“Why do you want to know what I wear to teach in?”
“Because I like to have as much detail in my fantasies as possible.”
Fuck, that was hot. Oh, so quietly, I answer this incredibly sexy man. “I will be wearing a light pink leotard with a flowy little black wrap skirt and pale pink tights today.”
Brady runs his fingers down the side of my neck. “Hair up or down?”
I suck in my breath. “Up.”
“In my fantasy, your hair is down, beautiful. It should always be down and wild. I fucking love your hair.” He has one hand under all of my hair now, gripping the back of my neck, and it’s giving me chills everywhere.
“Do you like my hair too, Brady?” Murphy runs his fingers through his hair as he and Bash walk down the hall.
“Get the fuck out of here, Murphy.”
“Time to go, QB. Bye, Little Sinclair.” Murphy’s smile is huge as he waves his fingers at me.
Bash is just shaking his head as he keeps walking.
“Have fun at dance. See you later.” The look Brady is giving me makes me wonder if he will be seeing me in person or in his fantasy, and damn, I like the idea of him getting off thinking about me.
Later that afternoon, I find myself nervous for the second time today. Parking the Jeep I am now sharing with Cooper, I take a minute to calm my nerves. I have studied at plenty of impressive studios throughout my life. I’ve taken classes from some of the most incredible instructors in this country at different points in time. But right now, I am scared to death.
I don’t want to be here.
I have no idea what I want to get out of this experience, and I don’t want Annabelle, the owner, to see right through me.
Walking in, I see Annabelle finishing up with a toddler tap class. It’s impossible to see these tiny little girls in their tiny black leotards and shiny, black patent leather tap shoes with their contagious smiles and not smile. She is stretching them out as she cools them down.
Annabelle nods at me, so I take a seat in the corner of the waiting area and drop my bag next to me. Ten minutes later, the class has ended, and the tiny dancers have run to their parents, excitedly telling them all about their first dance class.
Annabelle approaches me after everyone leaves.
“Their excitement, it’s contagious, isn’t it? It’s hard to remember what it was like to dance for nothing but fun and cool shoes.” Annabelle’s is smiling wistfully.
“Don’t forget the leotards. I had one in every color when I was that age.”
“Me too. Thanks for coming in today, Natalie. I wanted to take some time to show you everything and get you familiar with the place before tomorrow. I’ll be here during your classes, but your teaching them will give me more time to work on administrative things that I hate to do. If I sit in my office and force myself to work through it while you are teaching, I’m hoping to stay on top of it this year. I know that we’ve discussed you are teaching the toddler intro to ballet class, but I wondered if you would help me out with the class after that as well? I had so many sign up in that age group that I split them into two groups. I understand if it’s too much, but you would be helping me out. Even if it’s just for a few weeks.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem. I appreciate you being so flexible and working with me. I’m really looking forward to teaching the little ones and getting the chance to work with you one on one.”
“Oh, me too. It’s been ages since I’ve had the opportunity to work with someone with your talent. I think we are going to have some fun together.”
After I’ve gotten the tour of the studio, Annabelle turns on the music in the studio, and Kesha’s Praying is piped in through the speaks. She hits pause and looks at me through the reflection in the mirror. “This has been one of my favorite songs to dance it out to this last year. Dance with me, Natalie. Follow my lead and feel the music.
I haven’t heard this song in ages. Annabelle plays it through once, giving me time to take in the words and the beats before hitting pause. “You ready?”
I followed Anabelle’s lead the first time through. Loosening up and feeling the music and her moves.
Then she told me she wanted to see what I had.
I stuck with what she had us doing for the first part of the song but then went into a string of pirouettes, alternating between attitude turns and leg hold turns. Throwing myself into grande jetes and tour jetes. Annabelle oohed when I threw in an ariel into a split leap. Finishing the last thirty-two counts with alternating turns and feeling a little bit like I may have found my own soul again.
Annabelle clapped her hands together. “Alright. Let’s do that again.”
