Kissing the Shy Guy - Stephanie Street Page 0,67

back. "And the band?" I asked again.

Jarom grinned again. "Don't worry about the band. We got it covered."

I hoped Jarom was right. I went home to pack, feeling this crazy mix of guilt, anxiety, and hope. I'd found myself staring at my phone more than once, wondering if I should just text Adam and try to make things right. Instead, I'd gotten everything ready to leave and gone to bed early.

The next morning, I woke with a giant ball of anxiety settled in the bottom of my stomach, but I put on a brave face for Melly's sake. She'd been disappointed when she realized she wouldn't be going with me.

"You'll be wonderful, honey," Mom said as she hugged me goodbye on our front step. My dad would drive me to the airport on his way into the office.

"Thanks, Mom." I forced a smile onto my face and turned to my sister, who nearly crushed me with her hug.

"I want to go too, Jenny," Melly said, crying.

"I know. I want you to, but you'll get to go to Mom's party on Saturday." The party that was keeping all of them from being with me.

"We better get going, Jen," Dad said, briefly resting his hand on my shoulder.

"Good luck," Mom and Melly called as Dad and I drove away. I waved and smiled, hoping I didn't look as heartbroken as I felt.

"I know you're disappointed, hon." Dad hadn't said a word for the last fifteen minutes. We were almost to the turnoff for the airport. Good old Dad leaving it to the last minute.

"It's okay." It wasn't, but it wouldn't do any good to make him feel bad.

Dad squeezed my hand in my lap before replacing his hand on the steering wheel. "It's not okay. You've had to be strong, and I wish I could save you from it this time."

I swallowed hard because he could save me from it. He could have asked her to give up her banquet to be there for me. But he hadn't. So I said nothing because I didn't believe him. Mom knew how much I wanted them to come to New York.

Dad pulled up to the curb and got out to help me lift my suitcase from the trunk. I reached for the handle, but Dad enveloped me in a hug.

"I love you, Jenna, and I'm very proud of you. Let us know how everything goes."

Let us know how everything goes. Because they wouldn't be there to see it.

I cleared my throat and blinked so he wouldn't see the tears collecting in my eyes. "Thanks, Dad. I love you, too." And I did, I assured myself as I hurried through the automatic doors to check-in for my flight.

My flight lasted two and a half hours. I spent most of it worrying. Why hadn't I just called Adam? But I knew why. I was too scared to hear the truth in case he was about to let me down.

From the airport, I took a shuttle to the hotel where other competitors for the scholarship would also be staying. Once I'd checked in and dropped off my bags in my room, I went down to the hotel's food court for Chinese and found an empty table far away from everybody.

I hadn't heard from Adam. I'd checked my phone no less than five hundred thousand times, but nothing. And each of those times, I'd considered calling or texting him myself, but I was afraid—afraid of what he'd say or wouldn't say. At this point, I was content to bury my head in the sand and hope for the best. He said he would be here. Jarom said he would be here. For once, I was going to trust someone. Or I was going to try.

I was going to throw up. I still hadn't seen Adam. There were only a few hours left until we went on stage, and my partner was nowhere to be found.

I pulled up my phone—again—and stared at the screen. There had been a few messages from the Diva Squad thread. Apparently, Lola wouldn't be performing. I'd run into her best friend Layne earlier and taken my frustrations with Adam out on her. She'd been with some guy, holding hands and being all lovey, which only made me more frustrated with my life. I should be holding hands with someone. Not just anyone, Adam.

But he wasn't here!

A message popped up on my screen. It was one of the divas. Lillian was going to dance in