Stage Kissed

by Cassie Mae

  She taps her phone off, the glow leaving her hands. “Um, I think so. Why?”

  I turn my attention to Mr. Ryan, who’s smiling with polite curiosity.

  “Part of the tutoring.” I tilt my head back at Kate. She hasn’t moved from her spot at the table. “If I’m okay to draw on the driveway?”

  Mr. Ryan nods. “Of course. In fact, use the basketball court out back. Much bigger, and there’s more light.”

  “Perfect, thanks.”

  He nods again and gently pushes Becca up off the couch. She tucks her cell in her pocket and goes up the stairs two at a time. While she’s gone I go to the table and slap Kate’s book shut, then hold my hand out for hers, ignoring the fact I’m shaking as much as Mom’s Jell-O when someone opens the fridge.

  Her fingers twine in mine and her lips curl into a curious half-grin.

  “What are we doing?” she asks as Becca bolts back down the stairs, sidewalk chalk in hand.

  I nod a thanks as I take it from her, then turn back to Kate. “Learning trig.”

  She pulls her jacket on as I lead her outside—pizza boxes in hand—even though it’s her house and I have no idea where I’m going.

  “Okay…” I say under my breath as I survey the basketball court. The back porch light sheds a glow on the half-court lines painted on the cement. There are patches of wetness here and there from the recent rainfall, but it’s mostly dry. “Where’s your sweet spot?”

  After the look I get from Kate, with her lips pursed together as she holds in her laughter, I realize just how bad that sounded.

  “Uh…on the court,” I add, my face filling up with heat.

  She laughs and walks to the upper right corner of the court. Her legs go in a crouch as she pretends to bounce a ball and shoot. “Right here,” she says, arm still suspended in the air. I like how comfortable she looks, even without a ball in her hand. “Every time, I know it’s going in.”

  My mouth quirks at the corner, and I grin and pull out a bright blue piece of chalk. I take her place, only pushing slightly on her shoulder to give me room. Crouching down, I pull the chalk across the cement, writing in big letters.

  SOHCAHTOA

  I stand up and smile, and Kate bursts out with laughter.

  “I’m sorry,” she says, glancing at my confused expression. “It’s just…you have really good handwriting.”

  Okay…

  “Does that surprise you?”

  “It’s so girly,” she laughs again and I nudge her in the shoulder.

  “Glad that amuses you.”

  “I’m sorry,” she says, trying to wipe the grin from her face. “Keep going.”

  “I’m making you write it out.” I hand her the chalk, not able to wipe the grin off my face. “Ready?”

  She crouches down. “What do you want me to write?”

  “What that stands for.” I point to the anagram.

  “Uh…some old hippie came a-hopping through our apartment?”

  I laugh and bend down next to her, my knee smacking into hers. She tips off-balance and I reach out to steady her. There’s about three seconds in which we just stare at each other, my hand growing hot on her arm.

  For those three seconds, I think about kissing those perfect lips again.

  I drop her arm and she settles the chalk on the drive. She writes “Sine Opposite Hypotenuse,” then finishes the rest.

  She sighs. “I know this already, Smarty Pants.”

  “Then you already know all you need to know.” I settle down on the cement, crossing my feet under me. “Here, if you promise not to make fun of my feminine handwriting again, I’ll show you.”

  She holds back a laugh and smacks the chalk in my hand, sitting down next to me, knee against knee.

  I try to ignore the electric shocks popping through my leg from hers, and write out the problem she was struggling with.

  “Okay, now think about the sweet spot on the court. How every time you make it, right?”

  She nods.

  “SOHCAHTOA is right there, too. So use it here.”

  She tilts her head at me like I’ve taken the first train into Crazy Town, but does what I ask anyway. Her teeth hover over that full bottom lip as she concentrates, writing on the court everything correctly…so far.

  My heart starts pumping too fast again, and I have to wipe my palms on my khakis. She’s so close. Her leg is still pressed against mine like she doesn’t even know it’s there. But my leg’s on fire, and I sort of wish she’d set the rest of me ablaze.

