She laughed again, just like I knew she would. Shelby had been my best friend since eighth grade. At eighteen we went to different colleges, but we stayed close even with the distance between us. She'd been there for me through everything and I wasn't sure what I'd ever do without her.
"So, got any plans for the weekend? Isn't it spring break for you now?"
"Yes, spring break officially starts now."
"Gonna go take advantage of all those beautiful beaches?"
"Ugh," I groaned, pushing the doors to the building open and walking out into the air that had cooled slightly since Devon and Jax left. "Spring break is the worst time to go to the beaches in Florida." Then it occurred to me where I was headed tomorrow. "Oh, gosh." I sighed, hitching my purse higher up on my shoulder while still holding the phone to my ear.
"What?" Shelby asked, concerned.
"I got invited to go to Disney World tomorrow. If there's one place worse than the beaches during a school break, it's Disney."
"Who invited you to Disney? That's kind of a weird place to invite a grown-ass woman."
"A man with children."
"A man? With children?" Her interest in my spring break activities was suddenly heightened. "Are you going on a date?"
"No, it's not a date," I insisted. "We're meeting there. I'm buying my own ticket."
"I'm confused. You're going to Disney World with a man and his children, but it's not a date?"
"Hold on a sec," I said in a hushed voice. I was just steps from my car, and even though I was sure there was no one around, I still wanted to be careful. Opening the door, I gently tossed my purse on the passenger seat and then folded myself in the car. "The student I stayed late with, he invited me to go along with him and his dad and sister."
"So?"
"So? What do you mean ‘so'?"
"I mean, a student invites you to Disney World and you politely decline. You pacify him by saying something nice like, ‘Oh, maybe next time,' and then he forgets about it. You don't agree to go. So, there has to be something else going on here. Is his dad hot?"
Yes.
"That's a ridiculous question," I said sharply, shoving the key in the ignition and cranking the engine.
"So, that's a yes then." I could hear her smiling.
"Okay," I said, pressing the speakerphone button and tossing my phone in the console. "His dad isn't bad looking. And he's a nice guy. But it isn't a date. It's more of a friend thing. Some of his friends are going and I think he wanted to even the numbers a little."
"Another couple? So you're going on a double date to Disney World with a student's parent? You've officially crossed the line from prudish grade school teacher to sexy schoolmarm."
I wanted to explain to Shelby. Wanted to tell her all about how I'd found Devon broken three years ago, how we'd crossed paths in the strangest of coincidences. How, even though I knew he was trying to move on from something completely heartbreaking, there was a not-so-small part of me that felt I could help him through it. It wasn't necessarily attraction I felt toward him, but it wasn't just strictly friendly either. He was the only other person in the world I'd encountered who I felt might feel just as lost as I did. There was some strange sense of solidarity there. I'd felt broken for so long, and I'd begun to think I was alone in my state of fracture. So even though I knew he should have been off-limits, that I should cut ties and just do my job, I couldn't bring myself to snip those tethers I felt holding us together. If nothing else, he could be a friend.
"There's nothing sexy about it, Shelby. He's just a guy with some really great kids and I'm just meeting them at Disney World."
"We'll see," she sang into the phone.
The next morning, I stood in the sunshine outside the gates to Disney World. I was nervous. There was no denying it. Spending the day with people I didn't know very well, if at all, was making me anxious. A little bit of apprehension melted away when I heard Jax's voice.
"Miss Richards," he yelled as he ran toward me and threw his arms around my waist. "You came," he said, looking up at me with his eyes so blue and lashes any grown woman would maim for.
"I'm here. Couldn't resist a day at Disney."
"Glad you could make it," came Devon's voice, just as deep as it'd been the day before. "Ruby," he said, turning to his daughter, standing just behind him. "You know Miss Richards."
"Hey," Ruby mumbled, obviously not too excited to see me.
"Hey, Ruby, it's nice to see you."
She didn't respond, just turned back to her father. "When is Aunt Evie supposed to be here?"
