“Thank you so much!” he said with a smile as he turned and walked over to her, pulling her into a kiss. “You brought me my lunch, Maddie? You’re too good to me.”
She swatted him playfully as they walked out the door. I couldn’t hear her reply, but I saw her smile and laugh with him.
My butterflies kept up their steady circuit around my stomach despite the gushy display I had just witnessed. He wants me to stop by to see him! Maybe Christmas miracles do exist. That only gives me a few hours to rehearse…
Chapter 6
The gym was all the way on the other side of the mall, with only the instant key place and an auto parts store nearby, which explained why I’d never seen him on my breaks. I had three keys on my keychain and bummed rides with Miranda or other friends.
I walked in feeling very out of place. I was more of an onstage dancer than heavy lifting type of girl. I looked around uneasily, wondering how to go about finding him. I started to move towards the front counter where two pretty girls in impractical, but feature enhancing, workout gear were chatting.
Just then, he walked out of the door to the right of the counter with an older man, telling him to be sure to eat a balanced meal that night. My breath caught in my throat. His black tank top fit his body perfectly, and the muscles I had suspected were hidden under those bulky sweaters were well on display. I hadn’t thought I was a muscle-man type of girl, but he would make any girl drool. As if to prove my point, the girls behind the counter were shooting hopeful looks his way.
“Hi,” he said with smile when he noticed me standing by the door.
I gave a little wave. Smooth. The counter twins rolled their eyes.
“I can’t stay long,” I said, grateful to have an exit strategy in case I got super awkward. “My friend is picking me up soon.”
Ha. Miranda had threatened to abandon me to walk home if I didn’t spend at least 15 minutes talking to him.
He led me over to an area with a small table and chairs near the drink machines. Away from the girls at the counter, thankfully.
“So what all do you think we should be doing to help promote the show?” he asked as he sat down. I stood awkwardly for a minute, hesitating between the chair next to him and the chair facing him. Definitely facing.
“Well,” I said slowly, as if I hadn’t been thinking about this every minute since he’d left the smoothie bar. “How do you promote the gym?”
“Just, like, events and stuff,” he said with a shrug. “Tagging people, videos of the trainers, stuff like that.”
“So it’s pretty much the same thing,” I said. “Take pictures of the preparation, send a big invitation, tell others to invite their friends, and it’ll just spread. It’s really not that hard.”
“It is for me,” he said. “I just do what my boss here tells me to. I don’t come up with the strategy or anything.”
“Like I said, I just did a little for shows in college. I don’t really know much.”
“But you must know all the other stuff about putting on shows, too, right?” he said, his voice hopeful.
I sighed.
“Well, yeah. I mean, I did a bunch in high school, but I’m sure there are people at the church who know how…”
He was shaking his head.
“The ones who did left a few years ago, so the past few years haven’t been that good,” he said. “This is my gran’s last year doing it. She really wants it to be amazing. She thinks I know how to do it all, just because I’m young and into music.”
My ears perked up at this. Singer? Guitar?
But then I saw the question forming on his lips and started shaking my head.
“Would you help me with this?” he asked. “I mean, I know I don’t really know you, but, I’ve seen you, like, every day for weeks and you seem really nice. And now I find out you know how to do all this stuff, and it’s almost Christmas and it’s for charity…”
He trailed off, with a small, timid smile that was infinitely cuter than his big dimply one. My butterflies started a new dance, entitled Say Yes, You Idiot.
“I don’t know. I have work and everything,” I said, wringing my hands under the table. And a really good reason for not ever wanting to go near a theater again.
“Please?” He held up his hands in a begging gesture, his lower lip pouting and his eyes transformed into puppy eyes. Oh, he knew he was adorable. And he knew I was going to cave. Which I did approximately three seconds later.
“Okay, but I can only help a little,” I said with a sigh. How on earth will I find the time?
I looked at his face. He was grinning widely now that I had agreed, and I sighed again. I guess I’ll just keep this lumpy brown coat for another twenty years. It’ll be worth it.
Chapter 7
As Miranda drove me home, my excitement at describing the conversation was making me giddy. He’d even asked for my number so we could work out the details of when I’d help.
“I have his phone number!” I almost screeched, and she put her hands over her ears to confirm my tone was getting a little extreme.
“So what’s his area code?” she asked, hands back on the steering wheel and her eyes focused on the road amidst the rain pelting down. “Now you can see where he’s from.”
Oh, she’s really good.
“You are devious, you know that?” I said, pulling up a search engine. “I hadn’t even thought of that.”
I had my answer within seconds.
“Georgia.” I started happily humming ‘Georgia On My Mind’.
“Jamie,” Miranda’s tone was suddenly cautious, hesitant. “I know how you can get. Please don’t go googling everything about the state so you can impress him with all you know about it. That’ll freak him out.”
I nodded.
“Right, no googling,” I said, then giggled. “Just oogling.”
