“Well, aren’t you two fine looking gentlemen? Thanks for looking after Pookie.”
I shrug and nod. “Hey, anytime. After all, April is welcome here anytime she needs it.”
“Th-thank you,” April says with a small smile.
Sarah glances at Dodge with another smirk. “What, cat got your tongue, pretty boy?”
Dodge’s eyes narrow while I contain my laughter. And then he gives me a look. I shrug, still containing my giggles.
“No, the cat does not have my tongue.”
She chuckles. “How about a drink sometime?”
April gives her a look with a raised eyebrow, whispering
about how hadn’t she broken up with someone only a week ago? Which Sarah gives her a shh. I shake my head and clear my throat, again containing my laughter.
I got a whack upside my head by Dodge and roll my eyes. “What? I wasn’t doing anything,” I whisper.
“I can see you holding in your laughter, it’s not funny,” he mutters back to me.
“Oh, yes it is.”
Sarah chuckles a little before smirking again. “So, what about getting a drink?” she glances at April, who whispers in her ear. “Roger?”
“Why the heck not?” Dodge asks.
“Great! See you tomorrow night!”
With that, the two girls left, and I was standing there shaking my head at what had just gone down. “Alright, what the hell just happened? I thought April liked you, and you would go on a date with her…oh! I get it, go for the roommate and—”
“No,” Dodge says in a flat tone as he places his hand on my shoulder. “I’m actually interested in Sarah. Besides, I’m pretty sure April is interested in you.”
I shake my head. There was no way April liked me, just no way. I’m scrawny and nerdy, and Dodge is buff and plays the guitar. How can I compete with that?
“She came crying to you, not me! Besides, what could she see in a guy like me? I’m just a dork with a camera.” I sigh.
Dodge grimaces at me and groans. “Really?” he asks in a flat tone. “You didn’t notice how flustered she got around you? She only came crying to me because she knew where I lived.”
I blink, that was a little odd. “Why didn’t you tell her I lived here?”
“It wasn’t the first thing on my mind.”
“But—”
“Here, ‘hello, strange girl I’ve never met. Let me tell you about my roommate.’”
I nervously run a hand through my hair. He has a point. “Alright, alright. Well, what do I do now, Dodge?”
Dodge crosses his arms. “Do you like this girl?”
“Uh, well, she’s the focus of my video I need you to look over,” I say truthfully.
I thought I answered his question until he smacked the palm of his hand to his forehead.
“You didn’t answer my question. Please answer my question,” he grumbles.
“So much I’m half tempted to film more at her school.” I wasn’t about to tell him I wanted to stalk her. That just seemed a little too Norman Bates.
Dodge sighs. “Okay then, be yourself, pull on your big boy pants, and ask the girl out.”
“How?” I ask I wasn’t the ladies man, that was Dodge’s thing. I’m just a dork with a camera.
“Figure it out. It can be as simple as talking to her, and it just comes out.”
“Like what Sarah did?”
“Yep!” he says.
“Thanks for the pep talk, Dodge.” I grimace inwardly, how was I going to do this?
“No problem,” he says as he picks up his guitar and starts playing on it.
Chapter Five
As I head to ballet class the next morning, I notice Ash and Ashley talking to each other quietly. Jennifer is oddly missing. Hmm, I wonder where she is. It’s not like her to be late. She’s usually very early, so early, in fact, I don’t see her come in. Then again I always show up just on time.
Our teacher enters and we take our positions. I watch as Jennifer slinks in behind Ash and mutters that she’ll tell her later what happened.
I continue through our drills, keeping an eye on Jennifer. She may treat me like crap, but I’m still worried about one of my classmates. Afterward, I head out to the hotspot for students as I tug out my lunch. Glancing around, I notice a few new faces among us, from the way they’re dressed—with ripped clothes, bracelets, and the boys had pierced ears—they were band members. One of the ones I noticed walked up to Ashley. He is about six feet tall, with red hair, freckles, and a short stubby nose. His eyes are blue, and his grin was pretty cute.
