by Toni Aleo
Shit, please be done, please just walk out, and leave me the fuck alone. I really don’t want to cuss you out, lady.
She snatched the check and stood up. Reese thought she was going to leave quietly, but then Mrs. Writhenmen turned with pure hatred in her eyes.
“You are making a mistake.”
Reese shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t feel the same.”
She shook her head as she held Reese’s gaze. “You are nothing but a cold-hearted bitch. I’m not surprised you didn’t make it in New York because you wouldn’t know talent if it bit you in that fat ass of yours.”
When the door slammed shut, Reese shook her head. Her heart was beating in overtime, and her hands were shaking.
“Actually, you’re wrong again. I did make it. I just chose to come home because I couldn’t be in the same city with my ex. Plus, my ass isn’t as big as yours, you stupid, stuck-up bitch.”
It felt good to say it, but it didn’t make her feel better. No one knew that she had come home because of Kevin but family. When people asked why she didn’t stay in New York, she always said that she was homesick. She would tell the story of how she always wanted to own her own studio and teach young minds. It was a bunch of bullshit, but it got people off her back. Now that she was two years into the studio, she did believe that this was her calling, but she still missed the stage and lights.
Leaning back in her chair, she let out a breath before shaking her head.
“Well, that went awesome.”
Pulling into Harper’s driveway, Reese took in a calming breath. She didn’t want to come over here or do anything for that matter, she just wanted to go home. Mrs. Writhenmen’s words played over and over in her head, and it was driving her crazy. She wasn’t cold, she was actually nice to the kids, and tried to be to Kelsey, but that little girl needed a good slap across the face and a kick in the bottom. Two things Reese couldn’t do without a lawsuit on her hands. The fact that she had called Reese cold wasn’t what was bothering her… it was the fact she brought up New York. Reese tried very hard to forget that city and the man that was there, but it seemed that she never could. She wished she wasn’t so weak, but for some reason, she was when it came to Kevin and the Big Apple. It was a place of lost dreams.
Blah.
Shaking her head, she got out the car and made her way into the house without knocking. Ally came barreling down the hallway, jumping into Reese’s arms and covering her with kisses.
“Reese Pieces!”
Reese smiled. Leave it to Ally to make everything better.
“Hey pumpkin, how are you?”
“Good! I’m watching Lue’s lues! Wanna watch?”
Hmm, she wasn’t sure what she was agreeing to watch, but soon she was on the couch, watching a blue dog run across the screen. Ally apparently loved it, but Reese was on the fence on it. The only reason she was still there was because Ally was feeding her apples and peanut butter.
“Hey, I didn’t know you were here.”
Reese looked up at Harper and smiled.
“We’re watching Lue’s lues,” Reese said, pointing to the TV.
“I see that, but if you would have told me you were here, I could have left.”
Reese shrugged her shoulders.
“That’s true, but I got distracted by Ally, apples, peanut butter, and—”
“Lue’s lues!” Ally declared with her arms in the air.
Reese nodded as Harper rolled her eyes.
“You’re silly, Ally bug.”
Ally shot her a big grin before she was sucked back into the wonderful world of a blue dog. Reese looked up at Harper as she popped an apple in her mouth.
“Where you heading off to?” she asked.
“Sadie has a doctor’s appointment, and I get to go!”
Reese smiled before saying, “Cool school. Have fun!”
“Oh, I will,” she replied, starting for the door. “Oh! Poop! I totally forgot… I have a houseguest.”
“Houseguest?” Reese asked skeptically.
“Yeah, her name is Claire. She is Phillip Anderson’s niece. He has custody of her now, and when he is on the road for the games, she stays with me.”
Reese raised an eyebrow.
“Why?”
“Because she’s had a tough life, and Phillip is trying to give her stability.”
“So you just volunteered to take some kid?” Reese asked.
It seemed weird to her. Her sister wasn’t one to take in strays.