The next school day passes much the same as yesterday. My Wednesday schedule is slightly different from Tuesday, and I am excited to be in a study hall with Chloe. Sitting together in the library, Chloe and I speak quietly, trying not to draw any attention to ourselves. “So, are you ready to tell me what exactly is going on between you and my brother? Every time I’m around the two of you, he can’t keep his hands to himself. Care to explain?”
I feel that damn blush creeping up my face. God, I hate that. “He’s a touchy, feely kind of guy?”
Chloe leans forward. “Are you asking or telling me? Because I am most definitely telling you that I have never seen him act this way before. I’d say our little mission over the weekend worked.”
“Last weekend seems like years ago.”
“Shit, Nat. I’m sorry.”
“No need to be sorry. That night sucked, but the rest of the weekend wasn’t awful. And, maybe something is going on with Brady, well, not going on yet. I guess. He let me know he wants something to be going on with us, between us. I don’t know. He wants an us. He told me he would wait until I was ready, and I think I am. I mean, why wait? Your brother is a great guy, and he is so freaking hot. Like seriously, when he touches me—”
“La la la!” Sticking her fingers in her ears, Chloe starts to sing. “TMI. I’m all for encouraging this thing between the two of you, but no details, please, unless you want me to puke up my lunch. Gross. No talking about what happens when he touches you.”
“You and Cooper are both ridiculous. Do you know how many times I’ve caught him screwing around with someone? More times than I can remember, but as soon as I’m into a guy, he has a hissy fit.”
The librarian looks at us and hisses. “Miss Ryan and Miss Sinclair, you are in a library. Please keep your voices down.”
Chloe salutes the librarian. “Yes, sir, Miss Abrams.”
Miss Abrams crosses her arms and stands up. She doesn’t look amused.
“Anyway…” Lowering my voice, I repeat myself. “Anyway. I think I’m ready for more. I just have to let him know. But I don’t want to have the conversation at school, and I don’t want to text it.”
“Oh, I know exactly what you need to do.” Chloe claps her hands and gets us yelled at again. Then she tells me her plan.
Oh yeah. My best friend is the best.
23
Brady
Our team has just finished our second practice this week.
We have a walkthrough and interviews with the local sports channel scheduled for tomorrow.
There is a pep rally in school on Friday.
Our first game of the season is that night, and our team has never played shittier football. Tensions are so high from the fight last weekend that I don’t know how to pull us together. We talked to Natalie about telling Coach Maxwell what happened, but she doesn’t want to do that. I told Cooper I thought that we should, but he said it was her decision. I don’t let anyone make decisions for this team, but if it’s what she wants, I can’t go against it.
It really isn’t helping matters that I want to rip that mother fucker’s balls off and shove them down his throat every time I see him in the huddle.
I’m the quarterback, the captain of the team. Part of my job is to get everyone on the same page, and I don’t think I can do
it now.
Darby has tried to keep under the radar, but he is getting his ass handed to him by half the damn team. The other half are his friends, and they’ve got his back, pitting one half of the team against the other.
Coach Maxwell ripped us to shreds. He screamed himself hoarse this afternoon.
At the end of practice, I was instructed to shower and have my ass sitting in his office in ten minutes. So here I am sitting in the hard metal chair on the opposite side of Coach’s desk with him staring me down. I’m waiting for him to speak first, but I am starting to doubt his ability to do so. Once he opens his mouth, I regret ever questioning him.
“Brady Ryan, you have played for me for four years. You’ve been my starting quarterback for three of those years, and this is your second year as my captain. Care to explain to me what in the actual fuck is going on out there on my football field? And don’t even think about saying nothing, because that shit show out there today was not nothing.”
He stares at me for a long minute. “The floor is yours, son. Explain. Now.”
“Uh, Coach. There was a bit of an issue over the weekend, but I know we can pull it together for Friday night.”