“I uh, was wondering if uh, you’d like to uh, go out for dinner or something,” he says.
I smile at his awkwardness. Then again, I wasn’t much better. I groan as I remember how I had acted around Luke last night. I sigh. Right.
Ashley is smiling and adjusting her glasses. “I’m Ashley. Maybe we should get to know each other a bit more before you ask me on a date.”
“I’m Jeremy Desota,” he says, running his hand through his hair. “And I play the guitar in my band.”
I smile softly as the two of them walk off, talking about their interests. I see Jennifer glowering while she’s sitting at beside Ash, muttering something about going after the guy.
“Shh, let her be. At least, she’s happy. Now, what happened to you, Jenny?”
I perk up, listening to them as I munch my sandwich. I was curious about what happened last night after Jennifer had slapped me. Jennifer sighs, looking down.
“Well, last night was my 21st, and I was spending it with my mother. She took me to my favorite restaurant, and I saw Samuel there.”
Ash crosses her arms, narrowing her eyes. “I told you before, and I’ll tell you again, I don’t like him.”
“I don’t either,” Jennifer says softly. “My mother said that we would be good together. After all, ‘a good woman needs a good man with a lot of money’.” She sighs again. “And after last night, I’m never going to see him again. He was there with April.”
I grimace at that but manage not to butt in and say that he forced me into the date.
Ash groans and shakes her head. “He probably didn’t tell her he was engaged. Then what happened?”
“I got mad, really mad. I slapped April and then decked the heck out of Samuel and threw the ring in his face and stormed out of there.” She winces and looks away. “I uh, managed to find myself in a downtown bar and started drinking. This really hot guy with an earring in his left ear showed up. Dark skinned, like the color of cinnamon, his hair a most lovely shade of dark brown, and emerald eyes I wanted to lose myself in. He has a scar too, but it only made him look hotter.”
Ash waves her hand in front of Jennifer’s face. “Earth to Jenny.”
She squeaks and looks up at her friend. “Sorry.”
“Stop daydreaming and give me details.”
Jennifer blushes and runs a hand through her hair. “He was worried about how much I was drinking and then we got talking. After my seventh drink, I lost track of where the night went and when I woke up this morning I was in his apartment. And that’s the whole story.”
Ash has a flat expression on her face and crosses her arms. “Uh huh.”
Jennifer blushes. “There’s only so much I can say in a public place.”
I smile as I finish the last of my sandwich and start drinking my juice. At least, her night wasn’t a total waste.
“So…you going to see him again?” Ash asks Jennifer.
Jennifer smirks and leans back in her chair. “Heck yes! He’s who got me to ballet mostly on time.”
Ash smirks at that and nods.
“Maybe you and Ashley will meet him soon if that redhead doesn’t turn out to be a kidnapper.”
“He better not,” Ash says, narrowing her eyes.
“Yeah, we’ll kick his butt if he is.”
Ash nodded. “Darn straight.”
Jennifer smiles. “Thanks for listening, Ash.”
“Hey, it’s no problem. But it looks like we’ll need to get back to class soon. Want to help me look for Ashley?”
Jennifer nods and the two of them leave me alone at my seat. I lean back as I glance at my watch, we still have twenty minutes, so I stay in the little cafeteria by the sun through a window. Something blocks my sunlight when someone stands by my table. I blink and look up. Samuel Winston White, the Third, and jerk of the evening, is standing there.
I narrow my eyes. “What are you doing here?”
He smirks. “I wanted to ask you on another date after what happened last night. I feel horrible.”
“Not interested, leave me alone, Samuel,” I say, looking away from him. Pretending to be interested in something else.
He grabs my arm and forces me to look at him. I growl at him, managing not to shake.
“Let go of me, Samuel,” I say to him. “Leave me alone. And stay the heck away from Jennifer. Otherwise, I’ll make sure you will regret it.”
“Those are big words coming from a little ballerina,” Samuel says.
I watch as Ash pinches the nerve on his hand to release me before she rips Samuel away from me.
