Chapter 11 Gabe
Chapter 11: Gabe
Saturday August 30, 6:00 PM
GABE: What’s your address? Unless you’d rather meet at a neutral location. Promise I’m not a stalker.
AVERY: I dunno, you’ve been stalking me all week.
GABE: It’s not stalking if it’s in the job description.
AVERY: So you’re telling me the history teacher had “visit the library” in his lesson plans?
GABE: Well…. I’m sure he meant to.
AVERY: Here’s my address. Don’t be late.
Gabe took a deep breath. Avery tested him at every turn. And he loved it.
For days he had been trying to convince himself to keep his distance from her. That she was going to treat him like all other girls had—have a fling and run off. But she was different. She was smart. Deep. Introspective. There was a whole world going on in her head, and he wanted to at least scratch the surface of getting to know her.
He hoped he didn’t get lost. Or maybe he did.
Gabe put on tan khakis, a green shirt, and a purple tie. It was an option he had seen when he searched for “guy + school dance outfit + purple.” He wouldn’t think of pairing green and purple together, but what did he know?
He grabbed the bouquet of flowers from the kitchen table and headed out the door.
Avery lived a ways away, past the library, past his ex’s work, past the high school. He pulled up to her house, a one-story in a typical stucco desert neighborhood, and walked up to the door, bouquet in hand.
She opened the door, her hair swooshing around her face, her green dress showing off her figure in a way school outfits couldn’t. It was one thing flirting with her at school, but now this was more serious. More potential for something more, which got his heart pumping. Calm down, Gabe. Go slow. Don’t get too invested too fast.
But seeing her, those thoughts were hard to hold onto. He ran his hand through his hair, admiring the lines of her legs, the curve of her hips, and the brightness of her eyes.
“Wow. You look great,” Gabe said.
She blushed and tried to hide a smile. “How are you wearing the same color as me? I knew it. You are a stalker.”
They laughed.
“The internet told me it goes with purple.” Gabe held out the flowers. “Here, these are for you.”
Avery’s eyes grew wide. “Wait. Did you…” She turned the bouquet around, inspecting it from all angles. “Did you get every single purple flower the florist had?”
Gabe stuck his hands in his pocket and shrugged. Of course Avery would notice. The fact that not only noticed, but said something made him warm all over. Avery was just… sweet. “You didn’t say what kind of purple flower you liked best, so I figure this way you’d be covered.”
She hopped out of the house and onto the front porch and wrapped her arms around him.
“Thank you,” she whispered, a tinge of sadness in her voice.
They lingered in the hug, holding her close sending off fireworks in his brain. Like he wanted to protect her and embrace her all at the same time.
She let go and backed away. “Uh, give me a minute. I’ll go put these in water.”
After she disappeared into the house, a voice came from inside.
“Hey, come on in.”
He stepped inside to see an older woman on a recliner with her foot elevated and in a boot. She waved him to come closer.
“Are you Gabe?”
He nodded. “You must be Avery’s mom. Nice to meet you.”
“Yes, I’m Patricia.” She smiled. “No wonder Avery blushes when she talks about you. You’re handsome.”
Gabe smiled, face flushing that Avery had apparently talked about him with her mom. “Well, thank you.”
“What’s that, Mom?” Avery called from the kitchen then appeared in the living room.
“We were just talking about you,” her mom said, winking at Gabe.
Avery exchanged suspicious glances with both of them. She held a purple flower in one hand and a long pin in another.
“Come here,” she said to Gabe. He stepped forward, his back to her mom. She looked up at him as she leaned in. “I promise not to poke you.” She pulled at his collar, the closeness prickling his skin. Could she feel his heart racing?
She pinned the flower on his shirt, then patted his chest. “You look pretty good, Mr. Manwaring.”
If Avery’s mom hadn’t been there he would have seriously leaned in for a kiss. To heck with him overdoing it, it was the perfect moment. He looked at her lips.
Her eyes lifted slowly to meet his.
“I need a picture!” her mom said.
