Cara slid in next to Mia. “How are you girls doing?”
“Great.” Mia shot Lillian a look she couldn’t decipher. “Lillian just finished a dance.”
“I didn’t know you two knew each other.”
“Oh yeah, we’re old friends.” Mia grinned. “It’s been, what, a few weeks now? A lifetime.”
Cara laughed. “Lillian, what’s up with you?”
Lillian drummed her fingers on the table, trying to keep the words in, but she had to tell someone who hadn’t seen. If only to make herself believe it was real. “I kissed a boy. Twice.”
Cara’s eyes widened before she laughed again. “Good for you. You girls are young. It’s good to get your kisses in.”
Words vomited out of Lillian. “I’ve won awards, been featured in magazines and told I’m going to be a star one day, and yet, kissing him was just about the best thing I’ve ever done. How is that possible?”
“Lil, maybe you shouldn’t—”
She cut Mia off. “I mean, we’ve been dancing together and every time his hands are on me, I want more, you know?” Lillian was not the sharing type, but she couldn’t seem to stop. “He’s strong, strong enough to lift me, but it’s the light touches, a finger on my cheek, our shoulders brushing when we walk… that’s what turns me into this… girl.” She covered her face with her hands. “Oh my gosh, I’m such a girl. I should be focused on the dancing, and all I can think about is how soft his lips were, how warm.” She leaned her head on the table next to her plate.
“Lillian.” Cara’s voice was soft. “It sounds like you like this boy. Maybe try to stop overthinking it. And you’re young, so be careful. I have to get back to work, but Mia, you help our girl out with some good old-fashioned girl-talk.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Mia saluted, her lips folded in as if trying to hold back a laugh.
Cara shook her head with a smile before standing and greeting a new set of customers at the door.
Mia couldn’t hold back her laughter anymore. She stuffed fries in her mouth as if that would stop it.
“What?” Lillian’s brow scrunched. “What’s so funny? I know I’m pathetic. Please don’t tell Jack.”
Mia swallowed, seeming to get control of herself. “That’s not why I’m laughing.” She started up again. “Cara,” she wheezed. “She’s Jack’s mom.”
Lillian’s eyes widened. She whipped her head around to stare at the woman she’d just told about Jack’s hands, his lips. “Oh, crap.” Lillian picked up the cheeseburger on her plate and took a giant bite, for once thinking of anything but the calories.
17
Jack
Jack pushed his dust mop down the hall, past a studio full of little girls in tutus, giggling and dancing circles around Katrina. Familiar music lured him to the small studio at the back of the building.
Lillian was in the middle of her routine, laser focused as usual. She was more than ready for her competition, and he was so proud of her for venturing out of her comfort zones. In so many ways, she’d risen to the challenge, and even now, she wore a confident smile on her face. Something he’d never seen from her whenever she practiced her classical routines. Lillian was having fun. She’d found the joy in dancing again, and Jack had been a part of that.
“Are you just going to lurk by the door, or are you coming in?” she asked as she moved through a complicated sequence of footwork she could easily do in her sleep now.
“I’ve already swept this room, so I’m just admiring the view.” He leaned against the doorway, folding his arms across his chest.
“Slacking on the job?” she teased, coming to a stop with a heartbreaking smile.
“Never.” He took a step into the room, but his phone rang before he had a chance to ask her out for dinner tonight. “Hey, Mom, what’s up?” he answered with a hint of dread in his voice. He knew this afternoon phone call too well.
“Jacky, my beautiful, sweet, favorite son.”
“Oh no, what do you want?” He laughed. “Double shift?”
“If you don’t mind picking up the kids from Mrs. Patterson’s. We could use the extra money.”
“You know you can count on me, Mom, but isn’t Dad coming home tonight? You sure you want to miss that?”
“He’ll understand if I’m not there to welcome him.”
“Try to make it home for dinner if you can. Love you.”
Lillian stepped up beside him to grab her water bottle out of her bag. “Is that your mom?” she whispered, a hint of a blush creeping across her face.
