AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He shrugged. “Life. Some bad choices. Some mistakes. It’s pointless anyway. It wouldn’t have worked out.”
She played with the tissue in her hand, not sure what to say but feeling the pain of this no-longer-such-a-stranger.
“Were you in theater in high school?” she asked, smiling.
“Yes,” he admitted.
“Any fun roles?”
“I was Danny in Grease my senior year.”
She laughed, raising an eyebrow. “Really?”
“What, is that so hard to imagine? Don’t I have the greaser vibe?”
“Give me a few lines,” she demanded, studying him and trying to picture him in the signature leather jacket.
He shook his head, eyes averted to the floor. “No, it’s been forever.”
“Come on. I need some entertainment.”
He sighed, shaking his head. He stared out the window, as if deep in thought. For a long moment, she thought he was going to say no again.
But then, he finally nodded and burst into “Summer Nights.”
And he was good. Really good. When he sang, his whole face lit up, and he just came to life. Rachel could see that Zander wasn’t just good at singing and theater—it was what he loved.
When he finished and Rachel clapped, he shook his head.
“Stop. I know I’m not good anymore. It’s been too long.”
“Are you kidding? That was so good, Zander. Truly. And it’s never too late, you know. I’ve been down that road before. I used to think I’d missed my chance. But here I am, fighting my way up.”
“Yeah, but you’re on your way, Rachel. You’re a star. You’ve got that star quality about you.”
“What, for leaping off balconies? Being a stunt double? After this move, I’m pretty sure I’m on my way down. I’m going to be pulled from the chorus after this one.”
“Nonsense. You’ve got the charisma for the job. You’re beautiful, and you’re so kind. You’re going to go far, farther than you already have.”
Rachel looked up at him, the word beautiful resonating. She felt her cheeks warm. This hunk thought she was beautiful? She must have a concussion.
“So how did you get into teaching from acting, then? You’re so good.”
Zander smiled. “Thanks. I guess that besides acting, teaching was my other passion. When I missed the boat for acting and knew it wasn’t going to happen, I made a choice to follow another dream. In high school, I’d volunteered in the special classrooms for students with severe developmental disabilities. I loved working with the kids, and I just felt like it gave me such joy and purpose. When I was figuring out what to do with my life, this seemed like a good fit. And it is. I love my job, I do.”
Talented, into theater, humble, and compassionate. If Rachel had a checklist for what she was looking for in a partner—which she most certainly did not—he’d probably be ticking all the right boxes. This guy was too good to be true. Which meant he probably was. But that wasn’t something that needed addressing.
“I can see you’re good at it. The kids love you. I could tell in five minutes of walking in the room,” Rachel admitted, smiling as Zander talked more about some of the students and his job. She could tell he was following his passion, and that was something she found sexy in a man.
If she were looking for sexy or a man—which she, of course, wasn’t, she reminded herself. Again.
“You know, you don’t have to pick one. Maybe you could find a way to follow both of your passions. Think about how inspiring it would be for your students for you to chase those Broadway dreams. You should audition.”
“I can’t do that. I don’t have a degree. I don’t have an agent or really any recent acting experience,” Zander argued.
“So change that. What’s stopping you? You’re still young.”
“Is twenty-nine young?”
