Sometimes we would talk, other times we would simply be content enough to just hold hands and maneuver around the block a time or two. We walk towards the parking lot, dumping our bags into the back of Alex’s truck before we look at one another. I don’t know who made the first move, but we start to hold hands as we begin walking on the sidewalk.
“So, been home yet?” Alex asks softly.
I don’t know why I hesitate before answering, but I do. “I went home the other day.”
“How was it?”
I know what he’s really asking is How is your grandfather? “He was alright. He didn’t look as bad as I had built it up in my mind. He seems alright, just a little slower than normal. That could be from his old age, not necessarily the cancer.” I smile softly as we continue to walk. “He has this horrible bag filled with pills he still has to take. He’s thinking of becoming a drug dealer. Something about leaving me a better inheritance,” I snort.
“Could you imagine that?” Alex laughs. “Some little old man pimping out drugs to college kids. He’d make a fortune.”
“I thought grandma was going to have a heart attack when he said it,” I chuckle. “It took her a moment to calm down to realize he was kidding. I swear, he’s going to make her die first by messing with her all the time.”
“Guess that’s what happens when you get old and everyone you know starts dying. You just pester your wife until she’s on the brink of insanity,” Alex grins. “I can’t wait until I’m an old man messing with my poor little wife.”
“She’ll kill you,” I tell him.
“Would she?”
“Well, I would,” I snort.
“You’re no fun,” Alex sticks out his tongue.
“What about you?” I nudge him with my elbow. “How are your parents?”
Alex shrugs his shoulders. “Last year, I thought for sure they were going to disown me. You know that I’ve been talked to by scouts. Not promised anything, but have been shown interest in entering the draft in April, which means attending the Columbine in March. I finally had to tell them that I didn’t want to be a farmer, but a professional football player.”
“How did that go?”
“Mom patted my hand. I think she knew it was coming, especially with all the attention we get from ESPN. My dad said he knew for a long time, but he didn’t want to say anything in case it wasn’t something I wanted. So I was definitely relieved.”
“Your parents would never disown you, they love you.” I squeeze his hand reassuringly.
“I know they do, but it was still hard,” Alex sighs. “On one hand, I felt like a child who was going to disappoint them. And on the other hand, I know that I’m an adult. I’m graduating soon. At what point do I have to continue to do what they want versus what I want?”
“You’re one of the few who get to say they made it though,” I point out.
“I haven’t made it yet.”
“But you will. I know it.”
Alex tugs me to a stop, standing next to him on the sidewalk with a bunch of people rushing to class surrounding us. “I don’t know if I ever told you before, but I think you’ll go far in your life with dancing. You’re incredible. If I never told you that, I’m sorry.”
“You’ve told me,” I smile. “Maybe not recently, but you’ve said it before. Not a lot of people want to join a dance company, and it’s extremely hard to get into. I have faith though, and if I don’t make it then I could always be a choreographer. So I have my backup plan just in case.”
“You’ll be fine.”
“So will you.”
We stand there looking at each other for a long moment before he tugs on my hand, pulling me along to continue walking. For the first time in a long time, it’s odd to be on the same page as Alex. To feel like we finally managed to find the balance it took to get us this far.
Chapter Twenty
Alex
My leg bounces up and down as I sit on the half-circle couch at the bowling alley. It’s Grace’s turn to go up. Lila is in the next lane over, trying to trash talk about how Grace has no idea how to bowl, she doesn’t but still.
“Shut up,” Grace laughs while talking to Lila. It’s a little tinkling noise that sounds like fairies. Yeah, I have it bad.
Killian nudges me in the stomach with his elbow. He dips his chin down and lowers his voice, “So I take it that it’s going well?”
“Yeah,” I smile.
“She dressed up,” he points out.
I roll my eyes. Grace is in a little red sundress with bright blue bowling shoes and socks on her feet that almost come up to her knees. “She’s a little dressed up,” I agree, “but so is Lila.”