“Yeah, one sec.” He winked at Lillian. “Mind if I bring a friend over for dinner?”
“The more the merrier. Love you, Son.”
“Bye, Mom.”
Jack glanced at the time on his phone before he slipped it into his back pocket. His shift was almost over.
“Let’s cut practice early.” He took Lillian’s hands in both of his.
“Early?” She frowned at him as if he’d suggested something impossible.
“You’ve never skipped practice before, have you?” he teased, pulling her close.
“My mother would kill me.”
Jack shrugged. “What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her, right? You know this routine better than I do, and I created it. Come meet my family tonight, and you can practice twice as hard tomorrow.”
“I don’t know.” Lillian glanced over her shoulder at the empty studio. “I just got warmed up… but sure. Let’s do it.”
“Excellent.” Jack leaned in to kiss her. “I’ll finish up and meet you out front in five.”
“Okay.” She avoided his gaze again.
Jack couldn’t hold back his smile as he put his cleaning supplies away. He was dying to spend time with Lillian outside the studio. He wanted them to have more than just dancing as a common ground, but he worried someone like her couldn’t relate to his family and the responsibilities that fell to him when his parents were busy with work.
“Katrina.” He ducked into the chaotic classroom swarming with hyper baby ballerinas. “I need to duck out early to pick up the terrible two.”
“Kay,” Katrina said. “Give them a hug for me.”
“I’ll make up my time tomorrow,” he promised.
“I know you’re good for it, Jack. See you later.”
“Ready?” Lillian waited by the front desk. “I hope I’m dressed okay for dinner.” She glanced down at her jeans and pink sweater with expensive looking boots.
“You look beautiful, but you might be a bit overdressed for a Butler dinner affair. Next time stick with the workout clothes.” He winked, taking her hand and leading her out to his crappy old Jeep. Thoughts of what Lillian would think of him once she’d seen his car and where he lived plagued him. Would the academy girl have second thoughts about hanging out with the townie?
They drove in near silence to Jack’s house across the river. It wasn’t a fancy house, but it was clean and well loved. “Wait here.” He parked in the driveway. “I’ll be right back.”
“Okay,” Lillian said uncertainly.
Jogging across the street, he approached Mrs. Patterson’s front door where she already had the terrible two waiting for him.
“I hope they weren’t awful for you today, Mrs. Patterson.”
“Oh, course not, Jacky. They were on their best behavior.” The old lady smiled. She was a godsend to the Butlers, waiting at the curb every day for his brother and sister to get off the school bus. She watched them for a few hours so he and his mom could work in the afternoons. She’d done the same for him when he was a kid.
“Say thank you,” Jack reminded Alexis and Wyatt as he took them by the hands.
“Thank you, Mrs. Patterson,” they chorused.
“Who’s that, Jacky?” Alexis shouted, pointing at Lillian who was leaning against his Jeep.
Jack guided his brother and sister across the street. “This is my pretty friend, Lillian.” Jack introduced them to her. “Lil, this is the terrible two. Alexis is f
ive and Wyatt is seven. Don’t take your eyes off them, they’re sneaky, and they like to take things that don’t belong to them.”
“Jacky.” Alexis rolled her eyes. “That’s not nice, don’t listen to him.” She took Lillian’s hand. “I love your boots, they’re so pretty!”
Lillian leaned down, a startled smile on her face. “Well, I like your dress. Pink is my favorite color.”
“Mine, too.”
“Are you a dancer?” Wyatt dropped Jack’s hand and took Lillian’s free hand. “Do you dance where Jacky works?” The kids led Lillian into the house, forgetting all about him.
“Hey, now, she’s my date, Wy. Don’t get any ideas.” Jack followed behind, happy to see his siblings liked her as much as he did.
“I don’t know, Jacky,” Lillian said as they walked into the living room. “Wyatt is pretty handsome. You might have some competition.”
Jack grinned as his brother turned three shades of scarlet.
“Is Daddy still coming home?” Alexis asked.
“Yes he is, and he can’t wait to see you.” Jack ruffled her brown curls.
