This wasn’t the first time this had happened to Cole. It was a beautiful woman’s fault that he had became an actor in the first place. A girl he was crushing on had been taking theater as her major in collage. So his freshman year, he switched his, just wanting to have a reason to be around her. He never did get that chick in the sack, but he did get a career out of it. Remembering how that had worked out for him, Cole decided to take another look at the situation.
Following one woman, had given him a little bit of fame already, maybe following another, would get him something even better. If nothing else, she looked like she would be one hell of a lay. A bit young maybe, but he could teach her a few things before he sent her on her way.
He knew that he should just tell her the truth. But damn her, and the way she was looking up at him. She looked so fuckin’ happy, relived even, and definitely a little hopeful. Whatever this was, she had her hopes pinned on it, harder than she had stuck that tack in her flyer.
"Ya know, I can dance, but…,” he started, but was instantly uninterrupted.
“Like I said, that’s so freaking awesome!” Olivia about shrieked the words, her excitement bubbling over.
She reminded him a bit, of a hyper little dog with the way she was bouncing up and down on her tip-toes. It was cute, to say the least. Cole could think of a few other places that he would like to see her, bounce up and down on, as well.
“This is so perfect, your perfect, this is gonna be amazing! I just know it!” She continued, looking as if she might burst at any second.
“Well, hold your pretty little horses darlin’. I gotta worn you, it’s been a hot minute since I’ve been on the dance floor. I might be a little too rusty for ya.”
“I can deal with rusty, no problem!” Olivia countered not wavering.
“I’m sure you can beautiful, but if you can find someone else, that would prolly be your best.”
“But, I don’t need anyone else, I have you.” Olivia furrowed her brow.
Damn, this girl was really on it. She wasn’t taking no for an answer. This thing, whatever it was, really meant something to her. Cole wondered, just how much she would be willing to give to make it a thing.
“Well, I mean, if push comes to shove, I'm sure we could work something out.” Cole dropped his voice as he reached over her to press his palm flat against the bulletin board that set just above her shoulder. “How about, ya let me take you out for a drink? We can work out some details, see where things go, sound about right, sexy?” His words rolled off of his tongue, just like they always did when he was working his game on some poor, unsuspecting hottie.
He was hoping, that maybe, he could scare her off from choosing him as a dance partner, but still get her to spend some alone time with him.
"Oh, well listen, I doubt I'm gonna find anyone else. I've had that flyer up three times already. My backs against the wall. I'm seriously running out of time. I need a partner, and I need one now. If not, we’re never gonna get the routine down in time for my audition. It's in three months, and it means everything to me. I’ve been waiting my entire life for this chance. I could go it alone, I could but I have this idea in my head, this dance that’s just gonna blow them away. I need a man though, for it too work. Rusty or not, you're all I’ve got, so far.” Olivia pleaded her case, her eyes sowing her desperation.
“Look, this seems like a really big deal to you so I think I should tell you,”
“It is, and I know I sound needy. I'm sorry, I’m just really excited, no one else has applied, and, I don’t know what I’m gonna do if nobody else does. So please, rusty or not, I'll take it!"
She rambled it all out, so fast, that it made Cole’s head spin. Fuck! Why did he have to be such a sucker for girls in spandex, for hazel eyes, and button noses, for beautiful smiles, and long blonde hair, slim waists, and perfect asses, for long legs and pleading faces? Damn it, why did he have to be a sucker for, all women, in general? One of these days, this shit was gonna get him killed or even worse, have him falling in love.
"Okay, okay, okay! I'll make you a deal. Here's my number,
you give it one more week to see if anyone else gets at ya. If no one does…, I’ll do it for ya.”
“Really?!”
“On one condition.” He challenged, with the raise of his brow and a bad boy smirk, sent her way.
“Anything... I mean, well what’s the condition?”
