The Starting Line: Friends To Lovers

by Jennifer Hartley

Jude watches as Hailey returns to Steve, who is chatting with yet another curious guest. He holds open her jacket as she slips inside, waves goodbye to the other person, then pulls open the door for Hailey as she passes through.

  Walking up the corridor back to the party, Jude can still see them outside as they wait for the valet to return his car. To his chagrin, he catches Steve nuzzle her neck, causing Hailey to turn and grin at him, reaching up for a quick kiss.

  Jude returns to the party, throws his arm around Laura, and pulls her in for a dizzying kiss, just because. She pulls back and grins at him, sliding her hand around to his backside and squeezing quickly before they turn back and say their farewells.

  That night, with Laura’s arm draped over his chest - snoring lightly, he stares at the ceiling for hours. Every time he shuts his eyes, he keeps seeing Hailey in that damn dress. But more than anything, it’s that conflicted look in her eyes that haunts him. He wants to make it go away. He also wants Steve to stop kissing her neck, but Jude has no control over that. Because they agreed. Long ago, he and Hailey made an agreement, and Jude refuses to be the one to go back on it, especially right now.

  So if she wants to date nice football players or tan surfers or dorky guys with glasses, she can do whatever she wants. It doesn’t bother him. No. Not at all.

  Chapter Six

  Dance Off starts in just under a week, with rehearsals beginning in a few days. The problem is, Hailey still has a solid two-weeks of school left before graduation. After much coordination and bending over backward and inside out, she’s been able to arrange to take all but one exam early. The last and most important is a paper that’s worth 60% of her grade. No pressure or anything. She boards herself up in her apartment for four days, studying when she’s not in a class, writing and researching and cramming.

  Finally, it’s the night of Jeanette and Suzanne’s birthday party, and it’s the first time Hailey has emerged from her apartment in over 48 hours. Her parents were kind enough to offer her a ride, which she readily accepted.

  “Hailey, you look tired. Are you sleeping properly?” her mother frets and her father hums at her, but it doesn’t matter because it won’t change anything she’s doing. “Are you eating? I don’t like how thin you look.”

  Typically her mom is her favorite person. Her go-to. But both of them are struggling to stabilize their relationship since she’s moved closer to home and become much more independent than she was as a ballroom dancer. It’s an odd paradox to face at her age, but, here they are. After telling her parents of her intended plans for the Fall, her mom has become a little more… mom-like in a retroactive sense. Lately, the comments have become more pointed; granted, her mom’s assessments are accurate. No, she hasn’t been sleeping, and her diet has consisted of popcorn and whatever she can shove in a blender.

  She gives her mom a nonplussed look and climbs into the backseat of the car, making small talk while her father drives them to the restaurant. She updates her parents on her exams, loosely discussing the paper she’s working on, and wondering how she’s supposed to find the time to complete it when she’s on tour. Sitting in the backseat, discussing her schoolwork, it all makes her feel very… stilted.

  Once they get inside Joe’s, they bid hello and good tidings to the birthday ladies, shower them with gifts and hugs, then take their seats at a booth just off the center of the action. Various family members and cousins stop by; some Hailey knows even better than her own more scattered, reserved family. Everyone is excited about her graduation and want to know all about her plans, which at present are shady at best.

  During a brief pause in visitors, Hailey’s mom looks over and gives her a discerning look. “Hailey, you need to talk to Jude. The longer you wait, the bigger deal this will be.”

  Hailey nods, exhaling slowly. “I know, I know. We just keep getting distracted at the studio and then… I don’t know. I don’t know what I’m doing.” She leans forward and props her head up on her hands.

  “I know you’re tired, Hailey.” Hailey’s dad reaches over and rubs her arm. “It’s a big deal, to be selected for this kind of thing. Besides, it’s something you’ve always wanted to do. Opportunities like this don’t come along very often.”

  She looks at her parents and nods, hoping she looks more confident than she feels. Before she gets up to mingle, Hailey takes a look around and soaks up the obvious affection this gigantic family has for one another. There is laughter and gossip and chaos; there’s love and joy and genuine merriment. They’re open and accepting and have always treated her like one of their own.

