Love Me Not, page 5
“No?”
“No,” I repeated.
“You don’t want people to like you?” The man looked completely perplexed.
“That’s not what I said. You asked if I need them to like me, which I do not. If you need people to like you, then you have some insecurities to explore.” Stepping around him, I said, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to my drama club.”
Falling into step beside me, as if the last thirty seconds never happened and I hadn’t just suggested that he had serious self-esteem issues, the coach said, “Isn’t your classroom the other way?”
Not that it was any of his business, but… “I’m getting markers from the art department.”
“What do you need markers for?”
Picking up my pace, I cast him an annoyed glance. “You’re very nosy.”
“I’m curious, not nosy,” he defended.
“What’s the difference?”
“I asked an inquisitive question, which you can choose to answer or not answer. If you refuse to answer and I continue to pry, then I’m being nosy.”
Touché, Mr. Master’s Degree.
My gut told me the fastest way to end this encounter was to answer his question. “I need markers so we can make recruitment posters for the drama club.”
Now, curiosity appeased, he had no reason not to go away.
“You’re looking for new members?”
“Every club can use new members,” I answered, reluctant to confess how dire our situation was.
“I can talk to the players,” he said. “See if any of them want to join.”
Steps from the art room, I spun to face him. “Are you trying to be funny?”
The coach looked genuinely shocked. “How is that funny? You need students and I have a roster of them. Unless you’re as prejudiced against athletes as you are against coaches.”
“I’m not prejudiced against anyone.”
“You’ve been frosty to me since you found out I coach the team.”
“I have no—”
“I see you in the lounge,” he cut in. “You aren’t as cold to anyone else as you are to me.”
I once again opened my mouth to argue, then snapped it shut. He wasn’t wrong.
“Coach Collins, there’s a reason I’m not on the school welcoming committee. I’m not the warm and fuzzy type. I’m not a people person. In fact, in general, I don’t like people at all. I also don’t like sports. You are the combination of a person and sports. Therefore, I have two reasons not to be remotely interested in you. It isn’t personal. It isn’t meant as an insult. And it isn’t something for which I should have to apologize.”
“You—”
“As for your roster, I would gladly take willing participants, but in my eight years of running the drama club at this school, not a single football player has ever joined, and I have no doubt that none ever will. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
“Are you saying if they show up ready to work that you’ll let them in?”
Did the man not hear a single word I just said?
“I welcome any student who wants to join and take the work seriously. However, I will not be holding my breath that any of your players will fall into that category.”
With one of his ear-splitting claps, he gave a curt nod. “We’ll see about that.”
The coach took several steps backward before spinning and strolling off in the direction we’d just come. If I had a heart, I’d almost feel sorry for the guy. Because he was about to be sorely disappointed.
On the plus side, I was looking forward to my impending I told you so.
Two weeks later, we had yet to gain a single new recruit for the club. If Trey pitched the idea to his players, none of them took the bait. Color me not surprised. We would have normally started rehearsals by now, as this was the first week of October and the play was scheduled for the weekend before Thanksgiving, but no new members meant no one to play the parts.
If we didn’t add to the numbers before the middle of the month, changes would have to be made. I refused to not put on a play, but with only two girls and two boys, our options were severely limited.
That said, this was Megan’s wedding weekend, which meant putting the play dilemma aside until Monday.
The final bell sounded ten minutes ago, but I needed to give my notes for the substitute one more read through before heading out. In lieu of an old fashioned bachelorette party, with the requisite debauchery and imbibing, Megan requested a small gathering for food and wine and casual chit-chat.
No strippers. No body shots. Not a single hint of hedonism.
The night before Becca’s wedding in January, we’d attempted a girls’ night out, complete with bar hopping and plenty of alcohol. For the rest of us, anyway. Becca had been quite pregnant at the time.
Unfortunately, one thing after another went wrong, and we found ourselves stranded nearly an hour outside of town in the middle of the night at a motel no respecting cockroach would patronize, let alone a human. Between the remote location, and a reluctance to endure a case of bed bugs, we’d resorted to calling Jacob’s ex-wife for a lift.
To our collective amazement, she’d not only showed up to get us, but been very cool about the whole thing.
Still, after the trauma of that night, we were more than happy to go low-key for this one.
“Ms. Pavolski?” came a deep voice from my doorway. “Do you have a minute?”
I looked up to find Aiden Bishop and Burke Pemberton hovering on my threshold. They’d both been in my creative writing class last year, and I had Burke again this year for World Lit.
He had one of those laidback personalities obtained from either being born into money, or inhaling a lot of organic material. With a former senator for a grandfather, and a family that owned half of the new-to-town professional soccer team, along with a successful trucking company and a slew of high-level storage units, the former was the obvious answer.
Aiden was another story. Quiet and not the best student, he had a tendency to cause trouble. Or more accurately, he often found himself trouble adjacent. He wasn’t the mean type, or outright menacing, but making the right decision when it counted was not his forte.
“What’s up, guys?”
