Take a Chance on Me (9 page)

She winced, then admitted, “Better.”

“Well, it’s about time.”

Jessica stared at her. “About time? I barely know the man.”

Ana waved her hand dismissively. “I was talking about in general. You’ve been living like a nun for way too long. And so what if you just met him? The man’s hot. And anyone with eyes can see the sparks flying between you two.”

“The same man who, at the pizza place, was your future husband.”

Ana grinned. “Mine, yours, whatever.”

Jessica leaned down and thumped her forehead on the kitchen table. “This is just too damn complicated.”

“Why? You like him, he obviously likes you, what’s complicated about it?”

“We work together.”

“So?”

“So you shouldn’t date people you work with.”

“Why not? I mean, think about it. Once you’re out of college, how else are you going to meet people?”

Jessica shook her head. “Besides, I’m not in the market for a relationship.”

“Who said anything about a relationship?”

“Ana!”

“Oh, give me a break. How old are you, twelve? Why not have a casual fling? If you want to get hot and heavy with the guy, you should just go for it.”

“I just—” She waved her hands in the air, remembering too late the wineglass she was holding. She set the dripping glass down on a coaster and headed across the kitchen for some paper towels. “I’m not the casual sort,” she finished, blotting up the spilled liquid from the floor.

“Maybe, this once, you should be,” Ana retorted, grabbing the damp paper towels from her and tossing them in the garbage. Then she held up her hands. “Okay, fine, I’ll drop it. Go ahead, change the subject.”

“Tom thinks Shakespeare is a good idea,” Jessica said as she sat down again.

“Hey, Jessica, if you’re trying to change the subject, you’re doing it wrong.”

“I’m serious.” Jessica frowned at her. “He does. He told me it was a smart move. I tackle a difficult project, and if I pull it off, I look really good when hiring time comes around.”

Ana nodded slowly. “Okay. Leaving aside the fact that we’re
still
talking about the guy you should be sleeping with,
I have to agree with him. This could be a great asset to your quest for a permanent teaching position. If you pull it off.”

Jessica stared at her wineglass pensively, twisting the stem between her slender fingers. “That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it?”

Ana reached over and patted her hand. “Hey, don’t sweat it. You know I’ll help any way I can. And I have a feeling a certain security officer might be a willing assistant too.”

Jessica rolled her eyes. “Sure.”

“Mark my words, kiddo. You should go for it.” She held up a hand to ward off Jessica’s protests. “Okay. Enough with the small talk—let’s get to the good stuff. Just how amazing was that kiss?”

“Ana!”

“What? I’m just asking.”

“It was beyond amazing, but it’s never going to happen again. It can’t. We work together. That’s all.”

Ana sighed and lifted her wineglass in a mock salute. “Famous last words, Jess. Famous last words.”

Chapter Five

“Bye, Mr. C!”

Tom waved as a student rushed through the hallway and out the main doors. At the end of the day most students seemed to pick up speed, drawn to outside pursuits like filings to a magnet. The foyer slowly emptied under Tom’s watchful gaze.

He glanced around the open space, noting the posters on the walls, the framed class photos from generations of students, the display cases filled with awards and trophies. The stuffed bobcat, a physical manifestation of the school mascot, stood watch in the large glass case at the entrance to the school.

A low rumble of voices pulled his attention to the theater. One of the doors was propped partly open, and light spilled out into the darkened hallway. Curious, he ambled toward the door and peered inside.

He blinked. It looked like half the student body was inside, wandering around clutching sheets of paper and muttering. A mass of students gathered at the lip of the stage. Suddenly, the crowd parted and Jessica Martin plowed through, charging towards the exit door—and Tom.

She was walking briskly with her head down, and Tom backed up, holding the door open for her. She stepped through, then stopped, apparently puzzled at the open doorway. She looked around, frustration and panic vying for dominance on her face.

Tom caught her arm. “Is everything okay?”

“Thank God!” she said, relief radiating from every pore.

