Page 29 of Dare to Dance
Pete’s voice resounded from somewhere behind me. Other voices hummed nearby, and the music played, albeit softly, or maybe not at all. Maybe I was hearing the ballet music I’d danced to as Kross watched me practice.
One side of Kross’s mouth quirked up, displaying the lone dimple in his right cheek. “You look amazing.” His whiskey-smooth voice belied the hard look on his face. The rippling planes of his muscles strained against the tight long-sleeve shirt he was wearing.
My tongue was glued to the roof of my mouth as my body heated in ways I’d never felt, or at least didn’t remember. I had the sudden urge to launch myself at him, hug him, hit him, kiss him, and tell him how much I saw him when I looked at Raven. A lone tear slipped out. I longed to be part of a family. I wanted Raven to know her daddy. I wanted to know her daddy. I wanted so much, but I didn’t deserve anything, not until I could prove I was a good mother. I quietly inhaled, praying my heart would stop trying to pound out of my chest.
“I’m sorry about this,” he said, bending down.
I licked the dryness from my lips and slowly squatted, never taking my eyes off him. When he placed an empty bottle on the tray, his hand brushed mine. My body reacted before my brain, and I started wiping beads of alcohol off his stark blue T-shirt. My fingers stopped over his heart. I glanced at my hand to make sure I wasn’t shaking as fast as his heart was beating. Then as though someone snuffed out the fire inside of me, my body went cold. He was trying to use his Maxwell charm on me. He was trying to get me to cave. He knew I had a weak side when it came to him, particularly if he started to reciteStar Light, Star Bright.
Run now. No, tell him what he wants to know. Then get back to your job. Oh, shit.My job.As the voices in my head argued, I couldn’t move. In fact, my cheeks burned. I couldn’t even withdraw my hand from his hard chest. It had been way too long since I touched a man. But Kross wasn’t any man. Kross was the father of my child. He was my first love, the boy who made my palms sweat. The boy I gave my virginity to. Even now, four years later, I wanted to sit under the oak trees at Greenridge Academy and talk about nothing as he played with my hair. I was suddenly lost in the past, in his spicy scent, in the heat of his body, and the desperate longing in his midnight-blue eyes.
From far away, a gruff voice tried to cut through the bubble I had created around Kross and me.
“Ruby. Ruby.” Irritation colored Tommy’s tone as he said my name close to my left ear.
Kross dragged the backs of his knuckles over my cheek, the one with the beauty mark. He’d done that same gesture many times when we’d been together. I leaned into him, not wanting this moment to end.You’re supposed to be mad at him.I silently screamed at my inner voice to shut up.
“Ruby.” Tommy said my name again before he tapped on my shoulder.
My dreamy bubble burst. The music grew louder, and voices became clearer, especially Tommy’s.
I briefly closed my eyes before I jumped to my feet. I peered up at Tommy’s scowled face. Then I looked back at Kross, who was now on his feet with a similar sneer, but it was directed at Tommy, not me. I got a sinking feeling that Tommy hadn’t called Kross.
Tommy had his hands on his denim-clad hips as he eyed me then Kross. “I see you two have now talked. Good. Now clean this mess up. Oh, and those drinks are coming out of your paycheck.” Then he stormed off.
I pinched my eyebrows together. Tommy didn’t yell, and Kross didn’t punch him. But the line between Kross’s eyebrows was unyielding as he watched Tommy head back down the hall. Not a good sign.
“Ruby,” Pete called.
When I turned, I was met with a towel that Pete had thrown at me.
“Clean up. Then get moving.” Pete pointed a fat finger to another round of drinks he’d whipped up while I was skipping down memory lane.
I hurried and picked up my mess. Surprisingly, the glasses weren’t broken. On my way to the bar, Kross stormed down the hallway with his hands fisted. I’d seen him in a similar fury when we were at the academy just before he had gotten into a fight with a boy who thought he owned the school.
No. No. No.I practically threw the lemon wedges, glasses, and cherries at Pete. I was not about to get fired because of Kross. I flew down the hall in hopes of stopping the imminent brawl.
“Ruby,” Pete yelled. “Get back here.”
Not a chance. I had to save my job. But as I skidded to a stop, I saw that Kross was in Tommy’s face, and Tommy had his back plastered to the paneled wall outside his office.
“You were supposed to call me if Ruby showed up.” Kross’s voice thundered down the long hallway. “Do you know what I’ve been through in the last week?”
“Fuck off, man. I don’t owe you squat. So get the hell out of here. This is my business, and you’re trespassing.” Tommy literally spat in his face.
I didn’t have time to stop Kross’s fist from connecting with Tommy’s jaw. Even if I could have, I wasn’t strong enough to intervene. Tommy’s head flew to the right.
Kross positioned himself to hit Tommy again.
“Stop,” I shouted.
Kross wiped the spit from his eye as he stalked up to me. “I’ve been searching every fucking place in this city, looking for you.” His voice was so deep, a chill zinged down my spine. “Every minute of the day and night, I roamed the streets, looking for you and our child. All this time, you’ve been here under this asshole’s nose.” He turned to Tommy, who was rubbing his jaw. “We’re not through yet.”
“Yes, you are.” My tone was firmer than the bunched muscles on his arms. “The fight is between you and me. But right now, I have to work. So if you want answers, get out of here until I finish my shift.” That was if I had a job. Tommy was a businessman that didn’t break deals, or at least I assumed he didn’t. I would beg and plead and do whatever it took to keep this job. This was my one shot at a better life. Granted, it wasn’t the greatest job, but it sure beat begging for change, eating out of dumpsters, and sleeping in dark alleys.
“Problems, Bro?” Either Kelton or Kody strutted up as though scuffles were an everyday occurrence with the Maxwells. Oh, wait. They were. The triplets had been hellions at the academy, always in trouble with a teacher for mouthing off or acting out. Still, after not being around them all these years, it was hard for me to tell the difference between Kelton and Kody. Not to mention, when Kross and I had dated, I hadn’t exactly hung out with his brothers, although Kelton had teased me a time or two.
Tommy did a double take. “Dillon didn’t tell me there were two of you.”
