Dating: For the Assist

by Stephanie Street

  Drew shook his head. “She won’t commit. Or if she has, she’s not talking.” I heard the frustration in his voice. “She has this idea that she’s holding me back. That I won’t pick the best school if I limit myself to the ones that have made her offers as well.”

  I turned to face him, curious. “Is that true?”

  Drew shifted uncomfortably. “Probably. If I was being honest, and Piper wasn’t a consideration, I would chose a school she couldn’t go to if she wanted to play basketball.”

  Wow.

  Suddenly, it all made sense. The conversation she and I’d had about school and where I wanted to go, where Luke would go. She thought she was holding us all back. Especially Drew. And that would hurt her the most, knowing she was keeping him from playing on the best team. No. It would kill her.

  Drew must have noticed my dawning realization and he began shaking his head. “It doesn’t matter, Danni. It doesn’t matter where I go. I’ll play one season and then I’m declaring for the draft. She knows that. We talked about it. Hell, it was her idea.”

  “But you’ll go higher in the draft if, say, you win your team a national title, right?” Something like that would matter to Piper.

  Drew tore his gaze away from Piper to meet my gaze. “It doesn’t matter. First or fiftieth. It doesn’t matter to me. None of it matters without her.”

  I opened my mouth to reply, but Piper and Luke were suddenly back at our sides.

  “You ready?” he asked, picking up my hand. “It’s our turn.”

  “Yes, of course.” I desperately wanted to grab onto Piper and drag her to the nearest restroom for a heart to heart, but I had a feeling that wouldn’t have the desired effect of making her feel better. Instead, it would just make her mad.

  Luke and I posed for the photographer, looking into the camera with fake smiles. Then, she told us to look at each other. Luke might not have devoured me with his eyes quite like Drew had done when he looked at Piper, but what I did see in his eyes was enough to take my breath away.

  “Okay,” the lady called, jerking our attention away from each other. “How about a fun one?”

  I was a little surprised until I looked over and saw that there was no one else waiting in line to get their pictures taken. I deferred to Luke.

  He shrugged. “Sure, why not? What do we want to do?”

  I grinned. I knew just what to do. I’d actually thought of it when I picked this dress. It was pretty and tasteful, but on the side of the full skirt there was a thigh-high slit that could only be seen if I wanted it to be seen.

  “Do you have a stool? Or a chair?” I asked. She nodded and moved behind the backdrop, coming back with a high-backed wooden chair. I grinned. It was perfect.

  “You sit,” I instructed Luke, giving him a little push.

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said with a little salute. My smile grew. He didn’t know it yet, but he was playing right in to my hands.

  Luke plopped down on the chair and held his hands wide. “Now what?”

  Feeling every one of my feminine wiles, I gave him a saucy smile and swung my hips as I approached.

  Luke’s eyes widened and so did his smile. “Holy sh-, I mean, crap.”

  “Hold on, cowboy. It’s about to get crowded on that chair.” With only that word of warning, I planted myself on one of his knees, draping my legs across his lap. “Scoot back and spread your knees apart.”

  He sputtered a little behind me, but did as I asked. Once his knees were wide enough to expose a small triangle of the chair’s wooden seat, I hiked up my heel and rested the spike in the tiny space between his legs.

  Luke flinched. “Hey! Watch what you’re doing!”

  “Oh, stop. You’re fine.” And the pose was perfect. One of my legs shot straight out to the side and the other was propped on the seat between his thighs. The slit in my skirt exposed my leg from the curve of my hip down to my ankle. I threw one arm over Luke’s shoulder and then let my head fall back. Instinctively, he wrapped his arm behind my back, his hand settling on the bare skin at my hip.

  Golly. I loved this dress.

  The photographer clapped her hands gleefully. “Oh, my goodness. That’s perfect.” Her face lit up. “Oh, wait! I have the perfect accessory.” She ran behind her screen once more and emerged with a toy rifle. “This probably isn’t approved for a school function, but we won’t tell anybody.”

