Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
“I’m sorry.”
His head tilted to one side. “About what?”
“That you lost.”
Trey shrugged. “It happens.” Very practical of him. “What are you doing out here in the cold?”
“Donna thought I needed some fresh air.” Before I could give Donna’s advice any thought, one thing needed to be cleared up. “Do you know that people are talking about us?”
“Us?” he said, sounding surprised. “What are they saying?”
Going with Pepper’s words, I replied, “That we have a budding romance.”
Trey ran a hand over his bald head. “I hadn’t heard that, no.”
“I don’t like being the subject of gossip.”
“I’m not fond of it either.”
Stepping closer, I asked, “Why do you come to the play rehearsals?”
He jammed his hands into his pockets. “I came to make sure the guys were taking it seriously at first.”
“At first?”
“Yeah, at first. Then I liked watching you work with the kids, so I kept coming.”
I didn’t know how to respond. He wasn’t an intrusion on rehearsals, since he never made a sound and didn’t distract the kids, and technically, anyone who wanted could sit in and watch, though I’d only seen a handful of parents do so over the years.
“Is that why the rumors started?” he asked.
“That’s part of it, I guess. Pepper also mentioned the day I locked my keys in my car. I guess someone saw us sitting in your truck.”
“Pepper? Who’s Pepper?”
I forgot that he was still new to the school. “Pepper Lowell is the choir teacher. Medium height, strawberry-blonde hair, big glasses.”
“That’s who that is?” Trey shook his head. “Now I get it.”
“Get what?”
“In the lounge a couple of weeks ago I was topping off my coffee when another teacher came in. I didn’t recognize her and I thought she said her name was Piper. She started asking questions like was I single and did I have a rule against dating a fellow teacher.”
“That sounds like she was asking for herself.” The rush of jealousy threw me off balance. Why should I care if Pepper hit on Trey Collins? Or if he went out with her?
“That was my assumption, yeah.”
I had to know. “What did you tell her?”
“The truth. That I wasn’t looking to date right now.”
Wait, what? “You aren’t interested in dating Pepper or dating anyone?”
“Pepper or anyone else.”
What the heck? Were the girls making this up? “Then you don’t have a crush on me?”
He had the nerve to chuckle. “Do you want me to have a crush on you?”
“Don’t answer my question with a question. I hate that. Do you like me or not? Because the girls are all convinced that you do.”
“Yes, I like you.”
This was the reason I gave up dating. Because men were confusing and annoying and made no sense whatsoever.
“Then you lied to Pepper?”
“I didn’t lie. You’ve made it clear that you don’t date, and I respect that. Since you’re the only person I’d want to date, I’m not looking to date anyone else.” As if this wasn’t a total contradiction, he added, “So what I answered was the truth.”
A headache blossomed behind my left eye. “Let me get this straight. If I was interested in dating, you’d also be interested in dating?”
“Dating you, yeah. But you don’t date.”
“We aren’t talking about me. We’re talking about you.”
Head tilted again, he narrowed his eyes. “I think we’re talking about us.”
“There is no us,” I pointed out.
“Unless you plan to change your mind on the whole dating thing. ”
Did I plan to change my mind? Donna’s words echoed through my brain. Was this the moment to start thinking with my heart? And what did that mean, anyway? Was I supposed to make decisions based on every irrational emotion that bubbled to the surface?
“Lindsey,” Trey said, interrupting my brain spiral.
Blinking, I said, “What?”
“Do you want me to stop coming to rehearsals?”
Pausing, I decided the closest I could get to thinking with my heart was to follow my gut.
“No, I don’t.”
A smile split his face and my heart said that was the right answer. “Good.”
We’d reached some kind of agreement, though I wasn’t sure to what. “Good,” I repeated.
“Do you want to go back inside?” he asked. “You’re shivering.”
I hadn’t noticed. “I shouldn’t keep you out here.”
“Come on.” Trey pulled the door open. “Let’s get you out of the cold.”
We made our way back to the cafeteria, and he stopped outside the doorway. “You go in first so we don’t walk in together. I can wait out here for a couple of minutes.”
There was nothing wrong with two coworkers speaking alone at a school function. “Screw that. We can go in together.”
Grinning, he said, “You have a rebellious side, don’t you?”
