Page 36 of Always Been You

"Hello, Miss Penelope, I'm Jess, and this is Ethan."

"Miss Myers and Mr. Steele," Miss Penelope took both Jess and Ethan's hands in her own. "Are you ready to let your souls be free and express yourself through the healing practice of dance?"

"Yep." Jess did her best to hold in a snicker as she glanced at the mirror and saw the look on Ethan’s face. He was going to hate every minute of this.

Jess elbowed Ethan.

"Yes, ma'am," he replied.

"Wonderful." Miss Penelope's hands flew in the air and then landed on her belly. "Let's begin with our breathing."

Miss Penelope led them through several warm-up exercises and stretches before instructing them to face one another and "connect." Jess wasn't exactly sure what that was supposed to mean, and Ethan seemed as lost as she was.

Staring at one another cluelessly apparently wasn't what Miss Penelope had in mind.

"Connect!" she instructed harshly.

Jess flinched as the woman clapped her hands mere inches from her face. When she opened her eyes, she expected to see Ethan giving her a "what in the hell have you gotten me into" look, which would’ve been wholly justified. But that wasn't how he was looking at her.

He stared at her with the same look she'd seen in the pictures from the party. The intensity had her pulse racing like it was trying to qualify for the Daytona 500.

"Good. Very good." Miss Penelope praised them as she settled Ethan's hand on Jess's waist. "Now move together."

And they did. Ethan may have been a beginner, but he was a natural. He moved them around the dance floor with confidence and command.

She shouldn't have been surprised, that was what Ethan did. He took control, and despite herself, she was discovering that she loved it. She loved every second she was spending with Ethan.

And that, she feared, might just end up breaking the heart that she'd waited her whole life to get.

12

Jess was speechless as she stared at her best friend standing on a pedestal in the center of the boutique in downtown Chicago.

She and Ali weren't the girls that ever talked about what their weddings were going to be like or had their Barbies marry Ken. They were the girls that changed their Flight Attendant Barbies into fighter pilots. Instead of house they played clothing designers and when they played dress up, their go-tos were a news reporter and a lawyer, not a bride or a princess.

So, when Ali had asked to tag along with Jess on her weekend trip to Chicago for a beauty convention so she could dress shop, Jess had figured it would be a quick visit to a boutique. She'd try on a few dresses then they'd go hang out in the city. No biggie.

But seeing her friend in this gown...this was a biggie.

"What do you think? Is it..." Ali turned side to side as she ran her fingers down the torso of the dress. "I don't know...too plain?"

"It's..." Jess searched for the right word. Unable to come up with anything more original she settled on, "perfect."

Ali's eyes lifted and met Jess's reflection in the mirror. Her forehead creased as she asked, "Are you crying?"

Jess wiped the extra moisture from beneath her eyes. "It's allergies."

Not crying had been a source of pride for Jess growing up. She would get test results that made other kids bawl but she wouldn’t shed a single tear.

Her friend smiled, "Oh that's right, you're allergic to emotions."

Jess stuck out her tongue at Ali.

Ali just smiled wider. She swayed back and forth several more times and turned so that she could see the back of the dress before declaring, "I think this is the one."

The simple sheath was the fourth dress Ali had tried on and had been Jess's least favorite on the hanger. It was so plain compared to the lace and beading details on the other dresses that all had a "wow" factor.

Ali had looked beautiful in the other options, but as soon as her friend walked out of the room, Jess knew this was her dress. It was a showstopper. Stunning. It complimented Ali by highlighting her collarbone and neck and accentuating her curves. The other dresses were beautiful on her, but she was beautiful in this one.

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