"Any minute," Devon responded. He then mouthed "Sorry," and shrugged. All I could do was smile in return.
"Aunt Evie," Jax yelled with the same enthusiasm he'd used to greet me. The same hug, in fact, as he ran to a blonde woman walking toward us.
"Jaxy," she said as she dropped to her knees to hug him back. I watched as her eyes closed and arms wound around him. She hugged him for a long time, saying things into his ear that I couldn't hear, but could see were said with love and affection. When he finally pulled away she rose, but only to wrap Ruby in a similar embrace. There was no denying that those kids loved her and she loved them right back.
"Nate," Jax said as the dark-haired man next to Evie picked him up and gave him a much rougher, more masculine hug.
"How's it going, kid? I've practiced my Minecraft skills since last time and I'm ready to kick your butt."
"Never," Jax replied with a smile.
I watched as Evie approached Devon with a shy smile and gave him a much shorter embrace, Nate shaking his hand, smiling broadly. I also noticed how Ruby seemed glued to Evie's side.
"Evie, Nate, this is Grace," Devon said, motioning toward me. He smiled, a brilliant smile that almost made me stumble, then pressed his hand lightly at the small of my back. It was the gentlest of touches, but the heat from his hand radiated throughout me. "I invited her to come along."
"Nice to meet you both." I reached out for Evie's hand first, noticing the friendly smile she gave me, which matched Nate's as he shook my hand as well.
"She's my teacher," Jax offered.
"Any friend of Devon's is a friend of ours," Evie said.
"Good to meet you," Nate said. His handshake was friendly and short, accompanied by a smile. He dropped his hand from mine and I watched as he wrapped it around Evie's waist, the move natural and smooth. I noticed she leaned into him without even thinking about it, her body molding to his without a second thought.
"Come on," Jax said excitedly. "I want to ride the merry-go-round first. Then the roller coaster around the mountain. Then Dumbo."
"Woah, buddy," Devon said, laughing. "We'll start at the beginning and work our way around, all right?"
I walked along with the group, trying hard not to feel out of place. It was strange being in such a public and busy place with a group of people I really didn't know. Well, besides Jax. I was right, however, about it being crowded. There were people everywhere and a group of six was hard to keep together. When a cluster of teenagers pushed through our little huddle, separating me from the rest, I immediately began to regret my decision to go. It must have been a group from a school because the cluster of students soon turned into a crowd. I tried to make my way through them, but I'd lost track of Devon and the rest of the group.
Suddenly, a warm hand wrapped around mine and I was being pulled forward. Devon's face finally appeared and I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding.
"Stay close," he said gently, his face just inches from mine.
"Okay," I said quietly. He let my hand go, of course. We couldn't walk through Disney World holding hands, but it didn't change the fact that as soon as my hand was free from his, it felt cold and empty. I wiped my palm on my thigh to try and erase the fact that he'd been there, but it didn't work. I silently followed the group, more confused than ever.
The lines were stupid long, as I'd expected, but it turned out that Devon, the kids, and Evie and Nate had a FASTPASS that got them to the front of the lines. Lots of other people had them as well, so we didn't automatically get on, but the lines were drastically shorter. I didn't have the pass, but that was all right with me, as I didn't plan on riding anything.
"You go ahead," I said to Devon as they started toward the merry-go-round. "I'll watch."
"You're not going to ride it?"
I shook my head. "I get motion sickness. I don't like rides."
He blinked at me and a confused expression crossed his face. "You don't like rides, but you came to Disney World? What for?"
I shrugged. "I like Disney. There's plenty to do aside from the rides." That was true. I did want to go to Disney. Even if I spent the day watching Jax and Ruby have the time of their lives. But the other reason I came-the reason that scared me and wouldn't hide under the proverbial rug I kept trying to sweep it under-was simply because he'd asked. Because it meant spending a day with him. Because I feared I'd never be able to tell him no.
He looked back to where the others were moving forward in the line, then back to me.