Читать книгу Desire In A Kiss - Nicki Night - Страница 15

Chapter 5

Serenity’s phone buzzed. She snatched it off the desk with one ferocious motion. Holding the phone against her chest, she felt it vibrate slightly at the same rapid pace of her heart. She didn’t know how much longer she’d keep that app on her phone. The constant notifications ran her battery down, but curiosity wouldn’t allow her to mute the alerts. With each buzz, a burst of air radiated in her stomach, sending nervous tremors through her core. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and exhaled. She looked up at the clock. She had three minutes before the third-period bell rang and a herd of seventh graders would come charging into the music room.

Entering the passcode on her screen, she opened the dating app. She had more private messages, one from a gentleman who looked like her favorite uncle. She scrunched her nose and deleted his message without reading it. She hadn’t actually read any of the messages fully. She only saw part of the first line, which was previewed under the subject line. She didn’t know if the sender could tell if she had opened the messages or not. Instead she let them pile up, reducing the likelihood of responding. She clicked on a few more profiles.

Despite her reservations, she was entertained by what people wrote in their profiles. Some kept their introductory lines simple, describing their interests and professions. Others got creative. She stopped short at the profile of a good-looking caramel-colored man with a smooth black goatee, assuming she’d be intrigued by his summary. Instead, what she found caused abrupt laughter to erupt from her mouth.

“You’ve got to be kidding!”

She read the words under his picture again.

Roses are red, violets are tan,

You finally found your perfect man.

Giggling, she took a screenshot of his profile with the cheesy poem and tapped a quick text to her girlfriends on their group chat and uploaded the image.

This is why online dating is a bad idea! LOL!

That text would serve as a source of amusement for the rest of their day. Returning to the dating app and shaking her head, she closed the window of his profile. The next one featured a full-body picture of what looked like a rather handsome man. Serenity zoomed in to see his face better. His summary said he loved music, travel and great wines. The information he provided was minimal, and for some reason that intrigued her. She looked at his zip code and realized that he was also from Nassau County.

The school bell rang long and piercingly. She flinched, launching from her seat. One hand flew to her chest, while the other tightened the grip on her cell phone to keep it from flying out of her hand. In that short amount of time, she’d forgotten where she was.

“Goodness!” She recovered her breath, sighed and opened the music-room door. The second bell rang, and students poured from classrooms, filling the halls with a high volume of chatter.

“Hey, Ms. Williams.”

“Hey, Melanie.”

Serenity held her hand up for Melanie and her other students to slap her high five. Some of the crowd carried their loud chatter from the hallway into her classroom. Girls snickered, boys laughed, friends promised to meet after class.

The next forty-three minutes would take her mind off the dating site. Serenity was thankful for the reprieve. She was curious about the man named Chris Mullins. She pushed him to the back of her mind and closed the door.

“Okay, everyone. Settle down, take your seats and take out your music books. We’re going to start by reading notes. We’re learning a new song today. Turn to page two-fourteen.”

“Sing for us, Ms. Williams,” one of her students called out.

“Open your books, guys.” Serenity smiled and shook her head. She loved everything about music, and she would sing or play one of several instruments for her class when they behaved well.

“Please?” students chorused.

“Yes, Ms. Williams. Please?”

“You promised!”

“I did?” She scanned the room with a skeptical gaze.

“Yes. You said if all of us handed in our papers on time that you’d sing for us next class.”

“Okay, okay.”

Serenity walked over to the piano, sat down, opened one of the music books and flipped through the pages. They loved when she taught them how to play popular music—especially songs from their favorite artists. “Turn to page ninety-six in your music books. I’ll start singing and, those who know how to play the song, join me on the chorus.”

Their response was collective. One student pumped his trumpet in the air.

Serenity cleared her throat, and the room fell into absolute silence. Delicately she fingered the intro on the piano keys and began singing the first verse to one of the most popular songs on the radio.

“Yeah, Ms. W!”

Serenity laughed but didn’t break her flow. She was a good singer but a better musician. Some students snapped their fingers. Others waved. One stood and pretended to dance with an imaginary partner. Serenity chuckled at his dramatic display but relished the fact that her students appreciated her talent and loved music as much as she did.

She held one hand high, lifting a finger, signaling her students of the upcoming chorus. Without missing a beat, she raised her eyebrows. The students took that as their cue and lifted their instruments in preparation. After four head nods from her, they joined in, undergirding her voice with their harmonies. Once the class picked up the rhythm, Serenity stood, still singing, pushing deeper into the song, now feeling it on the inside.

Walking the tempo, she made her way around the room, careful to acknowledge each student with a smile or wink. She made her way back to the front by the time she released the last note into the air, holding it long enough for her students to stop playing, stand and begin cheering.

“Oh my gosh, Ms. Williams! That was amazing.”

“So dope,” one young man said.

Her smile radiated from her core. She curtsied, taking in her adoring students’ applause.

“Okay, now. Let’s get to work.”