She sagged into him, leaning her forehead against his chest. He slid his hand up her arm, tentatively circling her shoulders. Oops, bad idea. Especially in front of a room full of students. He felt his chest tighten at the close contact, and other body parts weren’t far behind. Taking a deep breath, Tom stepped back, still holding her shoulder.

He stooped a bit to look her straight in the eye. “What’s going on?”

Jessica pressed a sheet of paper to his chest. “I need one hundred copies of this immediately. Can you take care of it for me? Thanks.”

“Uh, you’re welcome…” he answered to her retreating back as she scurried back down to the front of the stage.

He turned and headed across the hall to the office, a bemused crinkle between his eyes. He glanced down at the paper in his hand.

Audition Information Sheet
.

Ah. Now he remembered the announcement in the bulletin. Jessica was actually going forward with the Shakespeare production.

One hundred copies though? He shook his head as he pushed the office door open and turned the corner into the copy room. Come to think of it, there were a lot more students in the theater than usually turned out for play auditions.

Copies made, he strode back to the theater and pulled the door open again. If anything, the number of students waiting to audition had increased in the short time he had been away.

He stopped. Had Jessica announced which play she was directing, or was the call for just a Shakespeare play? He didn’t think a title had been mentioned in the bulletin. But Jessica taught Freshman English. Freshmen study
Romeo and Juliet
. And if he wasn’t mistaken, the vast majority of the students in that auditorium were female. He was willing to bet his last paycheck that every single one of them wanted to be Juliet.

He walked slowly up the aisle, sidestepping nervous students along the way, until he reached the front of the theater. Jessica spotted him and stopped pacing, a relieved smile slowly transforming her panicky expression.

“Excuse me!” Her announcement was acknowledged by only the dozen or so girls closest to her.

She tried again, but the excited conversations echoing through the auditorium drowned out her voice. Tom shook his head and turned to face the group. “Yo!”

Tom bit his cheek to keep from laughing at the expression on Jessica’s face.

His drill-instructor yell had silenced the din of over a hundred wanna-be Juliets immediately. Every head swiveled in his direction. Sometimes there were real benefits to having a voice that projected.

Jessica grabbed the sheaf of papers out of his grip and waved them above her head. “If you need an audition sheet, please come forward now.”

A wave of teen girls swept towards the stage.

Tom raised his hand and bellowed, “One at a time, please!”

They elbowed their way into a semblance of a line, muttering and digging pens out of backpacks and purses. Tom waved at Jessica and headed toward the exit. At least he’d saved her from being trampled—for the moment.

He reached the door and pushed it open. He stopped halfway through at the gentle pressure of a hand on his elbow. Startled, he looked back into clear green eyes.

Jessica smiled up at him. “Thanks for your help, T—Mr. Cameron.”

Tom glanced down at her hand, still cupping his elbow gently. Her breasts rose and fell as she caught her breath after racing up the aisle after him. He swallowed convulsively, an image of her breathing hard for other, more intimate reasons rising up in the back corner of his brain. Her chestnut hair mussed and spread out on crisp linen pillowcases. Her sea-green eyes flashing desire, sated lids at half-mast. Her mouth, slightly parted, dewy and… God.

He really needed to get out more.

Suddenly, Jessica dropped her hand and looked around, as if aware they had an audience of eagle-eyed teenage girls.

“Thanks again,” she said, stepping back and crossing her arms over her heaving chest.

Too little, too late
, Tom thought, casually shifting his stance to disguise the evidence of his brief erotic daydream. These kids would have news of their alleged illicit affair all over the school by the time classes started tomorrow. Two single staff members in conversation? Prime fodder for the gossip mill.

Glancing over Jessica’s shoulder, Tom could see pink-haired Fallon Pierce at the lip of the stage, handing out audition sheets.

He lifted his chin in a quick gesture. “You’re welcome. Now go get back to work.” He smiled for a moment and slipped out the open door.

One hundred and thirty-five auditioners. Practically one-tenth of the student body. And only seven of them were male.

Jessica slumped down in the back row of the theater, staring blindly at the empty stage. Her shoulders ached, her ears rang and she had the granddaddy of all headaches stomping right across her crown.