  Her gaze falls on the rather heated pool match occurring between Gray and Laura, Jude’s girlfriend. Hailey has mixed feelings towards her, mainly that she’s not very kind to her own gender. Perhaps it comes from working as a sports analyst in a male-dominated field, or maybe she just doesn’t like hanging out with women much, but she’s never gotten a good vibe from her. Also, as a possible result of working in her field, she’s an unabashed flirt (especially when she wants something); then again, so is Jude.

  Joe’s is hopping. Packed to the brim, it’s hard to hear oneself think. But that’s what Jude is doing. Thinking. Something doesn’t feel quite right, and he can’t turn off the feeling. Downing the rest of his soda, he sets it in on the bar and looks around. He pulled the short straw that night and is remaining sober in order to escort various family members home safely. It works out fine though; he has to be at work at six the next morning anyway.

  There’s a great crowd that turned out for his mom and Aunt’s birthday. It seems like most of Stansworth is there, including some of the ruffians from Lakesville. The Morgans are holding up a corner, chatting with various family members. Jude’s about to head over and say hi, but he swings by the billiard table to check on Laura who is currently kicking Gray’s ass at pool.

  “I’ve got five on my girl here, Gray boy!” Jude says as he drops a five on the table and kisses her cheek in passing.

  “Aw, thanks, baby!” She calls after Jude then turns to his brother. “Hey, I gave you fair warning, Gray.”

  Greeting the Morgans, Jude slides into the booth beside Hailey, slinging an arm around her shoulder. She looks up at him and flashes a weak grin, but the darkness under her eyes makes him frown in response. One of his uncles currently has Hailey’s father engaged in a long discussion about a park in the northern part of the county, while Hailey’s mom is making arrangements for Dance-Off with his Aunt Suzanne.

  “How’s it going?” Jude leans over and looks at her glass, surprised that she’s drinking chocolate milk. “Are you the DD too ?”

  Shaking her head, she turns to him. “No. I’ve got to head back and study.”

  “How are your finals coming?”

  She shrugs. “I’ve got one left and then that stupid paper.”

  “Well, you know I’ve still got my trusty red pen,” Jude offers. He’s not that great with grammar, but he’s still good at helping her draw her ideas together. She gives him a genuine smile, one that makes him feel moderately better. He doesn’t like seeing her like this.

  “I’ll take all the help I can get, you know that.”

  “Do we need to skip practice tomorrow? I don’t want to screw you up,” Jude scratches his scruff, frowning.

  “No,” Hailey reaches out and pats his hand. “That would not be good for my mental health. I need to dance.”

  Jude laughs, reaching up and tugging at some hair escaping her bun. “Noted. Did you read the email from Vivian and Lucian? They want to meet up when we’re in Durm.”

  “Yeah, that sounds great. We can see how our dancers are doing.” Hailey nods as she sips her drink. Jude reaches for another straw and sticks it in her drink, stealing a sip. She gives him a weak glare but leans her head back on the booth, watching as his brother crows in victory, having made a comeback against Laura. Laura gives Gray a good-natured shove, shaking her head as his other brother approaches, wanting to challenge for a rematch.

&nbs
p; “Ah, I just lost five bucks.” Jude steals another sip from Hailey’s glass, then slides it back to her.

  “That’ll set you back quite a bit,” Hailey quips, a little spunk returning. “I think Gray’s the first one to beat her. She was wiping the floor with your uncles earlier.”

  “Yeah, she was quite the shark at University.”

  “Oh, I bet,” Hailey replies, but her tone isn’t completely innocent. Jude looks at her, wondering what she knows that he doesn’t. Instead, she leans closer to him, the playful look gone. “Hey, can we go outside for a minute? We need to talk about something.”

  Jude frowns, not liking her serious tone. “Are you okay? Is everything alright?”

  “Yeah,” she replies, pushing him out of the booth gently. “Come on, let’s go outside.”

  He follows her through the restaurant, high-fiving relatives and patting others on the back as they greet both him and Hailey. She pushes through the doors, wrapping her arms around herself once they escape the din of the restaurant. She turns to him and gets straight to business, knowing he doesn’t like to be kept waiting.