“Okay,” someone whined.

Serenity guided them through their lesson. As usual the class came to a rapid end—the bell ringing while they were still playing.

“Okay—” Serenity clapped and shouted over the varying sounds of the instruments “—we’re done. Don’t forget to pick up a permission slip on my desk for the show. Make sure a parent signs them. Remember, your artist profiles are due next time.”

Quickly, the students replaced their instruments in their cases and stacked them in closets. The class was completely cleared seconds after the second bell.

Serenity plopped into her chair feeling both exhilarated and winded. Teaching took so much energy but gave her so much joy. She had a free period, which she planned to spend preparing for her next group. Wheeling her chair snugly into the opening of her desk, she tapped the space bar on the computer, bringing the screen to life. Her phone buzzed. She’d temporarily forgotten about the dating app, but now it would dominate her focus again.

Just as she picked up the phone, Rayne rapped on the door two quick times before stepping in.

“How’s it going?”

“Great! They made me sing again.”

“That’s because they love you.”

“I guess so.”

“Give any more thought to the dating app?” Rayne sat on the corner of the desk and plucked a mini candy bar from the dish Serenity kept there.

Serenity shrunk into her shoulders. “Yeah.”

“You did?” Rayne’s eyes opened as wide as her gaping mouth. “Cool!”

Serenity rolled her eyes. “Don’t make such a big deal about it. I just perused some of the profiles.”

“Oh! See anything you like?” Rayne lifted a brow and popped the unwrapped candy in her mouth. Balling up the shiny cover, she shot it toward the wastepaper basket as if she were going for a layup.

“Nice shot.”

“So. Any prospects?”

“Not quite yet. I did see a few cute guys though. Some are nuts, just like I anticipated.”

“Oh my goodness! I laughed so hard at that horrible poem you sent. Did that guy message you?”

“He and a bunch of others, but I haven’t responded to anyone yet.”

“Why not?”

Serenity shrugged and sat back in her chair. “I need to get more comfortable with this first.” Her mind shifted to the image of Chris Mullins again. She wondered what else was in his profile, but the old-fashioned girl in her refused to let her believe that pursuing him was a good idea. She wasn’t sure how to apply the dating rules to all this online stuff, nor did she know if she was willing to make the first move.

“All right. Keep me posted. I need to go grade some essays.” Rayne slid off the desk. “I’ll see you later, right?”

“Of course. Would I miss Elisa’s birthday dinner? Actually, the real question is, would I miss the duck confit appetizer at Gem?”

“Or that beautiful black rice. Yum!”

“Ha! You’re making my mouth water.” Serenity looked at her watch. “I haven’t even had lunch yet.”

“Remember to keep it light.”

“I will, so I can have room for all that deliciousness later tonight.” Serenity rubbed her belly. “I think it was a good idea for Clint to surprise her with a dinner today instead of on the weekend. I’m sure Elisa isn’t expecting us to be there.”

“I know. She thinks we’re going out Friday instead. I can’t wait to see her face.” Rayne started for the door. “Later, lady.” She tossed a wave over her shoulder as she exited.

“Later.”

Serenity gathered the remaining permission slips on her desk, neatened them and tapped the bottom of the pile against the desktop to line them up. She placed them in a manila folder and set it in a tray. Her phone buzzed. She looked at it, paused and returned to what she was doing. She picked up the pile of homework her students had handed in and began reading the summaries on the history of jazz. She glanced at the phone once more. This time, it didn’t buzz.

The first few lines of the first summary she had started hadn’t made sense, so she read it over again. The work wasn’t poorly written. She just couldn’t concentrate on her students’ papers because her mind was on the messages in the app.

“That’s it!” she declared. “This app is making me crazy.” What was the use if she didn’t plan on checking any of the messages anyway?

Serenity snatched the phone, tapped in her passcode, then held the app down so she could open and then delete it. Pausing again, she was compelled to review the profiles one last time. After that, she’d be done with it. Just then a new message arrived in her inbox. It was from Chris Mullins. The subject simply said Hello. It was the first line that caught her attention, so she clicked on it to bring up the full message. This Chris didn’t call her baby, write a bad poem or offer up a lame pick-up line. His message was simple.

Hi. It seems that you really like music. Do you play any instruments? I play the sax.

Serenity’s thumb hovered over the reply icon for several moments. The debate in her mind was whether or not she should respond, or back out and hit Delete. The pressure was palpable. Why was she making this a big deal? Her reservations mounted. What if he was a stalker? He could be misrepresenting himself. Maybe he was crazy. Why was she even using online dating?

This guy looked decent enough. He was pretty handsome in the one and only picture he posted—and he was fully clothed. There were no pecs, six-packs or weird, phony-looking model poses. His profile was new, like hers—simple.

“I can’t,” Serenity said to herself, sighing, and dropped her hands.

She opened the bottom desk drawer, unzipped her purse and tossed the phone in. It would stay there for the remainder of her workday.