by Toni Aleo
That was a lie. She wanted Phillip, but she knew she would get tired of him sooner or later. He was cocky and full of himself. He was also so fucking hot that he could singe her panties off with one smile. He was playful, funny, and if she wanted a man, he’d be it, but she didn’t, and that was final. No matter how gorgeous and funny he was.
“Ugh, whatever, so you’re not gonna see him again?” she asked.
“I will when he brings Claire in but other than that… no. We got our fill, and we are good.”
Piper let out an annoyed breath as she said, “Blah, so depressing.”
Thankfully, the door opened and Claire came in, with her dance bag on her shoulder.
“I know, your sister will be an old hag that will buy lots of presents for you and yours, now leave me be,” she joked, standing up and waving at Claire. She waved back as Reese said, “I’ll call you later. Claire is here.”
“All right, let me know if things change between you and Phillip.”
Reese laughed.
“It won’t, bye.”
Turning to look at Claire, Reese greeted, “How are you?”
Claire shrugged as she pulled off her shirt and pants.
“Okay, I had therapy today, so stupid.”
Reese laughed as Claire sat on the floor, stretching her legs out.
“It’s supposed to help you.”
“I don’t need help. Shit happened, I’m fine.”
Squatting down, Reese went to her eye level, but Claire wouldn’t look at her as she asked, “Do you want to talk about it?”
Claire looked up and then rolled her eyes.
“Hell no, why would I want to do that? I just want to dance, that’s all.”
Letting her shoulders fall, Reese said, “You know I’m here.”
“I know,” Claire said offhandedly as she reached for her foot. When Reese didn’t say anything, Claire looked up and smiled.
“I’m fine, I promise. As your sister always tells me, things can only get better.”
“She’s right; you’re very lucky to have everything you do now.”
Claire shrugged her shoulders as she said, “Now I do—where was it all eleven years ago?”
Reese cocked her head to the side, confused.
“What do you mean?”
Claire shook her head, reaching for her other foot.
“Just that I never would have needed therapy if Phillip would have come for me a while back. I get that I cause a lot of the crap I’ve done, but a lot of it was my mom. If I had Phillip back then, I wouldn’t be where I am now. I would be normal. Instead, I’m scared that I’ll end up like my mom, and I don’t want that. At all.”
It was the first time Claire had said more than a sentence at once and each word broke Reese’s heart. She didn’t understand how something like that could happen to a child. Reese was brought up in a loving home, one that gave her guidance, believed in her dreams, and helped push her to follow those dreams. Her parents and sisters were the best and she knew that all kids weren’t as lucky as she was, but she had a feeling that Claire had it worse than she could imagine.
“I don’t think Phillip would let that happen to you, but most of all, I won’t. I am going to give you all the opportunities in the world, which reminds me!”
Reese got up and went to the area that held random stuff, along with the iHome. Grabbing a file, she turned and grinned at Claire as she said, “You are off probation, and you are now a Reese Allen Dancer!”
Claire raised an eyebrow as she said, “That probation was for real?”
“Uh… yeah!”
“Oh, okay.”
Reese made a face.
“You’re supposed to be excited.”
Claire’s mouth turned up on the side before she softly said, “I am.”
“You sure don’t act like it.”
Claire looked up at Reese and gave her a real smile, with teeth and bright eyes. She said, “I really am. Does this mean I get to go to real classes and stuff?”
Reese was giddy as she said, “Yes, and you get to compete, too. I have a lot of stuff in mind for you!”
“Yay,” she said with a little wave in the air. It was all a show, but it still made Reese smile.
“So, today, we are gonna learn a new routine for your solo. Tomorrow will be your group classes. You can’t miss those or be late, okay?”
Claire shrugged. “Okay.”
“And then I am thinking of doing a duet, but I can’t figure out if I want a boy one or a girl. Still messing around with things in my head.”
“Okay,” Claire said again, standing up and stretching her arms.
