Page 30 of The Sky Between Us

“Though you have the Champions League on Wednesday,” she mumbled, completely out of her element.

I raised a brow, which she couldn’t see, mentally adding this to the list of things I needed to discover about her. She knew soccer, yet acted as if she was clueless.

“Well, consider yourself a priority over a soccer game.”

Looking back over my shoulder I caught a sight of her stunned face, her brows drawn together, creating a confused line and small wrinkles which broke up her usually smooth and composed face. It seemed like she was trying to figure me out just as much as I wanted to put together her puzzle. The difference was, I wasn’t the one hiding behind the mask.

My body was burning up from desire. I didn’t know how to handle it or what to do. Going for a long drive along the coast, blasting music didn’t help me. Aimlessly walking through campus and looking at the scenery didn’t help either. My body grew a mind of its own and it wanted Aiden. It wanted to shed the layers I piled up on the outside and finally step out into the sunshine. But I couldn’t let that happen. Aiden had plans for his future. He wanted to play soccer, maybe even go to Europe. I had no plan, no lifeline. Nothing but the truth hanging above my head. My head ached as I tried to come up with hundreds of reasons why I shouldn’t feel like this, yet my body, that traitor, didn’t listen to any of them.

With a loud exhale, I studied the colorful flowers growing in the middle of the green grass. Such a strange place for them to bloom. But I guess some flowers needed much less attention to grow. Just like humans. Different circumstances bred different people. And I was curious. I wanted to know Aiden’s story; I was eager to find out why he worked at a Starbucks when he was quite good at soccer. I was drawn to him and hungry for any detail. One date could satisfy this hunger, despite not having a guarantee that I could stop after one date.

But at least I had the constant reminder flashing in my mind, reminding me that between the two of us, I was the one who could lose everything.

My feet took me across the green grass, inhaling the scent of nature mixed with sunshine. Despite it being late September, the sun shone bright and I had to shield my vision from it with big black glasses. The sunlight danced on my exposed skin and for the first time in a long time I finally enjoyed the small things in life. I’ve taken so many things for granted these past few years, but now even the sunshine felt like a blessing. A smile danced across my lips, which I didn’t fight. I’ve already spent too much time fighting it. Letting it loose, I cut through the garden where students scattered, studying or chatting after classes, and made my way to the football field. Players were running sprints as they were warming up, and a group of girls stood not that far from them, talking. Claire’s long, sleek, blonde hair stood out as I aimed for her.

It was now or never.

“Shut up!” she exclaimed once she realized I was heading towards her. “What are you doing here?”

“I promised you, didn’t I?” I pushed my sunglasses to the top of my head and flashed her a smile. “Drunk or not, I keep my promises.”

“Nice to know that,” she muttered, impressed as she combed the end of her straight hair with her fake, hot pink nails. “Drop your stuff and show me what you know.”

I raised a brow as I removed my bag from my shoulder. “You begged me to come and now you’re making me audition? Smooth.”

Claire lifted a shoulder and flattered her heavy eyelashes. “Maybe.”

I dropped my bag in the grass and moved backwards. I haven’t danced in ages, the coffee shop messing around didn’t count, only real classes, so maybe I was about to make a fool out of myself. But why not? I had nothing else to lose.

“I will need some music.”

Making a show out of it, Claire stared at her phone and casually scrolled through it, while the guys from the football team gathered around, hungry for a good performance. I wasn’t a fan of soccer players, but football players and any other athletes were even lower on my list. They were all entitled pricks. I knew that from high school.

Claire spent another full minute scrolling and whispering with her teammates, really getting her mean girl act going and wearing my patience thinner with every passing second. I was once a pom captain, and I was a total bitch too. Karma still had its way to get back to me.

Crossing my arms in front of myself, I yawned.

“Are you intimidated?” I asked casually. “You can just try me out on your own choreography if you are scared that what I come up with during my improv might be… better.”

Her cheeks flushed and some of the girls gasped loudly.

Yeah, I know, I was a bitch, but I couldn’t help it.

“Dance,” Claire ordered, disgust clearly written all over her as her make up covered skin wrinkled up.

Upbeat music started up and I recognized one of Rihanna’s older songs ‘Rude Boy’. My eyes closed for a brief second and I imagined myself back in high school when the looks didn’t bother me as much and where I was constantly the center of attention. The rhythm of the music surrounded my body and made me want to move. With an empty mind, full of determination, I began dancing. Pom teams and dance teams had completely different choreographies than dance competitions. They were all about explosive jumps, crazy tricks and consecutive turns. My tricks were dusty and I clearly couldn’t do most of them but a simple aerial walkover was still better than nothing. But my turns remained good, balancing on the ball of my feet, and spinning like a ballet box ballerina was always my favorite thing to do. Teachers called me a natural turner after my first week of ballet classes and I understood why. No matter how much time I missed out I could always turn, even if I couldn’t do anything else. Spicing up the fancy moves with some connecting steps and fluidity, I made sure to pay special attention to musicality. All the rhythm changes and breaks gave me endless opportunities to impress the audience gathered around me. Because I was fully aware of the eyes burning holes in my skin and whispering:Who’s this girl?

There went my anonymity in this school. There was no way in hell I could walk the grounds of Baywater University as peacefully as I did before.

But I didn’t regret it.

Gasping for air, I held my end pose with my right leg up by my ear and smiled until the loud cheering started. My skinny jeans were not the most comfortable to dance in, but this brand was my favorite as their jeans were quite stretchy.

“Get back to practice,” the football coach barked at his players who seemed to be enjoying my show a little bit too much.

Claire sized me up as I walked back to her and the team.

“What do you think?” I tilted my head curiously as I kept my smile intact.

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