Four Reasons to Come

by Sarah J. Brooks

  The night air was getting cool, and as we walked to the tent, I saw goose bumps on Jenna’s shoulders. I couldn’t help taking my jacket off and wrapping it around her shoulders as we made our way into the large white tent.

  I was nervous for what Jenna had to say. There was so much going through my mind though and so many emotions just having her there with me. I genuinely wanted to reach over and grab her and kiss her, yet I held myself back as I waited to hear what her side of this story was. Clearly, there were some secrets she’d been keeping, but was everything Cassandra said true?

  “I’m not sure what Cassandra said, but I can tell you she was right about one thing. I did lie to you.”

  “Okay,” I said as I waited to hear more.

  “That night we first met. The night of the masquerade event, my friend Elaina hadn’t shown up for the event, and I was covering for her. I choreographed the dance so I knew it, and I squeezed into her costume. It was just supposed to be me dancing, and then no one would know Elaina hadn’t arrived. That was it. There was no intention to trick you. No intention to lie about anything.”

  “You are not a dancer?” I asked. “Then you’re the choreographer?”

  “Not exactly. I’m an assistant choreographer, but Cassandra has me doing a lot of different things for her. I did choreograph that whole show, though, despite her saying that she did it.”

  So far I believed everything Jenna was telling me. The way she looked me in the eyes as she talked. The genuine emotion she had in her voice, she was telling me the truth. But this was about more than just that night. This was about several nights, even nights when we were naked in bed; she had plenty of opportunities to tell me the truth, and she didn’t do it.

  Chapter 15

  Jenna

  I was sweating, despite the cold evening air. The jacket Kevin had put around my shoulders was harnessing my heat and keeping it against my body, so I was warmer than I could have imagined. My heart raced as I tried to clearly tell Kevin what had happened and explain my side of why I had done what I’d done.

  “I think I understand what happened. I was just a little thrown off when you didn’t give me your phone number, and then you gave me a fake number. You did that on purpose didn’t you?” he asked as he shrugged his shoulders, a little unsure if he was right or not.

  I could have lied again right then and there. I could have simply said I mistyped or something like that. But the number I put in his phone wasn’t even close to my real phone number, and I was done lying.

  “Yes, I gave you a fake number because I felt horrible about lying and how far things had gone. I knew it would never work out between us, and I didn’t want to prolong it. I didn’t want you to hate me.”

  “Hate you?” Kevin laughed.

  “Why would I hate you?”

  “Because I’m not an elegant dancer. I’m not even a member of the dance company like that. I’m barely even employed there. I basically do Cassandra’s errands and make the dances which she changes all of the time. I live in an apartment that literally has more mice than people; I’m sure you think I’m kidding, but it’s the truth. I’m not sophisticated, and I don’t come from money.”

  “Do you think I care about all of that? Maybe you don’t know me as well as I thought you knew me.”

  His words lingered in the air, and for the first time, I realized how bad my thoughts made him out to be. Basically, I was making him into someone who was only interested in a woman for her status and not because of who she was. I didn’t mean to think like that, and I honestly hadn’t realized I’d been doing it.

  “I’m sorry,” I said quietly as the realization came to me.

  I was sorry for a lot of things. Sorry for lying to him. Sorry for thinking the worst of him. Sorry for not being who I truly was when we had such a strong connection.

  Kevin took a step toward me and smiled as he did it. He wasn’t as mad as I’d imagined he was going to be. In fact, he looked really happy as he stood only a few inches away from me and looked down at me.

  “You know, I can’t believe I listened to a word Cassandra said. I was feeling vulnerable because of the phone number thing and unsure of what was going on. My gut said something was wrong, and I just couldn’t put my finger on it, so when she offered up a possible answer, I took it. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”

  “You’re sorry?” I laughed nervously. “Wow, this is definitely not going the way I thought it was going to go.”

  “Is there anything else you’d like to tell me?”

