AllFreeNovel
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As I step into the shower, I make a mental list of the concrete facts.
I’m attracted to TJ. He’s attracted to me. We enjoy spending time in each other’s company. That much is clear. Things start getting confusing when I think about the way TJ makes me feel.
Joe gave me butterflies, but TJ is a runaway train that’s headed straight for me. I don’t know if I should jump on or out of the way. I kissed Joe and saw fireworks, but TJ’s kiss could burn the whole world to the ground. My relationship with Joe was once comforting and familiar. When I’m around TJ, I don’t feel like myself. I can’t think straight. It’s scary and exhilarating and confusing all at once.
Maybe it’s not fair to compare the two. They’re vastly different men. Could I see myself with TJ the way I saw my life with Joe? Is that even an option? TJ filled me in on his past, but he never talks about the future. After everything he has been through, is settling down with a wife and a family something he wants?
Questions swarm my mind for the rest of the day. By the time I get to work, it’s like an anvil was dropped on my head.
“You okay?” Kimmie asks.
“I just have a headache.”
“I have Tylenol if you need it.”
“Already exceeded the dosage of ibuprofen for the day.”
Her eyebrows lift. “Yikes. So maybe now’s not the best time to ask you for advice.”
I perk up. “Advice? Of course. What’s up?”
“A boy at school asked me to this dance we’re having on Halloween.”
“And do we like this boy?”
A smile spreads across her face. “We do.”
I clap excitedly. “That’s great. So what do you need advice about?”
“Everything,” she whines. Her head drops to the counter and she buries it with her arms.
“Let’s make a list of everything we need to do before Friday.” I tear a piece of paper from my notebook. “We’ll need to get a costume and shoes. We need nails, hair, and make-up. What else?”
“I need to magically learn how to dance by Friday,” she mumbles from her cocoon.
“Girl, don’t you worry. Your fairy godmother is at your service.”
“Girls, this is my friend Kimmie. Kimmie, this is Charlotte and Mallory.”
Charlotte squeezes Kimmie’s shoulder. “We’ve all been where you are. Don’t be nervous. We’re going to help you.”
Kimmie’s shoulders slump. “I feel so pathetic. I don’t know how to be girly and pretty like you guys.”
“You’re already pretty,” Mallory says. “And you don’t need to be girly. Just be yourself.”
I nod. “That’s the most important lesson tonight. Don’t try to act like someone else. If this boy asked you out, it’s because he likes you.”
“I think I got your iPod synced,” TJ says. He’s letting us use the training room in his gym. It has wood floors and wall-to-wall mirrors. It looks like a dance studio. It’s perfect.
“You’re going to leave now, right?” Kimmie asks.
TJ grins. “You sure you don’t want me to stay? I’ve got some pretty killer dance moves I can teach you.” He grabs the back of his neck with one hand, and holds his ankle with his other hand while jerking his knee back and forth.
Kimmie looks horrified. “I never want to see that again.”
I laugh and shove TJ toward the door. “Go. You’re scaring the poor girl.”
“I’m going. I’m going.” He winks before closing the door behind him.
