The results were… mixed, but we made it to the end of class without incident, and Mrs. Hammond gave me a warm smile as she left with her husband.
Once I was changed back into regular clothes and my Chucks, I wandered back to the front desk.
“Yes, Thursday morning at nine will be perfect,” Jillie said into the receiver, smiling at me when I leaned on her desk. “Mm-hmm. Yes. Absolutely. We look forward to seeing you then.”
She returned the phone to its cradle and stood up from her ergonomic chair, handing a stack of papers over to me. “Hey there, could you take these to the classroom? I accidentally took them from the machine when I made my own copies.”
I grabbed them, but instead of releasing them to me,she tugged. “Arizona Thames emailed asking about the community greenhouse idea of hers.”
Gil’s wife, who most people called “Ari.” From the little I’d gleaned from conversation with Gil and even more from their nephew, Liem, they’d retired here last summer after years of running some sort of biscuit place in Mississippi. She’d left me a brief voicemail last week when I’d missed yet another call from her, saying that she wanted to connect, but I’d been busy with Dad and just hadn’t had the mental space to engage with anyone.
“Okay…,” I said, the papers dropping heavily to my side when she finally released them.
“You said you maybe wanted some more work here? Outside of the dance classes and admin work?”
I nodded cautiously even as a single bubble of hope filled inside my chest.
“Good. Then I think you should meet with Ari. I’ll let her explain to you better, but when she asked about hiring someone to help, I mentioned you. I have a feeling you’d be an asset to her.”
An asset.
At twenty-six years old, with my first dream in utter shambles… that was more than I dared to hope for, no matter what the work turned out to be.
I felt bad for not calling her back yet.
“Thanks, Jillie, I’ll do that.”
She smiled at me with so much warmth in her eyes that all I could manage was a small nod before I turned away and went directly to the classroom with the stack of papers in hand.
“Ire!” a sweet voice called as soon as I stepped inside.
My head snapped up, and just like every time I saw this guy, I had to wonder how his personality fit into such a wrapping. Liem’s dark hair was shaved to the scalp on oneside and long on the other, hanging down past his collarbone. He had tattoos similar to mine on his arm as well as some flowers inked across his fingers and very obvious nipple piercings.
The light that poured in from the high windows of the classroom was nothing compared to the pure light that seemed to stream out of him.
My lips twitched with the idea of a smile as he approached. “Liem,” I said, plopping the papers into his hands.
Looking past him, I nodded at Miss Lenny, glad she’d made it back into town safely. She was looking extra tanned too. Moving my gaze back to my feet, I succumbed to the battle that I always lost when I saw her in person and briefly pictured her bare boobs.
I didn’t even fight it, letting the boobs have their moment in the metaphorical sun just as I’m sure they’d had the last week when she was vacationing at the mysterious resort she and her boy toy frequented.
A gruff voice sounded from the front of the room, and my gaze roamed to Gil, who was giving directions in that no-nonsense way of his.
He nodded at me when our eyes met, and I nodded back.
Was it weird that my closest friend here was a retired, bald dude who was more likely to grunt than make small talk?
Maybe. But it was what it was.
I grabbed my phone from my pocket and took a picture of the class before heading out and leaving them to their crafting.
After grabbing some supplies from the hallway closet, I went back into the studio to clean up. I got the gaffer tape refreshed in spots that were peeling, the barre sanitized,and was almost done with the massive job of cleaning the mirrors when the lights suddenly went out.
Frowning, I walked across the floor on socked feet, having taken off my shoes so I wouldn’t scuff the floor, and popped my head out into the hallway. Gil turned at the intersection and started in my direction with something tucked under his arm and his tool belt dangling from his fingers.
He jerked his head toward the end of the hallway. “Put your shoes on, kid, and I’ll show you the breaker box.”
I retreated back inside and did as he instructed.