“Can we make cookies for Daddy?” Wyatt asked, racing into the kitchen.
“Yeah, his favorite jam cookies!” Alexis squealed in excitement, following her brother who was rooting around in the refrigerator for ingredients.
“All right, soldiers.” Jack stood with his hands on his hips, barking at them like a drill sergeant. “Line up.”
Wyatt slammed the refrigerator door, and they both dropped their backpacks, standing ramrod straight in front of him. “Your new task is to go change out of your school clothes, wash your hands, and then come tell me about your homework. And then we might make Dad some cookies if you’re really good. One. Two. Three. Go!” He sent them racing off to their room.
Lillian laughed as the two scrambled down the hallway, each trying to beat the other to their tasks. “They are so adorable.” She stepped toward him, bumping her shoulder against his. “You never told me much about them.”
“They’re a handful.” Jack draped his arm around her waist. He hadn’t not told her about them on purpose, but his time with her was a rare and precious thing. He wanted to know everything about her and hadn’t shared much about his family. To him, it was just everyday life stuff that would probably bore her to tears. “But I do what I can to help out when Mom’s at work and Dad’s on the road. He’s a truck driver, so he’s away a lot.” A twinge of embarrassment shot through him—something he’d never experienced before. He admired and respected his hardworking parents, and he hoped Lillian would too.
“Your parents sound wonderful.”
“They are pretty great.” He laughed, feeling relieved by her non-reaction to his father’s blue-collar job. “I was two seconds away from asking you out on a real date tonight before my mom called to ask me to pick up the hellions.”
“Oh, really.” She leaned beside him against the kitchen counter.
“Yeah, so I hope you don’t mind a little babysitting and baking, followed by a family dinner instead.”
“Sounds exciting.” Her eyes sparkled with interest.
“Exciting?” He went to the pantry to sort out the ingredients for cookies. “Not hardly. But I can promise a very loud afternoon with a couple of cute kids and the possibility of a pizza later.”
“I’m an only child, and it’s just been me and my mom since Dad died. I used to dream about what it would be like to have a little brother or sister.”
“You can borrow mine any time you want.” He grabbed the flour, sugar, and baking powder from the pantry and moved to the refrigerator for the butter and jam.
“So you dance, you work a part-time job, you choreograph amazing routines, you’re like Mr. Big Brother, and you bake?” Lillian hopped onto the counter.
“What can I say, I’m a multi-tasker.” He stood in front of her, surprised when she pulled him closer, pressing her lips to his. Jack rested his hands on her hips, deepening their kiss as his heart rate kicked up a notch. He could get used to Lillian kissing him.
“Ew, gross!” Alexis sing-songed. “Is she your girlfriend?”
Jack stepped back, shaking his head. Part of him wanted to kill his little sister, but she was too cute to murder. “Come show me your homework, squirt. Did you finish everything at Mrs. Patterson’s?”
“I’m five, Jacky. My homework takes no time.” She shoved her backpack on the kitchen table, rooting through her workbook for her assignment. “See.” She held up her homework sheets for him to inspect.
“I don’t know, kiddo. This looks hard.” Jack sat down at the table, pulling her onto his lap. “What’s this picture of a fruit basket about?”
“I have to count the fruit, silly. There’s three ‘nannas, two apples, and four oranges.”
“And this? What’s this doodle over here?” He pointed to a scribble of red crayon.
“That’s a picture for my teacher.” Alexis rolled her eyes.
“You think you’ll get an A+ for this?”
“Yes! Now can we make cookies, Jacky?”
“Jacky has to check Wyatt’s homework first,” Lillian said, sitting in the chair beside him. “Can you come show me your coloring book?”
Alexis slid off Jack’s lap and grabbed her coloring book and her fat crayons and went to Lillian like Jack was yesterday’s news. “I’m working on a unicorn.” She climbed onto Lillian’s lap. “It’s purple and pink with sparkles!”
“Ooh, show me.” Lillian helped her flip through the pages. “I love unicorns.”
