Page 53 of Poles Apart
“What’s up? What happened at school today?” Jacob questioned as she got in the car.
“Nothing. Why do you ask that?” Abby asked and he turned to look at her before he pulled out into the traffic.
“You want to rephrase that, young lady?” He looked closely at her face and saw a hint of uncertainty in her eyes. “I’ll ask again. Everything OK at school today?”
Abby sighed and rolled her eyes. “Yes, it was fine, but I have a favour to ask.”
Jacob nodded. “Go ahead.”
“Well, you know Rachel in my class. Her mum works at the local theatre in town, and they’re showing Dirty Dancing. You know I love that movie, and Rachel has asked if I want to go to their house for something to eat and then go onto the movie. Only problem is, I won’t be able to go to my lesson with Dom tomorrow. Do you think he’d mind? You know I don’t normally ask to go anywhere, and this is the first time she’s asked me to do anything with her.” She finally stopped to take a breath. She always rambled when she was nervous.
As he’d mentioned to Dom on Sunday, Abby had had problems making friends at school because of what had happened with their parents. He knew how much it would mean to her if she could go, but he couldn’t just say yes. He’d need to speak to Dom first.
“So what time does the movie start and finish? I’ll need to talk to Dom to make sure we’re not messing up his plans. Will they be dropping you off, or do you want me to come and pick you up? If I let you go.”
She smiled at him. He knew that he was going to let her go, but he did need to let Dom know. He was actually hoping that if she was going out, they could have some time together at home again, as long as Dom’s brother would be all right.
After he’d worked out the plans with Abby, he called Dom and asked him if it was an issue. Did he mind not teaching Abby on Thursday, and how would he like to come around for dinner instead? Jacob would cook. Years of looking after himself and Abby meant that he was actually decent at it. He already knew what he’d be making.
Dom agreed, saying he was looking forward to seeing him and that Charlie would be staying with his brother. Jacob was excited, to say the least. Thursday couldn’t come soon enough.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Dom
After his heart-to-heart with Jordan on Sunday, he felt more secure about where he stood with his brother. He knew Charlie would never replace him, but old insecurities, like being replaced by two fucking twinks in Vegas, will do that to you.
Tuesday’s lesson was great. Abby was doing so well with her dancing. He’d no doubt she could do something with it if she wanted to, but he knew she was dancing for pleasure, and after mentioning the group sessions to her, she was more than happy to join in with them.
It was now Wednesday, and he was meeting with Seb and Natalia about tutoring at Nava Dance, their studio. Natalia and Louis would be moving to London soon to start rehearsals for the new show, and afterwards they would be going on tour. Seb had casually mentioned the position to him before, but this was the official offer.
He arrived at Seb and Natalia’s apartment and sat on the sofa with them both. They chatted about the studio, what lessons they currently offered and what they were hoping to offer with Dom coming on board. He could bring new disciplines to the table, not just pole dancing but other styles of dance, too, such as the hip-hop he’d been teaching to Abby. Between Seb and Natalia, they’d been offering more in the way of tap and ballet, and they were eager for him to start. He agreed to go in and observe first. This was exactly what he needed.
After they’d arranged a night out for the coming Friday and Natalia had gone to bed, he sat and talked with Seb about Joe and the new developments with his stalker. Dom was getting more and more concerned about it, but Seb was adamant he had it under control and refused to contemplate moving away for a while.
He’d already spoken to Jordan and told him he’d be staying over with Seb. His best friend needed him at the moment, and he would always be there for him. Especially with everything he was going through and what he’d already suffered with the death of his previous partner, Daniel.
They sat down to a quiet breakfast the following morning. He didn’t want to stay too long. He knew Charlie had stayed over with Jordan, but he had another date to get ready for. He was thinking about going shopping for something nice to wear. Jacob had mentioned his heeled boots, and he was thinking of looking for a new sexy pair to wear for him.
He wanted to talk to someone about Jacob, though, and his growing feelings towards him, and the only one who knew about Jacob—other than Jordan—was Hayden. He stopped off at The Coffee Mill to see if his friend was free.
“Hi,” he said, walking into the shop. “Are you busy?”
“No. Why? What did you have in mind?”
“I wondered if you had some time to spare. I could do with someone to talk things over with, and I need to get a new outfit for tonight.”
“Ooh, hot date with Jacob?”
“Yeah,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. He was a little nervous talking to Hayden about this. “His sister’s going out, and I’m going around. He’s cooking, so I thought I should at least make an effort. And I wanted to talk to you. Things are starting to move quickly, and you know how I get with Jordan.”
“OK, well, Zoe’s in. She won’t mind watching the shop for the afternoon. You want to go now?”
“If you don’t mind. I’ll wait outside in the car for you.”
Ten minutes later, they were making their way into town. After parking up, they walked to the shopping centre where Dom managed to find a new pair of tight, skinny, blue trousers, a new shirt and a fabulous pair of black-heeled boots. Not as high as he usually bought, but he loved the zips and buckles on them, precisely what he was looking for. He tried them on and loved how the muscles in his legs stood out.
“Jesus, Dom. Are you looking to kill the bloke?” Hayden asked, trying and failing to stifle his laughter.
