by Cass Lennox
“You’re miles away, Evie. You okay?”
She snapped back to the present. “Yes? Yes. Sorry. What were you saying?”
“That I’m sure you’ll do wonderfully.” Vaughn leaned in. “Also, I think you’re lovely too.”
Oh no. Oh Lord, how mortifying. “You heard us?”
“Sarah isn’t as quiet as she thinks she is,” he said. “And I have the impression that she’s been watching you closely. Not sure why, considering you seem very much smitten with someone else. Just so we’re completely clear, I’m already totally and very happily taken. Even if I weren’t, when I have the bad luck to fall for someone, they tend to be male.”
Evie was never going to live this down. “I really, really didn’t—”
“But I can always use more friends.” He winked. “Especially ones who would be willing to revisit the Falls with me and my boyfriend this winter.”
Evie smiled, relief trickling through her. “I would love to.”
Tyler had barely had time to think. Since opening at the café, his schedule had been packed, so of course when he finally reached the only break he had before the Pride practice, Shana called. He decided to step outside to talk to her, as it was paradoxically more private than indoors; particularly when Gigi was hanging around with an expression that said, I have feelings and I need to share.
She didn’t even bother with preliminaries. “Ty, I’ve made a decision. I’m keeping it.”
Ooh. Okay. Deep breath. He looked up into the cloudless blue sky, wide and clear and full of sunlight. It somehow seemed appropriate for news like this. “That’s a big step, sis.”
“It is. I don’t care. I know I can do this.”
“What about Ray?”
“He’s gone.” She tsked. “I told him I was keeping it, and he told me we were over. Threw a fucking tantrum and walked out. I think he’s blocked my number. Asshole.”
“Wow, Shana. Wow. You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m good. Honestly, I’m great.”
“Is he hanging around? Looking to cause problems?”
“Please. Boy’s too chicken to do shit to me.” She sounded more like their mom as her anger revved up, her voice taking on more of a Jamaican lilt. “I told him I’m not chasing him. I’m not taking anything from him. So if he wants to disappear, he can do it and be done with us.” She sighed. “I don’t think he left town or anything, but I doubt I’ll see him again.”
“I hope not.” Tyler couldn’t quite believe this was how Ray was being kicked out of their lives. “So, I’m going to be an uncle, huh?”
Her voice turned low and happy. “Yeah, bro. You’re Uncle Tyler now.”
“I’m not old enough to be an uncle. What the fuck.” He was struck by a horrific realization. “Shana. You’re going to be a mom.”
She made a noise of pure delight, and he grinned.
A car stopped down the street from the school. He watched as a guy in a blazer and deck shoes got out, then held the door open for Evie. He almost dropped the phone. She looked gorgeous. Loose top, skirt, sandals, sunglasses, and her hair down, her skin slightly sunburnt, and a smile on her face as she waved into the car and shut the door. Just gorgeous.
Oooh, hell, he was in trouble.
“Ty, you there?”
Oh right, the phone. His sister. “Yeah, still here.”
“Mom’s feeling a lot better, and I know you’re busy and all, but try to get to us sometime this summer.”
“I’ll try.”
“You better. I’ll keep you posted about the baby. Miss you, lil bro.”
“Miss you too. Thanks for telling me, Shana.”
Now Evie was hugging Deck Shoes Guy. Wait. Was he Vaughn? He looked like a Vaughn. Tyler had never met a Vaughn, but he was pretty sure they all liked pairing deck shoes with blazers on hot June day trips to Niagara Falls.
“Call me soon,” Shana said.
“Will do. Love you, Shana.”
“Love you too.”
He put the phone down and watched Evie wave good-bye to Vaughn. The car drove away with a honk as Vaughn walked towards the nearest subway station and Evie turned towards the school. Towards him. She saw him, and her face split into a wide smile. Suddenly he couldn’t remember what he’d been doing or why he was standing outside.
Oh yeah. He was in big trouble.
He waved as she approached him.
“Hi, Tyler.” Her accent made his name clear and sweet.
