Chapter 5

Jenna

I woke up in his arms and felt more comfortable than I probably should have. There was something about Kevin that drew me into him and made me feel so at ease. It was like we had known each other for months, not hours.

The sun wasn’t up yet, but I got up and hopped in the shower really quick. His enormous shower was a change from the rusty old tube I stood up in at my apartment. I loved letting the warm water run down on me and could have stood in there for hours and hours.

His house was fantastic, his bathroom equally so. The shower had an actual bench in the middle of it. A whole football team might have been able to fit in there. It was at least ten feet long and probably almost as wide. What on earth did someone need a shower so big for?

I blushed when I realized what that marble bench in the middle was probably used for. I imagined laying back on it as the water fell from the rainforest shower head. Wow, I bet sex in this shower was insane.

As much as I would have loved to stay in there all day long, I finished up and pulled on my leggings and tank top. With a quick sweep, I put my hair up into a bun and grabbed my phone to see what I had missed.

Only a return text from Stacy telling me to have a good time and not to worry. It was funny how much I worried when people said not to worry. But since I hadn’t received a call or text from Cassandra, I was hopeful that the rest of the evening had gone off without a hitch. Luckily, we had hired a crew for cleanup, and I hoped that everything with that part of the night had also gone off seamlessly.

As I opened the bathroom door, I couldn’t help standing there for a minute and looking at the huge four-poster bed with Kevin in it. He hadn’t moved at all since I’d slipped out of his arms. He was an amazingly handsome man, and I knew I’d always remember that night with him. But I wasn’t the kind of girl that ended up with guys who owned mansions and had drivers who took them places.

I blew him a kiss from the doorway as I snuck down the hall and moved quietly down the stairs toward the front door. I couldn’t stick around for the awkward morning after where he regretted bringing me home. Instead, I wanted my last memory of him to be the sweet feel of his arms around me as I woke up that morning.

I hurried down the front driveway and then got stuck at the gate as I tried to figure out how to get out. There was no button that I could find, and I was getting more and more nervous that he was going to see me standing out there trying to get away.

Instead of spending another moment waiting, I flung my purse up and over the gate and climbed the metal railings. I desperately hoped he wasn’t looking out his window and didn’t see what I was doing. I would have looked like some sort of maniac trying to run away the way I was.

Once over the fence, I took a moment to look back at the house before hurrying down the street to the train station so I could head home. I had this ridiculous smile on my face for nearly an hour after leaving his house though, and thoughts of his touch dominated my mind for the ride home.

How was it even possible that I’d just spent the night with him? I couldn’t even wrap my brain around it all, everything had happened so quickly. I was in a state of total bliss when I got back to my disgusting apartment and closed the door behind me. The old walls and rusty refrigerator seemed especially depressing after spending a night in a mansion with Kevin.

As I collapsed onto my couch, I closed my eyes and thought back to the perfection of his body as he moved on top of me. That was definitely a memory I was going to hold onto for a long time to come. I couldn’t wait for work on Monday to tell Stacy and Elaina all about my night. I dialed up Elaina right away.

“How are you? Is everything okay?”

“Yes, my mother is alright. She thought she was having a heart attack, and it turned out to just be really bad indigestion. I’m really sorry for missing the fundraiser. Was Cassandra pissed? Am I fired?”

“I’m glad your mom is okay. Cassandra didn’t really know you were gone.”

“What do you mean?”

“Actually, I put your costume on and took your spot,” I said as I sat up and waited for her to totally freak out on me.

Elaina and Stacy were my biggest supporters. They had urged me to try out for the ballet on many occasions. They both knew how much dancing meant to me and how passionate I was about it, but I don’t think either of them fully understood how much it cost to live on their own without any family support. I certainly couldn’t afford to do that, and I tried not to make a big deal of it. Most of the time, I just pretended like I really wanted to be a choreographer and wasn’t interested in dancing anymore.

“You did what?” Elaina screamed into the phone.

I smiled at her response. I knew she wouldn’t mind that I’d taken her place.

“Yeah, I didn’t want you to get in trouble.”

“Well, how did it go? Was it amazing? Do you want to start dancing again? You could always move in here with me if you want to dance. My parents won’t care,” she started to ramble on and on. “You know you really have to put yourself first. Go after your dream. Dance your little heart away.”

“Are you done with your motivational speech?” I asked playfully.

“Yes, so tell me. How did it go?”

“The dance was great. I think the audience really liked it, and from what I hear, they had some amazing donations.”

“How much did they raise?”

“Um, well,” I couldn’t really tell her because I didn’t stay until the end of the night when they announced the final totals. “I’m not sure.”

“What are you talking about? What was the total when you left?”

“Actually, I didn’t stay around much past the dancing portion of the night. In fact, I sort of left right away. Or after dancing for just a little bit with a big donor.”

“What?” Elaina asked as genuine confusion took over. “You just left? Weren’t you supposed to be in charge?”

