by Casey Peeler
Chapter 25
Cadence
I swear that was the longest morning of my life. Working beside Barrick almost killed me. Every time I started a new task, he was right beside me. I really wanted him to leave me alone so I could figure out how I felt about my dad and what that kiss really meant. Now that I’m done with my lunch, I finally have a chance to breathe.
I need to talk to someone, so I call Lauren. She doesn’t answer so I decide to call Jade. She’s the next best thing to Lauren. She picks up after the first ring.
“Hey Cadence! What you doin’?” she questions.
“Just finished working. You busy?” I ask.
“Not really. I thought about going to the studio for a little extra practice. You wanna come?”
“Absolutely.”
“I’ll pick you up in twenty minutes.”
I yell to Mom in the kitchen to let her know what is going on. She seems relieved to see that I’m venturing out with someone. I take a quick shower to remove the dirt from my body and slide on my dance clothes.
I grab my bag and walk outside to wait for Jade on the front porch. I’m relieved to see that Barrick is gone. I can’t get him out of my mind. He’s cute but he’s been a pain since I got here. I don’t understand him or any other guy for that matter. Speaking of other guys, I still have to text Dad back. I quickly pull out my phone and send him a one-word text. Whatever.
Jade is super bubbly today when she picks me up. I think I need whatever she’s smoking. I’m shocked to see the parking lot is empty when we get to the studio.
“Is it okay we’re here?” I question.
“Yeah, it’s fine. Ms. Lyndsay will be here in a few minutes. She lets some of us older girls come in without those wild little ones running around. She really focuses on pushing us while we don’t have the interruptions.”
When Ms. Lyndsay arrives, we follow her into the studio. She tells us to stretch and she will be right in. We do, and as she begins to play the music my body knows what to do. My only problem is that my mind continues to wander to my dad and Barrick. They have both consumed my mind today, and I don’t like it. I want to be in control, and dance is my time.
As we take a water break, Jade stops me. “Are you okay? You seem a little off.”
“It’s been a long morning.”
“Oh I forgot you were up early working,” she says as she bends down to take a sip of water.
“It’s not that. Well, that’s part of it but my dad texted me and pissed me off. He said he couldn’t have me for Thanksgiving when he was the one that asked me to come and just said, sorry maybe Christmas. I just got so mad and started yelling at Barrick. And the worst part is that he made me shut up by attacking my freaking lips.” Jade spews water onto the wall.
“Are you serious?” she asks.
“Yeah, and as much as I hate to admit it. I kinda liked those lips.” Jade starts to smile and before I can ask why she’s smiling, Ms. Lyndsay tells us break time is over.
The next ninety minutes fly by and I’ve managed to tune everything out. It feels amazing. As we wrap up, Ms. Lyndsay asks to speak to both of us. She informs us that she’d like to see us do a duet, and asks if I’d be willing to show her what I had been working on. I’m unsure of how I feel about this. The routine was for Lauren and me, but I’ve seen Jade dance and know she’d be a great partner. She asks if we have a few more minutes and we do. I search for the music and take my spot on the floor. Jade presses play and I wait for the downbeat of “Wicked Ones.” Taking a deep breath, I put everything into it. When the song ends, Jade begins to smile while Ms. Lyndsay takes a few steps toward me. Please stay out of my personal space. She pauses as if reading my mind.
“Cadence, that’s brilliant. Did your instructor choreograph it?” she asks.
“No, I did,” I say.
“I’d love to see Jade do this with you, if that’s okay.” I smile and Jade hurries to the floor. She watches as I begin and then follows in place. I’m amazed at how effortless it is for her, and when the music fades I realize that the two of us are better together than Lauren and me.
“Girls, I’d love to see you take this to Nationals. There’s a lot of TV coverage and Cadence, I think this could be the missing piece for you. What do you girls think?” she asks, looking between the two of us.
I’d be lying if I said I was completely okay with it, but if I can’t do this with Lauren, Jade is the only person I’d trust to perform it with. I look at Jade and can see the excitement on her face and then look to Ms. Lyndsay. “Sounds great.”
“Okay, girls, you have a lot of work ahead of you but I know you can pull it off. Now let’s go rest up,” Ms. Lyndsay says.
We wait for Ms. Lyndsay to gather her bag and lock up before walking to Jade’s car. We wave goodbye as Ms. Lyndsay pulls out of the lot. Getting inside, Jade turns the ignition but the car won’t start. Shit. We both look at each other.