“Coach Collins says you have some openings on the drama club,” Burke said. “We’d like to join.”
I didn’t respond right away, since doing so required lifting my chin up off the floor. After a weighted pause, I said, “You guys want to join the drama club? Both of you?”
Aiden had yet to speak, but Burke did say we, so unless he had a mouse in his pocket, I assumed he meant Aiden too.
Burke stepped into the room, and tugged Aiden in with him. “Yes, ma’am.”
This was going to be interesting. Rising, I stepped around the desk. “Why?” I asked.
Neither looked prepared for the question. “Excuse me?” Burke said.
“Why do you want to join the club?”
The clear leader of the twosome shrugged his shoulders. “My mom was an actress before she had me so I’m thinking I might have some skills. When Coach suggested we think about joining, I figured why not?”
The why not seemed obvious to me. Cool kids played football. The outcasts joined drama. I preferred the outcasts, personally, but I also wasn’t in a position to turn away willing participants. If they were, indeed, willing.
“What about you, Mr. Bishop? Was your mother an actress, too?”
“Not that I know of,” he said, finally finding his voice.
“Then what makes you suddenly want to be a thespian?”
“A what?”
Moving closer, I asked, “Is Coach Collins making you do this?”
“No, ma’am,” Burke replied.
“He isn’t threatening you with more time in the dugout or something?”
“That’s baseball,” Aiden said. “Football doesn’t have a dugout.”
I should have known that fact after years of attending Megan’s softball games.
“So you’re both here under your own free will, wanting to join the play?”
“Yes,” they said in stereo.
Confused, and a bit stunned, I wasn’t sure what to say next. Without knowing how well they could act, I couldn’t be sure if this was a good idea or not. At the same time, did I have a choice? We needed actors, we’d asked for volunteers, and here they were, reporting for duty.
Walking back around the desk, I opened my bottom drawer and drew out two scripts. “Auditions are next Tuesday, so that gives you time to look over the story and see what parts you might want to play.”
Until that moment, auditions hadn’t been set at all, but I needed to see what these newbies could do as soon as possible.
“There are multiple parts you can try. The male lead, his father, his best friend, the female lead’s father, and a police officer. You’re welcome to try out for any or all of them.”
If nothing else, we could use the muscle to build the sets, and hopefully more students would show up at my door on Monday.
“What time on Tuesday?” Aiden asked. “We have football practice after school.”
If football took priority, then why were they here?
“Auditions start at three thirty. The latest you can show up is four.”
The boys exchanged a look that said I would not be seeing them on Tuesday. Up to them. Collins had to know that the two activities would overlap, so if he wanted them to join the play, he needed to make some compromises.
Looking up, I caught a glimpse of the clock above the door. “Go ahead and take those with you. I appreciate you wanting to join, but if you can’t make it on Tuesday, don’t worry about it. No harm done.”
“We’ll be there,” Burke said. Aiden didn’t look so confident.
I felt the same as Aiden. “Then I’ll see you in the auditorium next week.”
Chapter Six
I couldn’t decide if he was a miracle man or a menace, but Trey Collins had more sway with these kids than I expected. Not that the boys were officially in the club. When the choice came down to us or the team, there was no chance they’d pick us.
But they’d taken a bigger step than any players in the past, and I had to give him credit for that.
“Hey, lady,” said Donna as I stepped into Megan’s apartment. “About time you got here.”
We were making a night of it, which required packing a bag. “I had to do laundry to have something to pack.”
She scoffed. “You had all week to do laundry and you waited until today? Why am I not surprised.”
This was one downside to your friends knowing you too well. “I was busy the rest of the week.” Without a word, she stared with one perfectly shaped brow arched high. “Fine, I put it off until today. Is everyone else here?”
“Pretty much. Head to the kitchen for a drink, and I’ll put your bag in the bedroom.”
Spotting Josie and Megan at the counter, I took Donna’s suggestion and strolled that way. As I joined them, Megan handed me a wineglass full of orange juice.
“Mimosa?” I asked. Not a typical drink for an evening event, but when something was perfect, you didn’t restrict it to brunch alone.
“Yes, ma’am,” the bride replied, far more relaxed than I expected.
Megan was a boss, whether on the ball field or in the library, but she could also be anxious around big events, and this one certainly qualified. The wedding venue, called Hickamore House, would host both the ceremony and the reception, and came with the use of a gorgeous old renovated home. That’s where the bridal party would spend the night after the rehearsal dinner tomorrow, and where the couple would spend their wedding night before flying off for their honeymoon the next morning.
“Is everything good for the weekend?” I asked.
Megan shrugged. “As far as I know, yeah. Becca has been in charge of everything, and what she isn’t handling, Amanda is taking care of.”
Amanda was Becca’s boss and the owner of Three Rivers Events. I supposed when you put your wedding in the hands of people you truly trusted, you could be completely hands off. But there should have been some nerves floating to the surface. The woman was about to say ’til death do us part.
That was kind of a big deal.