Their trance broke and Gabe suddenly felt awkward. It was one thing to fantasize about a relationship with Avery in his head, but a picture was more concrete and noticeable by others. His body stiffened.
“Mom, it’s not like we’re the ones in high school.” Avery’s eyes were still trained on Gabe’s lips. “We’re chaperoning.”
Gabe swallowed, heat creeping up his neck.
“Come on, one picture.”
Avery’s gaze darted around him to her mom. “This feels like a date instead of a work thing.”
The tension was getting too serious for Gabe. He had to think of something funny to say. “It’s a semi-date, remember?” He smirked, and Avery scrunched her nose and smiled. Gabe relaxed.
They stood next to each other, while her mom held up her phone and tapped the screen. “Got it. Have fun. But remember, as substitute teachers, you both have a big job tonight. Keep the kids from burning down–”
“–the school! That’s what I always say,” Gabe finished, Avery’s mom nodding.
Avery eyed both of them and shook her head. Gabe somehow always made a connection with the girl’s mom. Now it was time to make a connection with Avery.
Gabe held out his arm to Avery. “Shall we?” She looped her arm through his and they went out the front door, Gabe grinning and walking on air at the feel of her.
“So, tell me more about what a semi-date entails,” she said.
Gabe opened the passenger door to his truck and waited for her to sit before closing the door. She looked up at him through the window and his heart melted. He ran around the truck, admiring the good job he did washing it earlier. He hopped into the driver’s seat.
“A semi-date means we chaperone a dance and make fun of the teenagers, but I get to drive you there and back, and maybe get a dance.” He raised his eyebrows, hoping she’d reply favorably.
“Big ‘maybe’ there,” she responded.
He pulled the truck onto the street and headed toward the school. “What music do you like?” he asked. “Go ahead and pick a station.”
“Well, I like lots of stuff.” She started clicking the presets. “Oh, this is a good one. I remember it came out the year I graduated high school.”
“Brave” by Sara Bareilles. “What year did you graduate?”
“I’m coming up on my ten-year reunion this year,” she said.
“Ahh,” he said. “I’m two years ahead of you.” Gabe had wondered their age difference. Not that it mattered much.
“Where did you graduate high school?” she asked.
“We were living in Florida at the time. But the truth is, I ended up finally getting through it all with online school.” He looked at her intently, hoping she wouldn’t think less of him for being untraditional.
“Wait, so you didn’t walk for graduation?”
Gabe shrugged and ran his hand through his hair. “Nope. I wanted to. I wanted to do all the typical high school stuff.” A twinge of sadness pricked him, remembering the lost opportunities. He would have been better off living in the same town and going to high school all year. At least then he’d have long-term friends and maybe even gotten to do the things every other teenager seemed to be doing.
Avery leaned in, offering a warm smile. “At least you didn’t have to sit through 300 names and a bunch of boring speeches.”
Gabe smiled back. Avery was trying to make him feel better. That was so sweet of her.
“And what made you decide to major in ancient Egypt in college?” she asked.
His eyes opened wider and he started talking a mile a minute. “I always found it fascinating. Every museum, I head straight for the mummies. Those ancient civilizations were doing everything from scratch. Wouldn’t it be cool to literally invent everything? I dunno, it seems like fun. The more I learn, the more exciting it is.” Oops, he was overdoing it.
“Uh, what did you study in college?”
“Boys.” Avery waggled her eyebrows.
Gabe exploded with laughter. “I bet you did.” She didn’t seem like the boy-crazy type, which was why it was so unexpected for her to say that.
“Actually, I studied humanities and literature. I wasn’t sure what job I wanted exactly, but I was interested in books and stuff. Oh, and I minored in music.”
He nodded. “Naturally.”
They pulled into the school. So far, the only cars in the lot were in staff parking.
“Have you ever chaperoned a school dance?” Avery asked.
“Uh, no. I never even went to prom.”
“Oh. That’s too bad. Why?”
“We were usually moving again. But I did go to one very memorable hoe-down when we lived in Texas.”
Avery chuckled. “I’m going to need to see those dance moves.”
