Page 9 of Saving Graces
A flicker of interest cracked across Jay’s face.
“You’re friends with Lane?” they asked.
“Yeah,” she said. “Not close enough to be snot friends though.” She screwed up her nose. “I’ll leave that to Cassidy.”
Jay edged into the room.
“Cassidy came to one of Lane’s sessions once,” they said, looking over at her. “She’s so hot,” they added wonderingly. Kinsey met their eyes, seriously.
“Right?” she groaned, and they grinned.
Jay came all the way in and took a seat at the big center table, grabbing up a name tag on the way. Hesitating for just a second, they scrawled their name and they/them beneath it. Rosalie looked over at her and smiled. Kinsey smiled back and the center’s director very quickly dropped her eyes, as if neatening up the pile of name tags was extremely pressing business.
Gradually, another ten kids trickled in, all initially disappointed to be faced with a Not Lane, but all pretty easily won over once they knew Kinsey was Lane Approved. Kinsey hadn’t had a lot of time to think through a lesson structure and she’d brought nothing with her, but the center was surprisingly well set up for a small non-profit. Rosalie had produced a couple of high-quality acoustic guitars and a top of the line keyboard. She placed a small stack of notebooks in the centre of the table. Kinsey introduced herself and made up a silly song on the spot, strumming along to explain how she normally wrote songs, then once the ice was broken, she prompted the kids to talk about what they’d like to write about.
The group hesitated, peeking at their peers out of the corners of their eyes. Kinsey squirmed, begging for anyone to say something. Slowly, Jay raised their hand and just like that, the floodgates opened. Crushes and loneliness, fear and abandonment, loss and being lost. Lyrics spilled everywhere, about cute boys passing in the street and girls that wouldn't meet your eyes. Melodies of being alone in a world and being held tight on a cold day. Kinsey met Rosalie’s eyes across the room, wonder and delight sparking inside her chest. Some things were universal, no matter who you were and who you liked.
The session was pretty loose, some of the more confident kids trying out rhyming verse, some even humming some tunes, trying to sound out ideas on the keyboard. Jay was actually learning guitar and shyly accompanied Kinsey as she sang some of the words that the kids had come up with together. Some of the quieter kids used the time and notebooks just to sketch out verse, guarding them zealously from other eyes and Kinsey didn’t push.
Rosalie wandered around, talking to all the kids, some conversations quiet and gentle, others more of a mutual teasing session. It was clear the kids trusted her. Some looked at her with something like adoration, while others, like Jay, blushed bright red when she smiled at them. Kinsey did not blame them one bit. She too, felt slightly electrified every time those green eyes skimmed over her, which, she was gratified to notice, wasn’t exactly infrequently.
“Will you come back again?” a spiky-haired girl named Chloe asked Kinsey as the session ended, her eyes bright. She’d never played any instruments before but she’d already picked out a pretty good melody on the keyboard, humming along with a sweet, tuneful voice. Kinsey grinned.
“I hope so.” She looked to Rosalie, who’d smiled too.
“Hopefully we can entice her back,” Rosalie said, her tone perfectly neutral.
“You won’t have to try very hard,” Kinsey told her honestly and watched as Rosalie bit back another smile, this one just for her.
The kids filed out, chattier as a bunch than they had been when they’d each walked in alone. Rosalie and Kinsey watched them go, the room suddenly very quiet.
“You did great,” Rosalie said, as she moved around the room, pushing the chairs back into place. Kinsey tried not to stare, but there was something in the movement of her hips that kept drawing her eye. “They loved you,” Rosalie continued, oblivious. “Plus songwriting is a great way to get them to open up. I don’t know why we haven’t done that kind of session with them before.”
“Are you asking me back?” Kinsey glanced over her shoulder where she stood putting the guitars back in their cases.
“Our schedule is arranged pretty far in advance,” Rosalie hedged, “but we could figure something out. If you’re keen.”
“I’m so keen.” Kinsey said lightly. She was especially keen to see Rosalie again. In fact, she wanted to see her again right now. She tried to figure out how to play it as Rosalie switched off the light and they walked back up the corridor together. “Are you single?” She went with direct.
Rosalie stopped walking.
“Is that relevant?” she asked sharply. It made Kinsey’s lip twitch as she fought off a smirk.
“It is to me,” she matched Rosalie’s serious tone, “since I want to ask you out.”
Rosalie shook her head, her mouth quirking. There was the slightest flush staining her cheeks and Kinsey was captivated. Rosalie started walking again, her pace brisk. Kinsey matched her.
“I’m very flattered.” Rosalie kept her gaze firmly ahead. “How old are you, exactly?”
“I’m twenty-six,” Kinsey told her. “How old are you?”
Rosalie made a sound like a scoff.
“I’m practically forty,” she said. “You’re far too young. But like I said, I’m very flattered.”
“How old are you?” Kinsey repeated and she huffed.
“I’m thirty-seven.”
