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The next time we go through the routine, I’m not as lost. Joel grabs my waist and gives me a supported cartwheel before I land into a perfect split. The toe work will take some time, but for the most part, I think I have the basics. Thankfully I’m a quick learner because I might walk out of here in tears otherwise.
I want to be the best at everything I do. The best dancer, sister, and even girlfriend. It’s why I try to give my whole heart to Liam every chance I get and why I agreed to leave in the first place. I might’ve recently given away my V-card, but when Liam and I are together, it’s special. What we have is more than just sex or the meaningless motions of two people being together. It’s always been more than that.
After everyone leaves, Joel and I stay behind, and I’m grateful for the extra thirty minutes he gives me of his time. We start slow at the beginning, then go faster, and I even recorded us on my phone so I could watch it again at home. It’s something I learned in high school so I wouldn’t forget the details my teacher gave. Once we change out of our practice clothes, relief washes over me that I made it through another day. Things aren’t back to normal yet, but maybe I’ll find it soon.
“Thanks, Joel,” I tell him as we go our separate ways down the sidewalk.
“For what?” he asks, though I think he knows exactly why I’m thanking him.
“For not calling me a sucky ass partner and requesting someone new to dance with while I was gone.”
He shakes his head, his lips turning up. “Pfft. You’re the best dancer at this school, even on your worst days, Mads. You’re stuck with me until we graduate.”
I laugh and shoot him a wink before heading to calculus.
A month has passed since Liam and I got back to Sacramento, and so far, the bottom hasn’t fallen out. Not that I expected it to but when Victoria is involved, you never know.
I wrap a towel around my body and towel-dry my hair before getting dressed. Today, I have a date with my sisters, a much-needed one at that. Though, I’m not sure how long we’ll be together because we’re doing our last fitting for our dresses for Mason and Sophie’s wedding. She’s been overly particular about colors and flowers. It could either be quick or painstakingly long. The plan is to just go with the flow because it’s her day, and I don’t care what we wear. I know Liam will want to tear it off afterward anyway.
After I’m ready, I go downstairs where Sophie is eagerly waiting for me as she types away on her phone, probably to Lennon.
“That took forever!” she exclaims with a big cheesy grin on her face. She’s been waiting for this for weeks. Liam left before the sun rose to track a fugitive up north and Mason went to the office to help oversee some big investigation he’s working on at the moment. It’s going to be us girls only, and I couldn’t be more excited. When I was cooped up in Montana, I dreamed about being able to speak with Sophie and Lennon. It nearly killed me not being able to or, even worse, missing something as important as this.
“Lennon’s meeting us there after she drops off the kids with Mrs. Locke. She said something about mimosas and massages.”
“And that’s why she’s my favorite sister,” I throw in, just because we have this running joke between us, but honestly, I could never choose. I love them both for different reasons and some of the same ones too. It’s almost unfair to everyone else that I got two of the best people in the world as my siblings.
“Come on, turd,” Sophie says, grabbing her purse and swinging it over her shoulder.
Laughter tumbles out of my mouth. “Turd? We’re going G-rated with the name-calling these days?”
“Would you prefer shithead?” Sophie giggles and unlocks the car once we’re outside.
“You’ve been hanging around Hunter too long. I think you’ve got dad jokes now,” I tell her as we climb inside and buckle.
“You know I can drive us,” I tell her, looking at my car. I’m so damn happy I got it back and don’t have to bum rides, though I enjoyed getting to spend more time with Liam. I glance over and see the G-Wagon on the street and look back toward Sophie, wishing every piece of Victoria would disappear from our lives. If Sophie notices my change in mood, she doesn’t mention it, which I’m grateful for because I don’t want to keep talking about it.
“Are you getting more excited about the wedding now that it’s only a couple of months away?” I ask her, knowing she loves to chat about it. Mason and she are getting married the first week of December, and it’s almost go-time. Sophie’s meticulous about everything, nearly as much as Lennon and me—a Corrigan trait— so she hasn’t left a stone unturned when it comes to planning. Hell, the two of them have been thumbing through wedding magazines every weekend at breakfast for months.
