Page 46 of Love is a Dance Step
“Then make sure that doesn’t happen.”
His chest deflated. “I can’t. I made her a promise.”
“Well, crap.” Leah knew better than anyone how sacred he held his promises.
“Yeah. I promised I’d leave her alone if she told me she wouldn’t come. For a moment, I felt like she wanted to join the tour more than anything. Heck, she even came to auditions in her work uniform. Something is holding her back, and I can’t do anything about it.”
“You can wait. If you’re meant to dance together, it’ll happen.”
As ridiculous as he was about his promises, Leah was worse about her faith. It wasn’t bad necessarily, but her response to most things was that it would get better if it was meant to. He wasn’t so sure, but he loved her for the sentiment.
“I’ve got to go, Drew. Amy wants to start a movie. Just… don’t settle, okay? I love you.”
“Love you too, Baker.” He hung up and pushed out a breath.
“What do you want with Lola?” Asher’s voice didn’t register at first.
Drew lifted his eyes to his brother in the open doorway, a brother who just overheard everything. But maybe that didn’t matter. “I just want to dance with her, Ash. You might not see it, but that girl is special. I just wish she could see it in herself.”
He gave Asher a long look, one full of meaning. Asher was part of the reason Lola had no faith in herself.
“What happened to you, Ash?” He shook his head.
Asher’s jaw clenched. “I… I don’t know.”
“What happened to us?”
When Asher didn’t respond, Drew brushed past him, not sparing another thought for the man he no longer recognized.
14
Lola
Lola wasn’t proud of calling in sick when she had nothing more than a bout of regret. Mr. Stone knew the reason she wasn’t there, but she’d worked for him since she was fifteen and had only rarely taken sick days.
Besides, Saturdays were for Netflix.
Some people meant sex when they said Netflix and Chill. Lola had a different meaning. She pulled her bowl of cookie dough ice cream into her lap and laughed to herself. “Netflix and chill.”
Gah, she was pathetic.
Her phone rang for like the fifth time, but she ignored it when she saw Asher’s name.
She wanted to be strong without him, to make a change in her life, but she couldn’t help wondering if they’d have a friendship after this at all. Asher had once been her person, but he hadn’t treated her well in so long she almost forgot the good. “I will stop falling in love with people who can’t love me back.”
Or, at least, she’d try. The next time she fell for someone, she’d never let them treat her the way Asher did.
Her feelings for Asher had evaporated—mostly—during the last few weeks as he’d vacillated between oblivious friend and jealous jerk.
What had changed?
Was it his brother’s reappearance in Gulf City?
She leaned back against her pillows and tried to focus on the TV, but it was no use. “Ugh.” She set her bowl on the table next to her bed and crawled to the edge, swinging her legs over. She couldn’t just sit here when her mind was in a million different places.
There were another three hours until she had to be at the studio for class. Normally, she rushed there after work, but today, she couldn’t wait that long to move.
Changing into a pair of yoga pants and a sweatshirt, she slipped into her running shoes and grabbed her keys off the table by the door. She moved silently through the house while her mom was sleeping before she had to work that night.