“That you'll go on a date with me." He announced, grabbing the pencil that hung from a string on the bulletin board, before going back to snatch an old flyer. Quickly he jotted his number down. After he folded it, he pressed into her in her palm, holding her hand, just a little too long.
The action had Olivia’s eyes darting from his greens to their connected hands and back again. He didn’t seem to take the hint, though. He just kept holding her hand, sweaty and all. She couldn’t help it. The man before her made her nervous in the most tingly of ways. Sucking in a deep breath, her eyes quickly traveled over his frame, sizing him up.
He was wearing black running slacks and a white wife beater. His sneakers were way too bright, way too flashy, and nothing like she had ever seen before. Physically, he was a sturdy boy. All and all, he was more than capable of doing the lifts. The only thing really holding Olivia back was the feeling he caused in her gut. It wasn’t bad feeling, more like, way too good of a feeling, really. She had never felt such a rush after just meeting someone, but then again she had never met anyone who looked as good as he did. He was already killing her with that smile of his and those eyes, well damn, they were just the most beautiful things she had ever seen before. She didn’t even know that eyes came in that blazing of a color, until now. She could stare into them for hours and never get bored, she just knew it.
Even so, she wasn't really interested in the date part of the deal. He had a bit of cockiness that seeped from his very stance, but that wasn't even really the problem. It was that she wasn't interested in men in general, or woman, for that matter. It wasn’t like that, either. She didn’t have an interest in either. Her only real interest, was in staying focused, just like she had her entire life. She needed this audition to go off without a hitch if she was ever gonna stand a chance of escaping from this suffocating place.
Men, were just speed bumps, they slowed you down. She had seen more than her fair share of girls, falling for the wrong guys and then proceed in throwing their dreams, right down the toilet, for the jerk. She refused to end up like that.
"Young Lady!"
The sharp tone, had Olivia’s head snapping in the direction of the two large doors that made up the entrance of the center. There, like an evil witch out of a kids book, stood her mother, arms crossed over her chest, and a scowl on her lips as she looked the stranger, standing way too close to her daughter, up and down. Judgment, filling her eyes, just as it always did.
"I’m sorry, mother. I'm coming!" Olivia said, in a fast to action way, before ducking under Cole's arm.
Cole watched her walking away, thinking that he had lost a score. Half of him, doing back flips, because no way could he have ever pulled off what she was asking of him, but the other half of him, was already trying to figure out how he was gonna talk her into that date.
"Deal," Olivia called out, spinning around in her spot by the door.
"Ya?"
"Ya!" She managed to call out, just before she was yanked out the door, by her mother.
Cole was so fucked.
It was one week to the day, when his phone rang out, reminding him of a silly promise he had made to a doe-eyed ballerina. Her hopeful tone, on the other end of the line, brought him back to the center. And that's how Cole, found himself caught up, in a dance that would end up taking over his entire life.
It turned out, that the big audition she was rattling on about was for Julliard, ya, you heard it, fucking Julliard. Cole had played it safe just in case, she did call. He had spent the entire five days, watching dance videos. On his living room floor, h
e practiced all the basics, even threw in some karate kicks for good measure.
He doubted, that he would ever be able to ever pull it off, but he was gonna try his damnedest, just the same. He always liked a challenge, never willing to back down from anything. And honestly, he didn't think dancing could be all that hard to figure out, shit, he was a fucking black belt in Jujitsu, for crying out loud. That had taken a lot of years of hard work and dedication, skill and time to master. How hard, could spinning around in circles and throwing hot chicks up in the air, really be?
He realized, at their very first rehearsal, that he had strongly underestimated the challenges of being a dancer. Olivia had put him through the ringer, twice and that was just seeing what he was physically capable of. Mostly, he just watched her, trying and failing to copy what she seemed to do, with ease.
She would say these weird words, calling out moves that, he was sure, most dancers knew but he didn’t have a clue what in the hell, she wanted from him. He was more than a little lost and feeling completely overwhelmed.