“You know how I told you to grab a big donor and dance with them after the main dance?” I said as I started to smile.

I was nearly giggling with excitement as I tried to find the right words to tell Elaina what had happened. How do you tell your best friend that you ran off with a billionaire in the middle of a fundraiser and spent the night with him? It wasn’t something that had come up for me before.

“Yeah, I was supposed to dance with that delicious eye candy Kevin Fox … oh … did you dance with him?” she asked, and I was silent. “Did you do something else with him? Jenna! Tell me this instant.”

“I don’t know what came over me. One minute, I was pretending I was you and trying to have confidence as I asked him to dance, and the next minute he was pulling me off to his waiting SUV and taking me in his bed,” I said quickly and then shut my eyes as I waited for her to explode.

“You didn’t!”

“I did.”

“You slept with Kevin Fox. Holy shit. I can’t believe this. What happened, tell me every last detail. Is he going to call you? Do you have his number? When are you going to see him again? I’m literally going to explode here. I can’t take this.”

“Well …” I started to say and then trailed off. “I actually snuck out and left this morning without saying anything to him.”

The silence on the phone was deafening, and I instantly regretted my decision. At the time, sneaking out had seemed like a good idea. I was taking the initiative to end things before they got awkward, and he had to say something weird like ask me if we could be friends. I couldn’t bear the idea of the awkward morning after with him. I knew I couldn’t handle that level of disappointment.

“You better be kidding,” Elaina said in a serious tone.

“I’m serious.”

“Why in the hell would you do that? What’s wrong with you?”

“I thought it would be easier, but now that I say it out loud, it does sound pretty stupid.”

“I can’t even talk to your right now. Let’s talk tomorrow at the studio. I don’t understand how you could have gone home with one of the most eligible bachelors in the city and then acted like such a basic girl. We need to fix this. I’m going to think about it, and we are going to talk tomorrow. Understand?”

“Yes,” I said obediently.

My heart sank into my stomach, and the fluttering feeling of love was long gone. I’d taken such a beautiful and amazing night and ruined it. He had no way of contacting me, and I had no way of reaching him. Sure, I assumed he wouldn’t want to reach me, but what if I was wrong?

The guilt over what I’d done ate away at me all day long. I spent the entire afternoon scrubbing the kitchen and cleaning every nook and cranny I could find. Nothing seemed to help, though. I couldn’t get the sick feeling to go away.

***

When I walked into the rehearsal room and saw Cassandra standing at the front with her arms crossed, I was worried. She looked especially angry that morning, and I prepared myself for the tongue lashing that she was likely going to give to me.

“Get over here. Why are you late?” she scolded me.

“Sorry.”

I went to my usual spot off in the corner and waited to hear more yelling. I wasn’t looking forward to being yelled at in front of everyone, but it certainly wasn’t going to be the first time it happened. I held my breath as she stood tall and started to talk again.

“Well, you all must not have sucked as much as I thought you did. Several people came up to me and said they really enjoyed the performance. I’m glad I made the changes that I did, and I’m sure that’s why it was so fantastic.”

I literally rolled my eyes as she talked. It was incredible to me that she could keep saying things that were total lies, but she seemed to believe them. I genuinely thought she believed she choreographed that performance; she was just that delusional.

“Did we raise a lot of money?” Elaina asked.

Stacy and I both glared at her. All of us were supposed to have been there all night long. We should have already heard the big announcement, and Elaina was giving herself away by asking that question.

“We were busy cleaning up in the kitchen and missed the final announcement,” I added to try and cover for her blunder.

“Yes, we actually raised twice as much as last year. It was a very successful night. One donor, in particular, deserves some recognition. I’m going to have the rehearsal hall renamed for Kevin Fox. He’s a tremendous asset to our organization, and I can’t wait to tell him about this development in person. He’s got a bit of a crush on me, so I can’t wait to spend some alone time with him.”

Listening to Cassandra talk about Kevin made my blood boil. She acted as if she knew him intimately. There was no way she did. I knew she was lying, yet it still stung to think about the two of them together.

“Okay, so that’s all I wanted to tell you. Now get to work on the next show,” Cassandra said as she walked out of the room and motioned for me to take over.

“Let’s start with the opening scene for the Nutcracker,” I said and went to the CD player to find the music.

“What was that all about?” Elaina asked. “Do you think she really knows Kevin like that?”

“No, there is no way. She’s hideous. You know how she lies. I highly doubt he even knows her name.”

“At lunch, you and I are going to have a long talk. We need to fix what you did with this guy.”

“What did she do with what guy?” Stacy asked as she joined us. “With Kevin Fox?”

“Yeah, she abandoned him in the middle of the night,” Elaina said dramatically.

“It wasn’t the middle of the night. The sun was coming up. I just left early. Go get in your places and let’s practice. We can talk about all this later.”

