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This made Trey chuckle, but instead of responding to Liam’s taunting like she expected, Trey turned his attention to Maybelle.The assessment started at her toes, meandered its way up her exposed tanned legs, lingered just under her collar bones, caressed her lips then widened at the golden curls that she rarely let loose like this.
Trey’s emerald gaze significantly intensified as he locked eyes with her, “You look incredible tonight, May.”
She hadn’t yet put on her navy-blue cap and gown; they were folded up in her arms with her silver handbag, a mistake she was now ridiculing herself for. Maybelle was struggling not to crush and wrinkle the fabric she had locked up tightly in her hold with anxiety and regret that she left herself so exposed to him.
“Thank you.” She uttered pathetically and smiled lamely as she checked to see Liam’s reaction to his best friend’s obvious flirting, but he had already moved on talking up a group of senior girls that Maybelle instantly recognized as part of the girls’ basketball team.
Now realizing she was utterly alone to face the man that radiated excellence and greatness, Maybelle so very slowlyturned her attention back to Trey. He was so freaking pretty. Such a classy, brilliant type of pretty. Trey Turner was remarkable; one look and you knew he wasn’t anything but exceptional.
While Maybelle might be anything but worthy of such praise, she did realize one thing after their fateful conversation from earlier that morning. She liked when Trey looked at her,saw her. It was scary as hell thinking she might risk him seeing too much, absolutely terrifying thinking she may reveal too many of the collected shards that make up the shattered bits of her damaged being, but she couldn’t quite care in the moment. Maybelle’s chaotic thoughts and heart were in an orbit that revolved around Trey’s beautiful, all-seeing green eyes and the feelings they had fluttering life into her usually numb spirit.
Instead of running, instead of shying away from his sweet, exhilarating words and piercing focus Maybelle forced herself to speak, “You don’t look so bad yourself.”
Trey’s dimples framed the wide grin he so graciously gifted her, and it stole the air from her already failing lungs, “So, you’re coming tonight, right? You’re not going to stay home to read your books?”Trey asked, taking a step closer and her heart threatened to quit on her.
“Well, I can’t miss karaoke, now, can I?” She teased, her confidence and voice wavering.
Trey’s head tilted back with a laugh, “Nope, you really can’t. The world needs to be blessed with a talent like yours.”
Gosh, she was doing it. Maybelle was conversing and notentirelyfailing. Still feeling just a tad unsure of herself, Maybelle bit the inside of her cheek, suppressing a scoff at Trey’s comment but let her eyes wander to find Liam readying for a group picture with the same team of girls from before.
“I won’t hold you hostage in the corner, you better get over there or you’ll miss out on the picture.” Maybelle waved ahand to where her brother was now drawing up a larger crowd of students for the picture.
Trey didn’t even bother following her gesture, he just stared at her, unperturbed, before grasping one of her stray curls, his hand briefly brushing the exposed skin of her shoulder as he wound the golden tuft around his finger.
“You are never allowed to wear your hair up ever again.” He said lowly, just for her to hear.
Maybelle’s brows knitted together, “What—why?”
Trey shook his head and gently tugged on the curl intertwined with his fingers, the action making Maybelle tentatively rid themselves of more of the distance between them. She was nearly pressed up against him now with only her arms full of her cap, gown and small purse keeping the space.
Trey looked down at her, his minty, sweet breath an intoxicating welcome to her senses, “Because it has to be a crime to always tie or braid back something so ridiculously pretty.”
Woof… Maybelle was on fire, her skin, her belly, her fingers, her toes… This man owned her, she knew it and by the heat in his eyes, he knew it too.
What was he doing?
Maybelle hadn’t even existed to him before this week so why was he talking to her like this, looking at her like that, touching her? This had to be a game, a joke, maybe even a dare. Had he found out she had never been kissed?
Did he like the challenge in that?
There had to be an ulterior motive because Trey Turner could never look at her, a ghost, like this and mean it. With that hear-breaking thought, Maybelle was eager to run, hide, crawl back behind her safe, usually, impenetrable walls. Pitifully, she reached up and softly retrieved her curl from his fingers, “I better go help set up.”
Trey’s brows furrowed at the excuse, and he moved like he would object or even pull her back, but Liam was a perfectly timed, welcome interruption, “You ready to go help with the rest of set up, May? I think they are wanting to start soon.”
Maybelle quickly nodded, returning the much needed distance between her and Trey before making her way to the backstage. She didn’t turn back when Liam asked Trey, “You coming, bro? I bet there isn’t much left to put up.”
Pause.
There was a pause and it was enough to tempt Maybelle to sneak one peek back over her shoulder to see Trey’s eyes were still glued to her. Again, those green eyes saw too much. Maybelle had no doubt that those eyes saw the puny shreds of her soul she cautiously stuffed behind the walls of her stoned, beaten heart. Then why look at her like that, like there was something other than a wretched apparition of a girl festering beneath her skin?
“Nah, you guys go ahead, I will catch up with you after the ceremony.” Trey returned to his spot, slouched against the wall while his stare was still so intense Maybelle could feel it tunneling through her not so stable, self-erected walls.
Liam and Maybelle helped with the rest of set up, not that there was much else to do like Liam had predicted. Afterwards, they found their positions quickly in the lines and within the hour the ceremony commenced.
Maybelle had dressed into her blue robe that was incredibly itchy on her neck and shoulders, then pinned her cap onto the top of her curls. The speeches were short and sweet which she and probably many others in the audience thoroughly appreciated. Soon after the speeches were given, the main faculty of the school began calling out the graduating students’ names in alphabetical order.
Maybelle quickly found herself just behind Liam, patiently waiting for his name and then hers to be announced over the speakers. Maybelle wasn’t nervous, or anxious at all as she anticipated her and her brother’s names over the loudspeaker. Once upon a time she had been very comfortable in front of an audience, performing under the pressure of cheering fans and booing opponents. This short trek across the stage would be a literal cake walk by comparison. On the other hand, she did have to push away the feelings of contrition that crawled up her throat as she recalled such moments from her past.
