Breaking Hearts (B-Boy #2) (12 page)

“Figures,” I muttered. “So much for her ‘I am better than you’ act.”

Click.

Joe’s baritone voice once again echoed across the gym. “Up on deck is Spinja!”

My head snapped up automatically. In fact, any time Jacob’s name was mentioned my whole body seemed to buzz in excitement. I tried hard to keep it cool and maintain a professional façade, especially since I was pretty sure Anna was watching my every move.

Click.

It didn’t matter how many battles I had already watched, how many of Joe’s jokes I listened to, nor did it matter how many hundreds of photos I’d already taken. Once Jacob stepped out to dance it was as if everything was erased and I was experiencing everything anew.

Click. Click. Click.

Jacob loved to dance. It was what set him apart from his competitors. Sure, the others probably enjoyed breaking in their own right, but Jacob’s passion was insurmountable.

He’s married to dance.

I wish you could love me like that
, I thought longingly.

Chapter 20

Present

He was staring out the window again. Silent and almost eerie. We hadn’t spoken for about an hour and though I was happy to get some work done, I was completely over the cold shoulder.

“You said I broke your heart,” I called out.

Jacob jumped, obviously startled in the abrupt break of silence.

I didn’t care and pressed on. “Jacob? How did I break your heart?”

He looked down at the ground and shook his head. “You must be really dense not to know the answer to that.”

My mouth dropped open in shock. “Then call me dense because I have no idea how I could have done anything to hurt you. Especially since you hurt me.”

“That’s bullshit, E, and you know it.”

I immediately bowed my head in attempt to hide the pain on my face. It had been years since that night at Cal U and I always wondered if Jacob knew exactly what effect his actions had on me. Yet, despite all those years of blaming him for my own stupidity, I knew I couldn’t do it anymore. The choices I made were mine and mine alone. It wasn’t Jacob’s heart I broke, but someone else’s.

My heart was just a casualty along the way.

Chapter 21

Past

“Congratulations, Jacob!”

“Yeah, way to kick some ass.”

Our small group gathered in our hotel room, raising shot glasses in the air. With the adrenaline and excitement buzzing through each of us, we clinked our glasses against one another so hard that splatters of liquor splashed against each of our hands. Ignoring the mess, we downed the shots, grimacing in unison. I took my time and nearly gagged once the bitter liquid coated my tongue.

“It’s better if you do it quick,” Anna whispered in my ear.

Having never been one to drink, taking a shot of tequila seemed a bit much for me. But when in Rome, right?

I threw the cool liquid down my throat and nearly coughed as the sharpness hit my esophagus. Anna reached out and rubbed my back lightly.

“Good job,” she whispered.

With my eyes watering, I hardly saw what was good in the situation, but nodded my head in a weak attempt to seem cool. “Y-yeah,” I stammered. “G—cough—good.”

Jacob walked over to us and threw his arm around my shoulder nonchalantly. Anna’s eyes widened in surprise as did Gemma’s, who stayed uncharacteristically away from him, huddled in the back corner by the air mattress someone had smuggled into the room.

“I should be saying congratulations to you, E,” he exclaimed, squeezing me lightly. “So, little grasshopper, how do you feel now you’ve survived your first professional photography gig?”

My lips trembled. “Um, okay, I guess? And I wouldn’t really say it was a professional gig.”

“Especially since I’m not paying her for it!” Joe joked from his corner of the room.

I shook my head and smiled. “But really, I couldn’t have done it without you. I can’t thank you enough.”

Jacob’s eyes crinkled at the corners as he threw me a warm smile. Never releasing his hold on me, he leaned toward the side of my face so his lips were mere centimeters from my ear. “Any chance I can take a look at what you got?”

If he didn’t stop, I was sure I’d pass out by the end of the night. I forced myself to breathe and shook my head, glancing over at my luggage which I had placed carefully beneath one of the double beds. “Not right now. I have some editing to do before I feel comfortable enough to show anyone.”

Pharaoh came up beside us and nudged Jacob’s shoulder. “The cabs are here. Let’s go! We got a lot of celebrating to do tonight.”

“First and second place!” Jacob exclaimed happily, high-fiving Pharaoh.

I was a bit disappointed when Jacob lifted his arm from my shoulders, but I kept the smile on my face. “So, where are we going tonight?”

“Club Mal. It’s downtown and I heard it’s awesome,” Jacob answered.

Anna shook her head and snorted. “Mal? Isn’t that Spanish for bad?”