“Wyatt!” Jack called down the hall. “Hustle up, soldier!”
Wyatt came running down the hall, tugging his baggy jeans up. “I finished my homework already.” He grabbed his backpack and sorted through his notebook. “I’m in second grade so my homework is a lot harder than Lexi’s.” He placed his math homework on the table, puffing out his chest like only a proud second grader could. That was his little brother, charming his almost-girlfriend.
“This looks tough, bro.” Jack scratched his head as he checked over the simple addition and subtraction. “How do you think you did?”
“I think I did okay.” Wyatt took a step back.
“Okay?” Jack frowned, picking up a pencil to mark the six problems Wyatt missed. “I want you to try these again, and then you can help us make cookies for Dad.”
“Can I do the jam part? That’s my favorite.”
“We’ll wait for you.” Jack winked.
“Okay.” Wyatt’s shoulders fell, and his cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
“I’m terrible at math,” Lillian said. “It’s hard stuff, isn’t it? I always have to study a lot.”
“Me too,” Wyatt said with a smile.
Lillian was a natural with the terrible two. She had them wrapped around her little finger. Truth be told, she had him wrapped around her little finger too.
18
Lillian
Why did she agree to this? Lillian looked around the Butler home, trying to keep a calm smile on her face. She didn’t know what she was doing. Jack’s brother and sister looked to her expectantly, wanting her to say another of her other witty and kind things when she had no idea where they’d come from. She wasn’t exactly used to kids.
Once, when she was young, she’d asked her mom why she didn’t have any siblings. Her mom only scoffed and grumbled something about kids being “such a pain”. But as Lillian watched Jack with Lexi and Wyatt, she couldn’t help but wish for something she’d never had.
A family.
A car pulled into the driveway, and Lillian watched Cara through the big window in the kitchen. It didn’t hit her until right then she was about to face the woman who’d heard her rambling about her first kiss, about Jack’s touch. Lillian hadn’t allowed herself to think about that, but now, with the prospect before her, her breathing stuttered.
What would Cara do when she realized it was her son Lillian had been talking about?
Lillian
couldn’t handle disappointing the waitress she’d come to think of as a friend. Her phone buzzed, and she tore her eyes away from Cara’s approaching figure to pull it out. Wylder’s name flashed across the screen. Relief shot through her, and she looked down at Lexi in her lap. “Can you show me where the restroom is?”
Lexi nodded, sucking a lip into her mouth as she climbed off Lillian. Jack shot her a smile as she passed. Lexi led Lillian to a tiny bathroom, smaller even than Lillian’s washroom at the academy. It housed a narrow shower, tiny sink, and toilet.
Lexi left, and Lillian shut the door, leaning against it. She called Wylder back, sagging in relief when her friend answered.
“Lil, are you still at the dance studio? I was thinking of sneaking out to hit up the diner.” The Main was across from Wylder’s family’s hardware store, so Lillian wondered if she’d actually get in trouble for that or if she could have her parents sign her out.
“I can’t,” she whispered.
"Why do you sound weird? Speak up.”
“No, Wylder, I’m… in a bathroom at Jack’s house.”
Wylder was quiet for a long moment before barking out a laugh. “Okay, was not expecting that. Wait… what are you—oh my gosh, it happened, didn’t it? I knew it. You and Jack. Jack Butler and the Defiance Academy ballerina. This is gold. I’ve been waiting for you two to realize all that aggression was so much more fun with kissing involved.”
“Wylder, shut up.”
“Why are you hiding?”
“Because I sort of told his mom how much I like kissing him, that I liked him touching me.”
“Um… Lil… Moms don’t like to hear that kind of thing about their sons.”
“I didn’t know she was his mom at the time!”
Wylder chuckled. “Okay, calm down. I’m sorry. This is so not funny.”
Lillian leaned her head back on the door. “It kind of is.”
“Oh, it totally is. I was just trying to be nice… which isn’t really like me. Gross.”
Kissing the Debutant (The Dangers of Dating a Diva Book 3) Page 12