Killian glances over at his girlfriend. She has on a flowy skirt and a white shirt tucked into it. “She looks like a hippy art kid.”
“But she doesn’t normally look like a hippy art kid,” I say.
Killian takes that into consideration. “Huh, you have a point.” He wolf-whistles as Lila lets go of the bowling ball.
“Dude,” his girlfriend scowls. “Knock it off, you made me get a gutter ball.”
“Oh yeah, it’s totally my fault both our girls suck at bowling,” Killian rolls his eyes with a grumble. He sits up straighter, narrowing his eyes over at her. “Wait a minute,” he adds louder, “this was Alex’s idea. Why doesn’t he get shit for this?”
“Uh, because you were the one being obnoxious,” Lila tosses back. “Obviously.”
“Obviously,” I mimic in a girly voice to Killian.
“It’s your turn,” Grace comes over to me, offering out her hands like she’s going to pull me up off the couch. I let her grab both of my hands, bracing my knees as I stood up fluidly. If she knew I let her pretend to pull me up, she doesn’t say anything.
“Thanks,” I smile down at her, dropping a kiss on the top of her head as I move around her to grab a ball from the rack.
“Wait, help me up,” Killian tells Lila behind me.
I hear a puff of air come out as Lila sighs. “You’re a big boy, seriously?” Then she yelps as Killian pulls her down into his lap and nuzzles her cheek with his nose. “You’re ridiculous.”
“But I love you,” Killian smiles.
“I love you, too. Now go bowl,” she laughs as she scoots off his lap and next to where Grace is sitting.
“Come on,” Killian slaps my shoulder as he grabs a ball next to me. “Let’s show these girls how to really bowl.”
“Eat my dust, Blane,” I grin over at him. I step forward and knock over eight pins.
Killian hops on the balls of his feet. “Oh, you’re so on, Hunter.” He goes to bowl, it bounces twice before gliding down the lane and knocking two pins from the back row over before falling into the gutter. “I hate bowling.”
I laugh.
“That was...definitely interesting,” Lila snorts. “Maybe you should try and roll it, not throw it.”
Killian sighs. “I didn’t throw it.”
“It bounced,” I point out.
“Shut up and bowl your second try,” Killian scowls.
We grab our balls after they return and line up again for another shot. This time I only manage to knock one pin, leaving me one short from a spare. Killian, on the other hand, manages to redeem himself by knocking down every pin without throwing the bowling ball down the lane like it’s a pigskin.
“Ha!” Killian hops and points at me. “In your face!”
“Are they always this competitive?” Grace leans over to Lila to ask.
“Yeah,” Lila nods before sipping her glass of water. “You can’t take them anywhere. It’s impossible for them not to find something to compete over.”
Grace glances over at me and I shrug. “I guess I can see that,” she muses.
“So, how’s your dance class going?” Lila asks. “Are Ian and Alex doing ballet yet?”
“No,” Grace laughs. “Mrs. Voit has us doing research on different styles of dance as a report. They’re probably relieve
d they no longer have to dance in front of anyone. At least not for the time being.”
“I’m just glad I don’t have to do anything hard,” I sigh. I look over towards Killian. “Have you heard from Ian lately? I feel like he’s disappeared this week.”
Killian shrugs. “Something came up with his sister. I don’t know. He told me he was ‘taking care of it’ and would catch us later.”
“Ian has a sister?” Grace asks. “I didn’t know that. Why doesn’t she ever come around?”
“She probably just does her own thing,” Lila says.
“Probably didn’t want either of us sniffing around,” Killian tacks on. “We aren’t exactly gentlemen.” He waves at the girls who are walking to take their turns. “You know, prior to them.”
I think that over. He makes a good point. We wouldn’t exactly be the greatest influence on our best friend’s little sister. Plus, Ian can be pretty scary when he wants to be. “Point taken,” I agree. “He’d probably bury us in a ditch if anything ever happened to her or we hurt her feelings.”
