The Love Square (21 page)

Chapter 21

Alex

Alex’s major league debut, witnessed by Jenna and Steve on Friday night, and then Jenna, Steve, Penny, Scott, and Dominic on Saturday night, was gut-wrenching, mind-blowing, and life-altering.

On Friday night, he went one for three at the plate, with a base hit, a walk, and a sacrifice fly. After his first hit, the outfielder ran the ball to him. Alex rolled it in his hands, staring down at it. Now he had “one on the books.” On Saturday, he went one for four, with a double. He did well in the field too, making all the right plays, a couple of six-four-three double plays, and even tagged out a runner trying to steal second.

The coaches and the players cheered him on, impressed with his energy and his willingness to learn. Santiago himself texted Alex from his mother’s hospital room
.

Hey, Rookie, you trying to take my job?

Alex vowed to save the text forever.

After Saturday’s game, Alex went out with some of the guys from the team and sat in awe of the talented, successful people surrounding him. He listened as they told stories of the major leagues, gossiped about the players he had worshipped forever, talked about their kids, their families, their lives.

Alex had never missed his Uncle Anthony as much as he did that weekend. He could almost picture him sitting in the stands, next to Jenna and Steve, smiling at Alex with a pencil and scorecard in his lap just as he’d done for every one of Alex’s games before he died.

For the first time in his life, Alex felt lucky. His dream had come true. He had people who supported him, who loved him. He’d done everything in life he’d set out to do. While he would have loved being in the majors for real, if he only had the weekend, then so be it.

Only one more game.
As he messed with his keys to the building, he came down from his high. The adrenaline subsided, and his great night turned to a memory. Automatically, he walked to the sixth floor, knowing Jenna wouldn’t mind the late-hour visit.

Although he hadn’t really seen her after the games—the team had asked him to hang out—she’d texted and called him like crazy. She was as excited as he that he’d gotten the opportunity. She’d recorded the games and watched every sport report for any mention of his name. When his favorite sportscaster on AM radio mentioned Alex’s name and declared him “promising,” Jenna called him in a tizzy. She was so damn adorable, he almost couldn’t stand it.

He didn’t want to wake her, so he used his key and tiptoed in. He sneaked into her room and stripped down into his boxers, and found the T-shirt she kept for him in her drawer. Then he used the bathroom, washed his hands and face, and looked at her, lying in bed sleeping.

The moonlight from the cracks in her blinds streamed into the room. She lay on her side, her hair hanging down over her shoulder and face. Glad he hadn’t woken her, he slipped under the covers and lay behind her, and then gently reached around to pull her hair away from her face. He smoothed it over her shoulder, appreciating the softness. He touched the shiny ends, careful not to wake her. He could tell by the scent that she had just washed it.

He bent his arm under his head and rested on it, trying to fall asleep. All he could do, though, was lie there, thinking, lucky and grateful and sad all at once. Tonight, he didn’t feel like moving. He felt still on the inside and outside.

Maybe this is what being calm is about.
If he had a nickel for every time Jenna had told him to “calm down,” he’d be a millionaire.

Jenna must have heard him thinking about her, because she rolled toward him and opened her eyes.

“Hey, you,” she whispered. “Are you okay?”

“Yes,” he answered.

“Then why aren’t you sleeping?” She covered her mouth and yawned.

“I can’t. Can I lie here with you?”

“Do you want to talk?”

“No. Sleep. I didn’t mean to wake you.” As they lay side by side, Jenna watching him with her deep brown eyes, with the moonlight bouncing off her shoulder, Alex felt it again. That pull.

“You’re sad,” she whispered. “I can see it.”

He shouldn’t have tried to hide it. “I missed my uncle tonight.”

Jenna put her hands under her cheek and watched him.

“He taught me how to catch. He couldn’t afford tickets, but we’d walk by that stadium during game time and listen to the crowd. I was in there tonight, on the field, Jen. Do you think he had something to do with that?”

“I do,” she said. “He was there too.”

Alex touched her cheek. “Maybe,” he said. “I’m sorry I woke you. Go back to sleep.”

He didn’t think he could talk anymore without going into emotional overload. He kissed her on the forehead. “I’m glad you were there with me. Thank you for that.”

“I love you,” she whispered. “There’s no place else I’d be.”

He wasn’t ready to stop touching her and the pull was overpowering, so he pushed her hair back over her ears as she watched him in the dark.

“I love you too,” he whispered back. He lifted his palm and used only his fingertips to trace her cheekbone because his hands were calloused and rough. She shut her eyes, and he traced her face. Over her nose, to her ears, over her cheeks.

Then she opened her eyes and said his name.

“Um-hmm,” he murmured.

“Are you going to kiss me?”

Her tone didn’t reveal whether or not she wanted him to. She was simply asking.

They watched each other until Alex leaned closer to Jenna’s face and traced her lips with his thumb. This time, no plane flew overhead and no memories or fears entered his mind to stop him. He carefully brushed his lips against hers and moved away.

She reacted, wiggling closer to him, and he touched her chin and tilted her face to his. When her lips turned up into a grin, he kissed her full-on, as softly as he could manage.

It took every ounce of self-control to resist moving his hands down her body to pull her closer. But while his body was on high alert, her gentle kiss, like her friendship, calmed him in that way Jenna always did. With her, he had a purpose and someone to share his life. He had a family. He was an adult with dreams and goals instead of the hyped-up, crazy kid he often felt like on the inside.

Soon, the gentle kiss morphed into something more. He couldn’t lose control. Not with Jenna. So he slowed down and tried to imprint the feeling of kissing her, then he pulled away.

“Now this night has been perfect,” he whispered in her ear as he held her close. “Go to sleep, Jen.”

