Chapter Five
As he lifted his leather messenger bag from his trunk, Damien couldn’t shake the anxiety pulsing through his bloodstream. He didn’t want to be here. He wouldn’t admit it to anyone but himself, but dammit, he did not want to be here.
If not for the fact that reneging on his bargain with April would make him the biggest jerk in the world, Damien would have feigned a stomach virus. But then he couldn’t claim a stomach virus six weeks in a row, could he?
He blew out a disgusted breath.
“Just suck it up and deal.”
But telling himself to just deal with it was one thing.
Being able to actually do that was something entirely different.
Being back in this neighborhood reminded him too much of the person he used to be.
It brought back painful memories, those he’d tried to let go of when he’d moved from the Ninth Ward with a vow to never return to this place that had caused his family such pain.
He’d bought that parcel of land, and had all intentions of building Alexander Quarters there, but that work would be farmed out to contractors. He could direct its construction from afar.
And, honestly, Damien didn’t mind helping the kids at A Fresh Start find their way out of these streets, but that, too, he’d rather do from a distance. He didn’t hesitate to support April’s efforts financially, but he never wanted to be so hands-on.
Looked as if that was going to change, starting today.
Sucking in a deep breath, Damien started for the youth center.
When he entered, it was as if the same soundtrack that had been playing when he’d come here earlier in the week was on repeat.
The sound of young voices talking about the new Rihanna video and the latest celebrity meltdown on Twitter buzzed about his head.
He spotted April down the hallway. She walked toward him, but it was obvious she hadn’t seen him just yet.
Damien took the time to study her. There had been some sort of shift last night.
He couldn’t explain it, but he sure as hell felt it.
The snug fit of the plum-colored T-shirt she wore affected him in a way it wouldn’t have before the hours they’d spent talking while browsing through those art galleries.
It had occurred to him while he lay in bed, too wired to fall asleep, that the time he spent with April last night was the longest he’d spent just getting to know any woman without the promise of something more intimate happening at the end of the night.
Not that he was a horndog with only one thing on his mind.
He’d had his share of long-term monogamous relationships.
But it was usually the case that once the evening wound down, there would be some action between the sheets.
Apart from his coworkers, April was one of only a handful of female friends in his life who was truly just a friend.
But after the way she’d looked at him when he caught her midfall—after the slight shudder that he’d felt as he held her close to him, his arm tucked solidly underneath her soft yet firm breast—Damien wasn’t sure he wanted her to be just a friend anymore.
He recognized the moment she spotted him. Her eyes widened, as if surprised.
“You’re here!” she said as she walked up to him.
There was no as if about it. She was surprised.
“Of course I’m here. You thought I wouldn’t show up?” Damien asked in a teasing voice, knowing damn well that it had only been minutes ago that he’d had to talk himself into not burning rubber as he hightailed it out of here.
April wiggled her hand. “I figured there was a fifty-fifty shot of you sticking around.”
He slapped a hand to his chest. “That hurts.”
“Whatever,” she said with a laugh. She gestured with her head. “Come on. We have you set up down the hallway.”
“Anyone signed up to take the class?” he asked.
She nodded. “You’ve got twelve kids, which is pretty good.”
A dozen kids was more than Damien expected.
Thinking back to when he was a their age, he probably would have laughed if someone had asked him to get up early on a Saturday morning to hear some guy he didn’t even know talk to him about how to manage his money.
However, when he walked into the classroom none of the students looked as if someone had dragged them by the ear and strapped them to the chair.
“This is Damien Alexander,” April said by way of introduction to the teens, who sat at folding tables with notebooks opened in front of them.
“Mr. Alexander—” She turned to him. “Can they call you Damien? We’re pretty informal around here.”
Damien nodded.
“Mr. Damien grew up just a few blocks away,” April continued.
“He went on to college and then to graduate school, and today he’s a successful businessman in New Orleans.
Over the next six weeks he will share tips with all of you about how to save money—no matter how little you make—and how to start investing in your future. ”
Damien expected snide remarks, or even snorts of disbelief, but he got none of that. The kids seemed genuinely interested.
