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??Thanks again for taking me. I really like your family, minus your dad,” she says with a grin.
I laugh as I nod. “I agree. Thanks for going, see you tomorrow.”
“Bye,” she says and then she’s gone.
Letting out a long breath, I take our helmets and head inside.
Once I shut the door, Matt grabs me and says, “Dude, I need a beer pong partner. Let’s go.”
I’m not tired so I agree, but when I see that we’re playing against Rachael and Mia, I wish I would have declined.
“No girlfriend tonight?” Rachael asks, and I have to admit that before I would have thought she was smoking in the barely-there skirt and shirt, but now I want nothing to do with her.
“Nope, she went home,” I answer as I fill the cups with beer.
“So that means you’re single tonight?”
Rolling my eyes, I let out a breath. “No, I’m not. I’m Claire’s.”
And after tonight, I know I’ll always be hers.
Chapter 25
Claire
It hasn’t been the best day. I’m supertired since I didn’t get in till late, and I’m irritated because I failed my math pop quiz this morning. That’s what I get for not studying when I should have. Instead, I went to dinner with Jude’s family, but I don’t regret that. Even if his dad is a Grade A asshole, I’d fail a billion tests just to hang with his mom again. She was an amazingly cool woman, and I’m glad I got to meet her, even if I did have to endure Mark Sinclair.
I really don’t understand it. Mrs. Sinclair, Lucy, Angie, and Jace were amazing, good people and superfun, but Mr. Sinclair was rude and just angry from the moment I walked into the house. I spent all night trying to figure out if it was something I did, but I came up with nothing. I was polite, sweet, and all-around awesome, so really, I don’t get it. I don’t know what’s up that dude’s ass, nor do I know what’s going on between Jude’s parents, but it’s obvious it’s something major. They didn’t seem like a loving couple, not in the least.
With all that on my mind, and the fact I’m tired, dealing with the dance team is not what I want to do right now. What I’d love to do is go to Jude’s and take a nap. That’s what he’s doing since he’s hungover from playing beer pong last night. While I don’t condone drinking till you are passed out drunk, I understand why. His dad really gets to him, and Lord knows, I used to do the same thing. Drink myself numb so I didn’t feel all the pain and hatred in my heart, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to allow Jude to do that. He gets one time, and I plan on telling him that tonight when I see him. There are other ways to handle anger and hurt. I learned that in therapy.
I kinda wish I was in therapy right now. That’s how bad I want to leave this rehearsal. While I love teaching dance, teaching to a group of jerks is really trying my nerves. I figure that this is practice to get me ready for the bigger assholes of dance, but my goodness, how can a group of eight girls bitch so much? I mean, we are dancers! We had to be able to do certain stuff to join! So I really don’t understand why, when I add that stuff in the dance, people want to bitch. It’s insane and annoying. I don’t even want to be here, but I know I can’t leave. We perform Saturday, and I love this piece. I worked hard on it, and it’s going to be freaking fabulous as soon as these girls get it down. I don’t want us looking stupid in front of the Bullies team.
Especially my man.
“I can’t do a triple! I just can’t!” Mia complains and I stop the music.
I take in a deep breath and head toward her. “Yes, you can. Pull up, strong back leg, and hold it out,” I say, holding my arms out as I demonstrate it for her. “It’s all in the back leg. You have to push off with it to get you around three times. You can do it.”
She tries it a couple times, and finally the third time, she does it. “Feels good, right?” I ask as she grins at me.
“Yeah, I got it, thank you. You’re really good at this.”
“Thank you,” I say, and we share a small smile before I look out at the rest of the group. “Any other problems?”
No one answers me, so I go get the remote and then head to my spot which is right beside Rachael. I didn’t want to be by her, but I wanted to be in the middle so the team could see me. Since she’s the captain, I put her in the center, but I kind of wish I had stuck her in the back, or maybe even in the hall. I hate the way she’s watching me in the mirror, but I ignore her and hit play before calling out, “Five, six, seven, eight.”
The music to Jennifer Lopez’s “I Luh Ya Papi” starts and so do we. We all move in perfect unison, all attitude and great movement. I am so proud of this group in this moment. There are a few little wobbles here and there, but for the most part, it’s outstanding. When we finish, I stop the music and turn to the girls. “Great job, ladies. That turn was great, Mia. Keep working on it. Great attitude, Skylar. Remember, we have to point toes and be strong. Now, we only have twenty seconds left, and I want to do a side stretch. Like this,” I say then I throw my leg straight out to the side, my torso following the movement to where my body is completely horizontal, standing on one leg. Standing back up, I ask, “Who can do that? Or who wants to try?”
Only Skylar raises her hand as Rachael says, “No normal person can do that. I mean, how do you even do that and stay upright?”
Why does this girl test my patience? I have ten-year-olds who do that stretch beautifully. Swallowing loudly, I say, “I know a lot of people who can. It’s all about the strength in your bottom leg. Let’s all try it.”
She doesn’t say anything, and I demonstrate it a few times. Then I watch as some try it. It’s too rough though, and I know I can’t make everyone do it. When Rachael does it perfectly though, I clap in excitement.
“Great job, Rachael!”
When she gives me a shitty look, I want to punch her in the throat. But I ignore the need to do that because, as we’re both in the middle, we can do it together while everyone else does heel stretches or something. I explain what we’re going to do and everyone seems to be on board. I then run it over and over again, despite people bitching because I want this to be perfect. It isn’t till Rachael calls practice that I stop.