“Yes, Phillip is family, and he needed help,” Harper said, while giving Reese a pointed look. “She’s really quiet, stays to herself, but don’t bother her. She has only been here three days, and I’m trying to give her space. Phillip comes home tomorrow, and then she’ll be back in three days. I plan to try to talk to her then. Right now, I just make sure she is okay, feed her, and all that jazz.”
“That’s weird. You’re weird.”
“Oh, shut up. I’ll be back soon.”
“Okay,” Reese said as she left.
Reese cuddled beside Ally and turned her attention to the TV. After about an hour of the crazy blue dog’s owner, Reese was about to pull her hair out, but Ally seemed completely happy with the show. Getting up, she told Ally she was going to use the bathroom, when she was really curious about Harper’s houseguest. Heading down the hall, she found that the door to the guest room was open and music was playing. “We are Young” by Boyce Avenue washed over Reese as she peeked into the room. Her eyes widened in shock when she found Harper’s houseguest dancing. And boy, could she dance. Long, strong legs carried her across the room, where she moved at just the precise moment to heighten the meaning of the song. It was as if her body was the music. It was mind blowing, and Reese had never seen anything so beautiful, except when she was dancing. Reese was an amazing dancer and knew it, but this girl. Wow.
She was beautiful too, pale white skin and bright red hair that fell down her back. She had luminous blue eyes that only opened when she needed to see where she was going before she pulled another move. She wore a pair of shorts and a tank showing off her stunning body. When she pulled her leg up into a scorpion, releasing and whipping her leg up, and falling back into a fall out, Reese almost passed out in shock.
Where the hell did this girl come from?
She was doing a triple turn when she noticed Reese. Stopping in her tracks, she moved her hair out of her eyes before saying, “What are you doing in here?”
“Watching you. You are incredible. Where have you trained?”
She shrugged her shoulders. Reese entered the room, stopping in front of her. She was almost the same height as she was, the same build, but there was nothing but hurt and anger swimming in those crystal blue eyes. Reese remembered Harper saying the girl hadn’t had an easy life, and it showed in her eyes.
“Are you the therapist?”
Reese looked down at herself before looking back up at her.
“Do I look like a therapist?”
She was wearing sweatpants and a ripped-up tee shirt that hung off her shoulder, showing her sports bra.
“No.”
“I’m Harper’s sister.”
“Oh, yeah, you are watching Ally while she goes to some appointment.”
Reese smiled. “Yup, my name is Reese. Can you tell me who you train with now?”
She shrugged her shoulders as she looked away.
“I didn’t train with anyone specifically; I just took private classes with different instructors for cleaning the mirrors at their studios in Minnesota.”
For some reason, Reese’s heart skipped a beat when the girl looked up at her. Behind all that anger and sadness was someone really special. Reese could tell that this girl not only didn’t think she was special, but that she completely hated the world. That made Reese want to help her. Why? Who the hell knew, but she did.
“What’s your name again?”
“Why?” she sort of snapped.
“Because I’d like to
know,” she snapped back.
“Claire.”
“Okay, can you show me that fall out again?” Reese asked, taking a step back.
“Why?”
Reese rolled her eyes. Claire was hiding behind the shitty attitude, but that wasn’t going to scare Reese off. She wasn’t a bitch—she was hurt. She had raw talent, and Reese knew she could make her a star. Looking back down at the ground, Claire shook her head.
“I don’t want to.”
“Why? I want to see it again. I think if you strengthened your foot, you’d get better balance.”
“How do you know?” she asked with a glare.
It was obvious the girl didn’t like to be corrected, but then again, it could be because she didn’t know Reese. So, with the patience of a saint, she said, “I own a dance studio. I’m a dancer too. I know my stuff. I think that you could be something amazing, if you’d let me help you.”
“How do I know you’re qualified to help me?” she snapped.
Reese laughed.
“Wow, you’re a little bit of a brat, you know that?”
“I’ve been told, but it’s better than being a bitch.”