“I suggest you listen to the lady,” she growls. “Didn’t they teach you manners in your family?”
“Yes, if something goes wrong you apologize and try again.”
“No,” she explains. “If something goes wrong you apologize and accept whatever happens. No matter what it is, no matter what happens afterward, whether they forgive you or not, whether they do what you want or not, you accept it. And move on. And if you’re not then you’re a bigger jerk than I thought.”
He straightens his suit jacket and glares at her. I place a hand on Ash’s shoulder. “Please, don’t start a fight. He’s not worth the spit you could conjure for him.”
I watch as she makes an obscene gesture towards Samuel with her hand. I chuckle a little as he snarls but walks away.
“Wow, he’s a bit of a girl when it comes to physical exertion isn’t he?”
Ash smirks. “That’s because he knows I can kick his butt.”
“Hey, is Ashley okay with Jeremy. Uh, the redhead guy?”
Ash nods. “Yeah, she seems to be having a good time with him.”
“Samuel didn’t tell me he was engaged to Jennifer when he pushed me to get a date with him.”
“I figured,” she rolls her eyes.
“Thanks,” I say, giving her a small smile. “And tell Jennifer I’m sorry.”
“Will do. For the record, I think she feels bad she hit you last night.”
I shrug. “Hey, no mark no foul.”
She smiles at me and walks back to join her group. I smile myself, hoping I had done some good.
~
After my last class, I head outside and sigh softly. As I’m starting down the street, I hear Ashley calling my name. I stop and turn to look at her.
“Oh, Hi, Ashley. What’s up?”
“Jennifer wanted me to give this to you!” She hands me a flier announcing the contest for ballet coming at the end of March. “You have to find a partner and sign up before the end of the month to be in the contest. I know you’re amazing at your art. So please, sign up.”
I blink, Jennifer was being nice to me? Why? Because I sent someone to apologize by proxy? I take the flier from Ashley.
“Thanks, I’ll think about it.”
“Don’t just think, do it! Otherwise, you might see your life walk away without you.”
I chuckle a little bit. “Alright, I just need to find a partner. Thank you, Ashley. And thank Jennifer for me too,” I say, smiling a little bit as I walk away.
Chapter Six
Things were quiet over the past few weeks until the last month of January. I found a ballet partner to join up with me for the couple portion of the contest. He was almost as tall as Luke with sandy blonde hair and green eyes. He was also strong for a ballet dancer though still managing to keep skinny and lithe. Jason Gabriel was an amazing man. And I hoped he would go far too.
I softly smile as I take my normal route to my apartment with Sarah. As I walk someone falls into step beside me, and I turn to see Luke. He waves and gives me a small grin.
“H-hi!” I say, great I’m nervous again. I wince inwardly but give him a smile. “What’s up, Luke?”
He runs a hand through his hair and looks away for a moment. “Well, uh, I was hoping,” he trails off, obviously as nervous as I am.
“Do you want to get some coffee sometime?” I ask. He glances at me in surprise. I blink. “What?”
“So Dodge was right. You do like me.”
I can’t help it I giggle. “Of course, I do, silly.”
“But, why?”
I shrug. “You’re nice, I like your camera, and you’re pretty cute.”
He blushes and runs his hand through his hair again. Muttering how he’s just a dork with a camera.
“Well, this girl likes dorks with cameras. So long as you like a skinny girl who does ballet.”
Luke smiles. “Of course! That’s what attracted me to you.”
I blush and look away, flattered. “You don’t think I’m too skinny?”
“No, I don’t. Who told you that?”
“Sarah,” I murmur.
He chuckles. “Well, then she’s just wrong. I heard her date with Dodge went well. How long do you think it will last?”
I shrug, Sarah was not known for her staying willpower with her current loves. But I answer honestly. “I don’t know. She seems to like him, so I’m hoping it’ll be for a while. Maybe even years.” I smirk. “How long do you think we’ll last?”
“Um,” he clears his throat. “I don’t know yet. We haven’t talked for real yet.”