“Are you ready for this? You’ll be eating and breathing dance for a while. Over the summer, it will slow down, but it will pick up again in the fall.”
“I’m ready,” she said confidently, causing Reese’s heart to swell. She wanted so desperately for this girl to succeed and do something great with her life.
“Awesome, only one thing left before we get started for today!” Reese said with a grin, opening the file and pulling the pen off the paper.
“Yeah?”
She smiled as she took a deep breath. She had been asking this same question for weeks and prayed that today’s answer would be different. Looking up at Claire, she asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”
Claire looked down at the ground, pushing up on the tip of her toes. She didn’t say anything for a few minutes, and Reese let her have her time. She needed it, so Reese waited until, finally, Claire looked up, her eyes shiny with tears, as she said, “I want to be a choreographer with big-named artists or maybe Vegas shows or something. I want to be known around the world for the amazing dances I come up with. I want to be like you.”
Reese felt the rush of tears to her own eyes and somehow kept them in as she nodded, writing down what Claire said. She wanted to hug the girl, she wanted to tell her that she was going to make her dreams come true, but most of all, she wanted to call Phillip and tell him about it. She wished he were here; he would have loved to have heard Claire say that, to want dreams and aspirations. Looking up, she smiled so brightly at Claire that she was sure her face was going to break, saying, “Let’s get to work on making those dreams come true.”
Suddenly, Claire’s arms came around her, and she froze as Claire hugged her tightly. When Claire whispered, “Thank you,” Reese was surprised the tears didn’t rush down her face. She knew that the ice between her and Claire had broken. It also meant that even though she hadn’t wanted anything to happen between her and Phillip before, now, she knew for a fact nothing could happen. She was in too far with this girl, and she couldn’t risk losing her because of a stupid breakup between her and Phillip. Not that she wanted to date him, but she couldn’t risk anything happening between them.
She had to stay clear of him—that was all there was to it.
“Do you like that?”
Phillip looked down at the blonde on her knees with his cock in her hand, her mouth hovering over it. She was pretty, bright blue eyes, a nice mouth, cute nose, and great body, but he was not enjoying the blow job she was performing. He wasn’t sure if it was because they were in the men’s bathroom of some pub in Dallas, or if she just sucked at giving head. There was too much spit, and she didn’t rake her teeth right. She just didn’t do it for him, but he needed to come… he needed to forget.
“Just make me come,” he said, weaving his hands in her hair and thrusting himself in her mouth. Closing his eyes, he tried to enjoy it, but it wasn’t working. He was surprised he was still hard. Letting out an annoyed breath, he mentally kicked himself. When was he going to admit the reason he wasn’t enjoying any kind of sexual activity was because of a certain woman whose name reminded him of a peanut butter cup? God, this was hopeless.
It had been three days. Three days of sleepless nights, morning wood, and a general need for Reese’s body. It was insane. He had never been caught up with a woman the way he was at that mome
nt. As the blonde took him to the back of her throat, thoughts of Reese overflowed him. She was beyond hot during their time together. They joked, they enjoyed each other, and since leaving her, he hadn’t been able to think of anything else but her. He didn’t understand it, but he did know that this blonde was not cutting it.
Pulling away from her grip, he yanked his jeans up with a huff.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, wiping the side of her mouth.
“This isn’t working for me.”
“Oh, do you want to leave?”
From you, yes.
“Nah, my friend is still out there.”
“Oh,” she said, looking confused.
“Sorry, I really hate to be an ass, but this isn’t working for me, so I’m going to go.”
Hurt flashed in her eyes as she shrugged her shoulders. He didn’t want to hurt her feelings, but what did he expect? He really wasn’t worried about her feelings; he was worried about coming and forgetting. It was an asshole move on his part. Maybe, if she didn’t leave, he’d put all her drinks on his tab.