“Oh, Miriam is here,” Megan said, trotting over to give her boss a welcome hug.
This did not add up. “Am I crazy or is she acting weird?”
Without hesitating, Josie said, “She’s on her fifth mimosa.”
Holy crap. “Please tell me you’ve fed her today.”
“During lunch she said she was too nervous to eat. Since then I’ve seen her toss back exactly two canapes.”
Could you even have a bachelorette party if the bachelorette was asleep by seven? We would soon find out.
Surveying the array of snacks spread across the kitchen island, I debated whether to start healthy and go for a handful of nuts, or to say the heck with it and grab a cupcake.
“Hey, Linds,” Becca said, joining us in the kitchen. “How is school?”
“Same old same old.” I hadn’t told anyone about the threat to the drama club. There wasn’t anything they could do, and I saw no point in tanking the mood when this was Megan’s moment in the spotlight. “How is Jacob doing? I’ve only seen him a couple of times in the teachers’ lounge.”
Becca tossed an almond into her mouth. “About the same, I assume. All I’ve heard about is his new friend.”
Not the response I expected.
“New friend?” Josie said.
In an uncharacteristic move, Becca rolled her eyes. “He’s the new football coach. They’re in the same department and the two of them have hit it off.”
“Trey Collins,” I said. “Jacob was introducing him around the teachers’ lounge the first week of school.”
Making an astute observation, Josie said, “Neither of you sound all that enthused about the person.”
“I’ve never met him,” Becca said with a shrug, “but I’m tired of hearing his name. Trey played this here. Trey has done that there. Apparently, the school has hired the most interesting man in the world to be their football coach.”
I knew none of this, and also, interesting was not the first word that came to mind at the mention of Coach Collins. Annoying. Arrogant. Built like a tank. All reasonable descriptors. Interesting might have been on the list, but nowhere near my top ten.
“They put his room across from mine and it’s like Grand Central Station. Students—mostly football players—and faculty are always hovering in his doorway for one reason or another. I don’t get it.”
“Wait, Miles mentioned a new guy at the poker game,” Josie said. “Is that him?”
“Yes,” Becca answered. “Jacob takes him everywhere. Says he’s new in town and doesn’t know anyone, so we should help him meet people.” Becca reached for more almonds. “We’re even taking him to the wedding.”
That better be some other wedding on some other weekend that did not involve me. “What?”
“It was Ryan’s idea,” Becca said. “He had a cousin bail at the last minute so the meal is already paid for. I didn’t think the coach would say yes since he’d know almost no one there, but I was wrong.”
This was supposed to be my weekend to relax and not think about school. How was I going to do that when my school nemesis was in attendance?
Nemesis might have been too strong a word, but if he knew that Aiden and Burke came to see me about the club, there was no way he wouldn’t mention it. And then he’d get to say I told you so instead of me. But then I could remind him that joining the play would take them away from the team, and his story would change real quick.
“Lindsey?” Becca said, snapping her fingers in front of my face. “Where did you go, and why are you grinding your teeth like that?”
“I’m fine.”
“Were you having a pretend argument in your head?”
I really needed to find friends who didn’t know me inside and out. “Who would go to a complete stranger’s wedding?”
“He’s played poker with the guys a few times,” Josie said, “So he isn’t a stranger to Ryan.”
“A few card games doesn’t make them close enough to invite the man to his wedding,” I pointed out. “What did Megan say?”
“She agreed that the meal was paid for so someone might as well eat it.” Lowering her voice, Becca said, “Speaking of the bride, here she comes with an empty glass again. We need to slow her down.”
“I’ve got it,” Josie mumbled. The moment Megan reached us with Miriam Webster—her boss from the library and yes, that was her real name—Josie took the empty glass from Megan’s hand. “Let me refill that for you, hon. Miriam, what can I get you?”
“Megan says the mimosas are good.”
“Coming right up.” Josie gave me a wink as she turned to the row of liquor bottles behind us.
“Are we all ready for the big day?” Miriam asked.
“Becca has everything under control.” The glaze over Megan’s eyes said she’d completely checked out.
“Here you are.” Josie handed both Miriam and Megan their drinks. “Don’t forget about all the snacks.”
“Speaking of,” Donna said, stepping up to the group. “Your sister and stepmom would like more canapes. Are there more in the fridge?”
“I’ll take them over,” Megan said. She then promptly turned on her heels and walked away empty-handed.
The five of us exchanged a confused glance before Miriam said, “If you have a plate ready, I’ll take them over.”
Josie checked the fridge and, sure enough, there was another platter ready to go.
As the head librarian walked away, Donna said, “Maybe we should cut Megan off.”
“Already done.” Josie grabbed a bottle behind her and held it up. “She’s now drinking orange juice and sparkling water.”
That was one way to do it. “Smart move.”
Becca pushed away from the counter. “We need to go sit down before I eat this entire bowl of nuts.”
“You can have the nuts.” I plopped a cupcake onto a small paper plate. “I’m going for the sweets.”
