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Everyone was praising her, but Derek’s body wouldn’t stand still, so he busied himself with collecting loose papers for the recycling and folding up chairs to stack. He heard the last of the goodbyes while he was carrying the folding table into the hallway behind the stage and was surprised to see Kylie standing in the middle of the room when he came back in. His pace slowed, but since they were the only two people in the large empty room, he couldn’t exactly ignore her.
He cleared his throat. “Nice work tonight.”
She grinned. “Try not to sound too surprised.”
“What Bette said about you not being local, it—”
“She wasn’t wrong.”
“Still, she didn’t have to be mean about it.” He wasn’t sure why he wanted to defend her after giving her the brush off himself for this exact reason.
“That’s true.”
They stood in silence for a moment, and Kylie shuffled her feet.
“You really saved us; you know that, right?” he said. “We really are going to be able to tell more people about the water treatment, and it’s also going to be a fun event for the town.”
“I’m happy to help,” she said, an adorable tint of red crossing her cheeks.
“But I still don’t understand why you’re doing so much.”
She looked as though his words had punched her in the gut.
“Why do you keep questioning my motives?” She threw up her hands in exasperation, nearly dropping the tote bag slung over her shoulder. “Do you truly believe I turned into some wicked witch in Toronto? I’m pretty sure I’ve always been a helpful person. Plus, I did tell you I need to impress Brad, and when I do a job I never half-ass it.”
Derek’s heart crumpled. Why couldn’t he ever say the right thing? “I’m sorry, you’re right. You’ve always been a kind person, and it isn’t fair to assume you aren’t anymore.”
“Well, I don’t know if you could say I’ve always been a kind person.” She rolled her eyes and put her bag down to fold up chairs.
He wanted to say something. In the dimly lit room, alone with Kylie, after watching her go head-to-head with town council, he wanted to give her something true. The quiet stretched out while they tidied the room until he couldn’t bear it.
“Well, I mean the day you turned me down is probably the only time I can remember that I wasn’t too happy with you,” he ventured.
“What are you talking about?” She stilled but kept her eyes on the papers she was shuffling.
He coughed and ran a hand through his hair, trying to be as casual as possible. “You don’t remember the day I asked you to prom?”
She looked at him then. “I remember the day you tried to prank me by asking me to prom.”
“Prank you? What are you talking about?”
Her eyes hardened, but she bit her lip, her tell when she was unsure. “I remember you asking me. And I remember Nick and Adam standing behind you laughing their faces off waiting for me to fall for it. I remember everyone in the hallway staring at me while you tried to trick me into saying yes.”
“What? Why on earth would I ask you to the prom as a prank?” A sudden coldness took root in his core.
“Why on earth would you ask me to prom for real?”
“Because I liked you for like, all of high school.” His chest tightened.
Her face fell. “Well then, why were Adam and Nick laughing?”
“I don’t remember that, but I’m guessing because they threatened that if I didn’t shut up and ask you out already, they were going to dump the soccer team’s Gatorade in my car.” He stuffed his hands into his pockets. “Hold on. If you had known I was asking you for real, what would you have said?”
The corners of her lips crept up. “I would’ve said yes of course.”
The cold in his chest burned up, and he moved closer to her. “Of course?”
“I had the biggest crush on you since seventh grade. Of course, I would’ve said yes.”
