Page 64 of Ask No Questions

“All right, I got it!”

Her joy in this moment was alarming, but I knew there was no stopping the madman that had taken over her body.

“I’m going to run this to the newspaper staff now so it can be in the paper. I can see the headline now: ‘Formal Princess caught with the wrong Prince Charming’.”

“You go do that. I’m going back to class.”

She was so caught in the moment she missed the disappointed look I gave her before I turned. I knew this was going to come back to me, and I deserved it since I didn’t do much to stop her.

Luckily, I had dance after school to take my mind off things. I pushed myself harder than I had in weeks, and it was noticed by my instructor, Miss Amy. She told me to keep it up, and I would be showcased in the upcoming competition next month.

I left feeling pretty much on cloud nine. I was a few blocks from home when a certain boy caught my eye walking away from me on the sidewalk. I pulled over next to him and whistled like a creepy construction worker. Gage turned with a confused look on his face but smiled when he saw me.

“Hey there, little thing, how ‘bout you get in, and I’ll show you a nice time.”

He laughed at my lame impression and got into the passenger seat. “Please don’t ever do that again. It’s probably the most embarrassing thing you’ve ever done to yourself.”

“You seriously underestimate me. I once asked my neighbor, who was about six years older than me, to be my boyfriend in front of every kid on our block. He told me he wasn’t into seven-year-olds and ran off. Everyone laughed at me for weeks.”

“That’s not embarrassing for you. That idiot lost his chance with you.”

I looked at him out of the corner of my eye as he smirked.

“So what are you doing?”

I looked down at my leotard and shorts and then back to him. “Seriously?”

He laughed at himself. “Sorry, duh. You were obviously just leaving football practice.”

“Ha ha, clever. Are you busy right now, or do you want to hang out?”

He seemed to pause and think about it for a minute. “All right, I guess I can spare you a few.”

I laughed, despite my determination not to feed his ego. “Oh, you are so gracious! Let’s go get ice cream.”

“Aren’t dancers supposed to have strict diets?”

“Maybe professional ballerinas. None of my coaches or teachers have ever mentioned anything to me about my body, and they definitely would if they see anything wrong with me.”

“I wasn’t saying you need to! I was just curious since you seem pretty committed to dance.”

“Gee thanks. I do pay attention to what I eat, but I enjoy running and dancing too so it all balances out.”

“Got it… I swear I wasn’t trying to tell you to go on a diet or anything.”

“Gage honey, I know.”

“Honey?”

“You love it.”

He watched me park before speaking. “I do, actually. I just don’t know how Luke or Mike would like to hear you call me that.”

I sighed and threw my head back. I sat there staring at the ceiling while I thought. “I don’t belong to either of them. Luke has been off this week. He barely talks to me. Mike has cooled off since I talked to him last weekend, though.”

I turned my head and saw him watching me. “What do you want, Aubrey? Don’t think about anyone else, not Mike or your girlfriends. What do you want?”

“I came here to start over. I want a chance to begin again, without my past haunting me. I just got here a few weeks ago and already so much has happened. I think I want everything to slow down. I want a chance to take it all in.”