  Stupid thoughts. I’m tempted to smack my head to get rid of them. I’m still so unsure about us. I mean, who are we together? I know we’re friends, but what kind? Just work? Because that’s over. Just theater? Because that’s over, too. And now study buds, but for how long? How can I keep this up? Is there enough time for me in her life? Will she make time for me…?

  “Is that right?” she asks, taking me out of my own brain.

  I blink and focus on the equation. “Yeah—that’s right, Kate.” I smile and move a centimeter to nudge her shoulder again. “Told you.”

  “It’s easier out here for some reason.”

  She lets her head fall on my shoulder and drops the chalk on the ground. It clatters and rolls a few feet away.

  My hand twitches next to hers and I scratch my leg to hide my nerves from her being so close. “Uh…sometimes when you look at things differently, they’re easier to remember.”

  Her mouth twitches against my shoulder, and she keeps her head resting against me as we fall into a comfortable silence. Her breath is slow and steady and I wonder if she’s fallen asleep. My leg’s starting to fall asleep, but I don’t dare move it from hers.

  “Hey, Seth?” she says, breaking the quiet, and I jump, because I really thought she was out. She chuckles and lifts her head so she can look at me. “You know, I think I’m gonna miss Jamba. Maybe a little.”

  I swallow down the lump in my throat. I knew she wasn’t a hundred percent okay about being let go, and I wrack my brain for something to say that’ll make her feel better. But I come up empty.

  So I turn to face her and let her know how I feel, substituting one word. “I think it’ll miss you, too.”

  Her eyes smile along with those gorgeous lips. We lock gazes and don’t say a word, though it looks like she wants to. I know I want to. I want to tell her how much I’ll miss her. How I wish we had something to keep us together amidst our busy schedules. How much I really like her. How beautiful I think she is—how great a person, how great a friend, how she helped me change so much—in ways that may seem small to other people, but for me…it’s a pretty big deal.

  Mr. Ryan opens the back door with a bang! An obvious warning that we’re not alone anymore.

  “Hey, kids. It’s almost ten-fifteen. Kate, better get inside; and Seth, sorry, but it’s about time you get running.”

  We nod and stand, keeping about five feet apart from each other. Kate walks me silently through the house, helps me grab my book and notepad, and then walks me to the car. Mr. Ryan leans against the doorframe, watching for a second before shutting the door. Pretty cool dad for giving us another alone minute, since we don’t—and won’t any time soon—have many of them.

  “Thanks,” she says, voice back to her normal happy Kate self.

  “Yup.”

  “Any chance you can do next Tuesday?”

  Tuesday…shoot.

  “Sorry, I’ve got the late shift at Jamba, then I’ve got to pick my dad up from the airport.” I sort through the rest of my week. “What about Thursday?”

  Her face falls, as I knew it would. “Can’t. Soccer practice, and then I’ve got another banquet meeting.”

  “Oh, okay.”

  We both sigh, then laugh at each other.

  “We’ll figure it out,” she says, punching my shoulder.

  “Yeah.”

  “I’m guessing you’re busy over the weekend, too?”

  I nod, shrugging my hands into my po
ckets. “I am, on Sunday. Going to Naperville to visit my aunt.”

  “Really? I have a soccer tournament up there. But I’m going up on Friday night for a full day of Saturday games.”

  Great. She’ll be up there Friday and Saturday, then we’ll just switch spots. Nothing ever works out.

  She punches my shoulder again. “Maybe you can ride up early. Come and see a few.”

  “Yeah!” I spout off without thinking. I’m pretty sure I shock her straight to the moon and back, because my head doesn’t exactly register that maybe she was joking until now. “I mean, yeah. That’d be cool. If you don’t mind…I mean, I can be there.”

  “You want to?” she says through a big grin.

  I hold back another embarrassing exclamation and just nod.

  “Awesome. I’ll text you the address.”

  “Sounds good.”

  She turns to go into the house, but stops halfway. “Oh, and really, Seth, if you can’t make it, I mean, I understand. You know whether it’s work or tutoring or whatever else—”

  “Kate,” I say, stopping all those excuses I could give her, but I won’t. “If my parents give me the thumbs up, I’ll be there.”