  My mind raced through everything that had gone on between the two of us. There was so much I wanted to talk to him about now that the truth was really out there. I was hopeful that he was going to want to still talk to me.

  “Everything else I’ve said was the truth. I tried as hard as possible to tell you the truth about my life. I’m an open book, ask me anything, and I’ll tell you.”

  “Do you have feelings for me?” Kevin said as he grabbed my hands and held onto them.

  His fingers were warm as they held onto me, and mine were shaking. This man was absolutely unbelievable. Not only had he allowed me the chance to explain, he seemed to genuinely be willing to forgive me.

  “Yes, oh my God, please don’t think that any of that was fake. I liked you. I still like you. I wouldn’t have cared so much about the deceit if I didn’t care about you. I’m just sorry things got off to such a bad start.”

  “Okay then, I think we should have a fresh start. What do you think about that?” he said with a huge smile.

  “Sure.” I laughed.

  “Hi, I’m Kevin Fox,” he said as he dramatically shook my hand. “I would love it if you’d come inside and dance with me. You’ve got to be the most beautiful woman here; I’m sure of it.”

  I blushed at the way his eyes moved down the length of my body and then back up. The desire practically melted off of him as he looked at me. This was the man I’d grown to care about. The man that couldn’t hide his feelings for me at all.

  “Yes, I’ll dance with you,” I said. “But can I ask you one thing first?”

  “Of course?”

  “Did you really just make your friend take Cassandra off to dance? That was horrible,” I said as I started to laugh. “Maybe he’s not really your friend? An enemy maybe?”

  “I don’t know. Mark seemed pretty smitten with her. He’s a quirky guy. He’s the one who wanted the huge dog photo from the house. I think he and Cassandra might just get along.”

  Kevin whisked me into the main ballroom where we did see Cassandra and Mark dancing. She was actually smiling as Mark smoothly moved around the dance floor with her. I couldn’t remember ever seeing her genuinely smile before. I wasn’t sure it had ever happened at all. I’d seen a lot of fake smiles from her, though.

  “This is weird,” I said as I wrapped my arms around his neck, and we started to dance. “I’m having flashbacks to the first night we met.”

  “Me too. You had that sexy ass costume on. And that mask …” Kevin’s voice trailed off, and he let out a little groan.

  “What?”

  “I’m getting excited just thinking about that night. Kissing you for the first time. Wow that was electric.”

  “I know. Right? I’ve never felt that comfortable with someone so quickly. “I should have told you right then and there. When we were backstage. I should have just blurted it out and said I was filling in for a friend. I replayed that over and over.”

  His finger went over my mouth, and I stopped talking while we continued to dance. But now he pulled me in closer to him. We were hardly actually dancing at all; instead, I felt that familiar comfort that he and I had together. My head leaned in and rested on his chest as I felt his heart pounding.

  “Sorry,” he said with a chuckle as his body pressed close enough to me that I felt how hard he was for me.

  “You’re that hard just talking about that first night?” I teased.

  “It was a good n
ight. And to be honest with you, now that I know the truth, it is still a really good night. I can see how it was hard to tell me. I can see how you might not have wanted me to know everything about you. But damn it, I don’t care. I honestly don’t care if your job is to mop the floors. First off, you were an amazing dancer, and if that’s a passion of yours, I’m going to do everything I can to help you continue that. Secondly, someone’s job doesn’t make who they are.”

  “Really?” I said as I tried to hold back my tears.

  “I bet you didn’t know that I once worked at a garbage company. Not as a garbage man, they were too skilled for me. I was a teenager and worked at the sorting facility when the trash was thrown into a pile and my boss wanted all the recycling pulled out. I smelled like garbage for the whole six months that I did that job!”

  I couldn’t stop laughing. Not because of the job he did, but because I could just imagine what it would be like to stink that much all the time. There was no way he was dating anyone during that time. No way he could even go out to a bar without people looking at him weirdly.

