Kissing the Shy Guy - Stephanie Street Page 0,69
work this out.
“She’s so good,” Jenna’s friend Rose sighed, her hand over her heart as she watched the ballerina on stage.
I’d heard Jenna mention Rose a time or two, but hadn’t realized they were such good friends. I’d said as much to Jenna, but she just rolled her eyes and said, “More like frenemies.”
“She’s amazing,” another of the girls, I thought her name was Layne, sighed, talking about the girl on stage.
I waited for Jenna to add her opinion, but her eyes were glued to the performance. As good as it was, I’d rather look at Jenna, so I did.
She peeked at me out of the corner of her eye and nudged me with her elbow. I grinned and picked up her hand. We were going to be all right.
“I thought you were going to ditch me,” Jenna said once we’d congratulated Lillian after her performance. “When you didn’t show up to rehearsal this week.”
We’d found a quiet corner with a loveseat to have our conversation. We sat side by side, turned to face each other. Jenna had already dressed for our performance in a button-down dress with a flared skirt. She’d pulled her hair into a high ponytail and applied her makeup with a heavy hand. She was beautiful no matter what, but I liked her better without all the war paint as my dad liked to call it.
I shook my head. “I told you I’d never do that.”
“I know. And I wanted to believe you, but you were acting weird. And then Laura,” she left my sister’s name hanging between us.
My jaw worked as I decided what to say. “I’m sorry Laura said what she did and made you feel insecure. She had no right to do that. But I’m even more sorry you let her words make you doubt me.”
Jenna’s expression fell. Her eyes dropped to our hands, tangled together in her lap.
I wanted to comfort her, but what I wanted more was for her to meet me halfway. I’d hoped she would reach out to me when I didn’t show up for rehearsal, but she never did. I hadn’t been at all sure how she’d react to seeing me today. I knew she’d be relieved, this competition was important to her, but was that all she felt?
I waited. Jenna took a deep breath before lifting her gaze back to mine. Part of me wanted to forget all this drama and just kiss her, but that would be like putting a bandaid on a severed artery. I didn’t want to keep rehashing these issues over and over again in the future. Either Jenna trusted me, or she didn’t.
“It’s so hard for me to let people in,” she finally said. “I didn’t expect to feel this way about you.”
Resisting the urge to wrap her in my arms, I rubbed my thumbs over her knuckles, needing the contact. “What way is that?”
She didn’t hide from me. Her eyes were more open and honest than I’d ever seen them. “I think I’ve fallen for you, Adam.”
“You think?”
She bit into her full red lip. “Okay. I know I have. And more than anything, even this stupid scholarship, I want you to know that. And I want you to know I do trust you with my heart. If you still want it.”
Closing my eyes, I inhaled a deep breath. She’d just said all the words I needed to hear—at least for now. The rest could wait.
Opening my eyes, I gave her my own truth. “I do want it. I want you. All of you.”
Jenna gripped my shoulders and raised her lips, trapping my top lip between them, teasing me. “Then, I’m yours. Deal?”
I nipped her mouth. “Deal.”
“Are you going to tell me how things went with the guys?”
I knew exactly what she was talking about. “It’s fine. Everything is all good. They got one of Carly’s guys to cover for me tonight.”
Jenna’s eyes bulged at that. “So, it’s real? You guys are going to what? Tour with Carly Ryan?”
“Yeah. This summer, for two months.”
Jenna blinked. “Wow. And she’s really Asher’s mom?”
I smirked. “Yeah. How else do you think we managed to open for country’s biggest star? We aren’t that good.”
Jenna laughed, a light and natural sound that had my heart settling more in my chest than it had in days. “You’re forgetting I’ve heard you guys play. You’re totally good enough to open for Carly Ryan.”
I shot her a yeah, right, but thanks anyway kind of look. “I don’t know about that,