Page 25 of Roar for Me
“Mine planned on more than two, but it didn’t work out. Anyway, that line is my favorite because it’s what sisters should do. Stand together. And Lizzie and I have stood together through a lot.” A yawn cut off her last sentence.
“I should let you go.”
“Thanks for this. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Good night. Don’t let the golden goose bite.”
Aurora laughed. “Night, Dunc.”
But, Mr. Adams
Another high school musical, another consolation prize. Aurora, one of three girls playing the Tin Man’s trees, had initially been disappointed in her role. She, Jen, and Maria got the parts because other girls had beat them out for the lead roles, like Dorothy or Glinda. But deep down, she was also thrilled, because Duncan was the Tin Man.
“Where are my sexy tree girls? Mr. Robinson says we have a scene to run.”
Duncan flashed that gorgeous smile, and Aurora bit back a sigh as the three of them followed him out of the wings. Even to her own sister, she would never let on that she had always found Duncan extremely attractive, even harbored a crush on him. It was smart of her not to put her name on that candy cane, as much as she would have liked to. Working with the members of the chamber choir in the cast would have been awkward at best, and miserable at worst if they knew how she felt. Popular, leading man Duncan was out of her league.
Another productive meeting at the library had come to an end. These meetings were a nice change of pace for Aurora. She was used to inept contract representatives from the insurance companies. Mike tapped her shoulder as she was heading out the door.
“Hey, Aurora, before you go, can I talk to you about something?”
“Sure. What’s up, Mike?” She let the door close again.
“I don’t want to hold you up. I can walk with you and talk.”
“Okay.” She held the door open for him, and they walked through the small, dim parking lot. “What’s on your mind?”
“Duncan mentioned something when I drove him back to the airport, and I wanted to ask you about it. He thinks you spent most of middle school hating him.”
“For heaven’s sake!” She smacked her forehead with her palm. “He teased me a lot that year, yes. He wasn’t the only one. And sure, I hated him for it, but he stopped, and I got over it before the next school year. Why on earth would he bring that upnow?”
“We were just talking. You know how guys do.”
Mike gave her an unconvincing chuckle, his hand running through his brown hair. Aurora cocked an eyebrow, mentally calling bullshit as they got to her car, but said nothing. Dave walked up behind them.
“That’s not what you’re digging for, Mike, and I know it.”
Mike jumped and let out a gasp. “Don’t scare me like that!”
Dave looked first at Mike, then at Aurora. “It’s about the party at Jen’s. We both saw Duncan staring at your butt when you walked into the kitchen.”
“Dave, don’t.”
“Well, is it hard to miss my butt? I’m aware of my size. But I don’t see what that has to do with how Duncan treated me in the sixth grade.”
“Aurora, he was checking you out!”
Mike sighed. He had lost all control of the situation.
“That’s ridiculous.” Aurora crossed her arms over her chest. Her gaze flitted back and forth in disbelief between the two men.
“No, it’s not.” Mike turned to her. “And he was staring at more than just your butt once we got into the hot tub. I called him out on it in the car. I thought he was still married.”
Aurora was silent for a beat, grateful for the cool night air on her inflamed cheeks. “So, you’re saying I shouldn’t have worn it?”
“No!” They both cried at the same time.
“It looked fabulous.” Dave held his hand up. “Gay man’s honor.”