“Hey.” He still had a grin on his face. He probably looked like an idiot. It was just Evie, after all.
Yeah, right. She could never be just Evie.
“You look happy,” she said.
“I do?”
“Yes.”
It’s because of you. You and this gorgeous day and . . . “My sister just told me I’m going to be an uncle.”
She went all soft around the edges. “That’s brilliant news!” She hugged him. He caught the scents of sunscreen and now-familiar herbal shampoo. A warm ache bloomed between his legs, and he resisted the urge to turn his face into her hair.
“Congratulations, Uncle Tyler.” She stood back and looked him up and down. “You definitely look like an Uncle Tyler.”
He scoffed. He was wearing two-day-old dance gear and his hair was pulled back in a man bun. Never was a man more the picture of responsibility. “My sister just found out. I’m still taking it in.”
“I’m really happy for you.” She looked like she meant it. Oh God. He couldn’t tell her the full story of his sister’s baby daddy running for the hills and spoil it.
“How were the Falls?” he asked instead.
She lit up. “Wonderful. They’re spectacular.” She dug into her backpack and drew out her camera. “We took photos.” Then she was right up against him so he could see as she clicked through the photos of the day. And yeah, the Falls had been spectacular. But the photos of her and Vaughn goofing off with Godzilla sent a barb through him, which he instantly pushed down, then forgot about when she clicked onto one of her on the deck of the tour boat. He touched the camera with one hand to stop her from moving on. The picture was surprisingly well composed—there wasn’t anyone else in it, just her and the rail. Mist deepened behind her and droplets shone in her hair as she stared off into the distance with a wistful smile.
“You look stunning there,” he said honestly.
She made disbelieving noises. “Vaughn took that of me. I was thinking of . . . of, um, how incredible being under the falls was.”
Goddamn Vaughn.
Their eyes met, and he realized just how physically close they were. Her face was inches from his. He didn’t move, however, and neither did she. She looked back down and kept clicking through the photos. Tyler barely took them in; this close, all his senses were attuned to her. Her smell, her hair, her skin, her fingers, her mouth . . . Focus, Ty. He was still half holding the camera, and her fingers brushed against his, causing his breath to catch as the motion sent electricity through him. Evie turned her face to his—
“There you two are!”
They jumped apart, then turned towards the doorway. Katie stood there, coffee cup in hand and gum in mouth. She grinned at them. “Ready to start?”
“Y-yeah.” Evie turned the camera off. “I need to get changed, so I’ll meet you all in there.” She walked into the school, past Katie, who fixed Tyler with a knowing look.
“You two look like you’re getting kinda close,” she remarked.
He wanted to shove her and Brock and the camera and the entire stupid documentary back into 2008 where documentaries like this belonged. “Yeah, friends do that. Let’s go.” He brushed past her, then past a dour Brock in the reception, and stomped into the practice room.
Once there, he started warming up. Evie soon entered wearing her usual gear, her hair tied up and skin still warm and glowing from a day in the sun.
He pulled his gaze away before it turned into an actual stare, and put on some warm-up music. “I thought we’
d try syncing the moves to the music today.”
She made a face. “I can’t promise anything except that I’ll try.”
“‘Do, or do not. There is no try.’”
She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, Your Jedi-ness.”
He turned and bounced in place to the music while she warmed up. What was this song? Florence + the Machine? Yeah, good to dance to. Tension thrummed in his veins, and he pulled a few ballet stretches to work out some of the nervous energy. Christ, where was it all coming from?
“Tyler?”
Uh-huh, that would be where.
He turned around. She faced him, ready. “Can we run through it a few times first?”
He swallowed. “Yeah. Totally.”
She danced away, and he turned off the music, then moved into position, into character, ready to play suitor. As part of him settled down and focused on the routine, another part became more and more keyed up. Evie was full of sinuous energy, whirling around in her set up to the routine. She came face-to-face with him, her entire body alight, and he took her in hold. One beat, and then they were moving together.
