Free The Low Notes by Kate Roth Page A

gorgeous . He approached and the lights went back up and the thunderous voices of the halls grew loud again. She stood before him stunned, a blank look painting her face.
    “ Hey Nina,” Kevin said. She breathed in the intoxicating scent of him, knowing James no doubt was doing the same.
    “ Hi,” the single word fell out of her. His smile was as bright as it was the night he stumbled over his own words, trying to make her acquaintance. She hadn’t been this weak in his class or even on their date. But just minutes prior, as James unknowingly mentioned his positive thoughts of her with an older man, she felt a truth sink in to her heart. She was ready to fall for Kevin Reed.
    His hand jutted out in front of her, fist closed, palm facing up. She and James both gave him puzzling looks and his smile spread wider. He chuckled as his hand opened to Nina slowly. James let out a quiet gasp as he recognized the sparkling jewel sitting in Kevin’s palm.
    “ This was under your desk,” Kevin said, his voice hushed and raspy. Silently and unabashed, she let her fingers dip into the cup his hand had formed to retrieve her earring. Her fingertips grazed his skin deliberately. Nina teased and figured Kevin was enjoying her skin against his. She pulled away and pinned the earring back on before smiling at him.
    “ Mr. Reed, that was really sweet of you. Thank you,” Nina gushed, putting her hand on his arm for only a second.
    His fingers repeated the motion of running through his dark brown hair. Nina suspected he was nervous and it filled her with a blissful sense of excitement, a tingling tremor low in her abdomen. Kevin glanced at James who was staring at him, nearly drooling. Kevin nodded at both of them and timidly smiled before walking away without so much as a goodbye.
    Nina felt her heart beating wildly in her chest and tried to control her breathing. Kevin had most certainly put a spell on her that wouldn't be easily broken if they kept playing this game. Nina adjusted her bag on her shoulder and looked at James to see if he was ready.
    “ You've got to be kidding me,” James said, his face still looking stunned.
    “ What?” Nina asked naively.
    “ He is so in love with you. And it’s hilarious because you barely know he exists. You said he was just kinda cute? What planet are you living on?” James was spewing his words out between scoffs as they walked through the halls, seemingly baffled by her, thinking she was clueless about Kevin’s affections. Keeping James in the dark would be easier than she thought.
    “ He’s not in love with me, James. He’s my teacher,” Nina said, smiling to herself once more, careful not to let James see the truth.

Chapter Eighteen
     
    The muted thud her Physics book made as it shut was music to Nina’s ears. Her homework was finished and now she was free to do as she pleased. As she wrote out her assignments and read her textbooks, her eyes shifted every few minutes to her cell phone. It sat on her white wooden desk on silent mode so as to not be too tempting, but she knew what might be waiting for her. She was hopeful Kevin would contact her after what happened between them in the hall. She let her lips curl into a grin thinking dreamily about the simplicity of her fingertips smoothing the curve of his palm.
    Twice that day they'd touched, twice that day they exchanged smiles and stolen glances only they were privy to. She laid back on her bed, sighing at the memory of his boyish grin as he walked down the crowded hall. His sole intention had been to return her earring but to her it was romantic. He recognized her missing gem and made a point to escort it back to her in person.
    Nina wondered about what James said. He hadn’t clued in to the fact she was awe-stricken by Kevin so how could his assessment of Kevin’s feelings be accurate? Maybe he was just better at reading men.
    All of her rationale flew out the window each time Kevin's eyes connected with hers, making her