Maybe he did know me. “A bit, yes. Is that a bad thing?”
“Not to me, it isn’t.”
Then we did agree on something. “Good. You want a burger?”
“Are you buying?”
“I think you get yours for free.”
With a gentle touch to the small of my back, he pressed me forward. “Then I’ll pretend you bought it.”
Maybe I should have gone in first.
The moment we entered the cafeteria, the entire crowd rose to their feet, giving Trey Collins a standing ovation as if he’d singlehandedly saved the universe. All of this over a game that the team didn’t even win.
Giving him his moment, I hung back to let him bask in the adoration alone. Instead, Trey held up a hand in acknowledgement and gestured for me to walk in front of him. Happy to cut through before they closed in around him, I hurried back to our table several rows down. As I approached, the girls stared, mouths agape, and I turned to see what they were gawking at.
Trey was still with me. In fact, he was closer than expected and I nearly stuck my nose in his chest. “What are you doing?” I said above the loud cheers.
“Coming over to say hello.”
“What about all these people?”
“What about them?”
“They want to talk to you.”
He gave a quick shrug. “Friends come first.”
So we agreed on two things now. How about that? I returned to my seat and ignored the girls watching me. This wasn’t the place to share my conversation with Trey, and in all honesty, there wasn’t much to share. Yes, he was interested in me, but that wasn’t news to them. The only real development was that I didn’t tell him that we would never happen.
Why didn’t I tell him that? I had to assume it was the gut thing. As I told Becca before, the man was growing on me.
“Is everything good?” Donna asked.
“Yeah, I’m good. Are you good?”
She was not amused. “You know what I’m talking about.”
“Okay, fine.” Leaning in close, I lowered my voice. “We’re madly in love and will be running off to a Vegas wedding chapel the first chance we get.”
Leaning back, she rolled her eyes. “You aren’t funny.”
“What’s going on?” Megan asked. “What happened out there?”
“Nothing happened.” Not entirely true. Something did happen but I hadn’t figured out what yet. A truce was probably the best word for it. “I asked if he knew about the rumors and he didn’t. That’s all I wanted to know.”
“Was he surprised?” she asked.
“He was.” I almost mentioned Trey’s encounter with Pepper in the teachers’ lounge, but changed my mind. I couldn’t know her motives that day and if I didn’t want people making assumptions about me, I wasn’t going to make them about someone else. “At least we both know now.”
Donna and Megan exchanged an uncertain glance. “That’s it?” Donna said. “You just told him about the rumors and nothing else?”
“What else is there to tell?”
“That you’ll go out with him.”
Now I knew how Becca felt when we’d sent her on all of those blind dates. And when we’d harassed Donna to give her hunky contractor a shot. We really were a pushy bunch.
“He hasn’t asked me out, because unlike everyone else I know, he respects my choice not to date.”
Both women sat back in silence. What could they say? Their intentions were in the right place, which was the only reason I wasn’t more annoyed. I’d fought like hell to convince Becca to go out with Jacob because I truly believed he was perfect for her.
And I was right.
But Becca and I were very different people. She was full of love and light, and I was more the cynicism and shadows type. Trey deserved more than that. He was too friendly. Too sweet. I’d corrupt him in no time and then we’d both be bitter skeptics.
“Thanks again for coming,” Trey said, catching my eye. “All of you.”
Several thanked him for the tickets and offered more condolences on the loss. The team started entering the cafeteria, and the applause exploded again. There were lots of hugs as the kids joined their loved ones. Aiden’s family was at the opposite end of our row, and as he stood beside a woman I assumed to be his mother, we exchanged a glance before he quickly looked away.
My heart went out to him.
“Hey, Ms. Pavolski,” said Emma, bounding into my line of vision. “Since when do you come to football stuff?”
“Since tonight, I guess.” I offered her a warm smile. “When did you become a sports fan?”
She spun, casting a glance toward Aiden, before turning back, pink high on her cheeks. “Just wanted to root the guys on since it was such an important game.”
I knew for a fact that football mattered as much to Emma as it did to me, but there was someone in the room who mattered to her a great deal. I could only pray he didn’t break her heart before Christmas. As soon as the thought occurred to me, Kandace stepped up to Aiden, pointing to his number beneath her right eye.
