Hit the Wall (Blythe College) (9 page)

CHAPTER 9

Kaylie

I hadn’t been kidding when I told Jackson that Char was going to grill me about our date when I got back last night. She wanted to know every detail and was super impressed with what he had planned. Not that I wasn’t, but I felt like I could depend on her judgment better to make sure I wasn’t making too much out of the date. But she agreed that his buying out a table at his favorite restaurant, taking me to one of his favorite places, and convincing me that it was better to wait to have sex were all signs that I could trust Jackson. That he definitely wasn’t out to sleep with me and walk away the next morning.

On the flip side, it took a lot of convincing from me to stop her from going next door to take on Sasha. She already didn’t like her anyway, so finding out that she’d been a bitch to me about Jackson was like waving a red flag at a bull. I was pretty sure the next time they bumped into each other that Char was going to have some choice words to share with Sasha. Not that it was going to help with situation at all. I was just glad that we only had to live next to her for the next four months until graduation.

Damn, it was only four months until we graduated. What the hell was I thinking to start something up with Jackson when I planned to leave town right after? I’d been so worried that he might have been using me that I hadn’t even thought about the fact that I had no business getting into a relationship now. I needed to keep my focus on what was really important—finishing up with a good grade point average and blowing the judges away during the showcase. As hot as he was, Jackson would be a distraction and I could lose sight of my goals.

“Stop it,” Char said from her bed.

“What?” I asked. I wasn’t even doing anything. What could she possibly be talking about?

“I can hear you brooding from over here. Can you honestly tell me that you aren’t coming up with excuses for why you shouldn’t date Jackson right now?”

“Shit, Char. What, are you psychic now?”

“Kaylie, I don’t have to be psychic. I know you. Jackson’s different from any other guy you’ve ever dated. He’s not going to let you keep him at arm’s length. And I saw the way you looked at him last night. I don’t think you are going to want to do that anyway. So I am sure that you are trying to find a good reason to back away now before you have the chance to get hurt. Don’t do it,” she pleaded with me.

“But I’m leaving soon,” I argued.

“I know
it’s horrible timing. But look at Shane and me. We’ve lasted through four years of my being here and him being back home. You never know what’s going to happen in the future, so don’t borrow trouble. Enjoy what’s happening right now and figure out the rest later.”

“I’m not sure I like the way he makes me feel,” I explained.

“That’s because you’ve been dating pansies for too long.”

“And he comes with a lot of baggage. What happened with Sasha could happen over and over again with other girls.”

“Only because they’re jealous. And it’s not like you don’t come with baggage of your own. It might not come in the form of a ton of guys you’ve slept with on campus, but trust doesn’t come easily to you. Jackson is going to have his work cut out for him, and from what happened last night it sounds like he’s willing to put in the effort,” she pointed out.

“I know,” I sighed. Then my cell phone chimed with a new text message.

Unknown:
Thx again 4 last nite.

Me:
Jackson?

Unknown:
Yeah, who else would be thanking u 4 last nite? So I know who to beat up.

I laughed in response to his text and added him to my contacts list.

Char jumped on my bed so she could see my phone. “See? Totally putting in the effort,” she crowed.

“Yeah, I guess he is,” I admitted.

“No guessing needed, Kaylie. When a guy texts you the morning after a date, he’s interested.”

“Wait a second. How did he even get my number? He didn’t ask for it last night,” I wondered.

“The boy’s got mad skills.”

Me:
Was surprised it was you because I didn’t give you my number.

Jackson:
I have my ways.

Me:
Should I be worried about them?

Jackson:
Nah, I’m sure my source will tell you all about it later.

Me:
Your source?

Jackson:
Aka my sister

Me:
You asked Aubrey for my number????

Jackson: Yeah and I caught shit for it too.

Me:
LOL

Jackson:
Not funny! My sister’s a menace.

Me:
Nice to know you’re scared of Aubrey. Might come in handy later.

Jackson:
Haha!

Me:
Gotta head to the shower and get ready for class. TTYL

Jackson:
Fuck!!!!!

Me:
Whoops. TMI?

Jackson:
Give a guy a warning before you throw an image of yourself naked and soapy into his head.

Me:
LOL! Sorry.

Jackson:
Don’t be. Now I’ve gotta take another shower and head to class.

Me:
Another?

Jackson:
No comment. TTYL

“Awwww, you guys are so cute already. And you have the goofiest grin on your face right now. You totally like him!” Char clapped her hands together all excited. “I feel like a fairy godmother and a matchmaker rolled into one.”

I whacked her with my pillow before jumping out of bed to get ready. It was going to be a long one with three tough classes and a grueling dance practice at the end of the day, plus one of my classes was with Aubrey. I was sure she’d have questions for me after Jackson had asked her for my number last night. I just hoped that it wasn’t too awkward between us if I was dating her brother. She was pretty cool. I didn’t want to lose a friend over a relationship that probably wouldn’t go anywhere with graduation looming anyway.

****

My first two classes went pretty well. I turned in the paper I had finished over the weekend, only to have a new one assigned that was due in a couple weeks. We had a pop quiz in the second class, but I had luckily spent some time studying and thought I did pretty well.

Now for the moment of truth—dance class with Aubrey.

