The Low Notes (13 page)

Kevin stood and gathered the empty plates and put them in the sink while he stared at her for a moment, not really sure what he was waiting for, but enjoying the sight of her face.

“
I'd better go,” Nina said in a near whisper. Kevin nodded and walked behind her as she headed toward the front door. They passed the living room and Nina glanced in, seeing his manuscript on the table.

“
It’s good. I know I overstepped by reading it but it’s really good,” she said, nodding her head in the direction of the papers.

Kevin smiled gently, embarrassed at the thought. They reached the door and without warning or thought, Kevin’s arms wrapped around her in a hug.

“
Thanks again,” he whispered into her hair.

He pulled away and saw the look of bewilderment in Nina’s eyes. Instantly he regretted the embrace. He scolded himself in his mind, calling himself everything from an idiot to an asshole.

Nina forced a smile. “Well this has been sufficiently awkward, huh? I’ll see you Monday,” she said before stepping out onto the porch.

Kevin closed the door and leaned his back against it, exhaling.
What the hell am I doing
, he thought.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

The bell rang as Nina raced from her locker to Kevin’s classroom. The halls were clearing out as she scurried around the corner and into his room, which was already full of students. She halted just inside the door as her eyes locked on Kevin at the front of the class. He held back a grin but she could see him smiling with his eyes.

“
Consider this your lucky day,” he said, gesturing towards her seat and she smiled shyly as she took her seat. The class faced forward as he turned to them to begin his lesson.

Nina diligently took notes on his lecture about fiction writing and continued to be surprised by how at ease she felt in his class. Neither had made mention of what happened between them over the previous weekend. In fact, the entire week had been tame for the two of them.

Nina was still wrestling with how that evening made her feel. Each day had been a little less awkward and by this point, she was wondering if she should bring it up. Kevin gave the homework assignment and listened as the majority of the class grumbled at the notion of having homework over homecoming weekend. The bell rang and students raced out of the room more swiftly than usual due to the change in the schedule. Nina had never been a fan of spirit week, but especially this year due to the fact that 2
^nd
period was when the pep rally would be which only meant a longer rehearsal for her that evening.

“
You’re not rushing off to the gym for the assembly? Where’s your Wexley spirit, Nina?” Kevin kidded before he swiped the eraser over the white board. Nina rolled her eyes and walked to the front of the room, picking up a second eraser to help him clean.

“
You try living in this town full of assholes your entire life then tell me if you have Wexley spirit,” she retorted with a laugh.

“
Late for class
and
swearing? Do you expect special treatment?” he asked teasingly.

“
That depends, have all of your students carried you home and poured you into bed?” she snapped playfully as she watched Kevin’s face fall.

“
I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have…” she started.

Kevin forced a smile and shook his head. “No, you’re right. I’ve been avoiding the topic.”

“
I already told you it wasn’t a big deal,” Nina said.

Kevin took a set on the edge of his desk and folded his hands in front of him somberly before he started to speak.

“
I’m sorry you had to see me like that and I’m sorry for what I said...and did,” he said precisely. He remembered? Her stomach tied into knots. She was sure he had no idea they’d had any kind of exchange in his bedroom but clearly he had the same memories she did. Nina's face contorted as she thought of what she should say back to him.

“
That's only somewhat insulting. You should never apologize for calling a girl gorgeous,” she replied, taking a seat on top of one of the desks near him.

He sighed. “Look, you know what I mean. I can’t take back what I said and I’m not saying I didn’t mean it but... I’m your teacher and what happened shouldn’t have happened,” he said, trying to sound convincing.

Nina scoffed at him. “We both know you’re not
just
my teacher.”

Kevin ran a hand through his dark hair and sighed again, glancing back at her.

“
Okay, maybe I’m not
but
there are rules,” his voice faded out as Nina stood up and came toward him, her eyes fixed solidly on him.
It's now or never
, she thought. She’d had a lot of time to think about how she really felt and now was the time to tell him.

“
Screw the rules,” Nina said, coming dangerously close to Kevin, her hands almost touching him as he sat paralyzed on his desk.

“
Come on,” he whispered a plea.

“
I'm serious,” she replied in the same hushed tone.

Kevin drew in a ragged breath as her hands moved forward and slid over his knees slowly. She saw him shift uneasily though he didn't stop her. His eyes flashed to the door. The hallway was empty. The bell had blared a while ago and they were missing the assembly.

“
Haven't we been through enough? We've tried fighting it but what's the point? Sometimes rules need to be broken. I think it's time we say screw the rules and do whatever we want,” she said, reaching up to run her fingers through his hair.

Nina was nervous being so forward with him but she’d already decided he was what she wanted, no matter the cost. The only thing she knew might be difficult would be pulling the truth from him as to whether he wanted her, too. The lines in his forehead softened as he searched her face with his chocolate eyes. She could see him giving in.

He began nodding before he let his hand reach out to cup her cheek, his thumb sweeping over her lips, parting them.

“
Whatever we want,” he repeated in a whisper. Her lips curled into a smile under his thumb.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

“
Catherine, Hannah. You two move down one row. Okay, now. Everyone stop fidgeting and face forward so I can see if this is right,” Mrs. Benson hollered out to the students on the stage. It was the worst part about a show, blocking the stage and giving everyone their places on the risers. Mrs. Benson was incredibly obsessive in her staging, making it a miserable night of standing on stage and constantly being moved from place to place.

