Page 65 of Kissing the Debutant
Lillian.
Her solo dance wasn’t perfect. Jack saw a million tiny little things he’d change if he could work with her again, but only in the choreography.
The dancing was… well, there was no doubt in his mind Lillian would crush her competition. If she gave herself the chance.
That was the problem, wasn’t it?
She was going to skip the competition in favor of a charity event she didn’t even want to attend. And then she’d audition for the ballet companies her mom directed her to. She’d live her life among the elite, always doing what was expected of her. He wondered if she’d wake up one day and regret it all.
The competition was supposed to change that, to give her a chance to go to a college that wasn’t all about dance. To let her discover if there were other things she loved as well.
He leaned against his locker fiddling with his phone before the bell. He returned some nods of greeting—a favored acknowledgement of high school boys everywhere.
Jack always told himself he didn’t need people. He had his family and Mia, but everyone else who came in and out of his life were only temporary. The kids who crowded his lunch table would graduate soon and go their separate ways, most of them leaving Twin Rivers altogether.
And Jack? Where would Jack Butler be?
He wasn’t Lillian. He couldn’t just enter a competition and have colleges falling all over themselves to offer him late admission. No, the deadlines were gone, they’d passed him by, opportunities he’d never really had.
And it had never bothered him.
Not untilshemade him wish he was more. That he wasn’t just a small-town kid who would never have the opportunity to change. He didn’t want to be an academy water polo player, he just wanted… well, he didn’t know what.
And he hated her for making him question himself.
“You look sad. It’s weird. Stop it.” Mia leaned her shoulder against the locker next to him.
He gave her a tired look out of the corner of his eye. “I didn’t sleep much last night.” Reaching into his bag, he handed her the camera. “Did I ever say thank you for helping me?”
She shrugged. “It’s what we do, Jack.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t help you. You won’t even tell me what your project was about.”
A look he couldn’t decipher flashed across her face, but she shifted away from him to stuff the camera in her bag. “I, uh, sort of changed mine last minute. I’m sure my grade will suck, but I don’t really need this class, anyway. Defiance U already has my transcripts and have deemed me worthy.”
At least she’d be staying in town. Defiance University was a prestigious local college, known for churning out writers who went on to become bestsellers. Their media department was pretty great, and Mia had always been talented with her videos.
“Why’d you change it?” He shouldered his bag as the warning bell rang overhead.
Mia took her usual place at his side. “Let’s just say a new inspiration hit.”
He didn’t have time to ask her about that because she slipped into their classroom without a word. Mr. Garret stood at the front of the room, a large screen at his back.
He grinned as they took their seats. “Jack, can I have a word?”
Jack left his bag at his desk and walked to the front, aware of the eyes on his back. “How you doing, Jack?”
“I’m good, Mr. G. What’s up?”
“Well, I’ve had a chance to look over the videos, and I have to say, I’m impressed.”
“Oh, that was all Mia. She’s a wizard with editing and all that.”
Mr. Garret smiled. “I’m not talking about the editing. I know this project was a little vague in the instructions arena, but you took everything you’ve learned in this class and out of it and infused it into something that was important to you.Thatis art.”
“Erm, it’s just a video.”
“No, son, it’s not. Nothing isjustanything. I didn’t know you could dance like that. Did you choreograph it too, or am I to think Mia has some secret talent none of us would believe?”