“This is true. So what do you want to know? You could ask a question, and I’ll ask you a question, that sound fair?”
Luke nods. “Sounds fair to me. What got you into ballet?”
I smile a little sadly. “My mother saw I had talent. We would see ballet shows in this very city when I was little and then when I got home I would be imitating them.” I rub my arm gently. I see Luke wince, and I give him a small smile. “It’s alright. I can see the question in your eyes. We stopped when my mother got cancer. All the money we had went to bills. She died two years ago.”
“I’m so sorry, April,” he says softly.
“Hey, you didn’t know. Her last words to me were that I should pursue my dream no matter what.” I smile a little. “So I did. Complete with working as a waitress to help pay my school bills and my half of the rent. And Sarah gets it if I can’t and always makes sure she pays for what I can’t.”
He nods and awkwardly pats my back. I chuckle a little.
“What got you into being a camera man?”
Luke grins. “I always loved taking videos on my camera. I know it’s out of date but it was my father’s camera, it had only been used once before for my parent’s wedding. So when little eight-year-old me found it, I started making screenplays and getting my friends together to help me act them out. Eventually, my parents sent me to college to perfect my art. Though, I’ve moved from movies to documentaries.”
I grin. “Is that why you were filming at the ballet school?”
“Like I said, it was part of my final. Our final was to film a documentary about hidden talent. And I went to about ten different dance schools, including Modern, Ballroom Dancing, Latin Dancing, and Ballet. But the most hidden talent I found—” Luke blushes a little. “Was you.”
I turn red. “So you made a documentary about me?”
Luke chuckles. “Guilty. Uh, Dodge says that it was pretty good if that’s any consolation.”
“I’d like to see it at some point.”
He blushes brighter and shakes his head. “I’d be too embarrassed to show it to my muse.”
I laugh. “So now I’m your muse.”
“Yes!” he says with a smirk. “Why’d you choose this ballet school? Or heck, how you found yo
ur apartment building?”
“I chose this ballet school because I heard the program was good and I wanted to make sure I would be able to get in on scholarship as well. Since, after all, we’ve been broke since my mom’s cancer. I didn’t want to be a financial burden on my dad.”
Luke smiles a little bit and takes my hand in his. I squeeze it gently.
“As to how I found the apartment, I was looking through the want ads for a roommate and found Sarah. The moment she opened the apartment door she squealed in delight, hugged me tightly, and called me pookie.”
Luke laughs at that. “Why does she call you Pookie?” he asks.
“I asked her that same question once.” I shake my head. “She told me that I reminded her of the teddy bear from the cartoon Garfield, soft and cuddly and quiet.” He chuckles a little at that, and I smirk a little. “I guess it fits. She’s a sweetie, just a little quirky.”
I squeeze his hand again as I open up the door into our apartment building. “How’d you end up in this apartment.”
Luke grimaces and runs a hand through his hair. “We know the owner.” My eyes widen and my jaw drops. “Yeah, I know. Dodge, Sammy, and I have been friends since we were little. We practically grew up in the same crib. See, Dodge’s mom was Sammy’s nanny, so that’s how Dodge met him, and my mom is friends with Sammy’s mom. So yeah we all got babysat by Dodge’s mom. Recently he’s been a bit of a jerk. He used to be cool, but I think his parent’s money got to his head.”
“Great,” I groan. “He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.”
“Yeah. But like I said, he used to be pretty cool.”
I sigh and nod. “Did you know he was engaged to Jennifer?”
“Yes, so did Dodge. We told him not to go on the date with you. But he insisted that he had it covered and that it was as good as over with Jennifer.”
I grimace. “Thanks for trying, at least, Luke. That means a lot to me.” I reach my apartment door and pull out my keys from my purse. How does tomorrow at five sound for our date?”
He pulls out a little pocket-book from his coat and checks the date. “It looks like I have it free.
I grin and give him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Great, I’ll see you tomorrow, my dork with a camera.”
Love's Sporting Chance: Volume 1: 6 Romantic sporting novellas Page 39