Jacob shrugged. “I guess it’s the way ‘sick’ or ‘ill’ can be colloquial for good.”

“I guess,” Anna responded, sounding unconvinced, though I was pretty sure she was just being moody since she missed Lucas.

“Well, let’s get this night started, shall we?” Jacob grinned down at me and handed me a plastic card.

“Mila Donavan?” I questioned, staring at the fake I.D. Somehow Jacob had altered a photo of me, making me look a few years older.

Anna threw her head back and laughed. “Guess I’m not the only one who thinks you look like Mila Kunis.”

I shoved the I.D. into my pocket and bit my lip, trying hard to fight the feeling of horror creeping up on me.

“What? Are you afraid of getting in trouble or something?” Anna linked her arm through mine and gently pushed me forward.

“No, it’ just…have you ever had a gut feeling that something’s about to happen?”

Anna blinked in confusion. “Like what?”

“I don’t know…I just feel worried for some reason.” My hands dropped to my abdomen where I squeezed it lightly, trying to ease the anxiety settling in the pit of my stomach.

Anna quickened her pace, yanking me forward. She glanced to the side and threw me an unreadable expression.

“What’s your problem?” I hissed.

She waited until we were in the safety of the hallway out of Jacob’s earshot before answering. “Be careful tonight, Estelle.”

“And what do you mean by that?” My bad feeling instantly magnified.

“Don’t throw yourself at Jacob, okay?” Before I could respond, she placed a finger against her mouth, signaling me to be quiet. “I know this is your first time clubbing—”

“What did we say about assumptions?” I muttered, blowing air through my lips.

“Am I wrong?” she asked, lifting an eyebrow.

I bowed my head glumly and shook it. “No.”

“I thought so.”

“That doesn’t mean I’ll throw myself at him.”

“The atmosphere—alcohol, music, sweat—it’s all sensual. Don’t get caught up in it, okay?”

I opened my mouth to speak, but Jacob bounded down the hallway toward us before I had a chance. He had a slight frown on his face, which further amped up my nerves.

“Is anything wrong?” I asked.

“You…two look really good tonight.”

I glanced down at the tube dress Anna let me borrow. It was blinding pink…then again, why wouldn’t it be—and gave me curves that I didn’t know existed.

The corner of Anna’s lips curled up as she snuck me a coy look. “Thanks, Jake.”

Jacob scratched at his head. “Just stick close with us tonight. There’ll be a lot of different folk out there because of the event. Don’t want you ladies getting into trouble.”

My heart warmed at his concern. Unfortunately, Anna ruined the moment.

“Rats! That foils my plan about spending the night in jail!” She shook her fist in the air and stomped off toward the elevator

Jacob and I both groaned. Catching my eye, he grinned. “I wasn’t lying when I said you clean up pretty amazing.”

I gulped. “The only one who looks amazing tonight is you.”

***

“Holy shit! Jacob wasn’t kidding! This place is packed!” Anna spun around and gaped at the crush of human bodies on the dance floor. It reminded me of a science film I’d seen once where a bunch of ants would stick together in water and move in unison.

“Excuse me! Get out of my way!” I lurched forward as a bunch of girls elbowed their way past us. I nearly toppled over but then I felt a firm grip on my elbow steadying me.

“Whoa there! What did I just say about getting yourselves into trouble?”

I gazed up at Jacob and straightened myself. “It wasn’t my fault.”

“Sure, I believe you,” he replied with a chuckle. He held out two small glasses of some bright green liquid. “Here.”

“What is this?” Anna grimaced, taking one of the cups into her hand.

“Some fruity frou-frou drink,” he responded. He threw me a glance. “I could tell you’re not much of a drinker. Figured this might help loosen you up without making you sick tomorrow.”

I took the drink from his hand, shivering when our skin brushed up against each other. “Thanks.”

Jacob nodded good-naturedly and motioned toward the dance floor. “Well, let’s have some fun, ladies.”

The strobe lights flashed on and off as fog continued to pour onto the floor. Anna and I swayed our hips to the music as we sipped on our tangy drinks. I hated to admit it, but I think it was that precise moment that I really felt like a college girl. How pathetic is that?

Anna reached out and grabbed my hand, spinning me around. I giggled, feeling the warm effect of alcohol pooling in my insides.

“Don’t look now, but we got a stalker,” Anna told me.

“Where?” I scanned around, but couldn’t see anything amidst the sweaty bodies grinding against each other.

“I said don’t look!”