There were so many moments when I wanted to tell my students that what feels monumental now would be a story or a person they won’t even remember in ten or fifteen years. But I’d be wasting my breath. Just as I wouldn’t have listened at their age, they wouldn’t listen now.
“I think we should start rehearsing without the scripts,” I said, wanting to keep her from seeing the couple talking.
“We’re ready for that. Have you noticed Aiden already knows his lines? Makes it so much easier to play opposite him when neither of us have to constantly check our pages.”
“I did notice that.” Aiden’s body language gave off the impression he was only tolerating Kandace, but he wasn’t ending their conversation either. “Burke is doing well, too,” I pointed out, hoping maybe I could shift Emma’s focus.
“He’s okay, but Aiden is so much better. You’d think he’s been acting for years.”
I couldn’t argue with that. My anxiety over the production went way down after seeing him progress so quickly.
Emma checked on Aiden in time to see Kandace shake her pom pom on his arm in a blatant display of cheerleader flirtation. “Do you think he likes her?” she asked.
One thing that did not change in fifteen years was the inability to read a man’s mind.
“I don’t know, sweetie. Will you be okay if he does?”
She took a deep breath and nodded. “I don’t really care. I was just curious.” The lies we tell ourselves. “I need to go catch up with my friends. See you at practice on Monday.”
“See you then.”
She disappeared back into the crowd and I turned to find my group chatting away. Trey had moved on, and I found myself searching for him from table to table. I finally spotted him a couple rows over, talking to a woman I didn’t recognize. She was smiling up at him, hanging on his every word. Three times her hand touched his arm and my jaw tightened.
“That’s a look of death,” Becca said, sliding into the seat beside me. She followed my gaze and said, “Wow, she’s laying it on thick, isn’t she?”
“None of my business.”
“Are you sure about that? Because if looks could kill, we’d have all just witnessed a murder.”
“You guys need to give it a rest. I’m not going out with him.”
She snorted. “You should tell your face that. Anyway, Jacob and I still need to pick up Noah from Mom’s so we’re heading home. Ryan and Megan are taking Donna, and Josie and Miles opted to order a car since they wanted to leave early. That leaves you with us.” Becca looked Trey’s way again. “Unless you have another option.”
I didn’t even notice that Josie and Miles were gone. “I’m ready when you are.”
“Okay, then, let’s go.”
I grabbed my can of pop and Jacob carried the tray full of empty burger baskets up to the return window. On our way out, he made a quick left to tell Trey goodbye. Extricating himself from the unknown woman, Trey excused himself to come say goodbye to me and Becca.
“Thanks again for coming. The guys really appreciate the support.”
“It was fun,” Becca said. “I haven’t been to a game in far too long. Brought back lots of memories. I just wish there had been a better outcome.”
Trey shook his head. “They still had a great season. These boys have a lot to be proud of.”
Noticing that he kept downplaying his part, I said, “You coached them to that success. Give yourself some credit.”
“I gave them a plan, but they’re the ones who executed the plays.”
Now he was annoying me. “They couldn’t execute their way out of a paper bag before you got here. Just admit that you’re a good coach already.”
Shifting uncomfortably, he said, “I had a little something to do with it.”
The man was exhausting. “We need to work on that.”
He laughed. “If the play does well, do you take the credit?”
“As much as I’m due, yes.”
“Then I look forward to you teaching me how to be less humble.”
“Prepare to take notes.”
“Yes, ma’am.” His smile was infectious and I couldn’t help but smile back.
After several seconds of silence, Jacob said, “Are you two finished?”
Trey raised a brow, waiting for me to answer. “I’m finished if you are.”
He looked to Jacob. “You heard the woman. Get home safe and thanks again for coming.”
The men shook hands, and then we headed for the exit.
“This was fun,” Becca said, sliding her arm around mine. “Did you have fun?”
“Other than freezing my toes off and the team losing, sure.”
We passed through the cafeteria entrance and I felt the smile still lingering on my lips. Becca must have noticed, too, because she squeezed my arm and leaned close. “Being smitten looks good on you.”
“Don’t get carried away.”
“That smile is not my imagination.”
There was no point in arguing. Trey was nice, and not awful to talk to. In fact, I was starting to think he might be the only person who actually listened when I talked.
A man who listened. What a crazy concept.