“You are in the top five quarterbacks in this country, Brady. You better be able to pull it together. Leaders lead. They don’t make excuses. Show me the leader that I know you can be. Reporters will be here tomorrow to do interviews before the opener this weekend. I will not have any of you boys make a mockery of this school. Pull your head out of your ass and pull your team together. I’m counting on you.”
“Will do, Coach.”
“Now get out of my office.”
“Yes, sir, coach.”
Driving down our town’s main street later that night, I pull to a stop at the red light and glance to the right. Sandwiched there between the local pharmacy and the dry cleaners is Hart & Soul Dance Academy. The windows in the front are one way, so I can’t see if Natalie is still there or not. Before I have a chance to second guess myself, I’m pulling into an open parking space in front of the studio.
There are little girls in pink tutus holding their parents’ hands, skipping happily out of the studio as I shut my car off.
My hair is still damp from my shower earlier, and my head is still heavy from my conversation with Coach, but I don’t care. There is a magnetic force pulling me to my girl.
Bells jingle as I walk through the front door. There is no one sitting at the front desk, and the lobby is deserted. Looking to my right, I see Natalie.
She is on the other side of the glass dressed just as she described in a pale pink bodysuit and a floaty little pink skirt wrapped around her hips. She has a fuzzy sweater covering her arms and tied in a knot at her chest. All of her gorgeous, golden blonde hair is pulled up in a tight bun with a pink ribbon around it, hanging down the back of her head. She floats around the room, her feet barely touching the ground. Jeff Buckley’s Hallelujah is playing through the speakers and I can’t look away as she leaps through the air.
She is incredible.
A throat clearing pulls me from the picture in front of me. “Can I help you with something, Mr…”
“Oh, I’m sorry. No, I don’t need any help. I just wanted to stop in and see Natalie. I wanted to ask if she needed a ride home.”
“Well, I can let Natalie know you’re here if you give me your name.” This woman has a lightness to her voice now like she knows why I’m here, and it’s amusing to her.
“I’m sorry. I’m Brady Ryan. Nice to meet you.”
“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Mr. Ryan. I’m Annabelle Hart, the owner of Hart & Soul Dance. I’ll just go grab Natalie for you.”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have interrupted.”
“Don’t worry about it, Brady. Natalie’s last class is done for the day. She’s dancing for herself now.” Annabelle winks then walks into the studio that Natalie is still dancing in and waits for the music to end before interrupting Nat.
Looking surprised, she turns around and sees me through the glass. Men would go to war for the smile that graces her face.
Knowing I put it there has me standing taller.
Walking back through the door, Annabelle turns to Natalie, “I’ll be in the office if you need anything.” She smiles at Nat and heads down a long hall.
Nat opens the door wider for me to walk through. I spin around, taking in this room of mirrors and bars, with light pink walls and light wood flooring.
“Brady, what are you doing here?”
“I’m not sure exactly. I guess I wanted to see for myself if the fantasy lived up to reality.”
Natalie looks around, checking to see if we are alone. Then she grabs my hand and leads me into the room she was dancing in. Turning around to face me, she asks, “Well, does it?”
“Does the fantasy match the reality?”
Biting on that pouty bottom lip, she nods her head.
I grab her face and pull her to me. “The fantasy doesn’t hold a candle to the reality, Sweetheart.” Leaning down, I brush my lips over hers. Once, twice. Licking at the seam of her lips until she opens for me.
Nat surprises me and pushes her tongue into my mouth and tightens her arms around my neck.
I spin us around, leaning her against the wall so that she is pinned between me and the mirror. Her feet are off the ground, and her entire body is lined up with mine. I pull my head back momentarily, to look at this gorgeous girl, and can’t hold in my groan. Her lips are the prettiest shade of pink, cheeks flushed, and I can see her nipples harden under her sweater.
God, I want her more than my next breath.
She’s breathing heavily and looking at me with those dark lashes.
“Let me take you out this weekend, Nat. Saturday night? Let me do this the right way.”
She nods her head again.
