for our front porch steps and then head to check out. Thanks to my sharp slinging skills, we only have to pay for one pumpkin.
We stop at the grocery store to get the ingredients we don’t have for the cookies. Once we’re home, we stagger the pumpkins along our front porch steps.
“Hold on, I know just what we need.” Alyssa goes inside for a minute and comes back out with a pampas grass wreath. She replaces our usual eucalyptus wreath with the fall one, completing the whole look. After she joins us on the sidewalk, Alyssa gives her nod of approval. “It’s officially fall.”
“I don’t know about y’all, but I’m ready to bake and sing my heart out.” Shayna heads through our front door and waves for us to follow.
Once we’re all in the kitchen, I move our turntable from the living room to our kitchen table and gently place the vinyl first disc of Red (Taylor’s Version) on it. Anyone who says Red isn’t an autumn album is sorely mistaken. I carefully lower the tonearm onto the record, and Taylor’s beautiful voice fills our kitchen.
Alyssa holds a spatula like a microphone, mouthing the words to the first track while wiggling her hips. She tosses it to Mallory, who easily catches it and jumps right into lip-syncing the next verse, her muted pink cardigan swaying as she moves to the beat.
While they sing and dance around the kitchen, I preheat the oven. Shayna gets out the mixing bowls, all the measuring cups and spoons we need, and the handwritten version of the recipe we printed from Taylor’s Tumblr account years ago.
As our other friends continue to dance, Shayna and I fall into a rhythm of our own. She reads me the recipe ingredients while I measure and pour them into the bowl. Once the cookie dough comes together, I put it in the fridge to chill for an hour.
I move to the sink and clean the dishes we’ve accumulated. I’m washing the beaters for the hand mixer as the opening music of “I Knew You Were Trouble (Taylor’s Version)” starts playing. The song takes on a whole new meaning when I think about how it correlates to my situation with Tyler.
I’ve known he was trouble since the first day I met him. Okay, if I’m being honest, my first impression might’ve been that he was one of the most attractive men I’d ever seen…but that quickly faded when he didn’t give me the time of day. Tyler equals trouble. Both words are synonymous in my mind, and I refuse to let anything he says let me think otherwise.
“I don’t like that look in your eye.” Shayna pulls the beaters from my hands and ushers me to the kitchen table.
“What look?” I take a seat, and everyone else sits in their usual spot.
“Like you’re thinking of all the creative ways you can hurt Tyler with a hand mixer.”
I tap my bottom lip. “I was thinking about how this song seems very fitting for him, but thanks for the idea.” Shayna’s eyes go wide, and I laugh. “I’m just messing with you, Shay.”
“Good, because I totally wouldn’t be able to lie to an officer if they asked me if I knew why you came at our neighbor with a hand mixer.”
Everyone laughs.
“Oh, I know. I’d never trust you with a secret like that. I know you’re too sweet to lie.” I motion to Mallory. “I’d totally call Mal.”
Mallory holds a hand to her chest. “I’m honored.”
“Okay, but what’s going on with you and Tyler? It can’t be that bad when you only see him for a minute when he gets home from work, right?”
“For the most part, yes.” I anxiously pick off my nail polish, knowing my friends are going to keep digging until they get answers.
“And for the other part?” Alyssa prods.
I sigh, knowing I should tell them about what happened at the dance studio, even if I’m not fully sure what went down yet. “When I accepted the nanny position, Tyler and I exchanged phone numbers just in case I ever had an emergency with Evie.”
Mallory shrugs. “That’s normal, like my emergency contacts for students at school.”
“Right. I never heard from him…until yesterday.”
My friends are quiet for a moment until realization dawns on Mallory’s face. “But you had your work event yesterday. Evie hung out in my classroom while I tutored until I dropped her off at dance class. She said he would leave work early to pick her up.”
Alyssa squeals like I’m about to tell them Tyler professed his love for me. “The suspense is killing me. What did he say?”
“He was hiding out in the bathroom at the dance studio because a bunch of the single moms were coming onto him.”
“Was he trying to make you jealous?” Shay leans forward on her elbows, clearly invested.
“No. He wanted my advice on how to get them to stop.”
When I don’t say anything else, even Alyssa presses in closer. “Well, what did you say?”
“I didn’t say anything.” I pop my lips, dreading saying what I actually did out of fear my roommates will think they’re winning our bet. They’re nowhere close to winning. I simply was helping out the uncle of the sweet little girl I adore.
My sentence comes out rushed, sounding like one long gibberish word. “I stopped there on the way to Sunrise Springs and kind of pretended to be Tyler’s girlfriend for a minute to get the other women to stay away from him.”
All of their mouths fall open simultaneously as if they choreographed the action.
“Please tell me you made out with him.” Alyssa covers her mouth with her hands like she’s trying to contain her excitement.
I grimace. “Ew, no.”
She sighs. “Oh, come on. You can’t tell me you haven’t dreamed about what it would feel like to have his muscular, hot doctor arms wrapped around you.”
I don’t have to dream about it, because I know how it feels now…the rippling muscles of his arms from all those morning workouts definitely did him favors. My face heats, and Alyssa points at me.
“Ha, I knew it. You’ve totally dreamed about him.”
“I haven’t dreamed about him. We just may have been wrapped up in each other’s arms while pretending.” I add the last sentence in a whisper. Maybe if I’m quiet enough, they’ll just ignore that part.
“Shut. Up!” Shayna screams, grabbing my arm and squeezing as tight as a blood pressure cuff.
Ugh, there I go, thinking about more doctor-y things.
“So, what you’re saying is you don’t have to dream about his muscles because you already know what the planes of his abs and arms feel like.” Alyssa grins as if she’s about to win the bet.
“It didn’t make me feel any type of way about him, if that’s what you’re implying.” I’m lying through my teeth. It’s hard not being fully transparent with my best friends, but I can’t even understand whatever it was I felt yesterday, let alone vocalize it.
The doorbell rings, and I pop up, grateful for the excuse to get away for a minute and also because I know what’s waiting at the door for us.
“Is it Tyler ?” Shayna asks in a sing-song voice.
“No, it’s the sourdough pizzas I got us in return for helping him yesterday.”
“Even better. I need more than cookies to sustain me.” Mallory leans back in her seat.
I head to the door, shaking my head. I may not be able to vocalize my thoughts from yesterday to my friends—or myself. All I know is that Tyler is trouble.
And as for the idea of letting myself ever fall in love…I think I’ll stick to Taylor’s love songs, pizza, and chai cookies.