Unknown by Christina Quinn

He’s picking me up and taking me to his place to rehearse.” Kendra’s voice was beyond smug. My stomach dropped to my ankles. What did you expect?
    “O-oh. ” I couldn’t keep the sadness from my voice. Leslie looked uncomfortable, after a moment she walked passed us and over to my gifts on the island.
    “Are you picking up dance again? There’s a soloist in the Vampire Company with tig ol’ bitties like yours. She doubles up her leotard to hold them in place and does just fine.” Leslie asked glancing over her shoulder at me as she inspected the shoes. “Holy hell. Dyed Gaynor Minden’s, those had to cost. Did you forget how to cut them?”
    “N-no. ”—I chewed on my bottom lip for a moment—“It was a gift.” I answered turning from Kendra.
    “These are two hundred dollars easy, they’re dyed and everything. Who gave them to you?” Leslie continued to inspect the shoes . You should send them back. I raised my eyes to Kendra and as hers keened, I quickly looked away. The intro to Britney Spear’s Toxic blared from Kendra’s phone.
    “Oh hey, Aleksi… You’re here?... Awesome… I’ll be right down, babe.” She smirked triumphantly and giggled a little. A victory giggle. You should have seen this coming. “See you guys tomorrow. Don’t wait up.” Kendra called to us as she left.
    Once the door shut, I felt my face grow hot. Leslie looked up from the shoes as I started pacing around the kitchen. Don’t cry. I drew a breath that sounded like a bit of a sob. Don’t cry.
    “Ar e you okay, Hon?”
    “Nope. ” I managed to squeeze out before my chest grew tight. Calm down.
    “What’s wrong? I will never cop to saying this, but… Kendra’s being a bitch with the Aleksi thing. She called him , Autumn. Not the other way around. I noticed her getting his number from Tristan’s phone yesterday.”
    “It doesn’t matter, Les. It just doesn’t. They’re both dancers and I…” I trailed off and shook my head.
    “You got a two hundred dollar pair of pointe shoes on your first date. That’s a win. Was this book part of it?” She gestured to the black book. I nodded and she flipped through the pages. “He gave you expensive ballet shoes, and—from what I read—the Fifty Shades of Grey of the nineteenth century. She’s going to try too hard and get absolutely nowhere. Come here.” S he held her arms out and we hugged. “Now c’mon, grocery shopping can wait. You have to tell me about Aleksi.” I told her everything while we sewed the short ribbon pieces and elastic to the pointe shoes.
    When we finished, we tucked those red shoes back in the box and ordered Chinese. Leslie actually read Venus in Furs while I binge watched romantic comedies. You’re the plucky unlikely match for the hot guy. That doesn’t happen in real life. I turned off Netflix and let out a soft sigh glancing at the cold, untouched chicken and broccoli in its little white carton in front of me.
    “Why is all erotic fiction about submission so fucking depressing?” Leslie exclaimed randomly as she set the book down.
    “I have no clue. ”
    “I’ve read The Story of O , Fifty Shades , Justine , Sleeping Beauty and now this. They all end with sadness, well except Fifty Shades —but I won’t go into that.”
    “I didn’t know you were such a connoisseur of Lady Porn.” I snickered out, Leslie just shrugged.
    “I am a sexually enlightened woman.” She giggled after a moment . So is Kendra—you, not so much . I fought a frown and she rolled her eyes. “Cheer up.” She threw a pillow at my face and I couldn’t help but to laugh. “You know what… I bet if he’s given you this…” She trailed off and jumped up. “I’ll be back.” She was gone in a flash, my door rattling in the frame. I took the time to clean up some.
    Leslie returned ten minutes later with arms full of books. She set them on the Island and gestured at them dramatically.
    “Voila, think of it as research.”
    “Research?” I