Page 30 of Kissing the Debutant
“Even after today? I walked out on you.”
“Yes, even now. Lillian, I’ll be honest here. There are other dancers I could ask who’d say yes, but I don’t want them. None of them dance like you. Your intensity, your drive. I need that in my video. I need you.”
His words stole the air from her lungs. No one had ever needed her before. Her mom used her—when she remembered her at all. Competitors envied her. Kids at school thought her strange.
But this boy… he needed her.
And maybe she needed him. As it stood, she was weeks out from the competition and had no plan. If she didn’t come up with one soon, she’d have to drop out.
“Okay,” she whispered.
“Okay?” His grin lit up his face in the dark.
“I have conditions.”
“Of course, you do.”
She pursed her lips. “We do this together. I’m not simply a dancer, and you aren’t simply a choreographer. We have to be a team when it comes to crafting these dances and getting them right in a way that will work for both our goals.”
“I can work with that.”
“I might walk out on you again.”
He nodded like he’d expected it. “And I will come after you again.”
She pointed one long finger at him, knowing this last condition could be the most important. “If we’re going to dance together and portray a story, your girlfriend can’t get jealous.”
“My girlfriend?”
“She means me.” Mia walked toward them. “I promise not to get jealous if you stop being mean to him.”
“Wait.” Jack pushed away from the wall. “Mia and I aren’t—”
“I’ll try.” Lillian crossed her arms.
Mia looked to Jack. “Wylder says we need to go. Someone saw us out here. She’s waiting farther down the path we took.”
Jack speared Lillian with one final look. “Can we get started this weekend?”
Lillian shook her head. “I…” Well, he was going to find out just how different they truly were, eventually. “I have a debutant luncheon back home on Sunday, but I should be back by three.”
Jack didn’t even flinch at her admission. “Okay, Sunday then. Three o’clock?”
“I’ll be there.”
Jack flashed her a grin. “You won’t regret this.”
When he was gone, Lillian leaned against the cool brick, excitement coursing through her. When was the last time she’d been excited about dance?
Probably before it represented her future.
Definitely long before she met Jack Butler.
* * *
A debutant ball was supposed to be a shining moment in a young woman’s life, or, a shining cluster of moments. There were dress fittings and luncheons, and teas spread over the months leading up to the singular event.
And this luncheon was the final step.