It was electric. He almost felt sparks as he led her through the first part. Her character resisted and took the lead, and energy coursed through him as he kept up with her. They managed the quick footwork section, messily, and separated for the slow stare down during the second drawled chorus of the song, and then, bam, together again for the instrumental.
Before he knew it, he was on his knees and she was sauntering away. The end of the dance. His breath left him in a rush. There had been lots of fumbles, but that was definitely the best run-through yet.
Evie turned around and beamed at him. “Tyler!” She ran up to him, hands out to help him stand. Blue eyes shone at him in delight. He paused a moment to take in her joy, then gripped her hands and stood slowly, his head still spinning. This was beyond words, how good this felt. How in tune they were. He’d never wanted to kiss someone so much in his life.
“Once more?”
“Hell yeah,” he managed.
While they had the steps down now, doing them in time to the music proved more of a challenge. They were both soaked with sweat by the time Tyler called a break. Evie was visibly slower now, and she slumped to the floor dramatically.
“This music is horrible,” she said to the ceiling.
Told you so. Instead of saying that, he chuckled, dug into his bag for an energy bar, and tossed it to her. She caught it with one hand and wolfed it where she lay as he sat down next to her. Katie joined them, Brock and the camera at her side.
“The routine’s coming together,” Katie said. “That looked really good.” She blew a gum bubble.
Tyler couldn’t speak for Evie, but when he said, “Yeah, we’re getting it,” she sat up and nodded. Katie smiled and the bubble popped.
“How do you do it?” Brock asked.
Tyler glanced at Evie for guidance, because he sure as shit didn’t know what Brock was talking about. She shrugged. Okay. No help there. He turned warily back to Brock. “Practise for three days?”
“No, dude, this!” Brock exclaimed, waving a hand between the two of them. “This connection you have. You two get each other. What the hell?”
Oh fuck. Evie went bright red. Tyler couldn’t bring himself to look her way again. “Uh,” he said, “I don’t think we’re . . . That is, we’re not actually—”
“Brock,” Katie warned.
“Seriously,” Brock continued. “Can’t you give me some advice? Gigi is driving me insane. I’m driving me insane.” He set the camera down and sat in front of Tyler. “I’m begging you, man.” Desperation was written all over his features.
Why did this keep coming back to him? He wasn’t Gigi’s only friend, just his best one. Didn’t Brock have someone better to talk to? Hadn’t he heard of the internet for relationship advice? Given Tyler’s record with relationships, Reddit was legit the better option.
“Brock, this is so unprofessional, I can’t even deal right now,” Katie ground out.
Brock glanced at her. “I’m not a professional, and I’m out of options.” Brown eyes back on Tyler’s. “I can’t pin the guy down. I asked him if we could talk, and he said we could, but now he’s not answering my calls or texts. He gives me these looks during rehearsals, you know? But then he avoids me afterwards. Today he used Mark as an excuse to get out of practice without talking to me. He hates Mark. Jesus, I love the guy, but it can’t go on like this.”
This wasn’t going to go away, was it? “Dude, I . . .” He sighed. “I don’t know what to tell you. This is Gigi we’re talking about.”
“You’re in love with him?” Evie asked softly. Tyler risked a peek at her, but she was completely focused on Brock. She slid closer to them so she could lay a hand on Brock’s arm.
Katie picked up the camera. “This is totally going in my write-up and in the final cut if it has to, Brock, so don’t blame me if you don’t get full credit for this.” She pointed it at them.
“We can make it a blooper.”
“For a documentary?”
“And yeah, Evie.” Brock’s face softened. “He knows that. I don’t get why he’s running away.”
“He’s scared,” Evie said immediately.
“I know that much. But I’m not going to hurt him again.”
“Does he know that though?” Tyler asked.
Brock slumped. “I hope so,” he mumbled. “I don’t know.”
Evie patted his arm. “I think this might be a case where you have to wait it out. Don’t go anywhere, but don’t push him. Trust is a difficult thing to build.”
