“Paige is next door; she has three hours this afternoon to help you choreograph your routine for the audition. You have a month to perfect it, but you will need to fill in the paperwork today before applications close, so when you’re done with her class, come back here and I will help you.”
“You also owe me a kiss for working it out.” Cruz grins at me, motioning with his finger for me to come closer.
I kiss him quickly, jumping up, all excited to get started with Paige. Before I take off for the door, I turn back to them all. “Thank you so much for this, you don’t know what it means to me.” I take off before I cry in front of them. This is a dream come true, and I know I haven’t made it into the school yet, but it’s a chance, an opportunity I never would have had if I hadn’t come here and met them all. I have to give it my all, because this could change the trajectory of my life.
Chapter 31
Closer
ThenextweekIspend locked away with Paige putting together my audition dance between midday and three, then I start my shift at the club. I go home late, driven by either Asher or Jagger and collapse in an exhausted heap, but it’s all going to be so worth it if I can pull this off and actually get in. My application was approved, and I have my audition in three weeks, hopefully enough time to perfect my dance.
Today I have the day off from the club. I have lazed in bed for way longer than I should, but part of me is still avoiding the boys, trying to stay out of sight and hopefully out of mind. The more time I spend with them, the more I want them, and right now, I just needto focus. It’s not like they haven’t tried to get my attention. I wake up most nights with Cruz or Asher’s arms wrapped around me. But they know I need space to focus, and mostly other than a cheeky kiss in a dark corner, they are being respectful. Jagger is avoiding me just as much as I am him and hasn’t even tried making another pass since our night together. Maybe he felt it too, that there was more going on between us than there should be.
When my stomach growls, I know I can’t avoid the kitchen any longer, I need to get up and at least eat something. Also, I’m in dire need of coffee. Still in my silk pajamas, I pad into the kitchen, my body aching all over from the constant dancing. I turn the coffee machine on and find a mug, staring down at my feet as I wait for it to heat. They are bruised and battered from being back in pointe shoes after so long. It’s the strangest kind of pain. It’s so satisfying, like every blister brings me closer to my dream. I stretch my toes back and try to ease the discomfort.
A phone screen glides in front of my face. I glance over my shoulder to find a grinning Cruz, all sleep-mussed and sexy as all hell, with his hair flopping over his eyes and his bare chest on full display. I take the phone from him, trying to focus on what he’s showing me. It appears to be a booking for Nestled Serenity Day Spa. “What’s this?” I ask him, confused.
“Thought you could do with a massage and maybe something to help those feet.” He grimaces when he sees how bad they look.
I smirk at him, surprised but grateful. “This is sweet, Cruz.”
“I am sweet.” He kisses my cheek and then passes me, taking over the making of my coffee.
I eye him suspiciously. Why do I feel like this sweet gesture means I’m going to owe him something?
He hands me my full mug with a cheeky smirk, and I know it. “When you’re done at the spa, I’m picking you up. You’re mine for the afternoon.” He holds his finger up to my lips to silence me. “Before you brush me off and say you’re too busy, I have checked your schedule. You’re not working, and Paige has given you the day off.”
I can’t help but smile back at him. He’s kind of adorable like this, all needy and desperate. “What did you have in mind?” I lean into the kitchen island as I sip at my coffee, letting the delicious caffeine bring life into my tired body.
He rubs the back of his neck as if he’s uncomfortable. “It’s Mal’s engagement party in a few weeks. He’s having it at the casino, and I need something a little swankier than jeans and a tee to wear. You’re good with fashion, I thought maybe you could help me.”
That was the last thing I expected him to ask of me, and I can’t help but laugh. “I’ll do my best, but I don’t see how we can fix this up.” I wave my hand down his body to imply he isthis.
He pulls me in closer to him. “Funny girl.” He kisses my forehead.
“You left that open for me.” I giggle at his expense.
He cups my face, looking down at me, all dreamy. “I’ll get you something nice as well, just to sweeten the deal. It’s cocktail, and from what I have seen in your closet, you don’t have anything suitable.”
My body stiffens. “I’m not coming to the party, Cruz, it’s a family thing.” I pin my glare on him as I push out of his grip on me. “Also, stop going in my room when I’m not home.”
“You leave me for hours on end, working that ass off with your dancing. Sometimes I need to smell your clothes to remember you.”
I shake my head, trying to stay mad at him, but it’s impossible with the puppy-dog eyes he is giving me. “Creepy, Cruz. Real creepy.”
“Endearing, little darlin’. You know you love how into you I am.” He pins me with a kiss. “Also, you are family now, we have decided.” He gives me a look, one that is hard to say no to.
I go to tell him I can’t, because I really shouldn’t let them believe I’m family. It’s not right when we both know this thing will end when they tire of me. But he presses his finger to my lips again.
“Besides, it’s not negotiable. Boss’s orders. It’s a security thing when all of us are going to be there.”
Of course, it is! Should have known it’s not that I’m wanted there. “I’m working that night, Cruz,” I try instead, because even if it’s for safety reasons, I can’t just turn up as three of their dates to their brother’s engagement party; that’s just weird.
His grin widens. “Ash got it off for you.” He runs his hand down my silk sleep shorts. “You’re coming, and you’re going to wear a sparkly dress, get your hair done, and you’re going to have fun. That’s final.”
I roll my eyes, taking a step back from him so I can drink my coffee. “If you say so,” I mutter, taking a seat at the breakfast island. Some arguments aren’t worth having. Not when I have my focus on getting into this school. I guess I go and try to lie low, and maybe I can hang out with Sloane instead and avoid them altogether.
He pulls a bowl from the cupboard and places it in front of me, along with a box of cereal and some milk. I have noticed he’s been doing this for me a lot this week. Fussing over me. It’s almost as though we have fallen into a routine, one I never thought we would. Jagger is the same. I haven’t seen him much at all, but he’s been making me dinners to take to the club, leaving a note in the fridge on a little tub of food that just says “flower.”
