Page 46 of Protecting Jess

A week ago, she never would’ve thought she’d see Finn at all, let alone sleep with him. And now they were planning a trip back to San Antonio.

She didn’t have time to think about it as a knock sounded, and she made her way to the door. Jess paused to check the peephole, breathing out in relief that it was Kaley standing on the opposite side. “Hey, you ready to go?” she asked after she opened the door.

“Well, someone got lucky,” Kaley smirked and grabbed her hand, dragging her further into the suite. “Tell me everything.”

“What makes you think something happened?”

Her best friend’s smirk fell into a grin. “Have you looked at yourself? You’re glowing with that ‘I’ve been thoroughly fucked, more than once’ aura.”

Heat warmed Jess’s cheeks and it took everything she had in her not to rush into the bathroom to see if Kaley was right.

Maybe her friend was teasing her in the hopes that Jess would spill the beans about what’d happened between the moment they’d left Aces the night before to minutes before Kaley arrived at her doorstep.

“A girl doesn’t kiss and tell,” she responded primly. “I’m going to get my bag and put some shoes on. Then we can go get a coffee.”

“Sure, you are. You’re going to see if I’m right,” her bestie returned smugly.

Jess didn’t bother responding. It was always bad to tell Kaley she was right.

The moment she crossed the threshold of the bedroom she shared with Finn, Jess rushed into the bathroom, groaning at the sight that greeted her.

Her lips were plump and red and definitely had that just-kissed look to them. Her hair was all mussed and her shirt was half out of her jeans.

Yep, she didn’t just have the ‘just fucked aura’ surrounding her. It was imprinted on her and in her clothes.

Quickly, she brushed her hair and tucked her shirt in before going back into the bedroom and putting on some ballet flats. Satisfied she’d muted the ‘just fucked’ look, she headed out to the room and back to where Kaley was sitting on the couch, her phone clutched in her hand.

“You ready to go?” Jess asked.

Her friend looked up. “You need to check your emails.”

Her stomach somersaulted at the serious of Kaley’s tone. “What? Why?”

“Just do it.”

Jess dug through her purse and grabbed her cell. There was an email notification from her dance company glaring up at her. “They’ve sent out contract notifications?” She didn’t want to open the message. She hated this time of the year, when contracts were handed out or termination letters were sent.

She wished Baxter issued contracts longer than a year, but they liked being able to keep their dancers on their toes by changing the cast up yearly. The only contract that wasn’t changed was that of the lead male and female dancers.

Although, to be honest, there hadn’t been many cast changes the last couple of years, everyone had had contracts renewed. This year was different. There had been a lot of talk that a few dancers wanted out because of certain behaviors.

Benita, the company’s lead female dancer, had been more of a diva than normal, demanding the most ridiculous things be left in her dressing room prior to each show. Jess wasn’t sure she, herself, could handle another year of listening to Benita brag about how great she was and disparaging everyone who made the slightest mistake. However, Madam Baxter loved Benita, so the chance of anything changing was slim—regardless of the rumors that suggested otherwise. It would be a miracle if anything had changed.

Kaley didn’t respond to Jess’s question, just watching her.

There was nothing in her friend’s expression to give away whether she’d received good news or bad news.

Sighing, Jess tapped the screen and the message opened up.

She scanned the contents of the email three times, the words still not sinking in. “They’ve demoted Benita and made me lead dancer for the next year,” she whispered.

“Yes, they did!” Kaley screamed, and a second later, Jess was caught up in a tight hug. “I’m so proud of you, Jess. You deserve this so much. You’ve worked so hard. I’m sure it was the last solo you did here that tipped the scales in your favor. It was amazing.”

“I’m going to be the lead dancer,” she said again, as if saying it over and over would help it sink in.

“Yes! And I got a text from Shaun saying that he heard from the assistant director that they’d notified Benita straight after our last performance that she was going to be demoted.”

Jess’s mind buzzed with that piece of information. “Wow this is big.”

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