Miranda laughed as she pulled into my driveway.
“Pick you up at seven tomorrow?”
I groaned.
“Why are you even open that early? Who gets their hair done at seven in the morning?”
“When I own it, I’ll make sure we won’t open until at least nine.”
“Ten.”
“Deal.”
With a wave, I braced myself for the rain and ran to my front door.
“Hello?” I called as I walked in. The house was still. The downstairs lights were out.
I walked up the stairs slowly, quietly, in case my mother was sleeping. She slept a lot lately. She’d slept through Thanksgiving the previous week. I’d headed over to Miranda’s and had brought her back a plate that I’d had to throw out the next morning.
I peeked into her bedroom and saw her bedside light was on. I pushed the door open slowly, and found her sitting up in bed, reading. I breathed a sigh of relief.
“Hi,” I said, my voice still soft. “I need to head to my lesson in a few minutes.”
“Who are you seeing today?”
“Billy Preston, over on Pine Street. He has a quiz this week so I might need to stay longer to drill him on his conjugations.”
She nodded.
“Do you need anything before I go?”
She shook her head and gave me a small smile.
“No thanks, sweetie.”
“Did Caitlyn call today?”
Another shake of the head, this time without the smile.
“Well, maybe tomorrow.”
She nodded, her brow beginning to furrow. Why’d you have to go and mention that when she’s actually awake and engaging with you for once?
“I love you, Mom.”
That brought a smile to her face.
“Have fun at your lesson,” she said, and turned back to her book.
As I headed to my room to quickly change out of my smoothie outfit, I pulled out my phone and typed a quick message to my sister.
* * *
Jaime: Call mom Mom, jerkface.
* * *
I didn’t get a reply. Not that I rea
lly expected one at this point.
That didn’t stop my heart from leaping when my phone dinged on my way home from teaching Billy Preston French verbs. But it wasn’t my sister. It was Austin!
* * *
Austin: Hey, I talked to my gran about your ideas and she’s all in. When can you come by the church?
* * *
It wasn’t that late, and I was tempted to tell him I could come immediately. But I took a deep breath, and remembered what Miranda had said. No freaking him out.
* * *
Jaime: How about Tuesday at 4?
* * *
Austin: Can’t wait.
* * *
These two little words set the butterflies into overdrive. At least if I don’t sleep well tonight, it’s for a happy reason.
Chapter 8
It was an eternity until Tuesday. I hadn’t seen Austin at the smoothie bar, and I was worried he’d changed his mind. Or that Maddie had changed it for him.
But on Tuesday morning, as I was opening, he showed up. I lit up from the inside, my butterflies awake and eager to play after several days of sleeping. But instead of smiling, I turned back to the back counter, wiping it down to look busy.
“Be there in a second!” I called. Nice, keep him waiting. I applauded my quick thinking but then panicked when I realized he might just leave if I didn’t turn around eventually. Which I did, a little too quickly, and banged into the edge of the counter. I swore, and did so in a manner worthy of the burliest of sailors.
He laughed.
“Please don’t do that in the church or gran will kick you out before you’ve even started,” he said with a chuckle.
I rubbed my hip and tried to put on a smile.
“I’ll be good, I promise,” I said, putting on an exaggerated limp as I walked to the front counter. “What’ll it be this morning? More favors, or just a Banana-Peach?”
His perfect lips turned down in a frown.
“If you changed your mind and don’t have the time, that’s totally fine,” he said. “I know it’s Christmas, everyone is busy, I get it.”
“No!” I cried. “It’s fine, I was joking. Sorry. I forget that not everyone gets my humor.” Though the line between funny and just plain awkward is pretty thin sometimes.
“So you’ll still come this afternoon?” he said, his blue eyes brightening.
I nodded.
“Great, see you then!” he said, and turned to leave with a wave.
I was left with an aching hip and an even bigger ache in my heart.
Chapter 9
When I got home, I raced to change out of my work clothes and walked over to the church. It was only about a mile and a half, which hadn’t seemed like that far, but of course I went with the cutest - and least comfortable - pair of shoes I owned. They weren’t particularly warm either.
Why even bother? Maddie, the Georgia Peach, will be in something perfect.
It was too late to turn back and change, so I shuffled along as best I could, hoping that we’d mostly be sitting and talking.
I walked in the back door that Austin had told me led to their auditorium area. It was a big, open room with a stage at one end and stacks of chairs and folded tables along the walls. Not exactly Carnegie Hall, but bigger than I’d expected.
Austin and Maddie and a few other people were up near the stage. I gave a small wave when he noticed me, and blushed at his happy smile.
“Why is she here helping you?” I heard her whisper not so quietly. “I’m already helping. How many people does a dinky church show need?”
I didn’t hear his reply, but I flushed as I walked close to the stage, taking it in.