Lucky for Nina she wasn't participating in act two of the senior concert as anything more than a pianist. As a result, she was sitting in one of the red upholstered theater seats in the front row, finishing up her Physics homework. Her mind started to wander and she imagined Kevin’s trembling hands reaching out to her again.

The three little words ran through her mind a hundred times.
Whatever we want
. When had she gotten so bold? Where had she learned to play the role of the seductress? She didn’t know where it had come from. The only thing she knew was her feelings for Kevin were blinding her to everything else in her life, including the evening’s rehearsal.

Feeling fidgety, Nina left her things on the floor below the cushy seat and headed out into the halls in search of the soda machine. She took her time, not anxious to get back to watching the misery in her fellow students' eyes as they stood under the hot lights and were barked at by the meticulous Mrs. Benson. Before long, Nina found herself wondering what Mr. Benson was like.

Nina wondered if he looked at all like Kevin or if they sounded similar or had the same mannerisms. Maybe they were nothing alike. Nina and her sister were nothing alike. At least to her they weren't.

The main hallway was still bright from the descending sun coming through the high windows of the two story ceiling. The bright red soda machine was in the distance but she had no desire to quicken her pace to get there. Rounding the corner just beside the machine was a tall figure and when she recognized him, she nearly burst out laughing.

Of course
, she thought,
why would it be anyone else?

She kept walking as she watched him feed the machine a dollar bill, punch his selection and bend to retrieve the bottle. Nina tried to hold in an audible sigh of bliss as she took in the sight of his strong back rounding and his perfect rear end as he bent at the waist.

Kevin straightened and turned toward her unknowingly. Their eyes met as they had so many times before and Kevin shook his head laughing as she approached.

“
Fancy meeting you here,” he said when she finally reached him.

Nina grinned back at him. “What are you doing here so late?” she asked.

Kevin cleared his throat before he spoke. “Figured I would do some grading before heading home.”

She eyed him carefully, hearing a fib in his voice but not minding. Seeing him was always a pleasant surprise. Breezing past him, she popped four quarters into the machine and chose a diet drink for herself.

“
Want a little company?” she asked. A grin grew on his face and they made their way to B100 in comfortable silence.

Nina's second clue that he hadn’t stayed at school to grade papers was the fact his classroom was dark. She felt him step into the room behind her, his breath the only sound she could hear. With the lights still off and Kevin close at her back, Nina felt a shudder roll through her as he placed a familiar hand on her hip gingerly. His fingertips slid lower, grazing the top of her thigh and all she could do was lean back into his body in consent.

A second hand landed on the other side of her waist, as he now had more of a grip on her than a loose touch. She turned instinctively in his grasp to look up at him. Nina heard him sigh as he stared down at her.

With their eyes locked she felt the weight of the moment. A change had been made and this was the first time the temptation was a different shade of gray. She saw the clear intensity coming through Kevin’s eyes. Had he completely given in? Through the shadows of the room she saw him tighten his gaze on her, squinting in either desire or hesitation. She couldn't decipher the look.

Just as he had earlier in the day, he let one hand move from her waist to the apple of her cheek, smoothing his knuckles against her blushed face. Nina’s lips were parted in awe. Mimicking him, her hand raised to his face, sliding through his hair and landing on the back of his neck.

It was all she could do not to yank him down and kiss him hard on the mouth. It had been so long since their kiss she’d nearly forgotten the feel of his lips. But looking at him like this, in the dark with their hands on each other just like in the handful of dreams she’d had, there was one thing she wasn't counting on.

An irrational notion crept into her head just as he started to read her body language and dip his head low to kiss her. It was something she'd never really counted on feeling. Of course every seventeen year old girl wishes but not like this. She didn't want the thought now, not when she had Kevin right where she thought she wanted him. Coaxing him to give into the physical had been her intention, not the new and insane feeling building within her now.

Nina didn't want to believe her mind. She just wanted to kiss him, climb all over him and do whatever she wanted. But one powerful word stood out in her mind. A simple sentence of three words changed it all.

She pulled back from him and saw him accept the rejection as a flicker of pain in his eyes.

“
Sorry,” he said, dropping his hands from her.

“
It's okay. I just...need to get back,” she lied.

Kevin gave her a wounded smile and nodded before walking out into the florescent lights of the hallway. She glanced up at him hoping it was a trick of the darkness, maybe the thought was fleeting. But as they walked to the auditorium in dead silence, she kept her eye on him stealthily. It didn't matter the lighting, it didn't matter how close or far away they were. The three little words that popped into her head were true.

Chapter Thirty

Nina saw James spot her walking toward him. Rehearsal was over and the dreaded stage blocking accomplished. James caught up with Nina and gave Kevin an obvious look, half in suspicion and half in lust.

“
We going?” James asked.

Nina glanced at Kevin, her heart still pounding.

“
Goodnight, Mr. Reed. Thanks,” she said, stumbling over the proper name she wasn’t used to calling him. Kevin nodded and flashed her his charming smile before leaving in the opposite direction.

“
You're not going to believe this. Let’s just say I have more proof,” James said shrewdly. They made it to James’ car, hopped in and just as the engine clicked on, James turned to face Nina.

“
Did he come and find you?” James asked curiously.

Nina made a face at him. “I was getting a drink. He was getting a drink. So I guess if that's what you mean...” her voice trailed off. She was trying so hard to sound convincing.

“
Yeah right! He is
so
in love with you!” James exclaimed, jumping up and down in his seat wildly.