She snuggled into his chest without a word, and after she fell asleep, he released her, untangled himself, and left her apartment.

***

Jenna

Jenna woke Sunday morning physically rested but emotionally confused. Alex had kissed her last night. Granted, she’d practically begged him to, but he did, and it was nothing like she’d ever imagined. When she let herself fantasize about Alex, she’d imagined him being aggressive, rushed, and a little rough, like his personality.

But last night, he had been soft, sweet, and peaceful. Usually he ran on pure adrenaline, but last night he seemed to be on high emotion, maybe from the excitement of the weekend or the realization of a dream he’d worked for his whole life. Maybe because he missed his uncle, and even though he’d never admit it, his mother.

Whatever the reasons, they had crossed a line—one he’d made clear he didn’t want to cross. They’d made a mistake. A thoroughly enjoyable mistake, but a mistake nonetheless. In a few hours, Dylan would be there, in her bed. The bed where she’d just kissed his best friend.
Her
best friend.

Feeling disgusted and guilty, she decided to put things right before Dylan arrived.

Scott had insisted on an early morning rehearsal because he knew Jenna would be “occupied” with Dylan for the next few days, so she put on her dancewear, threw her hair into a ponytail, and headed up to 805, where she used her key to enter. The giant digital clock on his kitchen counter glowed through the dark apartment. Five fifty-eight. He would never forgive her for waking him so early, especially when he had gotten home so late.

She crept to his bedroom and pushed open the door. “Alex?” she whispered.

A body shot up from under the covers, but it wasn’t Alex.

“Jenna, you scared me. What time is it?” Yolanda poked Alex while Jenna quickly shut the bedroom door and bolted out of Alex’s apartment.
Son of a bitch.

When she was halfway down the hallway, Alex came running after her in nothing but his boxers. “Jenna, wait.”

She spun around and glanced at his bare chest. “What?” she asked, holding tightly to all the words she wanted to spew at him, all the names she longed to call him.

“What’s up?” he asked.

What’s up? What’s up? Asshole.
“Just thought I’d say good morning,” she huffed.

“Are you angry at me?” he asked, rubbing his eyes.

“Why would I be angry with you?” she said sweetly.

“Well, I don’t know…last night? I mean, I was kind of drunk. I shouldn’t have snuck in on you like that.”

Jenna stared at him in disbelief.
How could he? How dare he blow me off like our kiss meant nothing?
She refused to show him how much he’d hurt her. “Last night?” she asked, acting as though she couldn’t remember. “Oh that. Yeah. Ha! How dumb of us. Anyway, Dylan’s going to be here if you want to meet for an early dinner—”

“I can’t. I—”

“That’s better anyway,” she said, shooting venom from her eyes. “We’ll probably be ordering in.” She hoped her words hurt him. “See you at your game.” She stomped to the stairs and pushed open the staircase door.

When she got back to her apartment, she slammed her door shut, then turned to kick it. She kicked it about ten times, until her toes hurt. Scott would kill her if she broke her foot with two weeks to go until Vegas, so she calmed down with the help of deep-breathing exercises.

By the time she arrived to the studio for rehearsal, Jenna channeled her energy into dancing. She and Scott rehearsed for hours, focusing on the dances other than the tango. They were hoping they could place first in the tango but knew they had a decent chance of placing in the top ten overall if they could manage to clean up the details on the other dances.

At lunchtime, they decided to break for the day. Scott walked Jenna to the train, and she told him what had happened with Alex.

“When am I going to give up with him? Obviously, he doesn’t care about me. He goes from my bed to having Yo in his?”

“Well, Miss Red Carpet, you’ll have someone in your bed soon too,” Scott said.

“That’s different,” she barked. But she wasn’t sure how.

“Alex is an idiot,” Scott said, and Jenna felt immediately validated. “You’ve known from day one that he’s not the prince.”

“Maybe the real problem is that I’m not a princess. I expect too much, but why? So he kissed me. Big deal, right?”

“How was it?” Jenna knew Scott would ask eventually.

“Intense,” Jenna answered. Then she said the next word that popped into her mind. “Spiritual.”

“Wow,” he said.

“Yeah, wow.”

“So what’s the plan?”

“There is no plan. Not with Alex, anyway. My plan is to meet Dylan at my apartment in—” she looked at her phone, “—three hours. Take him to idiot Alex’s game, then hide him away and devour him until Tuesday. How does that sound?”

“Delightful, you lucky bitch.”

“Being with Dylan is going to make all this Alex stuff go away.”

“Yeah, you keep thinking that, Princess,” he said, shaking his head.

Jenna smirked. “Well, this Alex stuff will have to go away if me and Dylan want to make this work.” She kissed Scott on the cheek. “We are going to kick ass in Vegas. Are you bringing Dominic with you?”

“I think so,” he said. “If he doesn’t break up with me by then.”

“I asked Dylan to come. He’s bringing Clare.”

“Ah, the infamous best friend. I wonder what her story is,” Scott said.

“Yeah, me too. Supposedly she’s engaged, but I don’t get it. He insists it’s like me and Alex.”

“Well, you and Alex made out last night, so let’s hope not. Maybe she’s one of mine,” Scott said. “Maybe she’ll be as interested in you as the boys are.”

“Maybe. I guess we’ll find out in Vegas.” She hugged him, squeezing him tight. “I’ll see you later. Thanks for listening to my saga.”

“No problem.”

Jenna turned to walk down the stairs to the subway, and Scott yelled after her, “If Dylan goes to Vegas, you don’t get to see him until after the competition. He’s too distracting!”

She gave him a thumbs-up before she disappeared onto the train platform.