She’s kind of right. It’s big, but kind of shabby. Not that I’d ever say that out loud…
“Some big bands were discovered at smaller shows like this,” I said loudly, with a look to let her know that I’d heard her. “So we should be sure that the sound is set up really well.”
There were two other people standing in the group. One looked to be about his gran’s age, and one who looked to be maybe thirteen. I was suddenly overwhelmed at how much Austin was apparently counting on me.
“Let’s get started!” I said brightly, ignoring the pain in my feet that was slowly taking over my entire body.
The older gentleman walked me through how he usually did things, which was to say, a microphone and a portable speaker. I took a peek in the supply closet.
“You have almost everything you need,” I said encouragingly. They all looked relieved except Maddie, who looked annoyed.
I started ticking off a list of supplies, and Austin whipped out his phone to take notes. Maddie started to say something, trying to get his attention, but he held up a hand. She crossed her arms and headed off to sit on one of the couches in the back. The glare she sent my way was chillier than the winter air I’d walked through to get here.
“So who all is performing so far?” I asked.
The 13-year-old pulled out a list, looking to the old man, who nodded at her. I realized they must be granddaughter and grandfather, and got choked up all of a sudden. The last time I had seen my grandfather had been… I didn’t want to think about that. I turned my head away, pretending to look at the stage so I could discretely wipe away a tear.
“Most of those acts can use the same setup,” I said. “No bands?”
Austin shook his head.
“No one seems interested,” he said, with a sigh.
“Well, let me take a look at getting an event set up online and we’ll see if that gets someone’s attention,” I said. I looked at my watch.
“Do you need to go?” he said. “I know you probably have a lot of other stuff to do. It’s fine. This was really a huge help.”
I smiled.
“Of course,” I said. “Anytime.”
Maddie had remained seated in the back the entire time, on her phone. Some help you were.
As I headed back into the cold, I wracked my brain about a possible band. I found myself suddenly really wanting to show Austin that I could make a difference to this show while all Maddie was good for was decoration.
Chapter 10
The next day, as I was finishing up my shift at the smoothie bar, Austin appeared at the door.
“Hi,” I said, too surprised to think of something more interesting.
“Hey,” he said, his hands shoved in his pockets. “Do you need to get to one of your other jobs?”
I shook my head.
“Did you need help with the show?” I asked. A friend was finishing up at Santa’s Workshop and was going to give me a ride over to Miranda’s house. We usually watched Elf at least three times during December, and since we’d skipped last year, we were trying to make up for it this year.
He shook his head.
“I was wondering if maybe you wanted to get something to eat and talk about the event page?” He had a small, hopeful smile on his face. “My last client canceled, so I have some time to kill.”
Like I would ever say no to that?
“Sure, just, um, would you be able to give me a ride back to Chester?” I asked, embarrassed about my lack of car. “I just need to go tell my friend Casey, who’s waiting to give me a ride.”
I could have texted, but I was nervous about being alone with Austin for the first time, and walking seemed like a good way to keep it casual and light. And to keep those damn butterflies under control.
“No problem,” he said, his smile widening. “My gran doesn’t expect me back until later.”
“Is that hard, living with her?” I asked, as we headed down to the main staircase of the mall where Santa’s Workshop was set up.
He shrugged.
“The food is pretty good,” he said with a smile. “I don’t mind being up here.”
“Why’d you come?” I asked, pretending not to know. He repeated the same story Mrs. Cohen had. Gossip she may be, but at least she was reliable.
“Neither of my parents could take t
he time off work to come and help. It’s a whole process, packing up a house you’ve been in for 60 years.”
“Yeah, I bet,” I said. I really wanted to listen to what he was saying, but I kept getting distracted by the bright holiday displays in all the stores we passed. Tis the season to be totally broke.
“Do you live with your parents?” I caught myself before adding the “in Georgia.” Be normal, please!
“I had my own place in Atlanta with a few friends,” he said. “We were all at school together, tried to start a few businesses together after graduation.”
“What did you study?” I hadn’t dared ask him too many questions about himself the night before with Maddie around. He looked about my age; I hadn’t realized he was already done with school.
“Computer science,” he said.
“Really?” My mouth dropped open in a most unflattering way. I know just how unflattering because Miranda had already taken several pictures of me when I’ve done this. I snapped it shut.
He laughed.
“You’re probably wondering what I’m doing working at the gym,” he said.
“Well, you’re obviously good at it,” I said, then flushed. Way to let him know you’ve been checking out his hot bod.
He laughed again. His eyes crinkled in the cutest way when he laughed. I wanted to do whatever it took to keep him laughing.
“I worked at the gym at college,” he said. “Our latest business venture flopped, so a break from all that is nice. I’m surprised they were able to take me for just a few weeks, but a lot of people take time off for the holidays. I was lucky.”
So was I.
We’d arrived at Santa’s Workshop and my friend Casey was there, arms crossed over his chest as he leaned against the house in his elf costume. He lifted a hand in greeting.
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