“Crap! I bet I need another starter. I swear, every time I turn ‘round it’s gone bad.” She takes out her phone to call her dad.
“Hey! Where’s Dad? Seriously?” she says to the person on the phone. “My dang car needs another starter. Can you come and help me?” she questions. “I’m going to walk to the Shake Shop and wait. Thanks,” she says as she hangs up. “Help’s on the way,” she says, but she seems worried. “Let’s go grab a drink while we wait.”
We walk into the Shake Shop and Jade orders the biggest milkshake I’ve ever seen. “What?” she questions.
“That can’t be good for you,” I say, but she shrugs it off while I order an unsweetened tea and splurge on an order of fries.
“Can I have one of those?” Jade asks.
“Sure.” She takes the fry and dips it in her milkshake. Gross!
“Don’t look at me like that. Try it.” I take a fry and I’m amazed at how the salt and sweet complement each other.
“That is good!” I say as I notice Jade’s eyes flick toward the door. I glance over my shoulder and see Barrick.
“Uggggh! What’s he doing here?” I sigh.
“Jade, you ready?” he asks as he approaches.
I look between them. Barrick is looking at Jade. Jade is looking at me and her eyes are as big as saucers.
“Um, he’s here to pick us up. He’s my brother.” I believe the world just stopped spinning. What the fuck?
“What did you say?”
“Barrick is my b-r-o-t-h-e-r,” she says as he smiles.
I take my fries and drink and toss them in the trash, having completely lost my appetite.
Our ride to Gran’s feels like an eternity. I don’t say much, and Barrick tries to steal glances at me in the rear view mirror. I take my phone out and text Jade.
Me: I’m going to kill you!
Jade: I’m sorry. I thought you already knew.
I don’t respond to her and when I get out of the truck she gets out with me. I tell her to not waste her time, but she does anyway.
“How could you, Jade?” I yell at her.
“Every time I was going to tell you, something would happen and then it got to the point I thought you already knew.”
“I told you he kissed me. I told you I liked his lips. How could you not tell me?”
“I tried to but Ms. Lyndsay called us back in the room. I’m sorry,” she says as she steals a glance at Barrick before hopping in the truck.
I’m so pissed as I stand there watching them back out of the driveway. Then everything hits me at once. The day we passed him she waved and said he wasn’t her type. And today when she spewed water everywhere when I told her about the kiss. That all makes sense now but why didn’t anyone tell me?
I storm into the house and yell for Gran.
“What’s wrong, child?” she says.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I ask her.
“You’re going to have to give me more than that. What in the Sam Hill are yo
u talkin’ ‘bout?” she asks.
“Barrick! He’s Jade’s brother.”
“And…” Gran says.
“He attacked my lips this morning and I told Jade, and then her car broke down, and guess who showed up to the rescue? Barrick! Why didn’t anyone tell me?”
“With all due respect, you never asked and I figured one of them would have told ya.”
“Well they didn’t!” I yell.
“Lower your tone, young lady. I don’t know what the big deal is anyway.” I just look at her because I don’t even know what to say.
Mom walks down the hall. “What’s wrong with her?” she asks Gran.
“Oh, Barrick kissed her and she found out he’s Jade’s brother.”
“Oh,” Mom says like it’s no big deal.
“Why are you guys acting like it’s no big deal? I didn’t know the truth, and he kissed me to shut me up when I was yelling about my text from Dad.”
“He did what?!” Mom exclaims.
“Yeah, dear old Dad texted me this morning and cancelled Thanksgiving. Needless to say, my mouth got the best of me and Barrick took it upon himself to shut it.”
“Good for him!” Gran says as she turns to walk away and I stand there speechless.
Barrick
“Jade! What the hell? I thought you were by yourself,” I say as we drive home.
“Why does it matter?” she asks. She pauses and before I can answer, she continues. “Oh wait, maybe it’s because you attacked her lips this morning!”
“She told you!”
“Yeah, did you not hear her yelling about it a minute ago?” I shake my head no because I just heard yapping. “I was going to tell her but when she told me about the kiss this morning, I was afraid she’d be mad at me. I thought I’d wait until our ride home, and you can see how well that turned out,” she says crossing her arms and looking out the window.
“What did she say about it?” he questions and I turn and punch him in the shoulder.
“You’re such a pig! Cadence is pissed off at me because I’m related to you and you want to know if she liked it!”
“What did she say?” I question her again and smile.
“I’m not tellin’,” Jade states with a grin. That tells me all I need to know, Cadence Lewis liked my lips.
“No worries Jade, your silence speaks volumes.”