“Sorry, again,” he said with an awkward wave, and then hurried out of the bathroom. Letting out a long breath, Phillip headed towards where Erik was sitting with a beer and his phone in front of him. They had a game the following day against the Stars and were kicking back for a bit before heading to the hotel. Cupping Erik on the shoulder before sliding into his seat, he looked over to find his friend watching him.
“Have fun?” Erik asked with a smirk.
Phillip shook his head.
“Couldn’t get off,” he said honestly.
“That blows.”
“Yeah,” he agreed as he leaned back, nursing his beer.
“What’s that about?” Erik asked, looking up at the screen. The Red Wings and Bruins were playing. They were tied now, at three. Before Phillip went to the bathroom, the Bruins were up by three, which meant it was bound to be a good game. Looking back over at Erik, he shrugged his shoulders because he wasn’t sure what to say.
“I don’t know,” he said, taking a swig of his beer.
“You need Viagra or something?”
Phillip choked on his beer as he started to laugh.
“Hell no, I just… I don’t know.”
“Might want to find out,” Erik said, looking up at the screen.
The topic dropped, and Phillip should have been happy about that, but he wasn’t. He wanted to tell Erik that he was caught up on Reese, but that would go against what he promised. Plus, Erik could get mad; it was his sister-in-law. Before fate brought him and Piper together, everyone assumed that Erik had a thing for Reese, but that was so far from the truth. He had always had a thing for Piper, but kept those feelings locked deep down inside. The only reason Phillip knew was because he had told him during a drunken binge one night. Now Phillip was the one feeling Reese, and that was a waste of time because nothing could happen between them. She not only made that clear, but so did Claire. The only problem was his body wasn’t listening.
“I slept with Reese,” he suddenly said, and wanted to mentally kick himself.
Erik chuckled, his eyes still on the TV as he said, “I was wondering how long it was going to take for you to admit that.”
“You knew?”
“Yeah, I knew. I saw you two at the club kissing when Piper was in the bathroom.”
“Oh, she doesn’t know?”
“She thinks so, but Reese hasn’t confirmed.”
Phillip nodded.
“Well don’t say anything; we agreed not to tell anyone.”
Erik scoffed. “Seriously?”
“Yeah.”
“You act like it’s a big deal. No one cares if y’all hook up. It’s not like you will want anything else from her.”
When Phillip didn’t say anything, Erik looked over at him and then laughed.
“Okay, so maybe I’m wrong,” he chuckled, shaking his head before taking a long pull of his beer.
“I just want more sex, but she said she got her fill and that it was a one-time thing. Now I can’t get off cause I’m still thinking of her.”
“Quite the predicament.”
“I know,” Phillip said, letting out a long breath.
Before anything else was said, his phone rang. It was Claire.
Picking it up, he said, “Hey.”
“Hey, so, like, I’m off probation now at the dance studio, which means I can start to train with everyone else. It’s so awesome because Reese is giving me a solo, a duet, and group. I’m dancing so much!” she said, leaving him breathless. She sounded so happy, like the girl he used to know.
“That’s great, Claire. I’m proud of you.”
“Thanks, but the thing is, I’m gonna have to stop going to therapy or move it to a Saturday or something.”
“Why do you have to miss it?” he asked.
“Because I’m dancing every day.”
“Well, tell Reese you need a day for therapy. The office isn’t opened on the weekends, and you can’t miss school. You’ve missed enough with all the moving,” Phillip stressed.
“I can’t do that, Phillip. I have to go. I can’t be late. I can’t miss unless, I’m like, dying or something. This is important to me.”
Phillip took in a deep breath and could feel Erik’s eyes on him.
“I understand that, Claire, but you need therapy.”
“No, I don’t! I hate that place! Why do you make me do something that I am telling you I don’t need? I didn’t need my mom and I didn’t need crazy cat lady, all I need is dance. I need to lose myself in the music. I don’t need to talk about my feelings… I’m fine!” she screeched.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Phillip said, “Listen, let’s talk about this when I get in town. Maybe we can work something out so that you can do both.”
