Page 19 of Kissing the Debutant
“Pretty boy.” It was her favorite insult for him. She claimed Jack looked like he belonged in California with the other brain-dead surfers—her opinion, not his. From his ear length hair that fell into his eyes to the constant tan he never seemed to get rid of, she wasn’t the only one calling him pretty boy. Though, there was no ulterior motive when she did it. She wasn’t one of the girls in school trying to get him to spend his nonexistent free time with them or one of the guys who thought he belonged at their lunch table.
She was just Mia.
Mr. Garret crossed his arms and eyed them. He was used to their antics by now. “All right, you two. Is it okay if we continue with class, or do you need more time for your lover’s quarrel?”
Mia mimed puking while Jack muttered, “Gross.”
At least they were on the same page.
Mr. Garret smiled down at them. “Since Mia has so graciously declined to let us in on her project, Jack, you’re next.”
“Thanks a lot, Mia,” he groaned.
She grinned. “You’re very welcome, my dearest friend.”
“Jack.” Mr. Garret’s endless patience started to wane. “Have you chosen a topic for your project?”
“Dance.” He looked up at the teacher. “It’ll be about dance.”
Unlike the other kids in school, no one in this class laughed at his passion. They knew him more than most because of how small their group was, and videography wasn’t exactly a choice class of the kinds of students who cared what he did outside school.
Mr. Garret clapped his hands together. “That is a wonderful idea, Jack. The point of this project isn’t only to show your passion, it’s about emotion.” They’d all heard this spiel before. “You are supposed to use your passion to showcase the emotion between two people.”
“Like a love story?” Mia scrunched her face in distaste.
“No, Mia. Love is an emotion but not the only one. With dance, Jack will be able to showcase two warring emotions. I love it.”
Warring emotions? He hadn’t thought of it like that. Mia voiced what they’d all thought the project was meant to be. A love story. Even if Lillian had said yes, he wasn’t sure how he’d have pulled that off with her.
But other emotions? Hate. Anger. Rage. Yes, he was pretty darn sure she encompassed all of those.
And she’d said no. Katrina’s studio was filled with dancers his age, some who went to this school and would jump at the chance to dance with him. But he didn’t want them. He wanted the best, to use this video to prove to everyone he had what it took to make a career of this.
Not of dancing. He wasn’t dedicated enough for that, wasn’t willing to sacrifice everything else.
Instead, he wanted to be a choreographer. He’d studied so many types of dancing, trying out different moves himself. As he sat through school, steps crafted themselves in his mind. Sometimes it was all he could think about.
To this point, he’d only choreographed dances for himself, but he knew he could do more. It would be hard to work on both the video and a dance for Lillian’s competition, but he was prepared to focus on nothing else if it meant she’d dance with him.
The girl insulted him, she’d looked down on him. But he’d heard the way her mom spoke to her, and he knew something in her wanted to prove herself. All she needed was a chance to do that. Wasn’t that what anyone needed?
He refused to believe she was as cold as she tried to seem.
Jack’s classmates spoke of their plans for the project, and Mr. Garret showed proper excitement for each one. When it circled back around to Mia, she sighed. “Yeah, okay, I know what I’m doing. I just didn’t expect the Spanish Inquisition.”
Jack shot her a grin. “You know what that is?”
“Shut up.” She stuck out her tongue before turning her attention on Mr. Garret. “I am going to make a sex tape.”
Silence.
The only response anyone could muster.
Mr. Garret’s face went red, and even Jack looked to Mia like he’d never seen her before.
“Oh my gosh,” she yelled. “I’m kidding. Wow… apparently you have little faith in me, Mr. G. Relax, I haven’t decided what my video will be, but I promise it’ll be as innocent as puppy dogs and rainbows.”
The bell rang, signaling their chance to escape.
