Who I Am With You (Imagination #10) - Staci Stallings Page 0,87

how to do that.”

“Oh, gosh. I don’t…” Taylor started.

“No. Seriously,” Heather said, and she put her hand on Taylor’s arm and turned them from the others. “That would be perfect for our Tuesday mixer right before the Valentine’s Dance.”

“We’re not really…”

“Tay, you have to,” Sophie said, appearing at her other elbow. “We could get the ballroom or the rec space over at the AC. You guys could come and teach a class. It would be great.”

“I… uh… I don’t…”

“No,” Heather said. “Come on, you cannot wig-out on us.”

“I’m not wigging… I just…”

“We can look at schedules when you come Tuesday,” Sophie said excitedly. “I know everyone would love it.”

As Greg watched her, he could feel her slipping away. It hurt, but it was what they had come here to do. She wanted to be with her friends, those friends, and even though he didn’t understand it, he knew it was true. He ambled over to the snack table and grabbed some punch. The music continued, but he hardly heard it. This was going to be a night he would rather forget.

Just as he took a sip, a soft voice said his name at his elbow, and he turned in confusion to find Jaylan standing there. Soft blonde hair, body squeezed into a gold dress that looked at least one size too small. She was looking at him with faint traces of hope in her eyes.

“Hey, Jaylan,” he said, having no reason to hate her. She was doing what they all were—just trying to make this work. Carefully, he hugged her, and he noted with some surprise her surprise at the gesture. “So, how’s it going?”

From across the room, Taylor’s gaze slipped past the other sisters who were still surrounding her, talking about how in awe they were about that dance. Her heart jerked hard when she finally located him, talking to… what was her name again? Jaycee? Jayda? Jay… something.

Without thinking about why she would notice, Taylor saw how the cute blonde with the curves busting out in every direction was looking at Greg. And it was clear, he looked into talking to her too.

“Taylor,” James, a guy she had dated back in sophomore year, said as he stepped up. “Would you like to dance?”

Glancing back over, Taylor decided it was all for the best, and it was time to dip a toe back in the dating pool. “Sure.”

Greg hadn’t realized he was keeping tabs on Taylor until she came out of the group, holding some random guy’s hand, headed to the dance floor. Ache knifed into him, and he dropped his gaze lest Jaylan see the anger and hurt that went through him.

“So, you and Taylor then…?” Jaylan asked, and Greg took a drink of the punch in utter self-defense.

“Ah, no. We’re just…” His gaze came over to Jaylan then, and before he thought about it, he said, “Would you like to dance?”

“Me?” Jaylan asked as her eyes widened in shock. “Uh, sure. I guess so.”

“Great.”

“But I can’t dance like that.”

“That’s okay,” Greg said as hate bled through him. “We won’t do anything too fancy.”

On the dance floor, he spun Jaylan once and drew her in next to him. It was a slow song, so no need to go all-out. Plus, he knew getting tangled up would embarrass her, and him. Right now, he was holding more embarrassment than he could manage. His gaze slid over to Taylor. She was talking to the guy, and she looked happy about it. In frustration, Greg melted back next to Jaylan. He had to forget about Taylor Grayson. Somehow, he had to for his own sanity.

They hadn’t made it a point to find each other for over an hour. Taylor felt bad about that, but Greg seemed to be enjoying the notoriety, so who was she to complain? He’d danced with several of the sorority sisters, some a couple of times. Who knew, maybe he would find the right one tonight, and she could say she’d been there when it happened. She hadn’t had cause to be bored either because every time she even started a conversation with a sister, another guy would show up and ask her to dance. It was nice to be popular again. She’d forgotten what that felt like.

The evening was supposed to be over at eleven because of the rental agreement. So when it got to be 10:45, she figured she should at least dance with Greg once more before they had to call it a night.