Cinderella Sidelined (23 page)

Soon, the applause dies down and the curtain falls, and that's the end. The play is over, at least until we get back to perform again tomorrow night.
 

"You did so great," Amanda says as the rest of the cast begins to disperse and head home to rest up. "And it was your first play and everything!"
 

"Could you tell? I was so nervous."
 

She shakes her head. "No, not really. Only in that one scene you had with Russ."
 

I narrow my eyes ever so slightly. "Which one?"
 

"The one where you kissed him for the first time," she says. "You were stuttering and changing lines all over the place." She gives me a sly smile. "I wasn't surprised by it, though."
 

"It's not what you think, Amanda. We wouldn't work out together."
 

"That's BS and you know it."
 

"He lied to me."
 

"What, about getting you the part in the play? Big deal. He didn't do it to be mean."
 

"It's complicated."
 

"Only if you make it that way."
 

I smile tightly. "I should get home. I'm pretty beat."
 

Amanda nods. "Okay. John and I are going for burgers if you want to join."
 

"No, thanks. I'm good."
 

"See you tomorrow," she says with a smile before bouncing off down the hall to meet a waiting John.
 

I smile as I watch her go. I've only known Amanda for a couple of weeks, but she's quickly become someone I consider a good friend.

With a sigh, I walk into the dressing room to change out of my finale outfit and back into the volleyball uniform I'd worn over here. It's all I've got on me if I don't want to go home in Miss Halpern's clothes.
 

As I hang them up neatly in my little space, I smile and run my fingers over my name that's been taped to the top of the locker.

It's just like the cubby I had in The Barn with volleyball.

And I feel just as much a part of this new family as I had for my first three years on the volleyball team.

It doesn't suck, knowing you belong somewhere.

It's been a hell of a ride, getting here to Opening Night, and I can't say it's where I thought I'd end up at the start of my senior year. I don't have my boyfriend, I'm not sure where I stand with my best friend, and my scholarship to my dream school isn't an option anymore.

But I'm happy.

And I think that's all that really counts.

CHAPTER TWENTY

One Month Later

I pick up the hose and aim it at the cold concrete room in front of me, ready to wash away the gunk and dirt from its last occupant.
 

I pull the nozzle and no water comes out.

"Oh, what the heck," I mutter under my breath. It's always one thing or another that's broken in this place. With a sigh, I walk back to the wall faucet I plugged the hose into.

As I get closer, I spot a maintenance guy hunched over it, wrench in hand. I guess I'm not the only one having water problems.

"How long until it's fixed?" I call out.

The guy freezes, then slowly turns around to look at me.
 

My heart rate kicks up several notches when I get a look at his face.

You've gotta be kidding me.
 

It's been a few weeks since I've seen him. The play's run had ended three weeks ago, and we'd both kind of fallen into separate lives. I'm hanging out with Amanda and John and a few other girls from the play more, and still seeing Stella from time to time, but Russ tends not to show up in places he knows I'll be.

I'm not sure if that's a coincidence or if he's doing it on purpose, but instead of getting easier with each passing day, it's starting to weigh more and more on my mind.

"I've been looking for Wilbur," I say at last.
 

Russ smiles. "He went home two weeks ago. Adopted."
 

"Really?" I'm surprised at how happy this makes me. Maybe I'm turning into a dog person yet. "That's great."
 

"Yeah. He lives with me now. My parents got him for me once I got into college. Said they'll handle him when I go off to school."
 

"What? Wilbur is yours?"

"Kept the same name and everything." He gives me a strange look. "What are you doing here?"
 

"I volunteer now," I tell him. "Just once a week, no big deal."
 

"I haven't seen you around."
 

I shake my head. "No, you wouldn't have. I know you volunteer on Thursdays. I come in on Tuesdays."
 

He frowns. "Today's Thursday."
 

"Yeah. I know."
 

Russ raises an eyebrow, like he's not sure if he should read into what I'm saying or if there's no extra meaning in my comment. "Why'd you change it?"
 

I grin. "I was hoping I'd run into you."
 

"You don't need to volunteer at the shelter to find me, Emma."

"You never seem to be around otherwise."
 

"Giving you the space you want."
 

"What if I don't want space?"
 

He swallows hard. "Emma, don't mess with me."
 

I hold up my hands. "I'm not. I promise. Miss Halpern knows what she's talking about, you know."
 

"How's that?" he asks, but I see the beginnings of a smile on his face.
 

"She knew, I think, the whole time that Prince Alex was good for her. She just didn't want to admit it because she was scared of getting burned. And even though she did, she realized it wasn't worth throwing everything away for."
 

"Miss Halpern sounds like she's pretty smart."
 

I nod. "She is. You wouldn't expect such wisdom to come from a woman who likes to walk around in neon pink rain boots and petticoats."
 

"But I'd expect it to come from you," Russ says.

"I'm sorry," I tell him. "I was just mad that I felt like all the hard work I'd put into the play was for nothing."
 

"It never was."
 

"I know," I say. "I know. When Mary didn't bother replacing me with Lana even though I was late on Opening Night, I realized you may have gotten me the part, but I was the only one who could make it work." I swallow. "And the thing is, I sort of miss you."
 

"Come here," he says simply, and we both take the two steps we need to close the space between us.
 

I let myself fall into him and feel his strong, lean body around me. I want to memorize the feel of his hands stroking my back. And when he leans down to kiss me, I never want him to stop.

I've been missing out on this, for absolutely no reason at all.

"It seems so stupid," I whisper.

"Ssh," he says, kissing the top of my head. "It's over." He grins at me. "So was that kiss more polite?"
 

I frown. "What? Polite?"
 

He raises an eyebrow and opens his mouth to respond at the same time the memory hits me.
 

"You heard that?" I ask, slapping my hand over my mouth, embarrassed he overhead me tell Lana I thought his kiss was polite.

Russ nods and grins. "I was walking past the lockers when I heard Lana ask if you really thought you were just acting when you kissed me." He bats his eyelashes innocently. "I couldn't stop myself from listening in."
 

I swat him on the arm. "Sneaky!"
 

"You would've done the same thing," he says, and I can't help but agree.
 

"So," I say. "What now?"
 

He lets me go and kneels down in front of the water spigot. He fiddles with the wrench for a few seconds, then gets to his feet.
 

"Now we go clean out some kennels."
 

I grin as he tucks the wrench into his back pocket and throws his arm across my shoulders.
 

And as we walk back toward the cage where I left the hose, I realize there's nothing else I'd rather be doing.
 

I've found my way.

And the journey is just getting started.
 

***