Page 163 of Save You
“It’s taking shape, don’t you think?”she says beside me as we work together to unroll a cable from the stage across Boyd Hall to the sound desk.
I look up and around me.Most of the decorations have already been put up, the stage is nearly built, and between them, Alistair and Wren have set up all the little tables on the floor in front of it.
“A bit further right, Ellington,” I hear the coach say suddenly, and take a closer look at how they’ve arranged them.
Oh no.There’s not enough room between the tables.I walk over to them and smile diplomatically at the lacrosse coach.“Thank you so much for your help, Mr.Freeman, but we need to make sure that people can get through between the tables.”
He blinks in surprise.Then he clears his throat and pulls hiscap further down over his face.He takes a step back and beckons me forward with the other hand.
“Alistair,” I say.“Wait a moment.”I explain how much space we need between the tables so that guests have room to move.“The first row can’t be too close to the stage either.We can’t expect people to donate if they’ve been sat so close to the speakers that they’re deafened by the end of the evening.”
I give a friendly yet determined smile and look expectantly at them until Alistair shakes his head with a sigh.“You’re hardcore, Ruby.”
While Wren and Alistair shift the tables into the right places, Lin and I start to check that all the cables on the sound desk are working.
“If we keep this up, we will actually be ready,” Lin says, but I hardly hear her because, at that moment, James comes through the huge main doors.
He’s carrying a table and glances at the plan Jessalyn is holding out to him.He looks around, then heads straight for the edge of the hall, where he puts the table down exactly where it needs to go.Then he wipes his forehead with the back of his hand.
Alistair wasn’t exaggerating when he said he couldn’t feel his arms anymore—the whole lacrosse team looks absolutely shattered.They were doing the dreaded circuit training this afternoon.After way less effort than they’ve been putting in, I really feel my muscles the next day, so I can’t imagine how sore the lads will be tomorrow.
I watch James as he takes a water bottle from Doug and swigs.My stomach feels weirdly jittery.With his damp hair and flushed cheeks, in his lacrosse uniform, James really doesn’t look halfbad.Nuh-uh.I gulp.Suddenly, I’m remembering the last time I saw him breathless, sweaty, and red-faced.That time, he was naked, whispering sweet nothings into my ear and kissing me until I lost my mind.
“Earth to Ruby?”Lin breaks into my trance.“Can you pass me that wire?”
“Yeah.”I hurriedly look away and try to steer my thoughts back to safer ground.
We don’t finish getting everything set up until well into the evening.It seemed to take hours to drape the panels of fabric over the windows, and we needed several attempts to get the lighted columns mounted next to the stage.At one point, part of the stage came down, nearly hitting Doug—fortunately, he got away with nothing worse than a shock and a grazed arm, which Camille patched up for him with surprising care.
We had to make a few compromises—like not being able to decorate the ceiling—but all in all, the results are respectable.Especially now that it’s dark and the chandeliers are filling the hall with their warm light.
All the round tables have been fully set.There are white tablecloths with silver runners over them, silver candlesticks, carefully folded napkins, and fine porcelain plates.Jessalyn crafted the table numbers to help people find their seats.There’s a screen on either side of the stage, and the presentation about the Family Center that Doug put together is playing on the left, but the one on the right doesn’t seem to be working.Still, I’ve got plenty of time to sort that out, and if necessary, I can get one of thetechnicians to come and have a look at it tomorrow morning.The lightbulbs that James bought at the beginning of the week bathe parts of the room in a bluish-purple hue, and there are projectors throwing little circles of light onto the walls.
OK, so it all took twice as long as if the professionals had put everything together, and it’s not as absolutely perfect as I’d have liked, but I’m still proud of what we’ve achieved.
I can picture the atmosphere tomorrow evening—the elegant guests, the delicious-smelling food, the classical music, and the head teacher smiling with satisfaction.
I look around at the boys, who are all knocking back huge gulps of water.We could never have managed without them.I make up my mind, walk over, and clear my throat.Twenty heads turn toward me.I can tell by the tingle on the back of my neck that James’s is among them.
“Thank you for your help,” I begin, looking each of them in turn in the eye.Except James.I’m still shocked by the thoughts that bubbled up in me earlier at the sight of him, and I don’t want to risk blushing beetroot red in front of the whole team.“We really owe you.”
“How about you buy us all a drink tomorrow?Here at the gala?”Cyril suggests with a grin.“That would be…fun.”
“My offer from earlier still stands,” interjects Mr.Freeman.He turns to me.“We were about to head to the pub to toast their hard work at training.”
“Great idea, coach,” says Alistair, clapping his hands.“So, back to the original plan?Black Fox?”
All the lacrosse lads cheer.
“And the first round’s on me,” says the coach, straighteninghis cap.“And of course the events committee is invited along, Miss Bell.You’ve been putting hard work in too.”
“I wouldn’t go that far,” mutters a guy I’ve never seen before in my life.“They’d have been screwed without us…”
“Shut it, Kenton,” says James with quiet menace.
Kenton presses his lips together.
“Let’s go,” Freeman says, nodding toward the doors.
