Page 25 of Love Me Not
Forty minutes after that, the reception was in full swing and I was very happy to have a drink in my hand. Though the drink was now an empty glass. Just as I was about to head to the bar, Donna walked up with two full glasses.
“I hope one of those is for me.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
After setting the empty glass on the table, I accepted the new one. “I still can’t believe they brought him.”
Trey Collins was on the dance floor with one of Ryan’s nieces. She was maybe ten and twirling all over the place. To his credit, he was doing a good job of keeping up.
“What do you have against him?” Donna asked.
The little girl spun too hard, forcing Collins to keep her from falling. He did so without missing a beat—literally—or grabbing anything more than the youngster’s outstretched hand.
“They put him across the hall from me. He teaches Econ and World History, and the kids love him.”
Worshipped might have been a better word. The vote for homecoming king and queen took place earlier in the week, and thanks to some crazy campaign by the students, enough of them voted to give Collins the crown. The king was a meaningless title celebrated only during the pep rally, but was still supposed to be for the kids, not the teachers.
Thanks to the wedding festivities, I missed out on the pep rally the day before, but Georgie made sure I got a full rundown. The crown was too small but looked cute. The kids loved every minute of it. Blah blah blah.
“If a bunch of teenagers like him, then he can’t be so bad,” Donna said.
“You obviously don’t spend a lot of time with teenagers.” Sipping the wine, I watched as Collins switched partners to Megan’s twin cousins who were barely old enough to walk. Because, of course, babies loved him, too. “They only like him because he’s a pushover. I’d be amazed if they learn anything in his classes.”
I had no proof of this, of course, but on the rare occasion I tuned into the buzz about him, his teaching skills were never mentioned. It was all about him being a great guy and so funny and the best coach. We were still undefeated so the last bit seemed true enough, but until I heard something like ‘He explained micro-economics so well that I finally understand it’ I was maintaining my assumption.
“Have the kids said he’s a bad teacher?”
The little girls were taking turns running through his legs and having the time of their little lives. “They never say a negative word about him. He’s like the reverse of teacher’s pet. He’s the students’ pet.” I downed more wine. “I couldn’t even get to my room the first day of school because he was holding court in the hall. The man thrives on adoration. It’s sickening.”
“Don’t the students like you, too?” she asked.
“Of course they do,” I said, “but not because I let them cruise by. They actually learn something in my classes.”
Tired of watching Trey Collins charm every guest under the age of twelve, I set down my glass and hopped to my feet. “I’m going for another piece of cake. Do you want one?”
“No, thanks, I need to check on Calvin. I think the bridal party dance is coming up, so don’t wander off.”
I wasn’t big on dancing, especially with a man I barely knew, but Ryan’s younger brother had been nice enough. His wife was adorable, and their daughter, the flower girl, had stolen the show when instead of dropping the petals gently down the aisle, she’d flung them at the guests with all her might.
If those things had been rocks instead of petals, we would have needed medics on the scene.
This would be a perfect time to need something from the house, but that wouldn’t be cool to Megan. She’d given us all the option if we wanted to be included in the wedding or be regular guests instead. Of course, we all agreed to be bridesmaids, and that job came with certain responsibilities.
I’d performed the role no less than five times, so I definitely knew what I signed up for, and dancing was part of the gig.
Sure enough, before I reached the cake table, the disc jockey called all wedding party members to the dance floor. At least I only had to do this one. Spinning on my heels, I strolled back to the dance floor, searching the crowd for my partner, but there was no Devin in sight. Only six men in the room were wearing tuxedos so he shouldn’t be this hard to spot.
“About time you got out here,” Trey said, stepping up beside me where I hovered at the edge of the dance floor.
“Have you seen my partner?” I asked, still scanning the room. If Trey insisted on talking to me, he might as well be useful. “The one I walked down the aisle with.”
Trey pointed to the other side of the dance floor. “The one over there with the flower girl?”
That was the one. Before I could take a step, the music started, and Devin lifted his daughter into his arms for the dance. Nice of him to let me off the hook. “Guess I don’t have a partner. Bummer.”
“I’ll dance with you,” Trey offered.
Unless a pig flew by, that wasn’t happening.