Reese’s laughter stopped as she held Claire’s gaze. She was challenging her, and trying to push her away, but little did Claire know, Reese loved a challenge. When Ally screamed that Mommy was home, Reese turned around and left the room without a word. Going down the hall, she found Harper hugging Ally close.
“Everything looks great. We are going to have a baby in eight months!” she said with a bright smile.
“Awesome! Listen, when do you have Claire again?”
“Claire? Why? Did you talk to her?” Harper asked, surprised.
“Yeah, when do you have her again?” she repeated.
Harper gave her a look before answering, “Monday through Thursday next week.”
Reese thought for a moment.
“Does she go to school or something?”
Harper laughed. “Yes, Reese. She’s a sophomore at Belle Meade Private Academy.”
“Okay, bring her to the studio every day after school. I’m putting her on probation,” Reese said, reaching for her bag and throwing it over her shoulder.
“Does she want that?”
“Sure she does, she just doesn’t know it. Or, she does, and she is being a brat about it. She is amazing, Harp, like super good.”
“I’ve seen her.”
“Bring her.”
“If I can get her to come.”
Reese nodded before kissing both her and Ally on the cheek. With a goodbye, she left as her mind ran crazy with things she was going to have Claire do on Monday. She couldn’t wait; she only hoped that Harper could get Claire there. If she couldn’t, Reese would drive over here and get Claire herself. She may have let go of a dancer for a bad attitude but Claire was different. She didn’t want to be hateful; it was just a wall she hid behind. A wall that Reese planned to knock down.
It was that simple.
PHILLIP RAN his hands through his hair as he leaned back in his seat. Looking around the gray room, he let out a breath. Between him and Claire, he wasn’t sure who hated doctors’ offices more, but he was starting to think it was him. He felt like the walls were closing in, as he waited for Claire to get done with her session. Phillip wasn’t the most patient person. Add in the fact that everything about the doctor’s office aggravated him, and he wasn’t a happy person, but he still waited. This was for Claire. She needed this.
Pulling out his phone, he checked the time to see that he only had ten more minutes left to wait. They were going shopping for school clothes once they left, and then he would drop her off at Harper’s since he had to leave early to go to New York. Even though he wasn’t that stressed on the road anymore, since Claire wasn’t there screaming at him or trying to sleep with his teammates, he worried about her constantly. Harper reassured him that things were great, that she was quiet and polite, which he was sure was a lie. Claire, polite? Please. But even with the reassurance from Harper, he just couldn’t shake the feeling that Claire was going to take off.
It had a lot to do with the fact that she wouldn’t talk to him. He texted her constantly when he was gone, and all he got back was one word answers. When he picked her up after coming home from California, he asked how it was at Harper’s. She just shrugged her shoulders and said it was fine. That was all he got out of her. It was frustrating as hell, but he had noticed that in the three days since coming home, she hadn’t yelled at him once. They had gone to dinner, hung out, and she was actually civil, but every conversation he tried to have with her was one sided.
Letting out a sigh, he opened the Facebook app on his phone to read his friends’ statuses. When a picture of Rebecca Hartwit, one of his bedmates, came on the screen, he smiled. She was wearing hardly anything and posing in a way that had him shifting in his seat. He hadn’t been laid in months, and he was so tired while they were on the road trip that he didn’t call anyone over. He had females in every city and loved spending the night with them, but lately, Phillip had been emotionally and physical tired. It was very unusual, since nothing kept him from sex before. He blamed it all on Claire.
Nothing like an angry teenager to make a man’s dick not work.
It was depressing, but it was his life. Really, all he cared about was getting Claire help. This was their first time to Dr. Haley, and that was the main reason Phillip was fidgeting in his seat. He had been taking Claire to another doctor in town, but Claire hated him, and refused to go there anymore. Elli suggested Dr. Haley and, when Phillip met her, he felt good about her. She honestly looked like someone that could crack through the walls of his niece, and he ignored the fact that he wanted to fuck her. It was against his normal MO but hey, it was all about Claire these days.