No, they didn’t just seem interested, they were interested.
It was evident only a few minutes into his discussion on the basics of starting a savings account.
Questions were coming at him from every corner of the classroom, kids wanting to know what was the ideal minimum amount of funds they should keep in their bank accounts, which many of them already had at fifteen and sixteen years old.
Some wanted to know about credit unions, which institutions made it easiest to access money in cases of emergency, how interest worked.
After about twenty minutes, Damien forgot all about not wanting to be here. Their enthusiasm was infectious.
Halfway through the session, the door opened quietly and April slipped in.
She stood in the back of the classroom, a broad smile stretching across her face as she looked at the kids, who had become more excited and engaged with every minute that passed.
After observing them for a few minutes, April gave him a thumbs-up before slipping out of the room.
Damien continued to check his watch, not because he was ready to go, but because the time seemed to be flying by at amazing speed.
With five minutes left in the session, he brought the discussion about the dangers of payday-loan companies to a close and asked the kids if there was anything in particular they wanted to discuss next week.
He’d created a loose outline, but that was when he thought he’d have to suffer through an hour of trying to keep his students awake.
That wasn’t the case with this crew. They were into this.
By the time the last teen filed out of the room, Damien already had enough ideas flowing in his head for another ten sessions.
He was buoyed by their enthusiasm. He still didn’t know the names of half of them, but already Damien felt a kinship with them.
It hadn’t been all that long ago that he had been one of them.
He wanted to see them succeed, and if it meant sacrificing his Saturday mornings for the rest of the summer he was more than willing to do so.
“It looks as if that went well.”
He turned to find April walking toward him, that huge smile from earlier once again lighting up her face, making her even more beautiful.
“Yeah. It went really well,” Damien said, unable to rein in his own smile. “The kids were really into it. I thought it would be a struggle to get them to pay attention, but it wasn’t at all.”
“These kids are impressive,” April said. “They caught on to classical music so quickly, you’d think they’d been playing forever. Do you want to grab a bite to eat at the café?”
“I was just about to ask you the same thing,” Damien said.
“A couple of the kids who just left the class were on their way to work in the café. They asked me to stop by before I leave. They’re proud of their jobs there.
And they’re serious about it, too. I suggested staying around for another ten minutes to finish up a discussion we were having, but those who needed to get to work wouldn’t hear of it.
They didn’t want to be late for their shifts. ”
She beamed. “They’re awesome kids, aren’t they?”
“Yes, they are. You all are helping to instill a solid work ethic in them.” He caught her by the wrist. “Thank you for letting me be a part of it.”
“You’re one of the reasons we’re able to do this, Damien. Your financial help is key to keeping this program going.”
“I’m not talking just about the money. I’m talking about being here today.” He hesitated for a moment before he spoke. “I needed this, April. I need to be here.”
“What do you mean?”
Damien settled his backside on the edge of the desk and let his hands drop onto his thighs.
“You’ve probably noticed that I tend to stay away from the neighborhood.”
“Of course I noticed,” she said. “I figured it had to do with Kurt. And with your dad. No one can blame you for not wanting that reminder.”
“It’s not just about what happened to them, although, yeah, that has a lot to do with it.
But it’s about me, too,” Damien said. “I didn’t want to be reminded of what my life could have been like if I’d allowed myself to get caught up in these streets.
Once my dad was killed, I became exactly the kind of kid he didn’t want me to become. ”
“But you changed,” April stressed. “You worked hard and you made a way for yourself, and now you’re giving other kids hope for their futures, too. You’re showing them that their zip code doesn’t define who they are.”
“Yeah, I guess I am,” Damien said. “And that’s thanks to you.” He looked her directly in the eyes, knowing the conviction in his voice couldn’t possibly convey the depths of his gratitude. “Thank you for forcing me to come here.”
“I guess that means I don’t have to worry about you trying to wiggle your way out of holding up your end of the bargain anymore, right?”