  She handed me the rifle and instructed me to hold it across my body. “Don’t worry. It’s just a toy. I think it used to use those caps, but the mechanism is broken so it won’t even do that.”

  Perfect.

  I couldn’t wait to see how these pictures turned out. Especially when I threw my head back and Luke dipped down to brush his lips across my exposed neck.

  The lady took several different shots, but we weren’t paying any attention to her. I was definitely feeling a little turned on by our pose, being pressed against Luke’s firm body wasn’t helping.

  Or, maybe it was.

  “Oh, my hell. That was hot,” Luke murmured in my ear after we thanked the photographer and he pocketed her card with instructions for how to download the photos we wanted. I had a feeling there would be more than one.

  But honestly, I had no idea what possessed me to do such a thing. Actually, I did. It was that kiss at the restaurant. I got an urge to fan myself with my hand every time I thought about that kiss. Remembering those couple of moments was what made me want to act out a little of the fantasy I’d conjured when I put on this red dress.

  Luke pulled me close to his side. “Wanna dance?”

  14

  Luke

  If I hadn’t been convinced before about my attraction to Dannika, our impromptu photo shoot clinched it. I asked her to dance, but what I should have done was go find the nearest cold shower.

  Yeesh!

  My only defense of my heretofore desire to win Abby back was complete ignorance. The truth of the matter being that I’d never experienced anything like the fireworks Dannika provoked in me with just a simple touch. And those fireworks were nothing compared to what happened when we kissed. I was out of breath just thinking about it.

  She was fast becoming an obsession.

  Leading her into the crush of people on the dance floor, I had to admit I wasn’t surprised. After that kiss last weekend, I’d thought of little else. I tried to convince myself I wasn’t actually attracted to my sister’s best friend and my lifelong nemesis, but all I’d done was lie to myself. Subconsciously, I’d been denying all the things I knew about Dannika that I liked. She was smart, funny, loyal to a fault to my sister whom I loved more than just about anybody. It wasn’t easy not liking someone who was such a good friend to Piper. That’s why I put up with Drew, for goodness sakes!

  But Danni, I was realizing, was also beautiful. Seductive. Intriguing in every way a girl should be. I found myself unable to look away from her. I doubted Hollywood’s hottest couldn’t turn my head. In one week I’d become enamored.

  And she was in my arms.

  We danced for a few moments, not speaking. It wasn’t really a slow song, but I held her like it was.

  “I’m sorry about that back there,” she said, breaking the silence between us.

  Surprised, I pulled back to see her face. “What? Why?” I had no idea why she would say that.

  Her cheeks flushed.

  “I just don’t want you to think-” she stopped without finishing, her gaze focused on the center of my chest.

  Reaching out, I tipped her chin up with my knuckle. “Think what? That you are incredibly beautiful and sexy?” Her blush deepened and she angled her face away from me again. But I wasn’t having that. She needed to see the truth of what I was saying in my eyes when I spoke again. “Because it’s too late. I already think that.”

  “Luke, what about Abby-”

  Enough about Abby. “I want to kiss you, Danni.” Her mouth hung open, so I pressed on. “I do. Not because of a stupid game or to make anyone jealous.
I just want to for me.” Her eyes darkened. “For you. Danni, I want to kiss you for us.”

  We swayed to the music for several long beats before she said anything. “Here?”

  I didn’t realize how tense my shoulders had become as I waited for her response until they relaxed once she did. “Not here?” I’d kiss her here or there or anywhere. She just had to say the word and I’d move heaven and earth to take her wherever she wanted to go, as long as once we got there, she’d let me kiss her.

  Dannika shook her head. “Definitely not here.”

  I pretended to think about it, but I wasn’t pretending at all. I stopped moving. “For real?” It was important that she was all in on this.

  She nodded. “For real.”

  I dropped my arms and took her hand. “Let’s go.” We’d drifted into the middle of the dance floor where the crowd was the thickest. Holding onto her tightly, I led Dannika through the throng.

