"Oh my god," I breathe.
"Are you okay?" Cass's voice is tight.
"Did they just say--"
A sigh, then a sad, "Yup."
Grey's still standing there, staring after them. His shoulders and neck are tense, his hands fisted at his sides. Then he turns and looks up into the stands, right at me. The expression on his face is a punch in the gut. It's not anger. Not embarrassment.
Devastation.
"Molly--"… Cass starts.
"I need to--" I start to stand, but she pulls me back down.
"Wait. Hang on--. Let him breathe for a second. Everyone just heard. You running up there right now might make things worse."
Might? Generous--it would definitely make things worse. So I stay put.
I can't look away, that look on his face tearing me apart.
"Is Ruth Ellen…"
Cass hesitates before saying, "His grandma."
Tears spring to my eyes, my lungs locked tight. Nothing would hurt him more than using her name to prove a point.
The pain in my chest is sharpened by the knowledge that this is all because of me. For something so stupid and simple as a kiss.
"Are you okay?" Cass asks.
"No."
"You look like you're about to throw up."
"I might." I look around, meet a few eyes that dart away on connection. "Everyone's staring."
"I know. I'm sorry. This is the worst part of living in a small town." She hesitates again.
My eyes are on Grey. My heart is in my stomach. "Is it always like this? When people accidentally kiss in public?"
"When there's a twenty-year age gap and one of you is the new girl in town?" She sighs. "Sadly, yes."
I wince.
She leans in a little so she can say under her breath, "Which,By the way, you owe me astory.Like, a big one."
Somehow, I smile a little. "Huge."
"Colossal." She smiles back.
I almost feel better. The crowd is thinning around us while we wait for the team to finish up. And an older woman approaches, sits next to me, smiles kindly.
"Hello there," I say, trying to be pleasant, braced for the worst.Please don't say something mean. Please, please, please--
"You're the new librarian, aren't you? At the elementary school?"
Here we go. I fight to maintain my smile. "Yes, that's me."
