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“Sure, what’s up?”
“Well, you know about the ball coming up,” he said. “I am in critical need of chaperones. I still need four or five more. Would you be able to make it that night?”
“Sure,” I said. “Am I completely on duty all night, or can I bring a date?”
“Oh,” he said, a sly smile curling his lip, “have you got some lady friend I don’t know about?”
“Something like that,” I said. I wondered how much the rumors of mine and Mallory’s relationship had spread, but it didn’t surprise me that Principal Runnels hadn’t heard it. He was more singularly focused on sports to care much about the gossip of which teachers might be seeing each other.
“Sure,” he said. “By all means. You just have to keep an eye on the kids, make sure they don’t get too rowdy. You know how they can be.”
“I do,” I said.
We both shared a laugh, and immediately I turned around, heading toward the theater room. As I got there, I saw that Mallory was standing in her office, the door open as students inside had separated into little groups with scripts in their hands. I slipped inside, getting some side-eyes from a couple of the kids in there, and met eyes with Mallory. I pointed toward her office, and she nodded, shutting the door behind me.
“Hey, what’s up?” she asked.
“I just talked to the principal,” I said. “He asked me if I could chaperone for the Winter Ball.”
“Oh, how fun,” she said, and I couldn’t tell if it was sarcastic or not.
“I never got to go when I was in high school,” I said. “I always had practice or something that night.” I crossed the space between us, getting close enough that I could feel her breath on my chin as she looked up at me. “That means I never got the chance to ask you to it. Or any dance, for that matter. It’s something I am glad I get to rectify right now.”
“Mr. Miller,” she said, grinning, “are you asking me to the Winter Ball?”
“I am,” I said. “Even if it means we are both technically chaperones.”
She smiled widely and reached up on her toes to press a light kiss to my lips.
“I would love to go to the Winter Ball with you, Graham,” she said.
I wiped my forehead dramatically. “Whew,” I said. “I was worried you already had a date.”
She laughed and pressed another kiss to my lips before I turned and walked away, quite pleased with myself.
25
MALLORY
For a moment, I was seventeen again. Seventeen with braces and curly, frizzy hair that refused to be tamed, ginger and pale and absolutely invisible. I was that girl, standing in front of the popular, gorgeous athlete who was paying her attention. Not only attention but asking her to the Winter Ball.
I nearly squealed.
I was a grown-ass woman, and I nearly squealed. My women’s studies teacher in college would have had me hung.
Graham’s soulful eyes stared into mine, waiting for an answer. I must have forgotten to talk. I stepped up on my toes to press another light kiss to his lips, wondering if it was any good because my own were stretched so tight in a wide smile.
“I would love to go to the Winter Ball with you, Graham,” I said.
He made a joke about worrying I had another date and scooted off out the door, leaving me to collapse into the couch in my office and sigh like I was one of my students. After a few moments, a knock on my door woke me from my haze, and a senior named Valarie poked her head inside.
“Miss Taylor?” she asked. No matter how many times I heard someone refer to me like that, it still made me feel old. Usually, it would have bugged me for an instant the way it always did, but this time, I just smiled.
“Coming,” I said. “Is everyone ready?”
“Yup,” she said. “Derek wants to know if it’s okay if we curse?”
I sighed. “This is the theater, darling. What fucking good is it if we can’t?”
