Kissing the Shy Guy - Stephanie Street Page 0,3
version of me. It had come as a surprise to no one when we began dating during our junior year and quickly became a power couple. Every school had them. The quarterback and the head cheerleader. The star basketball player and the hottest girl on the dance team. The president of the science club and first chair violinist. As for Josh and me, we were co-chair presidents of the drama club.
Convincing Josh to be my partner for the DIVA scholarship, as I’d begun thinking of it, had been easy. Not only did we work exceptionally well together—we’d had a lot of practice—but he would benefit, too. If, no when, we won the competition, we’d split the award. And if we didn’t win for some bizarre reason, the exposure we’d get by performing couldn’t be overstated. We had the same goals, and that made us the perfect couple. First, The Northeast Regional Scholarship for the Dramatic Arts. Then, the world—otherwise known as Broadway.
We’d chosen our song, Tonight from West Side Story. We’d choreographed the scene, memorized lines, chosen costumes, and practiced for countless hours for months. We were nearly perfect, and there were still eight weeks until the competition.
And then something happened. I didn’t know what exactly, only whatever it was threatened my only chance to get out of this place, and it wasn’t my fault.
“What is your problem?” I shrieked at Josh, stopping mid dance step and pushing him away. We’d been practicing for over an hour, and just like the last few times we’d worked together, his heart wasn’t in it. He’d been making mistakes, missing steps and notes, and royally pissing me off!
He stumbled back, his eyes wide. “What the hell, Jenna!”
I jabbed my finger into his chest. Josh wasn’t a big guy, only an inch or two taller than me, but he was strong. He could easily lift me over his head, and he possessed the energy and endurance to do what it took to perfect any performance we’d ever worked on together.
“What. Is. Your. Problem? You’ve been out of it for weeks! Where is your head? The competition is in two months.” Prepared as we were, thinking about that made my stomach jump with anxiety. So much was riding on our performance, for both of us. We couldn’t afford to screw it up.
Josh’s mouth tensed. “The competition,” he spat the words. “It’s all you can think about. I’m sorry, Queen Jenna, but I have other things on my plate besides this competition.”
I narrowed my eyes. He knew I hated it when he called me that. Queen Jenna. At least he’d left off the Ice part.
“What else could be more important than this?” I shouted and flung my arm out. “This is our future. Our plans. Everything we’ve ever talked about wanting.”
Josh’s face twisted bitterly. “No, Jenna. It’s everything you’ve talked about. It’s all you ever talk about.”
My mouth dropped open in surprise. “What are you saying?”
His jaw clenched. “I’m saying I’m done. I don’t want to do this anymore.”
“What does that mean?” Each of my internal systems scrambled to make sense of what was happening, experiencing fear, denial, disbelief, and finally, anger, all in a split second. He couldn’t possibly mean what I thought he meant.
“It means I’m done.” He stuffed his towel back inside his bag with more force than the action required. “With everything.”
“You can’t quit.” I kept my voice low and even. “The scholarship—”
Josh scoffed, totally interrupting me. “The scholarship.” He threw his arms wide. “The scholarship is all you can think about, isn’t it? Well, Jenna, my girlfriend, I don’t just mean the scholarship competition. I’m done with everything. And that means you and me. I’m breaking up with you.”
“Uh-you’re,” I sputtered. “No! You can’t! I won’t let you!”
Josh rolled his eyes, unimpressed. “You won’t let me?” He laughed without humor as he toed off his dance shoes, then determinedly reaching down to stuff them into his bag with his towel. “You don’t have a say.” He dipped his head and slung his bag crossbody style over his chest, before standing up to glare at me. “You can’t change my mind. This has been a long time coming, sweetheart. You don’t need me, and I don’t need you. A fact that has become abundantly clear over the last few weeks. I’ve been seeing someone else.”
My mouth dropped open again as I stared at him blankly. Someone else? “Someone else. Who? You’ve been cheating on me?”
Josh scoffed again as he stomped his feet