  She gives another big smile for a split second, then she points a finger at me. “I’m going to hold you to that.”

  “I hope you do.” I grin, and instead of going into the house, she hops back down her porch and into my arms. She stays long enough for me to respond, running my hands up and down her back, burrowing my face in her neck while she tucks into mine. I breathe her in, smelling Gatorade and sidewalk chalk, which sounds like a horrible combination, but on Kate it’s not. I want to hold her here forever, in my arms.

  The door swings open from the inside and we jump apart. Mr. Ryan politely smiles and waves, but there is a definite “Dad” look I’m getting that tells me he’s not above giving me a lecture. My cue to go, and go fast.

  After Kate disappears into her house, I walk to my car and start it. But before pulling out, I sit there and think, running my hand over my eyes. It’ll be worth it—seeing Kate play soccer and spending some time with her. But I’m going to have to find someone for my Saturday Jamba shift, and let them know I won’t be going to the MESA meeting Friday night. Except…I’m in charge of that one. Hmm…maybe I can cut the meeting short so I can sleep before the long drive.

  I’ll figure it out. I always do. Right now, all I can think about is the way her head felt on my shoulder, the way her arms felt around my neck. I’ll bathe in that feeling for as long as I can. Hopefully it’ll last me until I see her again.

  Is it really Friday already?

  I lean against my locker and exhale loudly. Thank heavens for the weekend.

  Though I can’t really complain about the week. Tests and quizzes went well. Got an A on my trig exam. That was a shocker. I guess Seth’s basketball lesson helped. A small smile tugs at my lip as I remember the chalk. My sweet spot.

  I can’t help but laugh out loud.

  “Hey, lady!” Brit strolls over with Abby and Trish. “You better be careful laughing by yourself. People will think you’re crazy or something.” She rests her arm on my locker and I do my best to hold it in. Eventually the dam breaks and we’re both chuckling like idiots.

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” I manage as I try to get air into my lungs. I turn to my locker and sift through the crap to get what I need. There are a few things I should look over in my spare time this weekend. I shake my head at the ridiculous idea of free time.

  Since Brit’s a giant, she can look at me over the locker door. “We’re thinking of catching a seven o’clock movie, then heading back to my place to eat. Due to your little curfew issue of having to be back by nine.” She clears her throat meaningfully.

  My head tilts as I look up at her, and my confusion spreads as the seconds tick by. I can’t fathom what she’s talking about.

  “My birthday, Kate.”

  With calculator in hand, I slap it to my forehead. I knew the weekend seemed too empty.

  “You forgot, didn’t you?”

  “Of course she forgot, Brit. She’s Kate Ryan. She needs a secretary or something.” Abby pats me on the shoulder.

  “I didn’t forget, Brit,” I say, standing and latching onto her eyes. “Really, I didn’t. I have your gift already and everything.” It’s a little bit of a lie. I did forget it was this Saturday, but I do have her gift.

  Not to mention my parents had to talk to Brit’s parents about my grounding. If she really wanted me at her party, we had to be back to her house by nine. They like Brit’s family so much that they were okay with making a slight exception to my punishment. Plus, I’ve been on my best behavior. The A on my trig exam certainly helped.

  I close my locker and throw my bag over my shoulder. My phone buzzes with a text. I shove it in my pocket before looking at who it is. I gotta focus on the girl in front of me. “I might be a little late, depending on how well the tournament goes.” Brit’s shoulders drop.

  “Don’t look at me like that,” I say with a smile. “You know I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  “I know, lady. Just want you to be there, so you best hurry.” She wraps me in a hug, and gives me an extra squeeze. “Good luck with the tournament, and keep me posted on your timing.”

  “You bet. See you guys tomorrow.” I turn to head to my car. I just have to get home, grab some clothes, and it’s off to Naperville. I could probably get some stuff done on the drive there, but I don’t see my parents a whole lot so we tend to have a lot to talk about during car rides. I wonder which parent has me this weekend?