  “That sounds horrible!”

  “I was in college and intent on making as much money as I could. It paid well, but it was horrible. My point is, I would never judge someone who was willing to work hard. I guess it worries me a little that you thought I would judge you because of your job.”

  “I think it was a judgment I put on myself,” I finally confessed. “At the time, I thought you would see me how I saw myself. I’ve always wanted to be a dancer. I dreamed of someday getting to be a dancer, and I’ve been ashamed of not being able to follow up on my dream.”

  “Why don’t you audition?” Kevin asked as he pulled me over to the side of the room so we could talk a little bit.

  His one simple question had been asked by so many of my friends and family over the years. I’d given a lot of different excuses too. I’d said it was about money. Not having enough time was another reason I used. Not having my skills as sharp as they needed to be. But the truth was I was scared.

  “I’ve given so many excuses that I’m not even sure if any of them are true.”

  “It doesn’t pay well, I’m sure that has to be an issue. I know when I was first starting to work, the salary of a job was pretty damn important.”

  “Yes,” I said as I felt myself lean in closer to him. “That has been an issue. And I always thought everyone was better than me. I didn’t take as many classes as the other girls. I practiced in worn-out shoes and thrift store outfits. I’ve always felt less than the other dancers.”

  Kevin yanked my hand and pulled me toward the stairs. He didn’t stop when we reached the stairs and held onto me as he climbed the stairs two at a time, and I had to run to keep up with him. One of my shoes fell off as I tried to hurry up and keep his pace.

  “What are we doing?” I giggled as we got to the top of the stairs. “I lost one of my shoes down there.”

  “You listen to me, Jenna. And listen good!” he said as he held onto my shoulders firmly. “Not only are you an amazing dancer, but you are good enough to do anything you want to do. I know this. I know you. You can be anything you want to be. There is no question in my mind.”

  “I couldn’t dance on Broadway; come on, those ladies are amazing.”

  “Yes,” Kevin said as he grabbed my body and pulled it right up to him. “Yes, you could dance on Broadway. You could be a rocket in those big shows in New York. You could do anything!”

  His words lingered for a moment as I tried to really hear them. I’d never felt like someone believed in me as much as he did at that very moment. He clearly believed I could be a dancer on Broadway if I wanted to.

  The truth was, I’d never even dared to dream that dream. I’d thought about seeing a New York City Ballet performance. I’d considered how good those women must be to land their positions, but never once did I think I could be one of them.

  “Thank you. I believe you. Thank you for saying that.”

  “It’s true, Jenna. I truly do think you’re an amazing dancer and an amazing person. I know if you put your mind to it, you’d be able to do anything you want to do.”

  “You know what?” I said as I motioned toward the bedroom. “I’d like to go in there and talk.”

  I playfully grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the bedroom. There were literally over a hundred people downstairs waiting to talk to Kevin, but I had something a little more exciting planned.

  “What?” he asked as lust filled his face. He knew exactly what I was thinking about. “Do I need to message Ed and Mark to take over for me?”

  “Everyone’s going to be drunk and partying for a while. I think we can spend an hour up here.” I winked as I threw the doors to his room open. “Come here,” I teased as I beckoned him to follow me toward the bed.

  “Yes, ma’am,” he replied and shut the doors to his room behind him. “You know they are going to be looking for me downstairs. Someone might come up here, and I don’t have a lock on my doors.”

  “What? Why not?”

  “It kept sticking, so I had the handles changed.” Kevin laughed as he started to unbutton his tuxedo shirt. “I’m normally home alone.”

  “Oh, well. I guess we better hope no one comes looking for you.”

  I grabbed him by the shirt and pushed Kevin onto his bed playfully. There was such a relief that had been lifted off of my shoulders. He knew everything, and our connection was even stronger than it had been before.

  “God, you look beautiful,” he said as he looked up at me.

