Page 149 of Wish You Were Mine
Like I wasn’t her professor and she wasn’t my student.
Just a guy falling for a girl who made the world brighter.
Sitting there, soaking in the music and the magic and the way Lucy leaned her head against my shoulder like she belonged there, I found myself wanting more moments like that.
Moments where I could walk up to her on campus and kiss her cheek without worrying who might see. Moments where I could find her after a meet, wrap her in a hug, and tell her how proud I was.
Just…the little things. The freedom to feel what I felt out in the open. To stop hiding the happiness she gave me.
And I knew that we were less than two months away from her graduation. If we could just keep things quiet until then, we might actually be in the clear.
But part of me didn’t want to wait.
Not because I couldn’t. But because I didn’t want to miss her big moments. I wanted to be at her last meets. To watch her at Nationals in Texas next month and not spend the whole time ducking behind a program, terrified her dad would spot me in the crowd.
Which meant I probably needed to talk to President Archibald and Dean Harris. Tell them I was dating my student.
And hopefully, when I walked out of those conversations, I’d still have a job.
Lucy and I reached the backstage entrance, and I knocked. As we waited, I gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
“You nervous at all?” she asked, glancing up at me.
“A little,” I admitted. Then, with a smirk, I added, “Mostly just hoping my brother doesn’t completely embarrass me. He’s kind of a dork sometimes.”
She laughed, her eyes catching the light. “Somehow, I doubt your Broadway star brother who just crushed it in front of a sold-out crowd could do anything that embarrassing.”
“You never know,” I said with a wink.
A stagehand opened the door a few seconds later, giving us a quick once-over before I introduced myself and told him who we were. He gave a nod and motioned us inside, leading us through a maze of narrow backstage hallways that smelled faintly of sweat, sawdust, and old makeup.
Lucy’s hand stayed tucked in mine the whole time, but I could feel the hum of nervous energy radiating from her the closer we got.Excited nerves, I thought.The good kind.
“Ready?” I asked, giving Lucy’s fingers one more reassuring squeeze as the stagehand knocked on Asher’s dressing room door.
“Ready,” she said, her voice soft but steady.
A moment later, we stepped inside and found Asher and Elyse cuddling on a small couch, still in costume from their last curtain call—he in his velvet Beast coat, she in her glittering Belle gown, the stage makeup giving both of them a slightly surreal glow.
“Owen!” Asher said, standing the second he saw us. “I’m so glad you guys made it.” He pulled me into a quick hug, clapping my back.
“Yes, it was so fun seeing you in the audience tonight,” Elyse said warmly, wrapping me in her own hug.
I stepped back and slid an arm around Lucy’s waist. She looked a little wide-eyed but kept smiling—and for a second, I wasn’t sure how to introduce her. My brain scrambled for words that felt right…and didn’t make me sound like I was twelve.
I turned to Lucy, gesturing at my brother and his wife. “Uh…this is my brother, Asher, and his wife, Elyse.” Then I looked back at them and motioned toward Lucy. “And this is Lucy…” I hesitated a beat before awkwardly adding, “My girlfriend.”
Okay…not exactly the most polished delivery of my life. But it got the job done.
“It’s so nice to meet you,” Lucy said, letting out a soft laugh as she stepped forward, giving each of them a quick hug. “You two were amazing. I’ve wanted to seeBeauty and the Beaston Broadway ever since I was a kid and they couldn’t have picked more perfect leads.”
“Thank you,” Elyse said warmly, her brown eyes glowing at the praise. Even though she and my brother had been playing these roles to sold-out audiences for a year and a half, she was still the same level-headed girl she’d been when they first met. “We’re so glad you could come with Owen.”
Lucy nodded and looked between the two of them. “Wow, you’re all so tall in real life.” They chuckled, and Lucy quickly added, “But I guess that’s probably because I’m just really short.”
“No, I’m five foot nine, so I am pretty tall for a girl.” Elyse laughed, linking her arm through Asher’s. “Luckily, I got my six-foot-two guy to make me still feel dainty.”
“Well, you two look super cute together,” Lucy said, beaming at them. “And your chemistry—it seemed so real on stage.” She let out a little laugh, then added, “It’s like you’re really in love or something.”