Brock appeared the image of misery. “I get that. But how can I build it if he won’t let me? This assignment finishes on Saturday. I don’t want to do the stalker thing and hang around outside the school waiting for him to talk to me. And I know he wants to talk, he just . . . doesn’t know how.”
Tyler nodded. That was Gigi all right. “I agree. I’m all for being patient, Evie, but I think this requires a shove in the right direction.” He glanced at her. She seemed puzzled for a second, then must’ve figured out what he meant, because her expression turned cunning.
“Brock,” she said, “are you free Thursday night?”
He blinked at her. “I could be.”
“Gigi is taking me and my friend Sarah out around Church Street on Thursday night.”
Brock perked up like a wilted plant in a bucket of water. “Ah.”
“I cannot fucking believe this,” Katie muttered, focusing through the viewfinder.
Tyler had to agree with her for once. What the hell was with this week? Why did life do this? Nothing happened to him for months, then everything landed on his lap in four days.
And thanks to Brock, he could barely look at the best thing about this week.
Brock pulled out his phone. “What’s your WhatsApp name?” Evie retrieved her phone and they traded details. The guy was so pathetically grateful that Tyler almost wanted to pat his arm too. Almost.
“Thanks, guys,” Brock said. “Seriously, thank you. If I can’t make this up to him, I don’t know what I’ll do.” He closed his eyes. “I just want to make him happy.”
Tyler just about felt sorry for him. Jeez. “Yeah, buddy, we know.”
“I want what you two have, you know? That talking-without-words thing.” He waved vaguely in the air between Tyler and Evie. Tyler could feel himself blushing, and he knew without checking that Evie had gone red as well.
Brock continued, oblivious. “We had it once. I think we could still have it. Oh man, I can’t sleep because all I do is think about him, you know? Not in a gross way or anything,” he added hastily. “Just . . . I know Gigi feels something too, but he won’t sit still long enough to tell me what.”
“You’ll get there,” Evie said. “You will. Be patient.”
“Are we done with the soap now?” Katie snapped. “Because I have a documentary to film.”
Brock nodded, su
ddenly all business. “Yeah. We’re cool.”
No, they weren’t. Tyler couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this embarrassed. This was worse than when he’d finally seen what Lucette had been doing to him and for how long. This was worse than when he was six and Shana had made him laugh during his birthday party and he’d ended up farting super loud in front of his family and friends and made everyone laugh, on camera. Hell, this was worse than that one time he’d tripped while dancing for a music video and knocked over half the set.
“Tyler.”
He looked over into serious blue eyes. Evie swallowed, openly nervous, took his hand, and pulled him away from the camera to the other side of the room.
“I have to ask you something,” she said, her voice low. “And I hope you’ll be honest with me.” Her eyes flickered to Brock and Katie, who were watching and trying to listen in. “We’re dancing well together, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I think we have a good connection.” Her voice was becoming shakier with each word. His heart leaped hearing that. “Like, really good. The—the best. The thing is, I don’t . . .” She dropped his hand to wring hers together. “I’m not good at judging situations like this. Doing this has made me so aware of myself and, at the same time, so aware of you. Is this normal for dancing partners? Or is this something . . . more?”
His mouth went dry. She was gazing at him, waiting for him to speak. Katie and Brock couldn’t lean closer without actually moving. Suddenly he was facing a timid and shy Lucette, gazing at him through her lashes as she said, “You like me, right?” His throat closed up. Was that happening again? Don’t freak out, don’t freak out.
She went red and glanced away. “I mean, if it isn’t, I want to make it clear. Be on the same page, so to speak. I just don’t want to make you uncomfortable, or be uncomfortable myself, and assume this is more than it is, because this is wonderful as is, and I don’t want to change that or be awkward and, oh God, I’m rambling.” She stopped. “Um. Yeah. Shit. Bollocks. I’m stopping now.” She crossed her arms.
Snap out of it and fucking speak, Tyler. “No,” he choked out.
Her eyes flew back to his, wide. “No?” she echoed.