“Yeah, but now I want to meet her,” Killian pouts. “We’re changed men, we can control ourselves.”
I snort. “Yeah, like Ian is just suddenly going to bring his little sister around because we went and got us girlfriends.”
Killian grins. “So Grace is your girlfriend, huh?”
I run my hand over my face. “I didn’t say that.”
“Yeah, dumb nuts, you just did.”
I frown and look over to where Grace is laughing at something Lila is saying about fifteen feet away. “It’s not like we aren’t heading in that direction,” I finally say. “I just don’t want to say it and then it be too soon, you know?”
“Bro,” Killian frowns. “Just accept it, she’s your girlfriend.”
It’s not like I was against the idea of her being my girlfriend or me even calling her it. I just didn’t want to push too far too soon and scare her off. All those feelings from years ago were slowly starting to creep back up. I guess I never really quit wanting her, the feelings just hid themselves deep down until I was ready to face them.
“You should see your face,” he chuckles. “It looks like I just gave you the secret to life, you look so happy.”
“I am happy.”
“I know, but it’s creepy seeing you look like a love sick puppy. I’m not used to it.”
“Well get used to it,” I roll my eyes.
“What are you two going on about?” Lila asks as the girls wander back over.
“Well, Alex just put his foot in his mouth,” Killian says calmly. “And I was trying not to laugh at him.”
“First off, I did not put my foot in my mouth,” I defend.
“Okay,” Grace laughs as she sits down next to me. “What did you say?”
“We’ll talk about it later, where I don’t have to listen to Killian go on about it afterwards,” I say and squeeze her hand.
Grace leans towards me, dropping her voice, “Is it bad?”
“No, it’s not bad. I just don’t want Killian giving me crap for it.”
That seems to appease her because she smiles as I stand up. “Okay.”
“I promise it’s not bad.”
Killian pokes me in the side as we grab our balls. “Just tell her.”
“I will, when you’re not around,” I laugh. “That’s literally what I just got done telling her.”
“Why do you have to wait?”
“Because you’re going to hear it and make some smartass remark that I don’t want to hear. Then you’ll embarrass the shit out of Grace, which I don’t want.”
Killian points to his chest with his free hand. “You think I would do that?”
“Fuck yeah, I think you would. You have no concept of personal boundaries.”
“I see your junk all the time in the locker room,” Killian rolls his eyes. “Do we really even have personal boundaries anymore?”
“That,” I point at him before aligning my feet on the arrows on the floor. “That right there is why I don’t want you around.”
“You’re such a wuss.”
“You’re an annoying little shit.”
I bowl at the same time Killian lets go of his ball. “I am not,” he huffs. “You’re just scared to tell her in public how you really feel.”
“That’s not it. I just told you in public, didn’t I?”
“But you didn’t admit it at first.”
“Lila!” I holler over towards the girls. “Can you tell him to quick acting like a dick?”
Lila points at her chest in a very Killian-like way. “What makes you think he listens to me?”
I glare.
“Fine,” she sighs. “Killian, whatever it is, leave him alone about it. I don’t think he needs you interfering in his life or your unsolicited advice.”
“How do you know I was giving advice?” Killian asks.
“Because you always give unsolicited advice,” Lila snorts.
“See?” Grace waves her hand in a gesture towards all of us. “This is why I get concerned about what’s going on.”
“Alex called you his girlfriend and he says that it should be in ‘private’ that you two talk about,” Killian says while using air quotes.
“Oh my God!” Lila shouts. “Killian you can’t just say that!”
“Why the hell not?” he asks in exasperation. “I had to tell him to go get Grace because he was being a little chicken shit about it.”
“But it’s their business!” Lila hisses. “That’s so not cool.”
“But look at her face,” Killian points at Grace. “She looks so happy.” He turns to look at me with his hands on his hips. “You’re welcome, dude.”
“I fucking hate you,” I tell him.
