empty room. I stood frozen, watching him turn from side to side and then somersault in the air. My gaze traveled up and down his body in admiration. At the sake of repeating myself, he really was amazing.
No matter how quiet I thought I was, I must have done something to catch his attention. Who knows? Maybe drooling had a sound after all. In the blink of an eye Jacob stopped dancing and abruptly faced me. “Estelle, right?”
Caught completely off guard, I stammered, “Uh…y-yeah, I…that’s me!”
Cue internal face palm.
His thick lips curled up into a slight smile. “So I take it that Shawn didn’t scare you off after all, huh?”
“Um, I’m sorry?” I gripped the rough material of my strap, cringing when I realized just how badly my fingers were trembling. I cleared my throat and let out a weak laugh. “What are you talking about?”
“Obviously, you’re here for a reason. Do you just like to watch or is this something you want to learn?”
There had to be an innuendo in there somewhere.
I probably could have won a handful of battles the way my stomach was flipping around. I scratched at my neck nervously. “Actually, I heard the music from the commons. Um, I was just wondering where it was coming from and…uh…followed it over here.”
“Oh, shit! Is it really that loud?” He ran over to his Bluetooth speakers and quickly turned them down. “I’m surprised security hasn’t kicked me out yet.”
“Well, there’s only three of us out there. You’re not really bothering anybody,” I replied shyly.
“Oh, good.”
A lull fell over us. For a few moments we did nothing but stare at each other awkwardly. The introverted part of me snuck her ugly head out and as much as I loved being in Jacob’s company, I knew I had to get out of there.
“Well…I’ll let you get back to your…uh, dancing.” I spun on my heel and headed toward the door.
“Wait!”
I paused, trying hard to suppress the giddiness I felt at hearing Jacob call after me. Once I regained my composure, I turned back around. “Yes?”
Jacob tugged at his shirt, which seemed thick with perspiration. He tilted his head to the side and smiled only enough to show a thin sliver of white teeth. “What do you think about this whole breaking thing?”
I frowned. “Why?”
“Just curious.” He paused and added, “You said it was your first battle, just wondering if you’d ever go to another one.”
Not knowing how else to respond I repeated, “Why?”
“Just curious,” he also repeated.
In the back of my mind I couldn’t help but wonder if he hoped he’d see me at another event. Of course, that would never happen in a million years. At least not to me, it wouldn’t. Trying to ground myself, I squeaked, “Most likely. Not counting Shawn, the event was pretty fun.”
My answer seemed to satisfy him. “That’s good to hear. I’ve been breaking for so long that it’s sort of taken over my life. I always like to see what newbies think of it.”
“Oh.” Well, there went that theory.
Cue another awkward pause.
Jacob scratched his head. “Well…I guess I’ll go back to dancing. You’re more than welcome to watch if you’d like.”
As much as I wanted to say yes the chicken inside of me convinced me otherwise. Tilting my body slightly forward, I let out another shy giggle. “Thanks for the invite but I really have to study.”
Did I really just bow? Ugh!
“Oh, well, it was nice seeing you again.”
His tone was so hard to read that I desperately wanted to look up to examine his face, but I was too embarrassed by my mock curtsy. So, I did the next best thing and simply replied, “You too.”
I rushed out of the room with a goofy smile on my face. I closed the door carefully behind me and silently leaned against it. I held my breath and listened intently. The music had started up again and I could make out the faint sounds of Jacob’s shoes slapping against the linoleum floor. I closed my eyes and
No matter how quiet I thought I was, I must have done something to catch his attention. Who knows? Maybe drooling had a sound after all. In the blink of an eye Jacob stopped dancing and abruptly faced me. “Estelle, right?”
Caught completely off guard, I stammered, “Uh…y-yeah, I…that’s me!”
Cue internal face palm.
His thick lips curled up into a slight smile. “So I take it that Shawn didn’t scare you off after all, huh?”
“Um, I’m sorry?” I gripped the rough material of my strap, cringing when I realized just how badly my fingers were trembling. I cleared my throat and let out a weak laugh. “What are you talking about?”
“Obviously, you’re here for a reason. Do you just like to watch or is this something you want to learn?”
There had to be an innuendo in there somewhere.
I probably could have won a handful of battles the way my stomach was flipping around. I scratched at my neck nervously. “Actually, I heard the music from the commons. Um, I was just wondering where it was coming from and…uh…followed it over here.”
“Oh, shit! Is it really that loud?” He ran over to his Bluetooth speakers and quickly turned them down. “I’m surprised security hasn’t kicked me out yet.”
“Well, there’s only three of us out there. You’re not really bothering anybody,” I replied shyly.
“Oh, good.”
A lull fell over us. For a few moments we did nothing but stare at each other awkwardly. The introverted part of me snuck her ugly head out and as much as I loved being in Jacob’s company, I knew I had to get out of there.
“Well…I’ll let you get back to your…uh, dancing.” I spun on my heel and headed toward the door.
“Wait!”
I paused, trying hard to suppress the giddiness I felt at hearing Jacob call after me. Once I regained my composure, I turned back around. “Yes?”
Jacob tugged at his shirt, which seemed thick with perspiration. He tilted his head to the side and smiled only enough to show a thin sliver of white teeth. “What do you think about this whole breaking thing?”
I frowned. “Why?”
“Just curious.” He paused and added, “You said it was your first battle, just wondering if you’d ever go to another one.”
Not knowing how else to respond I repeated, “Why?”
“Just curious,” he also repeated.
In the back of my mind I couldn’t help but wonder if he hoped he’d see me at another event. Of course, that would never happen in a million years. At least not to me, it wouldn’t. Trying to ground myself, I squeaked, “Most likely. Not counting Shawn, the event was pretty fun.”
My answer seemed to satisfy him. “That’s good to hear. I’ve been breaking for so long that it’s sort of taken over my life. I always like to see what newbies think of it.”
“Oh.” Well, there went that theory.
Cue another awkward pause.
Jacob scratched his head. “Well…I guess I’ll go back to dancing. You’re more than welcome to watch if you’d like.”
As much as I wanted to say yes the chicken inside of me convinced me otherwise. Tilting my body slightly forward, I let out another shy giggle. “Thanks for the invite but I really have to study.”
Did I really just bow? Ugh!
“Oh, well, it was nice seeing you again.”
His tone was so hard to read that I desperately wanted to look up to examine his face, but I was too embarrassed by my mock curtsy. So, I did the next best thing and simply replied, “You too.”
I rushed out of the room with a goofy smile on my face. I closed the door carefully behind me and silently leaned against it. I held my breath and listened intently. The music had started up again and I could make out the faint sounds of Jacob’s shoes slapping against the linoleum floor. I closed my eyes and
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