“I don’t want to go!”
“I understand that, but until I think you don’t need it—”
“Ahh! I don’t need it, and you can’t make me go!” she yelled, before hanging up on him.
Rolling his eyes, he slammed his phone down. Taking in a deep breath, he clenched his fist before he released it. She drove him fucking mad, but he knew there was no point in calling her back. He didn’t want to be yelled at anyway. Downing his beer, he wiped his hand across his mouth before looking around the bar. Beautiful women filled the pub. Maybe he could find another woman, and she could please him.
Who was he kidding? He wanted Reese and, until he got his hands on her, he wouldn’t be happy. However, the phone call from his niece reminded him that Reese needed to be off limits.
“Problems with the hellion?”
Phillip nodded, looking over at Erik.
“Yup.”
“If she doesn’t want to go, why make her?”
Phillip’s eyebrows drew in as he said, “Whose side are you on?”
“I’m on the right side. Harper said she is doing great,” he said, taking another beer from the bartender and promptly ignoring a woman that was giving a great view down her shirt, but not even Phillip was impressed.
“She is doing great there and apparently at dance, but things are strained between us,” Phillip said sadly. “I know she blames me for everything that happened. I don’t even know what all happened, but I’m pretty sure it’s bad.”
“It wasn’t your fault, Phillip,” Erik said, turning to him, “It was your sister’s. The thing is... therapy isn’t going to make her forgive you. All it’s doing is making her angrier with you. She wants to dance, let her dance. Hopefully, it will help. People let out their anger and sadness in different ways. Maybe dance is her outlet.”
Phillip thought it over for a moment. Maybe Erik was right. Maybe he should back off a little, let Claire dance it out as she kept saying. Maybe he was pushing her away more by insisting on the therapy. It just scared him, so bad. He wanted so much for Claire, but most of all he wanted her to know that he loved her. No matter what.
“Maybe you’re rig
ht.”
“I am,” Erik declared with a grin, “I also think that things between you and Reese aren’t done with by a mile, and that it is more than just sex.”
Letting his face fall into his hands, Phillip let out a long breath as he thought that Erik was right on both accounts, which meant one thing:
He was screwed.
“PHILLIP…”
PHILLIP rolled his eyes as he slipped out of bed, reaching for his pants. Claire had been yelling at him for the past thirty minutes to get up. No matter how much he tried to ignore her, he couldn’t anymore. He was tired and, after getting in early that morning, he was looking forward to a day in bed. Claire had other things in mind. She was persistent on the fact that she needed to get to dance and didn’t care that he needed those extra thirty minutes of sleep.
“I’m coming, relax,” he called back as he threw on a long-sleeved Henley before putting on socks and shoes. Reaching for the door, he found her with her arms across her chest, with a very furious look on her face. Looking down at her, he waited for her to say something, but she just glared. Letting out a breath, he asked, “I thought we had to go.”
“We do!” she snapped.
“Then go,” he snapped back.
His shortness must have surprised her. Her eyes went wide, before she turned and stomped down the hall. Following behind her, he grabbed his keys as he thought that waiting to get her a car was a bad idea. He could be sleeping right now. Instead, he was out in the cold, driving Claire to dance. He hated when he let his temper flair. He didn’t mean to snap at her and felt bad but, at the same time, she always snapped at him. Jumping into the car with her, they drove in silence to the studio. Pulling into the parking lot, he parked before Claire reached for the handle to get out.
Stopping her, he said, “I’m sorry I snapped at you.”
She looked over at him and shrugged her shoulders. “Whatever.”
“No,” he said before she could get out. “If you want to only dance and not go to therapy then you need to learn how to talk to me. Everyone else gets this nice Claire, while I get the angry one. I’m not the bad guy, Claire. Stop treating me like one.”