When the door opened, he glanced up to see Claire coming out with Dr. Haley behind her. Claire wore her regular ‘I hate life’ expression, while Dr. Haley smiled widely at him in a way that told him she wanted him. Standing up and smoothing out the front of his shirt, he smiled.
“How’d it go?” he asked, but Claire ignored him and went for the door. He watched her leave and let out a frustrated breath before turning to give the hot doctor a strained smile. “Not good?”
She smiled.
“It’s gonna take time. She really is lovely.”
“Lovely?”
She laughed at his surprised expression before placing her hand on his bicep. He looked down at her hand and then smiled as his eyes met hers. Man, he’d love to fuck her. She had naughty little glasses that sat low on her nose, long blonde hair, a great body, and bright green eyes. Her eyes widened before she dropped her hand and cleared her throat.
Looking away, she said, “Yes, everything is going to work out. See you next week. Stay strong.”
She turned quickly and disappeared behind the door. With a sigh, he sent a grin at the receptionist, but she ignored him, before heading out after Claire. Finding her leaning against his car, he hit the unlock button so she could get in. Getting in the car himself, he started it before asking, “How did it go? You okay with Dr. Haley?”
She shrugged her shoulders, typing something on her phone, as she said, “Yeah.”
He rolled his eyes, pulling onto the main road before saying, “Okay, what did you two talk about?”
“She just wanted my history. I gave it to her.”
“Okay,” he said with a nod, then he stopped and looked over at her, “You didn’t lie, did you?”
“Oh yeah, I did. I don’t know that chick.”
Damn it.
“Claire, what is the point of you getting help if you lie?”
Claire shrugged her shoulders again as she said, “She saw right through me, don’t worry.”
Relief flooded him as he let out a breath.
“Thank God.”
“Yeah, so she’ll probably hound me next week for the real story, which I have no desire to relive.”
He looked o
ver to see that she was looking out the window, a sad look on her face. He blew out a breath before saying, “It’s for the best.”
“So you have said.”
He didn’t know what else to say, so he clamped his mouth shut and drove towards Green Hills Mall. He figured that she could find everything she wanted there. After coaxing her to pick something, she finally did, and then there was no stopping her. He learned that Claire’s style was her own. She went from picking preppy clothes, to nerdy stuff, and then ended up at sporty. She threw in some brightly colored 80s stuff and then some conservative stuff. He didn’t care what she bought, as long as it made her happy.
“Is it okay if we go to Victoria Secret’s?”
He made a face as he shook his head.
“How about I sit out here while you go in. I don’t want to see the panties and bras you buy.”
When a true smile graced her face, his breath caught. She was so pretty when she really smiled.
“Okay, can I have some money?”
He handed her his credit card and sat down, placing all her bags around him. He watched as she walked into the black and pink store and stopped at the loungewear, picking up a few things. He didn’t know why since she had bought out the nightwear section at American Eagle, but there was no way he was stepping foot in the store with her while she bought undergarments.
That was not happening.
After waiting for what seemed like hours, she finally came out with a few bags and handed him his card.
“Why’d you get more lounge clothes?” he asked as he stood up, grabbing all her bags.
She looked down and shrugged her shoulders.
What the hell did that mean?
He watched her, waiting for an answer.
She finally looked up and said, “I have dance tomorrow.”
“Dance?” he asked, confused. He didn’t remember signing her up for that, or even know she wanted to dance.
“Yeah, with Reese.”
“Reese?” he asked, even though he knew exactly who Reese was. He had met her a few times, but never really talked to her. Only admired her from afar. She was hot as fuck with dark hair that went down to her bottom, honey brown eyes, and suck-you-dry lips that could bring a man to his knees. She had delectable curves and the greatest ass he had ever seen. Even though she was super sexy, he knew with one glance that she was a ball buster. Since he loved his balls very much, he tended to stay away.