  “Where are we going?” she asked once we made it to the edge of the room.

  I didn’t answer. Mostly, because I had no idea. We were in a hotel. I didn’t have a room and there was no way we were going there tonight, so I had to improvise. All I needed was a private space.

  Once we made it out of the conference room, I started down the long hall checking each door to see what was behind it. Most were closets filled with tables and chairs. I could have stopped at any one of them, but something kept me from doing it.

  “Luke, what are you doing?” Dannika was getting anxious. I could tell by the death grip she had on my hand. What was a little loss of circulation when a kiss was on the line?

  “Just hang on as sec.” I opened one last door.

  Jackpot.

  It was perfect.

  “Come on, let’s go in here.” I held the door wide and she stepped inside the room ahead of me.

  “What is this place?” she asked, glancing around.

  The room was dim with just one of the overhead lights on. It was another conference room, but it wasn’t half as big as the room we’d just left. The size of the room wasn’t the only difference. This one was equipped with a stage and various audio/visual equipment as well as an assortment of instruments. Best of all, front and center was a baby grand piano.

  As much as I wanted to rush in and kiss Dannika with all the passion I’d been feeling since last Saturday, I didn’t do that. Instead, I led her up onto the stage until we reached the piano.

  Holding my arm out with a flourish, I invited her to sit.

  She hesitated. “You want me to play?”

  The perplexed expression she wore made me laugh. “No.” I shook my head. “Of course not.” I absolutely knew Dannika had no idea how to play the piano. But I did. “Just sit here beside me.”

  Her mouth dropped open. “You’re going to play?”

  I nodded and sat down first. Her shock made me feel chagrinned, but not surprised. I very rarely played willingly for anyone. It had gotten to the point my mother had to threaten bodily harm or to take away my basketball privileges to keep me playing.

  But the truth? My reluctance was rather feigned these days. I still didn’t really like for the guys to know exactly how good I was or how much I enjoyed it, but in the last year or so, it had begun to sink in my talent was rare. I wasn’t being arrogant, it was just the truth. I guess I was just beginning to appreciate the doors that could open for me because of piano.

  Whatever.

  Mostly, I had this desire, this overwhelming urge to play for Dannika. It was almost as strong as my desire to kiss her.

  “Seriously, sit beside me.” I patted the leather covering the bench.

  Gingerly, she did as I asked. I couldn’t stop my smile. I’d never been so excited to play for someone. Ever.

  My fingers moved lightly over the keys, not really playing anything, but the chords still sounded good, bits and pieces of melodies I plucked from memory.

  Dannika stilled beside me and I let myself go, playing a melody that had been hounding me, chasing me since we’d kissed. I’d tried once, earlier in the week to pound out the notes, but they were elusive, always just out of reach. With Dannika here beside me, they flowed like water in a river. Fast. Clear. Pure. I played them to the rhythm of her laughter and the beat of my heart when we kissed. If Dannika could be put to music, it would sound like my song.

  I played on and on, the music inspired by the girl and the way she made me feel. At first, she watched my hands as my fingers flew across the black and white keys, but the longer I played, the more she looked at me. I wondered what she saw. I knew what I hoped she would see.

  The notes wrote themselves across my mind until they reached their beautiful end. My fingers slowed, danced a brief encore, and then stopped.

  Neither of us moved.

  Dannika still watched me, but I couldn’t look at her. I’d never felt more vulnerable or more exhilarated in all my life.

  My chest heaved as I struggled to catch my breath. Playing took a lot out of me emotionally most of the time, but I’d never wrung myself almost completely empty the way I just did. For Dannika.

  “Luke.” Her voice was low, an echo of the melody I’d just played, a melody that was her.

  Dannika’s hands caught my face as I turned. Her lips found mine in a kiss unlike either of the two kisses we’d already shared.

  Before, in the closet, our kiss had been exploratory. Heated, because our chemistry was undeniable, but still, it had been a first kiss. Earlier, at the restaurant, I’d been taken off guard, yet still swept away. Then tonight, posing for the photographer, I’d been aroused. Dannika had teased me in a way I’d never experienced and I liked it.