“Who are you even talking about?” I shut my eyes and continued dancing along with the music. I felt too great to even worry about some imaginary stalker.

“I’m talking about Gemma.”

My eyes flew open. “Gemma? What do you mean?”

Anna tugged me toward her so I didn’t have a chance to look around. “She’s been sitting at the bar watching you the whole time. She honestly doesn’t look too pleased with you.”

I grunted. “I can’t imagine why.”

“Maybe because Jacob’s been eyeing you all night. I have to admit; maybe I was wrong about the whole ‘he doesn’t date’ thing.”

I immediately stopped dancing. “What?”

She nodded her head and smiled. “I didn’t want to tell you because I was afraid—”

“I’d do something stupid?” I finished for her.

She shrugged.

Ignoring Anna’s blatant assumption, I pressed, “Why would he be looking at me?”

“Why don’t you ask him for yourself?”

The blood immediately drained from my face. “What?”

“Hey!” Jacob came up behind me, taking my empty glass from my hand. He reached over a metal railing and placed it on the table behind it. “You having fun?”

I caught eyes with Anna, who shot me a wink. Still looking at her, I nodded my head and answered, “Yeah, a blast.”

“Good.” He smiled and took my hand. “Wanna dance?”

Anna smiled softly. “I could use another drink. See you guys in a few.”

My body immediately stiffened up. The ‘high school’ part of me wanted to run after her, but ‘college me’ wanted to stay behind with Jacob.

Time to grow up
, I thought to myself.

My heart pounded as loudly as the bass from the music. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as Jacob placed his fingertips lightly on my hips. Guiding them gently, he and I swayed in synchronization. I sucked in my breath the moment my body melded into his.

Suddenly feeling lightheaded, I stumbled back, smashing into his chest.

He immediately jerked forward, grabbing onto my wrist. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah. Sorry, the alcohol…” My cheeks were warm to the touch. It definitely wasn’t just the drinks getting to me.

He smirked. “I figured. Guess that drink wasn’t as light as I thought. Here, this might help.” He stepped behind me and grasped onto my waist firmly, pressing my back against his chest. His warm breath tickled my ear as he cooed, “I’ll keep you from falling.”

I knew he meant it literally, but figuratively it was too late. I had definitely fallen a long time ago.

Call it liquid courage or maybe something else, but somehow I felt my fingers traveling up the sides of his thighs. The warmth of his torso further relaxed me, allowing me to lose myself in the music and most of all lose myself in him. He must have felt the same way because soon his hands found their way to my stomach, pressing up against my navel softly.

The songs began to blend together as we continued to dance, never once stopping. I began to feel the sweat of his chest pooling against my bare upper back. Usually the squeamish kind, I found that I didn’t care. I was in heaven. That is, until he abruptly let go of me and stepped in front of me.

Before I could pout in disappointment, his fingers began to trail my hipbones as he came to face me, causing a shiver to ripple down my spine. I instantly froze when I caught his eye. Warm, kind, perfect—his eyes were definitely the windows to his soul.

My body involuntary froze up. It took me a while to realize that dancing with him had been so easy when I couldn’t see him. Now that we were staring at one another I felt extremely nervous.

We both stopped moving.

Jacob’s breaths quickened as he stared down at me. He reached out and brushed a damp tendril of hair from my cheek, leaning in closer.

“Jacob?” I whispered.

“E…I mean, Estelle, I…” He shut his eyes and sighed. As if waging an internal battle, he lifted his hand, which shook slightly in the air. “I think I need another drink. Do you want one?”

I frowned in confusion. “Um…no. Thank you.”

He nodded once and promptly left the dance floor, running his hands through his damp hair. I watched his retreating figure in confusion. The crowd beside me became nothing but a blur and the music nothing but white noise. I stifled back a small whimper and hugged myself. I was once again all alone, feeling utterly lost.

“Hey!” Anna said, walking up beside me. For the first time in weeks I was super happy to see her. She followed my gaze and frowned. “What was that all about? It looked like you guys were…”

“Beats me,” I answered quietly, trying my hardest to ignore the prickling of my nose. I had heard alcohol could easily amplify your emotions, but this was ridiculous! If I didn’t try hard enough I’d burst into tears at any moment.

For as emotionless as Anna could be, she knew when to be empathetic. She reached over and gave me a hug. “Boys are stupid. He’s probably just getting a drink.”

“Um, yeah. That’s what he said he was doing.” But I wasn’t fully convinced. Though a small voice in my head told me not to, I couldn’t help but watch after him.