  I pulled my dress up and climbed on top of him as he continued to unbutton his shirt. Our eyes locked together, and we both smiled at the comfort we had being there with one another. His room even felt familiar to me now, and I knew this wasn’t going to be my last time in that bed with him.

  “Let me do that.”

  “I’ll let you do anything you want to do. I’m all yours.”

  “Damn, I love that,” I said.

  As I finished unbuttoning his shirt, and he pulled it off, I grabbed his undershirt and yanked it up and over his head. Instead of pulling it all the way off, though, I left it up around his eyes and started to kiss down his chest until I got to his pants.

  “Mmmm, yes,” he moaned as my hand rubbed against his throbbing body.

  “I like touching you. Teasing you. It makes me smile,” I said as I unzipped him and pulled his body out so I could taste him.

  My lips had barely wrapped around him when he threw the T-shirt off and flipped me over onto the bed. There was no talking, but he quickly started to look for the zipper to my dress and flipped me over to find it.

  I pressed my ass back toward him as he slowly unzipped me and slid the dress down my naked body. There was no sexy lingerie under my dress. Nothing. I hadn’t been able to find a bra that wouldn’t show, and I didn’t own any nude colored thong panties, so I’d decided at the last minute to just go without.

  “You’re naked,” he said in a groan as I felt his body harden even more against my ass.

  “Yes,” I said as I teased him by pressing myself back toward him.

  He moved away for a quick moment, and I turned to see him pulling off his pants and grabbing a condom from his drawer. It was barely thirty seconds before he was behind me, his hands on my hips, and his thrust waiting to enter me.

  “Yes,” I moaned as I pressed myself back toward him. “I need you inside me.”

  My words lingered in the air for a moment as I felt him press gently into me. His motion was slow and deep, and I felt every last inch of him as I grabbed onto the sheets of his bed. I closed my eyes and felt the delicious deep thrusts as my body welcomed him and wanted more and more.

  “Your ass is amazing,” Kevin said more to himself than to me.

  His hands rubbed on me and moved seductively as he looked down at my body. I liked this position. I liked having the power to push back against his thrusts and ask for more and more from him. It wasn’t as powe
rful as being on top, but it was still a fun way to make love to him.

  “Yes,” I said as I felt his thrusts increase. “Yes.”

  My words drove him and gave him permission to go harder and faster. There was so much tension that we had finally gotten through. I didn’t want to make love to him, though. At that moment, I wanted more. I needed to have more.

  “Harder,” I groaned as I thrust my ass back toward him.

  “Okay,” he obliged as his hands grabbed harder onto my hips, and I felt him put his full thrusts into me. “Like that?”

  “Yes, oh yes.”

  My body was shaking from our movements, and I loved every second of it. The harder he moved, the more I moved against him. Together we thrust in perfect unison until I felt the quiver of my own pleasure building.

  I bit my lip as my body shook, and I thrust back against him one last time. But he wasn’t done with me yet. He continued, and it made my orgasm radiate hard through me. There was a sound of a microphone in the distance, but I couldn’t hear what they were saying.

  “Oh, shit,” he moaned as his body finally let go. “They are starting the auction.” He laughed.

  We both collapsed next to each other on the bed in a blissful relaxed state. Our breathing labored as we tried to catch our breath and relax a little.

  “We better get you back down there. You’ve got to get some money out of those people,” I said as I put my hand on his sweaty chest. “I’ll just stay up here. You can come back up when you’re done.”

  I playfully rolled over and pretended like I was going to stay there and sleep. My legs were shaking, and I was utterly exhausted. It sounded like a good plan to me.

  “No way, young lady. If I’ve got to get dressed and be social, so do you. Plus, I need your help with some of these donors.”

  “I can’t move. My legs won’t do it.”

  “Oh, yes they will,” he said as he pulled me to the end of the bed and stood me up. His arms wrapped around me, and his lips gently kissed mine. “We will come back up here when the party is over.”