Page 8 of Step By Step

On the stage, he keeps hold of my hand, leading me to center stage. I do not mind and even tighten my hold on his fingers. We both turn forward, facing where the crowd will be this weekend. Enthusiastic, loud kids here to see a free show before going back to school.

“Was this show your idea?”

“It was. Terrie Towers gave me a shot at coming up with something. I was thinking about all the fun summer concerts I love going to. And that last gasp of summer when school started,” he explains with a chuckle. I watch him talk, loving how good he is with words. “I thought how about one last hurrah before they have to hit the books? Free to boot.”

“Itisa pretty clever idea, DJ,” I agree, noting how close we’ve moved to one another.

We were this way earlier in the store. Polarized as if a magnetic force draws us to one another. He smells so good. Clean like fresh laundry. And something sweet like Davidoff. I take a deep breath, greedily pulling the scent into my lungs.

His other hand falls to my hip again, touching me gently the way he had earlier. It had startled me then, it felt so out of nowhere. Now, I quite like the weight of his palm there, the warmth of him seeping through my skirt.

“Sure you don’t want to hit Hot Dog on a Stick with me, Jenna?” he whispers this so gently, his breath ruffling my hair.

Closing my eyes, I nod my head. Do I want to go out with him? Yes. Do I want to go enjoy a hot dog on a stick at the mall food court? Also, kind of yes. Turning to him, I am feeling a surge of joy, a thrill of adrenaline, the type you feel when you’re on a roller coaster or sailing down a slide.

“Yeah. Yes, let’s go grab one. If,” I pause, backing away from him. “You will go with me somewhere once we’re both done here tonight.”

Jordan’s eyes go dark as we face one another, his hand pulling me closer. My heart thumps in my chest as his pretty eyes hold mine. He nods his head as I feel the warmth of his body pressed against mine.

“Yeah, wherever you want to go. We can go right now,” he offers, his hand coming up to brush my hair back from my face. Ah, so he does like it down. My eyes flutter as he toys with it, running the bouncy curls through his fingers.

“No, it will wait. Besides, I can’t blow off my new job on my first day, DJ.”

“Jenna,” he whispers, tugging gently at the curl still wrapped around his finger. “Call me Jordan, please? I don’t....” He trails off, but I do not need him to go on.

“Jordan. It is super cool what you do for a living,” I admit, taking a step closer and kicking his expensive Nike’s with my cheap Reebok. “It has nothing to do with me wanting to get a hot dog with you.”

Jordan’s grin then is truly to-die-for. Butterflies explode in my belly. We turn a little on the stage, the bright lights flashing behind us as they test them, and the sounds of the mall going quiet.

This moment... this is what I write songs about. Yet, I have never felt a moment this intense in my life.

What a song this could be.

Chapter Five

Jordan

I wonder what sort of song Jenna could write about us.

After we share an intense moment together on the stage, we head to the food court. We even hold hands, something that feels so natural. Until I realize I have barely touched another person since we lost my parents.

It comes too easily with Jenna. When I am close to her, I want to touch her. I can’t help myself. It does not seem to bother her, her little hand tightening in mine as we reach the food court.

“Cheese dog please,” she asks sweetly, smiling at the young girl behind the counter.

“Make that two, yeah? And a Coke.”

Pushing some cash across the counter—I consider this a date, so I am paying—I realize the girl seems to recognize me. Putting a finger to my lips, I pull out some passes to hang out at the show. Sliding them across the counter, I grin, and she squeals, snatching them up excitedly.

We take our treats from her, Jenna laughing when the girl tells us to come back whenever we want. Leading the way, she sails past the tables, filling the food court, heading for the front doors. I frown until she steps outside, tilting her head back to gaze at the night skies.

“Sometimes life ain’t so bad in a small town, huh?”

Smiling as I watch her star gaze, I nod. Looking at the stars twinkling in the skies overhead, I let out a little sigh. Jenna is right. There are a lot of folks wanting out of Pine Grove for its small-town feel. On a warm summer night, with a cheese hot dog on a stick, a beautiful girl, and a coke, I could not imagine a better place to be.

“Nowhere better,” I tell her honestly as we head over to sit on a round stone bench.

Jenna brings her long legs up, crossing them after tucking her skirt between her legs. I sit close beside her, watching her take a bite of the hot dog. Bad idea. It might just be a hot dog and we may have just met, and I truly am a gentleman, but the sight is so erotic I have to tear my eyes away.

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