  “Kate! Great, I caught you before you left.” Aaron runs to my side and adjusts his glasses before speaking. “As you know, yearbook needs to be done this weekend.” I nod because we had this conversation at the meeting yesterday. “Well, Caleb just told me he can’t organize the ten pages he was assigned to do this weekend because his girlfriend surprised him by coming in for a visit. I asked Tim if he could take them on but he says he’s not sure he can get them done either. Apparently there’s a new videogame release tonight.” Aaron rolls his eyes. “I’m already doing ten pages and would really like to not have to do another ten, you know?” Aaron has sweat pooling along his hairline. There’s a bit of heat running down my spine because I know what’s coming…

  “Can you do these ten pages?” He holds out the sketches, and of course they’re the collages, where everyone needs to be tagged and put into the index so we can double-check that every student is represented in the yearbook and no one is in it too much more than others.

  “Aaron…” I exhale loudly. Seeing how pathetic he looks, begging me to help him, is totally killing my resolve. “I’ve done at least half the work on the yearbook already. I did all of the pages that have been completed. These are the only ones left. We agreed they would be split up by everyone else on the team.”

  His shoulders sink. “It’s just…it’s going to take you like half the time to do it as everyone else.”

  “Did you ask Megan?” I try to keep my voice even.

  “I did. She’s going to Steve’s party tonight and has something else tomorrow.” He waves his hand to dismiss it and I can’t help but notice the tremor that matches the one in his voice. “I asked everyone, Kate. I really did. Can you please help me?”

  I should tell him that as the leader of the yearbook, he should pick up the slack of his club. If he can’t motivate them to do their part, it falls on him. If we wouldn’t screw around in our meetings, talking about the latest gossip and whether someone looks fat in this or that picture, perhaps we wouldn’t have this issue in the first place.

  His club members have weak excuses. When would I even have the time? Tonight in the hotel room? I guess that could work if Dad lets me borrow his laptop. Maybe I could find time on Sunday.

  I should just say “no.” But people ask me because they know I never do. But Aaron’s never done anything for me. None of the kids in the yearbook grou
p have. So what if we miss our deadline? We set ourselves up for this.

  But this isn’t me. If I can find the time to do it, I’ll do it, because it’s the right thing to do. We spent all this time on the yearbook and it should be the best we can make it. It should be something we can be proud of.

  “I’ll do it,” I say as I take the folder from Aaron. I force a smile. “You owe me big time.”

  “Thanks so much, Kate! You’re a lifesaver.” He takes a step back and wipes the sweat off his forehead. “And I do owe you big time. Have a good weekend.” Faster than I can blink, he spins around and runs down the hall.

  “Whoa! Watch it,” Nancy yells as she sidesteps Aaron. I don’t even take a step to walk anywhere because I know she’s coming to talk to me.

  “Hey, Nancy. What’s up?”

  “You ready for the big tournament tomorrow?” She runs her hand through her brown pixie cut, then tugs on her uniform. We’re all wearing our soccer jerseys today as a “team bonding” thing.

  “Yup, plan on heading home, grabbing a parent, and heading out.”

  “Awesome. Well, a number of us were saying it would be fun to spend Saturday night in Naperville, too. It’s the beginning of the season and we have a lot of new girls. Great way to build up the team, right?”

  I resituate the bag that suddenly feels heavier on my shoulder.

  “That sounds like a good idea Nancy, but I can’t make it. I have plans Saturday night.”

  “What kind of plans?”

  “It’s Brit’s birthday.”

  Nancy’s hip juts out a bit, eyes narrowing. “Can’t you just do it a different day? This is important for the team.”

  I know why she’s taking charge and attempting to enhance the cohesiveness of our team. She’s vying for the last starting position on defense, and if she can look more like a leader then Tina, our coach, might give the spot to her.

  “Like I said, I think it’s a great idea, I just won’t be able to stay.”

  “You’re a team captain, Kate. You have to be there. Plus, you didn’t get to play in the first two games of the season due to your…indiscretion. It’s important you make up for that.”