In the end, he laid on the hardwood floor, panting deep in his chest, with sweat rolling off every inch of his body. This had been
the best workout he had ever had, but fuck, he was beat to shit. "You're not a dancer, are you, Cole Conners?" She accused, in a flat tone as she leaned against the mirror that lined the wall.
Her arms were crossed over her chest and a disappointed look had been etched into her delicate features, for the past hour and a half now. She looked like an angry ass china doll as she glared down at him.
Cole let out a deep breath, knowing he was done for. It was dumb, to have ever thought, it could work out in the first place.
"You caught me,” he offered, throwing up his hands in the air. “I'm actually an actor, or, tryin’ to be, at least. I just said that I was a dancer because I wanted to hook up with you. I mean, I was gonna do it all classy and shit. Ya know, wear ya down until you agreed to go out with me, then take ya down to the lake for fishin’ at midnight, see which one of us bites, first.” He winked up at Olivia but the dirty joke seemed lost on her as she continued to mean mug him. “But ya no, I can’t dance, not like you, the shit you do, it’s fucking crazy, chick." He confessed to the ceiling above, listening as she let out an annoyed sigh.
"Actor huh? Fuckboy too, well, you should go far, I know you sure fooled the hell out me." She scoffed, stepping over his spent body on the floor to make her way toward the door. Her eyes, already feeling like they were being pricked with a million needles.
She had been such a stupid little girl. She had gotten so excited about the prospect of her dance, finally coming together, that she hadn't even paid attention to her luck. If she had, she would have seen that the handsome little prick, was full of shit, ten minutes into the rehearsal. He was no dancer and he never had been and why would he be, anyway? That just wasn’t the kind of luck she was cursed with.
She had readied herself over the last week, knowing she would have to put in some work, helping him to freshen up his skills. She could have done that, brought him back into step, but he knew nothing, no steps, no calls, no nothing. She may as well have been trying to teach a giraffe how to salsa.
As the rehearsal continued, she had watched her dreams fade away, one horrible turn, at a time. This man had been her last chance. I mean sure, he had rhythm, and he could easily lift her weight and seemed capable of taking direct orders, not to mention, he was in amazing shape and had stamina for days but that was it, and she needed so much more than that out of him.
God, she was so dumb thinking this could work. She refused to let him see her cry, though. The poor guy, it wasn't even really his fault. Sure, he had fibbed a bit, but he didn't really owe her anything more than that. He didn't even know her, so how was he supposed to know that everything in her life was riding on him being able to learn the steps?
To him, she was just some girl, doing a silly dance. Unlike her, he had made his intentions clear, right from the start. He wanted a date, no doubt, wanted to take her out for drinks but she wasn't even old enough to drink. She had just barely turned eighteen. He had just thought she was cute. He told her himself, just a second ago that all he had wanted was to get into her pants. That was no big shocker, though. Her mother had raised her to believe that that’s what all men wanted, especially, wolf smiling men like Cole Conners. He had just said, whatever he thought, would get him what he wanted. She had been the one who had stupidly believed him.
Cole’s body ached as he jumped off the floor to take chase after her. His muscles were on fire after the workout she had put him through. She had worked parts of him that he hadn’t even known existed. He wasn’t in fighting shape but he wasn't gonna let that stop him. He didn't want her leaving out, all pissed off like she was.
"Hey," he called out, grabbing her arm just before she made it to the door. His heart sank, when she spun around, tears rolling down her cheeks.
Cole had always hated crying women, he couldn't stand it, even for a minute, never could.
"Hey listen, I'm sorry; I'm an asshole, okay?” He spoke up fast, putting his hands up in defeat. “I am, I really am. I shouldn't have lied to you but I really just wanted to talk to you, so, when I saw the easy-in, with the flyer, I took it. It was dumb, I should have just said, ‘hi’, or some shit. I’m sorry, I didn't realize how big this was for you." By the end Cole was scratching the back of his neck, feeling like the biggest asshole ever.