“You think I should be your girlfriend?” Grace grins.
I run my hand over my face in frustration. “Well, I was going to ask you later on. It felt a little rushed to do it right this second. But yeah, I was going to ask.”
“That’s so cute!” Grace hops up from her seat and comes over to me. “I don’t think it’s too fast.”
“You don’t?” I frown.
She shakes her blonde head. “No. I mean, I guess if we were strangers, then yeah. But it’s not like I don’t know you. So I’m okay with it if you are.”
Hope surges through my chest. “Yeah?”
She nods her head enthusiastically. “Yeah.”
“See?” I hear Killian say from behind me. “Look how adorable they look staring at each other and shit. It’s not creepy at all. They wouldn’t be like that if I hadn’t said anything.”
“You just don’t know when to quit, do you?” I sigh, pulling Grace into my arms to hug her to me. She was like a little tiny doll pressed against me. I kiss the crown of her head again at the same time she places a chaste kiss on my sternum.
“He’s a little out there,” Grace hums. “But he means well.”
“He’d mean a lot more if he kept his nose out of our business,” I huff.
“You can’t be super mad,” Grace laughs.
Uh, yeah, I could be, the little voice in my head argues. “Whatever. He’s lucky you’re happy or else I’d have hit him.”
“Really?”
“No, but it makes me feel better to think that,” I shrug.
“Just go bowl,” Grace laughs, shoving me towards the bowling lane. “Hurry up, we’re grabbing food afterwards and I’m starting to get hungry.”
“Sure thing, sweetheart,” I wink at her.
“Aw, did you hear that?” Lila sighs happily. “He called her sweetheart.”
Killian scowls over at me. “But, babe, I call you baby doll.”
“Sometimes it’s nice to get a new nickname,” Lila shrugs.
“But sweetheart is so generic,” he huffs.
“Doesn’t matter, I still like it,” she rebuts.
“Grace,” Killian says, “wouldn’t you rather have a non-generic nickname?”
“I
don’t know,” Grace shrugs. “I kind of like it when he calls me sweetheart. I get little butterflies in my stomach.”
“Oh!” Lila grins and grabs her arm. “That’s how I feel when Killian calls me baby doll.”
“See?” I say in a ha tone. “It’s perfectly fine.”
“Whatever,” Killian rolls his eyes. “Just bowl, dammit.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Grace
I point my toes down toward the mat at an angle. Take a small leap before curling my body inwards, like I’ve been dealt a blow to the stomach. I fall backwards then, rolling into a reverse somersault before sprawling out on the floor.
And then I stare.
Alex claps slowly from across the room, tilting his head at me slightly. “So,” his deep voice says, “was that it?”
“I don’t know what to do afterwards,” I sigh, still laying on the floor. “It’s like my head gets too involved when I dance and then I don’t know what to do so I just stop.”
“You’re too in your head,” he nods. “Do you have any ways to get out of your head?”
It’s a few days after bowling, and Alex came to watch me practice my dance piece for the scholarship. “Mrs. Voit keeps telling me to turn it off,” I say as I sit up. “It’s not exactly that easy.”
Alex presses his lips together. “I can see how it seems that way. Come on.” He stands up from where he’s been sitting and offers his hand out to me. I take it and let him pull me up. “Dance with me instead.”
“What?” I gape.
“Dance with me instead,” Alex repeats. “This way your mind gets a little break. Let’s just sway.”
“Alright,” I sigh and lean against him, shifting my weight back and forth as we sway to the playlist I have running through for my audition. I was hoping a song would jump out at me, make me feel like I could come up with a melody for my body to follow, but nothing so far.
“What story are you trying to tell?” Alex murmurs in my ear.
“I don’t know.”
“You should tell a story, then,” he says. “Maybe find a song that tells a story. None of these really have anything to do with anything. It’s just choppy long solos and a lot of instrumental music.”
The Wrong Girl_Hanson University_Book Two Page 14