“I need to hear the words, Sweetheart.”
“Saturday night sounds good, Brady.” She pulls away but has nowhere to go. She pushes me back a bit, and I let her body slide down mine until her feet are back on solid ground. “I don’t want to push you away, Brady, but I can’t do this here. I just met Annabelle. If she walked in…”
“I’ve got you, Sweetheart. I wouldn’t want to get you in trouble. I did want to see if you needed a ride home tonight?”
“No. I have the Jeep tonight. I’m parked behind the studio, in the back lot. I’m going to be here for a little while anyway. I’ll see you tomorrow at school, though. Thanks for stopping by, Brady.” There’s that damn smile again.
“You just gave me a whole new level of fantasy, Natalie. Trust me. The pleasure was all mine.” I lean down and kiss her lips quickly.
“See you tomorrow, Nat.”
24
Brady
Friday at school is our first pep rally of the season. It’s supposed to be for all fall sports, but football rules this school. If you play a fall sport, you are allowed to wear your uniform today. The football team is wearing their jerseys and jeans. The rest of the student body can pay $5.00 to dress down. When you dress down, you can wear whatever you want so long as you keep it appropriate.
It’s always a good day when we don’t have to wear our standard school uniform.
Tiffany bounces over to our group in the parking lot before school. We’ve made it a habit of not going in until the warning bell rings, so you can usually find us out here until then. Her cheerleading skirt swishes as she moves, and her high ponytail is bouncing in time with her steps. She has a capital C on her upper left chest that matches the C on my jersey.
She walks right up to Cooper and immediately puts her arms around his waist.
I don’t know exactly when it happened, but after years of Tiff annoying the shit out of us, she has become part of our crew.
“God, I love the first game of the season. It’s so exciting! Everybody is pumped and ready. My girls are in top form this year. Are you boys ready?
Murphy laughs. “Jesus, Tiff, do you ever stop to bre
athe? I’ll bet that comes in handy, huh, Cooper?”
Cooper punches Murphy in the shoulder. “Shut the fuck up, Murph. Don’t make me kick your ass.”
“Aww, Cooper. You can try, but I’d hate to see you get embarrassed in front of your girl.”
Tiffany laughs. “Murphy, has a girl ever been able to stand you long enough to come back for seconds?”
Chloe interrupts. “Children, can we please all remember we are on the same team today?”
The warning bell rings.
“Alright. Saved by the bell. I hate being the youngest one here. You all suck.” Chloe sprints off to the farthest part of the school, where her homeroom is. The rest of us head in together.
As we walk into the school, we can see that the cheerleaders were hard at work last night. There are blue and gold streamers strewn all around the halls.
Every player’s locker is decorated. There are hand-painted banners hung on anything that stood still long enough to be assaulted. Each player is supposed to have a secret cheerleader that decorates their locker before the games each week. The cheerleaders always want us to know who they are. They usually add their touches.
Sometimes they give us candy or something that goes with the theme of that week’s game. I look at Tiffany, still attached to Cooper, and take a not-so-wild guess that she’s his.
He has a big card hanging from his locker with hearts all over it, and it looks like sweet tarts candies pouring out of the envelope.
“Man, QB. This is school spirit taken to a whole new level.” Natalie is laughing at me, looking gorgeous in a tight white sweater, skinny jeans, and brown booties that add a few inches to her legs. The smile on her face is contagious, until a girl with jet black hair and a cheerleading uniform comes up to me. Her name is Aria, and she was my secret cheerleader last year.
I also made the unfortunate mistake of hooking up with her after one of our first home games of the season and had a clinger for the rest of the year. I never took her out and never meant to fuck her again but woke up next to her at one of Landon’s parties drunk after we lost the state championships. She kept trying to make a go for the third time, but it never happened, and she never stopped trying. She summered in France with her family over the break, and I was hoping that she wouldn’t be trying again this year.
All In (The Kings of Kroydon Hills Book 1) Page 13