"Well it is, but hey, it's whatever, right? I'll figure it out. Just next time you wanna hit on some poor girl, don’t offer her, everything she's ever wanted, okay, because you, can’t deliver!” She laid it all out to him, in a cold tone, before jerking her arm out of his grip to make her way out of the room in a huff. Leaving Cole to drop his head in shame.
A week passed by, and no one else had bothered to respond to Olivia’s flyer, dancer or not. She tried to force herself, to accept the fact, that she was just going to have to go it alone. She knew she could do it, she had to. It just wasn't what she had had her heart set on, is all.
She tried her best to stay positive as she made her way through the center, half-hazardly glancing into the rooms as she went. That was until, she reached the second to the last room, there, Olivia stilled in her spot, watching as a man flew through the air. The odd sight, had her stepping into the doorway, wanting a better view as she leaned against the frame.
It was some kind of martial arts class, by what she could gather. About twenty men, stood around in a circle, while two others stood in the center of it. She eyed the men, her brows narrowing as they squared off. The match, or whatever it was called, began with the pair circling one another, and as they did so, she caught sight of a little liar, known as Cole Conners. The very crusher of dreams himself.
"Stop it!" She demanded of herself, under her breath.
She needed to stop putting all the blame on him. It was her own fault, really. She should have put more thought into finding a partner and not waited until the last minute, to do so.
"Holy shit!' she breathed out, as the two men went to doing kicks and wild backward flips. She had never seen anything like it. It was like a dance, a very violent one. It had steps, a rhythm to the movement, each action precise. It was beautiful in its own right. Both men were shirtless, their toned muscles twisting and stretching as they danced around, no, as they fought it out. Olivia found that she was holding her breath, waiting for the next move to come, and the next hit to land. She was absolutely captivated.
As Cole felt the man beneath him tap his arm, he released his hold immediately, knowing he had one the round. Both men climbed to their feet before bowing to their opponent. It was then, that Cole caught sight of a familiar face, over by the doors. She stood there, looking even more beautiful than she had the first time he had laid eyes on her.
Her finger sat pressed to her lips, her eyes locked on his. "I’ll be back in a bit. You go on without me." He excused himself before heading her way.
The stupid line had fallen right out of his mouth before he could even stop it. The girl already hated his guts and here he was. giving her, even more, reasons too. He needed to just shut up. He wasn’t even sure, why in the hell, he had come over to her in the first place. Any second now, she was probably getting ready to kick him in the nuts.
"Do you mean that?" Olivia questioned.
An idea was playing around in her mind, a little seed of creativity, trying to break through, as a spark of hope flickered back to life in her eyes.
"Yeah, sure, I would love to. Hey, wait, what the hell?” He questioned, as she snatched his sweaty hand in hers, yanking him out the door, and down the hallway. He glanced around, wanting to see if anyone was witnessing him being kidnapped, by the spandex hottie, with the amazing ass. He hoped not, because watching as her perfect, little, ass, swayed back and forth in front of him, had about a million dirty thoughts playing out in his head. There were so many filthy ways this could end. This situation, had, ‘letter to Penthouse’, written all over it. He could already imagine the title: Ballerina loses practiced control… all over this dick!
Okay, maybe the title could use a little work, but right now, there was no time for that. Cole needed to focus, which was hard with the size of the grin he wore. Something else was getting hard as well as she ripped him into the designated dance studio that the center had to offer. His grin only widened when he looked around the room to find it empty, it was just her and him and a shit load of mirrors. Oh God, let’s bump that letter right up to Play Boy status. This right here, was gonna be some classy shit, from every angle. As she spun around, to come face to face with him, he noted a little something odd about her, she looked a bit wild. Her eyes were larger than normal and she had this weird little grin plastered on her lips. Who was he to judge, though? Everyone has their own, special look, when they’re horny on, right?
Between a Rock and a Hard Place Page 16