“You heard about her going home with him?” Stacy turned to Elaina.

“Yeah, but she ruined it by leaving without saying anything to him. What sort of crazy girl sleeps with Kevin Fox and then just leaves him?”

The two of them continued talking as they returned to their spots with the other dancers. Even as we started rehearsals, I was pretty sure the two of them continued their conversation throughout the next hour of practice. Every time I looked in their direction, Elaina shook her head as if I disgusted her.

After plundering our way through the morning of rehearsals, I found myself out by the back picnic table with Elaina and Stacy over the lunch break. The two of them looked ready to pounce on me the second I joined them.

“Okay, here is what you do. You’ll call Kevin up as part of this new room naming thing for Cassandra. We will think of something to talk about, and you’ll just get him on the phone,” Elaina suggested.

“No.”

“What? Why not? This is perfect. It will get the two of you together again.”

“I’m not sure he wants anything to do with me. It was just a one-night thing. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want anything more to do with me.”

“What are you talking about?” Stacy asked. “You know nothing. All you know is that he liked you, and you left him in the morning before anything else could happen.”

“Let’s not worry about it. He has no way of getting hold of me, and I have no way of getting hold of him. It’s done and over with. That’s it,” I said as if the two of them might actually let things go.

“Are you crazy?” Elaina asked and then turned to Stacy. “I think she might actually be crazy.”

“She is certifiably insane. There is no way you sleep with the hottest guy in the city and then dump him. Only an insane woman would do such a thing. Maybe we should take her to the hospital and get her checked out. There might be something really wrong with her,” Stacy said dramatically as she grabbed my arm. “Come on, we need to get you hospitalized.”

“Okay, okay, I get your point. But it’s over now. I’m not going to go calling him and acting all crazy. What is done is done. Can we just move on please?”

“Fine, but only because I need to think of a better plan,” Elaina finally admitted.

We sat and enjoyed the warm afternoon while finishing our lunches. Our half an hour outside together was one of my favorite times of the day. It was also one of the only times that I wasn’t hurrying to get somewhere.

My mornings were filled with rushing to get on the train to get into town. At work, we hurried through our dance routines as we tried to cram as much as possible into our days. Then at the end of the day, I hurried back home so I could get to my apartment before dark because my neighborhood wasn’t exactly the safest place to be when it was dark outside. But this thirty minutes was pure heaven, just sitting and letting the sun shine down on us while we nibbled on our food.

“Is this all you three ever do?” Cassandra yelled from the back door. “Get back in here and try actually working for a change,” she said as she let the back door slam shut.

“I swear that woman has a sensor that tells her when people are actually enjoying themselves, and she needs to ruin it,” I laughed as we gathered our things.

“Yep, it’s basically her mission in life. Maybe that’s what she was really hired for? I can’t imagine the board of directors actually thought she was skilled. Have you ever even seen her choreograph a show? It’s always the dancers or Jenna,” Elaina added.

It was true. Although I’d heard that Cassandra was good at her job, I hadn’t had the opportunity to see that side of her since I’d arrived. She was withdrawn and nasty since the moment I met her.

Sometimes I wondered just how long they would keep her around. Did the board of directors actually think that Cassandra was the one doing all the choreographing? She probably told them all about how hard she was working, and they just believed her. It was sad actually. She spent her entire life trying to pretend like she was working. In my opinion, it would have been better to just actually work, or at least much less boring.

“Oh, my God,” Elaina said as she put her arm out and held the two of us back so we didn’t go around the side of the building.

“What? What’s going on?” Stacy asked.

“It’s him. He’s here,” Elaina said as both Stacy and I looked around the corner.

I quickly retreated behind the wall, my heart pounding with excitement as I noticed Kevin was carrying my costume from the night before. Up until that moment, I had totally forgotten that I’d left it there.

“The costume, I left it at his house,” I said as Elaina and Stacy joined me. “What do I do?”

“Shit, we need to make it look like you’re busy. You can’t just walk up to him. Okay, okay, let’s think,” Stacy said to herself.

“Go around back. We will stall him and then let you in the back door. You can come out and talk to him. Give him your contact information and tell him you’re sorry you had to run off.”

“I can’t see him like this!” I said as I pointed to my ratty sweatpants and baggy T-shirt I was wearing. “He thinks I’m one of the dancers.”

“I’ll let you in the back door, and you can put on my practice leotard,” Elaina said. “I’ve got tons of extra stuff in my bag.”

“Okay, but I don’t know.”

“Stop worrying about it; go to the back door,” Elaina said as she pushed me away from her.

I jogged around to the back door and felt my heart pounding out of my chest. He was there. He had come to see me. Maybe he actually liked me? If he didn’t want to see me, he could have easily just had his driver drop the outfit off. Kevin must have actually wanted to talk to me. I could hardly think straight as I waited for Elaina or Stacy to come to the back door and let me in.