I got to the studio before everyone else. I liked to have plenty of time to stretch before class began. Aubrey usually ran in at the last second, but today she showed up about five minutes after me, dropped her stuff on the floor in the corner, and sat down next to me.

“So have you heard the news yet?” she asked.

“News? What news?” I asked, confused as to what big thing I could have missed that would have stopped her from asking me about Jackson right away.

“Yeah. I heard some girl finally convinced my brother that dating was a good idea,” she teased.

“About that… Are you mad at me?”

“Not mad, just concerned. I don’t want to lose you as a friend, and if things go wrong between the two of you, it will be very awkward. But I tried to warn him off you and he wouldn’t listen,” she said.

“I’m sorry.”

“So I’m going to guess that if I do the same with you that you won’t listen either?” she asked.

“I might,” I answered. “If you’re really against the idea of me dating your brother, I don’t have to go out with him again.”

“But you want to?”

“Yeah, I think I do,” I admitted.

“Then go for it. Who am I to deny you two crazy kids a chance at happiness? Besides, it will be interesting to see everyone’s reactions when they realize that he’s found a girl who’s worth the effort of dating. I’ll take my entertainment where I can now that I’ve taken myself out of the dating scene for a while. It’s kinda funny that my brother decided to date shortly after I chose to take a break from it all.”

“Yeah, I’m sure that will be loads of fun for you. Not so much for me though.”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“We bumped into Sasha last night at the end of our date. It was not a pleasant experience,” I said before explaining what had happened the night before.

“God, she’s such a bitch. After what she did to Lex, I wanted to beat the crap out of her. But no, everyone told me to let it drop. Not this time. If she pulls anything else, you need to let me know.”

“I don’t know. I think you might have to get through Char to be able to do anything to Sasha. She was so pissed last night and she already hated her.”

“Good! Sounds like I need to hang out with your roomie more often. She’s my kind of girl.”

“You two really would hit it off. You should stop by the bar on Thursday night while we’re both on to hang out. It’s a slower night, but we’ll make sure you’re well taken care of,” I offered.

“I think I’ll do that. It sounds like fun,” she said as the other students started to pile into the class since it was going to start soon.

I moved to the front of the room, getting ready to help lead everyone in warm-ups since I was a TA for the class. It didn’t take a whole lot of effort, but it paid for my books. Plus, the teacher loved me, which was a huge bonus whenever dance companies were on campus because she always made sure I had the chance to network.

I led the class through all the warm-ups before she arrived and then joined them as we moved through her choreography for the day. Jazz was one of my weakest forms of dance, so this class was really helping to beef up my skills in that area. I wanted to be as well-rounded as I could so that I would have more opportunities come graduation time.

By the time class was over, I was drenched in sweat and panting. She’d really worked us hard today. I gulped down my water and tried to catch my breath. Aubrey waved when she walked out of class and made a phone sign by her ear as she mouthed, “Talk to you later.”

I toweled off and leaned over to stretch again, needing to stay warmed up so that I could run through my routine a few dozen times as long as the studio was open. I needed as much practice time as I could get, and the room was usually open after our class. I hooked my phone into the sound system and set my music to play on a loop. The music was hauntingly sad and made me think of my parents. It was a lyrical piece that called for a lot of emotion, and my coach thoroughly approved of the feelings this one pulled out of me. I hoped it was worth it because I always felt completely drained after practicing it and it brought back the pain of missing my parents. But it seemed fitting that the piece I would dance that might decide my fate as a dancer would make me feel as though they were with me.

I needed to remember that I dance because I’m a dancer. This showcase might mean that I never dance professionally or that I’d be offered a job where I get to dance every day. But I couldn’t lose sight that it was also another chance to dance. That was what each opportunity was. I couldn’t think about what was happening next. It didn’t matter what the dance was for. It didn’t matter how much I doubted myself either.

When I first started to dance, I hadn’t known that my Achilles tendons were tight or my legs weren’t long enough. After a while, I’d been told that so many things were wrong with me that all I saw were all the imperfections. This was the perfect piece for me to go back to the beginning and remember what had made me dance in the first place. So I squared my shoulders, waited for the music to start again, and then I lost myself in the dance.

About thirty minutes had passed and I was halfway into another run through when I felt someone’s presence and turned to find Jackson staring at me. He was seated on the floor just inside the door, dressed in workout shorts and a t-shirt. A huge grin was spread across his face, but his eyes were burning with desire.

“Jackson,” I gasped.

“Those are some impressive dancing skills you have there,” he complimented me.

“I certainly hope so. I’ve been dancing since I was four years old.”

“When Aubrey mentioned that you had a dance class together, I pictured you doing the type of stuff I’ve seen her do before,” he admitted. “But what you just did blows me away.”

“Your sister is a good dancer,” I argued.

“She’s not a bad dancer, but I can’t picture her doing anything like that.” He got to his feet and walked towards me.

“She just hasn’t spent as much time working on it as I have. That’s all.”

“No, after watching you, I’d say that you have a natural talent,” he disagreed. “You looked like you were born to dance.”

“Maybe I was,” I admitted, thinking of my mom. “My mom used to dance. In fact, she might have danced right in this very spot many years ago.”

“Really? I didn’t know you were a legacy too.”

“Yeah, both my parents went here. My dad got accepted and my mom followed him since they were high school sweethearts,” I explained.