Page 14 of Hollywood Fairytale

Letting out a deep breath, I broke his hold and went back to getting ready. All the while, I tried to keep eye contact with him in the mirror.

“Whenever I’ve been to the school functions I’ve always felt like an outsider. I only know a few of the parents.” I shrugged as I finished the last strand of hair. “I’m always uncomfortable when I go, especially with Taylor gone. Luckily, Mason doesn’t feel the same way.”

“Why’d you volunteer if you knew you’d be uncomfortable?”

“Because I want to be a part of all aspects in Mason’s life. I want to help, and I know it takes time to make friends.”

“Are you sure you’re not just waiting for Taylor to come back?”

Turning to face him, I leaned against the counter. “Maybe a little. I know she’ll be back. I just don’t know when.”

Luke turned to look out of the bedroom before he looked back with a smile. “You should probably finish getting ready. I can hear Mason pacing.”

I couldn’t help but smile. “He’s excited.”

“As he should be. Its fun being his age.”

The moment the car stopped, Mason was unbuckling his seatbelt, ready to dart out of the car. My mouth opened to yell at him because in his excitement, Mason wasn’t thinking and was about ready to cross the parking lot without looking. Instead Luke called out to him.

“Hey, little man, hold up.”

Mason stopped in his tracks and waited until Luke and I caught up at the tail end of the car.

“Sorry.” Mason said looking from me then to Luke and back again to me.

Looking down at Mason, he said. “Just be careful. We don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Sorry,” Mason muttered looking down at his feet.

What he did next made my heart melt and heal in ways I never knew possible. Mason reached up and placed his hand in Luke’s. I watched as Luke’s big hand engulfed my little man’s hand and I wanted to cry it was so sweet, but instead I followed behind them so that I could witness it for as long as possible.

It didn’t last long. Once Mason set foot in the gym, he took off toward his friends who were huddled in a corner. He wasn’t there more than a few seconds before he had the group out on the floor dancing. It was the cutest thing seeing all those little boys dancing without a care in the world.

Luke bent down, his lips brushing my ear. “So, what are you supposed to do?”

“I’m supposed to check in with someone named Kim to see where they’re putting me.”

My only problem was that I had no idea who Kim was. I decided I would go over to the table where they were selling food and drinks to see if they knew where I was supposed to go or who Kim was.

Lifting up on my tippy-toes, my hands-on Luke’s shoulders, I spoke in his ear. “I’m going to go over there.” I pulled back and pointed over to the table. “And see if they know what I’m supposed to do.”

“Okay, I’m going to watch Mason and his friends.”

Half an hour later, I’d finished my shift of selling glow-in-the-dark necklaces and bracelets and was on my way back over to Luke to supervise the kids. So far, from what I’d seen, none of the kids had caused any problems and I didn’t think they would. If we were on the other side of the school with the third to fifth graders, then we might have had some problems.

I found Luke leaning against the far wall talking to a few of the dads, and shook my head as I took in at least a dozen women who were hanging on Luke’s every word.

The moment he saw me trying to cut through the crowd, his eyes lit up and a smile spread across his handsome face. Reaching his arm out through the surrounding crowd he had amassed, he brought me to his side.

“Hey!” he greeted me with a kiss on the cheek.

“Alex, this is Jay, Doug, and Corey.” He pointed to each and they all smiled and waved back. “This is Alex, my girlfriend.”

“Hi, nice to meet you all.” I greeted them with a wave.

I noticed that Luke hadn’t introduced any of the women. Two of the guys were gossiping about some other guy having a mid-life crisis. Cheating on his wife, changing his wardrobe, and buying a flashy new sports car.

“This is for all the helpers and chaperone’s here tonight.” The DJ announced.

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