She shuffled listlessly through the audition sheets, separating them by gender. That only depressed her more, so she tucked them back into one stack. And she had another round of this hell scheduled for tomorrow.

The creak of an opening door caught her ear and she turned, expecting to see yet another girl barging back in to get something she supposedly forgot and hoping to catch a quick moment with the director. Anything to stand out from the crowd.

But it was a much more attractive sight that greeted her eyes. Tom hesitated briefly at the doorway, then stepped inside, shutting the door behind him. It closed with a quiet snick that made her breath catch and her heartbeat speed up in her chest.

She sat up in the velvet theater seat, posture ramrod straight, jaw clenched as she fought to keep from trembling. She’d tried so hard to forget their kiss, but here in the theater it was impossible. Even surrounded by students, she’d been tempted by him. And now, with just the two of them in the darkened auditorium, it felt so intimate, so private, so—tempting.

He sat down next to her, long legs stretched out casually into the aisle. He plucked the stack of audition sheets from her hands and flipped through them, skimming the names of potential cast members. Handing them back, Tom leaned back in his seat.

“Not enough boys,” he observed.

“Nope,” she said. “Not nearly enough.”

“And all the girls want to be Juliet.”

Jessica cut a sideways glance at him. “How’d you know?”

Tom grinned. “Have you ever listened to their conversations? They all want to be Juliet in real life. Now here’s their chance to play the role on stage too.”

“Not if I can’t get some guys to turn out. As it stands, the only way I could cast a Shakespeare play today is to swap gender roles and have the girls play boys’ parts and vice-versa.”

Tom snorted. “Yeah, that’s gonna fly with the school board.”

“I know. I just don’t know what I’m going to do. I can’t direct
Romeo and Juliet
now, because there are only four female parts in the stupid play. Speaking parts, at least. And every girl expects the lead. I’m toast.” She sighed and slumped back down in her chair.

Almost of its own volition, her head dropped against Tom’s shoulder. It was a very comfortable spot.

He didn’t move away.

“So what are you going to do?”

The question hung in the air, thick as the attraction zinging between them.

“I don’t know,” she admitted again.

Tom shifted, stretching his arm across the back of her seat. Fingers, feather-light, curled around her shoulder, sending bursts of heat coursing down her arm. Energy pulsed. Jessica was sure her heartbeat was echoing throughout the empty auditorium.

She shifted in her seat, cheek pressing against the rough fabric of his jacket-covered shoulder. He smelled like freshly starched shirts and crisp winter mornings. She was so tired, so drained by the responsibilities that kept piling up. It was nice to lean on someone else, if only for a minute.

“Tell you what. I’ll call in a few favors,” he said. “Get some more boys to turn out tomorrow.”

“You’d do that?” she asked, although she already knew she had no reason to doubt him.

She sat up, some of the strain easing from her face.

Tom nodded. He pulled his arm away, and she missed the warmth and comfort immediately. Part of her wanted to capture his hand, wrap her arms around his neck, invite him to follow her home. Instead, she stood and gathered her papers to her chest like a shield. He stood too, and they walked out into the aisle together.

“Thanks again for helping me out.”

Impulsively, she pressed her lips against his cheek, intending to pull back quickly and race out the door without looking back. But his hand reached out to cup the back of her neck and she found herself rooted in place.

“We shouldn’t do this,” she murmured, even as her free hand gripped the collar of his jacket.

“It’s a really, really bad idea,” he agreed, dragging his lips across her cheek, her jaw, until finally his mouth descended upon hers. Lips touched, then parted, then touched again, and suddenly her arms snaked around his neck, his fingers tangled in her hair, and the rest of the world faded in a kaleidoscope of taste and touch and sound.

She bit back a groan as he nipped gently at her lower lip. Her mouth opened slightly as she gasped and his tongue slid between her parted lips. She gripped his shoulders, pressing her body closer as their kiss deepened. Jessica was drowning in the sensations, his tongue tangling with hers, the hard planes of his chest pressing against her sensitive breasts. He slid his thigh in between her legs and she arched forward against the hard evidence of his arousal. All thought skittered away under the onslaught of physical sensation.