  “Remember how we talked about me applying to master’s programs?”

  “Yeah,” Jude replies, still unsure if he should be worried. “Well, one of my professors at school has been recruiting me pretty heavily to work on a research project with her in the Fall. If I accept, it’ll be a full-ride, and I’ll get the opportunity to publish. Teaching too, but that’s… well, it’s part of being a grad student.”

  “Publish? That’s good, right?”

  She smiles sweetly. “Yes. Very much. It would help establish me in my field.”

  “That’s great!” He grabs her hands and squeezes. “Hailey, that’s wonderful. You should do it then, all the way.”

  “There’s one thing though,” she bites her lip, shaking her head. “We’ll be spending the fall in England.”

  “Oh. That’s… that’s great. You’ve always wanted to do something like this, here’s your chance!” He gives her a bright smile, trying to remain positive. She’s never been quiet about her desire to travel, to live in another country. He’s been preparing himself for this moment for the last… ten years.

  If there’s one thing Jude has always known, it’s that he’s just a small-town boy and Hailey is a big-city girl destined for more, so much more. More than he could ever offer.

  Her smile falls as she watches his admirable attempt at acceptance. “Don’t do that, Jude. Don’t put up a brave front. Tell me what you’re thinking.”

  His face relaxes as he tries to slow down the thoughts rushing through his mind. He wants to tell her all his fears, every single one. But her eyes are so clear and wide and so obviously concerned about how he feels that he can’t tell her everything. It wouldn’t be fair. “I’m really happy for you, and proud. Hailey, I’m so proud. I definitely think you should do it. It would be crazy not to.”

  She doesn’t respond, just continues to watch him, reading the truth on his face. “But?”

  He lets out a breath and takes a couple of steps back, exhaling. He starts again, words falling rapidly. “But I’m worried because what does this mean for us? What do we do with the kids and our lessons? Do you even…”

  “Hey, slow down,” her voice is soft as she takes a step forward slowly. She reaches out and pulls him close to her, wrapping her arms around him. He mirrors her action, burrowing his face into her shoulder. Her voice takes on the soothing tone it used to have when he’d get the jitters just before a competition.

  “You know I want to continue teaching with you. And I’m still very interested in coaching, just not yet. I’ll be in England for four or five months tops. You can even come and visit me. You better visit, actually.”

  This place, this world of solace they create around each other, is so hard to explain. They’ve tried countless times, but in the end, they barely understand it themselves. Jude absorbs the sincerity behind her words, his whirling thoughts settling. All the preparing he did, anticipating that she was going to leave eventually, did absolutely nothing to protect him from the rush of emotions he’s experiencing. This is a type of vulnerability that he cannot tolerate and will work hard to protect against in the future.

  Eventually, they pull apart, and Jude gives her a shadowy grin, trying to be reassuring. She can read straight through it though and frowns in reply.

  “I won’t go if you don’t want me to,” she whispers, and suddenly they’re kids again, sitting on the swings, and she’s telling him she won’t try out for the national ballet if he doesn’t want her to. Immediately he knows that he can’t deny her this. Never in his wildest dreams.

  He shakes his head vehemently in absolute refusal and places his hands on her shoulders. “No. No. Hailey, you want this. You should go.”

  Her eyes trace the features she knows so well, better than her own. Her fingers are wrapped around his wrists, thumb rubbing his hand absently, picking up hints of his pulse. “Are you sure?”

  “Positive.” They both know what that word means. Not quite, but I’ll get there.

  “You’ll tell me if it gets to be an issue, right?”

  He nods, sliding his right hand over her shoulder and up her neck, his thumb grazing her cheek. He leans forward and kisses her on the forehead and pulls back slowly, his eyes on hers. “I promise.”

  When they return inside, the cake is being brought out, and everyone is gathering at the bar. She parts from him to join her parents, but even as she does so, he can still feel her gaze on him, watching from across the way. When his mom and aunt blow out their candles and cheers go around, he yells and claps and displays cheer he doesn’t feel.