“What about you? I assume you went to prom?”
She nodded. “With my best friend’s brother. We dated off and on for a long time. Officially, we were together for the last three years.” She paused for a few moments. “I finally broke up with him a few months ago and moved back here to help my mom.”
Gabe was shocked that Avery had confided in him and she had been with someone for so long.
“I would have married him, but he never asked.”
Oh dang. It was quite serious, then. What had happened between them? Gabe opened the front door of the school, let her pass, then followed her inside. “Well, he missed out.”
The gym was decorated in a fall theme with fake colorful leaves and fake hay bales and a scarecrow.
“So, they’re doing a Fall Fling, even though it’s still technically August and it’s a billion degrees?” Avery asked.
He elbowed her playfully. “They should call it the Cactus Dance instead.”
“The Scorpion Dance.”
“The Heat Wave.”
They both giggled.
“The Cactus Heat Wave Scorpion Dance of Love!” Gabe raised his arms and pulled out his dance moves, swaying his hips and biting his bottom lip.
Avery’s eyebrows arched and she shook her head, a smile trying to escape. The goofier he acted, the more Avery responded. What was she, some kind of dream girl?
Another teacher waved them over to a table and put them to work, handing them boxes of snacks and drinks. “So glad you’re here. Can you two set these out, please?” A few other teachers were rushing around with drinks and such. Gabe and Avery took the boxes of snacks and started setting them out.
The lights in the gym went down a bit, and music started playing. A steady stream of students came through the doors.
Avery and Gabe handed the boxes back to the teacher, who set them under a table. “I think that’s it for now, but if you two could be in charge of the drinks and snacks tables, that would be great,” she instructed.
Gabe saluted. “We’re on it. The students will stay hydrated and full of snacks at all times.”
Avery shook her head. “And we’ll make sure nobody spikes it.”
“Oh yeah. Heh.” He snickered. “I definitely never did anything like that.”
The teacher in charge narrowed her eyes at him, then walked away.
Avery leaned over and whispered, “You definitely did, and you’re going to tell me everything.”
Gabe snorted in laughter. “Guilty. But I’ll only promise to tell you the story if we go to dessert after.”
Avery turned her head towards him and put her hand on her hip. “Seems like a date to me.”
He smiled. “Well, yeah. After the semi-date is over.”
Students wandered by, grabbing snacks and drinks, while others talked in small groups. Gabe tried to act like a teacher and chaperone, but all he could think about and look at was Avery.
A slow dance came on. The snack station wasn’t super busy, so the lull gave him an open opportunity. Gabe put his hand out to Avery. “Can I have this dance?”
She put her hand in his. “Yes.” Her eyes sparkled and she smiled up at him.
He beamed as he walked her to the middle of the floor.
“Hey, Mr. Manwaring!”
“Hey, Miss Williams!”
“I knew you two were dating.”
Gabe flutter-blinked as he feigned being offended. Except he wasn’t offended, and he wanted to date Avery. As much as he hid his feelings, it was hard to keep anything a secret from teenagers.
He lifted her hand and twirled her around until she stopped in his dance hold. He led her around the dance floor with his hand in hers, and his other hand on her back. She rested her other hand on his shoulder.
“Where did you learn to dance?” she asked.
“Uh, Japan a bit. Canada, of all places. Then Texas, of course.”
“You lived in Japan?” Avery’s eyebrows went up in surprise. “I’ve lived in Arizona my whole life. I can’t imagine moving as much as you did.”
“It was fine, I guess. I got to see a lot of cool stuff. But it was hard to leave sometimes. Eventually, I had to learn to never let myself get too attached. Twirl.”
“What?” Avery said.
Gabe lifted his right arm, then gently pushed her under with his left hand. Students who were dancing around them stopped and stared.
“Ooooh! Nice move, Mr. Manwaring. So romantic.”
Gabe pulled Avery in close which made even more students react.
“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” she said, their faces only an inch apart.
He went into a trance again, locked into her gaze. Her eyes searched his, peering into his soul.
