Chapter 49 - 48 : Tale as Old as Time

Chapter 49: Chapter 48 : Tale as Old as Time

Before Kelsey could get a word out, Trent had stepped into the space between them.

"Well, look at that. He actually showed." He eyed Rhett’s suit. "Every paper in town is tearing you apart, your school’s looking into you, your sponsors can’t get away from you fast enough, and you’ve got time to dress up for a party? If I were you, I’d be hiding in my basement going through a list of lawyers."

Rhett didn’t even look at him. Trent took the silence to mean he’d hit a nerve and stepped in half a pace, pitching his voice just loud enough for everyone nearby to hear. "Seriously, once all this falls apart, you should come work for my family. Our pool could use somebody to skim the leaves." He smiled. "My dad’s getting a little funny in his old age. He actually thinks pretty highly of you."

"Out of my way."

He said it quietly. Only the people standing closest could hear. But plenty of people were close. A ripple went through the crowd. Somebody sucked in a breath, somebody covered her mouth, and the people in the back went up on their toes asking what he’d said. At this school, you could count on one hand the people who’d talk to Trent Mattingly like that in front of a crowd.

"That’s the Pelican for you," a guy murmured.

Trent’s face went red. He grabbed the newspaper off the table and shook it open, the Ferrari side facing Rhett. "You’re going to talk to me like that? Look at this. Front page! You’re finished. Face it. You’re a clown!"

Rhett stepped around him and headed for Kelsey. Trent couldn’t stand it and grabbed his arm.

Rhett stopped and glanced down at the hand on his sleeve. "Whether I’m finished," he said, "isn’t your call." He reached up and peeled Trent’s fingers off one at a time. "But keep bothering me, and you will be."

Trent started forward again, and the two Sigma brothers behind him caught him by either arm. One of them leaned in and said something low in his ear. Nobody in the crowd caught all of it. Just two words. Service bay. Tape.

Trent froze. Through his teeth, to Rhett’s back, he said, "One phone call. That’s all it takes, and my father makes sure you never work in this town again."

Rhett didn’t turn around, and he didn’t stop walking. "Maybe," he said. "But that’s your father, not you."

Trent went red to the eyes. He wrenched an arm free and lunged, and the two brothers hauled him back hard.

"What are you doing?" he snarled under his breath. "Let go!"

"Your dad’s orders," the one holding him said, even lower. "Keep an eye on you. No more trouble."

Trent stopped moving.

Rhett walked up to Kelsey and stopped. Nobody around them made a sound. Dozens of eyes went back and forth between the two of them, and people were already trading looks. Kelsey’s ears went red under all of it. She dropped her head and studied the toes of her shoes.

Rhett, on the other hand, wasn’t uncomfortable in the slightest. Two lifetimes in, embarrassment didn’t stick to him anymore.

"Kelsey," he said. "Can I borrow two hours of your night?"

Kelsey didn’t look up. "...For what?"

"Come somewhere with me."

Somebody in the back yelled, "Say yes!" and the whole roof picked it up. "Say yes! Say yes!" Jess was the loudest of all, cake knife raised over her head.

Kelsey’s face was bright red. She still didn’t look up. She just nodded, barely.

Rhett took her hand and turned toward the stairwell. Behind them, the whole roof went up in one long whoooo.

As the Ferrari pulled out of the valet lane, Trent was sitting on a couch in the lobby, waiting for his car. He watched the red car slide past the glass doors, then watched the valet finally go get his Cayenne, and didn’t say a word.

Kelsey sat in the passenger seat with her hands folded in her lap. The window was cracked, and the wind off the ocean whipped the rose gold ends of her hair around.

They’d gone a few blocks before Kelsey spoke. "You’re late."

"I know. I’m sorry." Rhett kept his eyes on the road. "I only found out tonight. Kevin mentioned it. He figured I already knew. When you said tonight this morning, I should have asked."

"I’m the one who didn’t say."

"I should have remembered anyway."

Kelsey turned to look out the window. In the reflection on the glass, she was smiling.

The car didn’t head for West Hollywood, or for any restaurant. It got on the 405 going south and eventually turned in at campus.

"Campus?" Kelsey looked out at the dark classroom buildings. "You dragged me out of my own birthday party in the middle of the night to bring me back to school?"

"You’ll take that back when you see it."

He pulled up outside the student union. The whole building was dark except for a side door propped open a crack. Kevin poked his head out, gave them a thumbs-up, pressed a ring of keys into Rhett’s hand, and slipped off into the night without a word.

Only the emergency lights were on in the stairwell. They climbed all the way to the top floor and stopped in front of a set of double wooden doors. A brass plate on them read GRAND BALLROOM.

Kelsey had heard about this room. It opened once a year, for the senior formal.

Rhett pushed the doors open. It was dark inside. A little streetlight came in through the tall windows at the far end and lay across the waxed wooden floor. In the far corner, a few shadowed figures sat very upright.

"Rhett, what—"

Rhett flipped the switch on the wall, and in the middle of the ceiling, an enormous crystal chandelier came on one tier at a time. The light hit hundreds of hanging glass beads and scattered across the floor in pieces of gold.

The figures in the corner came into focus. Eight students from the music department, all in black. Four violins, two violas, a cello, and a girl at an old grand piano. The violinist in the first chair nodded to Rhett and raised her bow.

The piano came in first, just a few notes, barely louder than the room, and then the strings joined it.

Kelsey knew the song before the introduction was over. Her hand found Rhett’s sleeve and held on.

Two weeks ago, late one night, she’d lain in her dorm bed after watching Beauty and the Beast for the fortieth time and typed one line on her Wall. She’d forgotten it as soon as she posted it. She’d never imagined anybody would read it.

the ballroom. the chandelier. a whole orchestra playing just for them. one day I’m going to dance like that and I’m going to cry the entire time.

She was crying. Just like she’d said.

Rhett walked over, slid the bow tie from around his neck and held it out to her.

"I can’t tie it," he said. "Can you?"

Kelsey laughed through her tears. She took the bow tie, reached around the back of his neck with shaking fingers and got it on the second try. When it was done, she didn’t take her hands away right away. She sniffled and straightened his collar.

"Can you even dance?" she asked.

Rhett didn’t answer. He put one hand at her waist, took her hand in the other, stepped back, and turned her half a circle. It was a waltz, and he led it steadily.

Twenty years from now, a major client’s wife would insist on dancing with him at a charity gala, and he’d practice for a solid month to get it right. That time, it had been for a deal.

Kelsey leaned back a little and stared up at him. "When did you learn this?"

"A long time ago," he said. "For a reason that wasn’t worth it."

"And now?"

Rhett turned her under the chandelier, and the scattered gold light slid across the hem of her dress.

"Now it is."

As the piece neared its end, Kelsey rested her head on his shoulder. Over the top of her head, Rhett could see the old clock on the wall. 11:58.

Two minutes left of her birthday.

The last note faded. The girl at the piano looked up, waiting for his signal.

"One more time," Rhett said.