  Inside, he feels like part of him is slipping away.

  Chapter Seven

  It’s not until after the fourth stop on the tour that Hailey starts to breathe easy. After submitting her paper, she collapses in an exhausted heap on her hotel bed, completely ignorant of the celebratory planning occurring three doors down the hall.

  “Are we dressing up? We should dress up,” Sandra says as Jude makes a displeased face.

  “Ten bucks says we end up dancing on tables by the end of the night,” Jacob mutters as Gregory nods in agreement.

  “Dancing! Yes! Dancing. We should do that too,” Jane says, receiving a high-five from Sandra and a nod from Rina.

  “Guys, slow down,” Jude holds up his hand, jotting down all the options on a hotel notepad. He pulls the pen cap out of his mouth and looks around at all their friends discussing possible options, feeling overwhelmed. When Sandra checked on Hailey earlier, she reported that an airplane could have landed on her back and she’d continue to sleep through it. It is understandable, all things considered.

  “Maybe we should put off festivities until tomorrow,” Jude says to the crowd at large.

  A clamoring causes him to sigh and return to the notepad. “Okay, here’s the plan. Dinner at that place on the water, it’s like two blocks from all those clubs if dancing becomes a reality.”

  “Ha, if?” Sandra smirks at Gregory and Jude. “I’m sorry, Jude, how long have you known Hailey? Like she isn’t going to want to dance.”

  Perry looks over at Jude and shrugs, nodding his head. “You know they’re right. Accept it now.”

  Jude frowns. Hailey hasn’t had anything to drink in weeks. She’s going to be a hot mess by her third drink. He looks out the window. Storm clouds are moving in, darkening his already glum spirits. He’s always been prone to fluctuations in mood, mainly when he’s dancing. It’s leveled out in the past year, but since Hailey dropped her news, he’s been more taciturn than ever.

  Today is their off day, and they travel to the next city tomorrow. He’s glad for this because he doesn’t think he’d have been able to sit through another meet and greet. It is such a great feeling, seeing and talking with their fans, receiving their gifts, and posing for pictures. But it’s also another extended period of time that he has to sit next to Hailey, feeling her f
oot absently bump his when she crosses her legs, the arm touches when she laughs, the soft smiles that feel like daggers. He doesn’t want to be near her. If she’s going to leave, he’d rather she just pack her bags and take off once they get back from tour, not drag everything out for another three months.

  He never thought he’d hurt like this. It’s worse than his worst break up, and that’s saying something. She’s just his partner.

  Nothing more.

  When Hailey emerges hours later with her favorite ladies, they exit the elevator in great spirits, looking flawless and ready for a night on the town. The boys are waiting downstairs at the hotel bar, watching a baseball game on TV, beers planted in front of them. Hailey walks up beside Perry, reaching out to straighten his collar in the back.

  “Thanks,” he says as he looks around. “Jude should be right back; he ran to the room to grab his ID.”

  “How’s he doing?” Hailey whispers. Both she and Perry have been monitoring his moods, interfering when he turns sour.

  “Not too bad, actually. I think he’ll be good.”

  Hailey nods, pressing her lips together in frustration. “This is ridiculous. Us, having to reel him in. It was one thing when we were teenagers, but I’m getting tired of this.”

  Before Perry can reply, Jude struts up, holding his arms out as he grabs Jane by the hand and twirls her quickly. “Lovely ladies, very nice. I guess they’ll let all of you into that dinner joint.”

  Just like that, he turns on the charm and leaves Hailey and Perry walking at the rear with their fingers crossed. God, she shouldn’t have to do this. She shouldn’t have to feel responsible for her mercurial partner. But she does, because she is to blame for this. Indirectly at least.

  They’re seated at a long table at the restaurant, with Hailey sitting a little off-center while Jude sits at an end. This isn’t unusual; they tend to sit away from each other on tour if only to soak up the presence of now dear friends whom they haven’t seen in far too long. Conversation floats around tea lights and beautiful crystal glasses, joyful and filled with laughter. Several celebratory bottles of champagne are delivered to the table; they toast to another tour and a year of hard work and sweat and finally graduation.