  But this, this kiss was different. Of course, there was a buildup. There was also an absence of everything that wasn’t me. Wasn’t her.

  Emotion welled in my chest unlike anything I’d experienced before. Gasping, I broke the seal of our lips.

  “Danni,”I murmured before reaching for her again.

  I had no idea how long we kissed. It might have been a couple of minutes or it might have been hours. It felt timeless.

  Finally, we broke apart.

  Resting my forehead against hers, I fought to catch my breath.

  “Wow,” she breathed.

  “Yeah.”

  “That was-” she lifted her head and shook it. “I’ve never heard you play like that.”

  “I thought you were talking about the kiss,” I teased.

  Her cheeks pinked. “I was.” She dipped her head, watching me through her lashes. “Seriously, what did you play? What is it called?”

  Inhaling a deep breath, I debated what to tell her. The truth would mean revealing something I’d never told anyone. Not my mom. Or Piper. Not even Ivan, my piano instructor knew. But I wasn’t going to lie to Dannika.

  “You.”

  Pulling back a fraction, she frowned at me. “What? It’s called ‘You’?”

  Laughing, I shook my head. “No. It’s not called ‘You’. The music was you.” I pointed to her. “It’s the music I hear when I think of you.”

  She stared at me so long with her mouth hanging open I began to worry. “Hey, sorry. I didn’t mean to weird you out-”

  Dannika waved away my words. “I’m not weirded out. Are you telling me you wrote that song?”

  “Composed it, yes.”

  “Since when do you do that?”

  I squirmed a little under her gaze. She was looking at me like a side show at the circus.

  “Um,” I cleared my throat. “I kind of have always done it.”

  If anything her jaw dropped even more.

  “Danni, come on. You’re making me sweat here. Didn’t you like it?” I asked brushing the back of my hand down her cheek.

  She caught my hand in hers. “Like it? Did I like it? Are you kidding me? That was the most beautiful music I’ve ever heard in my entire life and you’re telling me you wrote it, or composed, or whatever.” Her eyes softened as she watched me. “I didn
’t know you could do that.”

  “Yeah, well, nobody does,” I admitted.

  “What do you mean ‘nobody does’?” The frown was back.

  Reaching up, I smoothed the furrows between her brows. “Just what I said. Nobody knows I compose.”

  “Why? Why wouldn’t you tell anyone? Piper. You haven’t told Piper! You shared a womb!” My hands ached from how hard she was squeezing them in her excitement. Or distress. I wasn’t exactly sure which.

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. It didn’t seem like a big deal. Everybody knows I can play.”

  “Playing and composing aren’t quite the same, you know.”

  I couldn’t help my grin. “I did know that, actually.”

  She cuffed my shoulder. “Don’t get smart with me! That was amazing what you just did. Tell me how it works.”

  What?

  “What kind of question is that? I don’t know how it works. I just hear a melody in my head and I play it.” It wasn’t quite that easy, but sometimes it was, like with her song.

  Dannika narrowed her eyes. She didn’t believe me. Smart girl.

  I sighed knowing I was going to have to come up with something else. “Do you remember that movie we watched with Piper? It had Jude Law and Jack Black and that lady from Titanic?”

  “Kate Winslet,” she supplied.

  “Right. Kate Winslet. Anyway, Kate Winslet and that blonde actress trade houses for a couple of weeks and Kate meets Jack Black and he’s a composer.”

  “Oh, yeah! I love that movie! It’s called The Holiday, by the way.”

  “Whatever. Remember the part where Jack Black and Kate Winslet are at the piano, or keyboard really, and he’s coming up with a theme song for the old man to play when he gets an award? He plays all these soundtracks and he tells her people have soundtracks in his head and he plays hers.”

  “I do remember that,” she said and her whole body went soft. “Are you saying that’s what you just did? You just played my soundtrack?”