“You have no idea.” Again he led her around the dance floor, this time weaving around students. For a minute he thought if he stayed in Phoenix, he could keep doing this. Teaching. Real dates with Avery.
But what if he was able to go to Egypt? It was his dream. So yeah, he’d go. Right?
The song was coming to an end. “Twirl!” Again, Gabe lifted his right arm and gently pushed her back with his left hand. He pulled her around and let go of her hand so it would rest on his shoulder, then he placed a second hand on her back. He leaned down and took her into a dip.
If only there weren’t a bunch of students watching, this would be the perfect time to land a kiss on her lips. She smiled, and he hoped she was thinking the same thing.
“Now that’s how you end a dance,” she said, pink-cheeked and breathless.
He pulled her up, and they walked hand in hand toward the drink and snack tables, which were getting a little empty.
“Time to restock.” Avery let go of his hand and headed to the kitchen area.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught movement in the back of the gym. A group of students were standing around, but it looked like two of the boys were having strong words with each other.
“You gonna help, or…” Avery set things on the tables behind him.
“I’ll be right back.” He strode over to the group as the boys started shoving each other and yelling.
By the time he reached them, they were all out punching each other. Gabe had encountered this before, though never in class. Usually at after-school events when they were less on guard with their behavior.
“Hey, hey, knock it off!” Gabe put himself between the two boys, who tried to go around and keep hitting each other, getting a few smacks onto Gabe’s right ear and right side of his head in the crossfire. His ear stung, and the side of his head around his ear was tender.
A couple other male teachers ran to the rescue, pulling the two boys away.
“I told him to stay away from my girl!” one yelled to the other.
“You can’t face the fact she likes me better!” the second one yelled back.
Two teenage boys, fighting over a girl. Typical. The teachers took the boys outside and, Gabe assumed, eventually sent them home.
A trickle of something tickled at his cheek. He wiped it away, then looked at his hand. A tiny bit of blood. He touched his right ear and winced. Pulling his hand way again, he noticed fresh blood. A fist must have cut his ear. Gabe turned toward the group of kids still standing around. “We good? No more fighting?” They nodded their heads, and he headed back to the snack table.
“Oh my gosh, you’re bleeding!” Avery gasped, her eyes wide with concern. Before he could protest, she grabbed his hand, her touch sending a shiver up his arm, and pulled him into the hallway. Her hand was firm, yet gentle, and the warmth of it was almost enough to distract him from the dull ache in his ear.
They reached the front office, the side door open, and Avery pushed him into Doreen’s chair, her brow furrowed in concentration as she rummaged through drawers.
“It’s not that much, really,” Gabe tried to assure her, but there was something about the way she fussed over him that made his chest tighten with something more than just the lingering pain.
“I know she has a first aid kit in here. Ah ha!” Avery’s triumph was soft but determined She laid the kit on the desk, her hands steady as she pulled out supplies. Gabe couldn’t tear his eyes away from her, his pulse quickening as she worked with such focused care.
When she opened a cleansing pad, her fingers brushed his skin, sending a ripple of warmth through him. The pad was cool against his ear, but all he could feel was the heat rising in his cheeks. Normally, the sting would make him wince, but with Avery so close, the only thing he felt was the fluttering of butterflies in his stomach.
Avery’s face was inches from his, her breath soft against his cheek as she placed a small bandage on his ear. Her fingers lingered for just a moment longer than necessary, and Gabe’s heart thudded in his chest, the world narrowing to just the two of them in that small office.
“There, that should do it.” Avery’s voice was a whisper, her eyes searching his as she discarded the wrapper. But before she could pull away, Gabe’s hand found her arm, his touch gentle but insistent.
“Avery,” he breathed, his voice husky with emotion. He tugged her closer, and for a heartbeat, they were suspended in the moment, the air between them crackling with unspoken possibilities. Her eyes locked onto his, and that familiar jolt of electricity flowed through him, the kind of electricity that made his heart race and his thoughts scatter.
Should he kiss her now? The question hung in the air, unanswered, but the intensity of the moment left no doubt—this was the beginning of something that neither of them could deny.