Genie

Act 1~ Chapter 5 ~ Tiny Dancer

Chapter 5

  Jace quickly cleaned his dinner plate off and tossed it in the dishwasher. "Thanks, mum." Jace gave Martha a kiss on the cheek before dashing up the stairs. He was strangely excited for tonight and wasn't sure if it was because he was going to see some live music or that he was going to introduce Bentley to his friends. He was hoping that Bentley would enjoy herself.  And even if she was hesitant getting her out of the house was of vital importance.

  "Where are you going in such a hurry?" Nigel had taken his spot in the living room, the other boys who were finished with dinner circled around him on the floor. "Are you not going to listen to my story today?"

  "Sorry bud, but I promised Bentley that I was going to introduce her to my other friends tonight. You can tell me tomorrow!"

  "Alright, but only because it's Bentley." Nigel pouted a little but gave his older brother a reassuring smile.

  Jace smiled back before taking off upstairs. Bentley had been around the family a couple of times, obviously none of them knew that she was technically living with them, but she had been around enough that the boys had taken quite a shining to her. The only boys who hadn't met her yet were Nico and Derek, the twins away at Oxford, and Carson who hadn't been around the house that often as of late. Jace was appreciative that Carson wasn't around, who knows if Carson tried to take his friend away from him. He did miss Nico and Derek, but they should be back soon.

  Jace pushed open the hatch to his room.

  "Hey," Jace said, hiding the flyer behind his back.

  "Hey," she replied. She grabbed the book resting next to her on the bed. "I started reading the book."

  "Oh, and what do you think?"

  "I like it so far. It's different than what I'm used to but different isn't bad." She turned the book over in her hands. Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre had a worn cover like most of Jace's books and even though it wasn't Jace's favorite gothic novel, the distinction residing with Frankenstein, it could be considered one of his favorite romantic novels. Ben had told him her favorite author was Jane Austen and he figured that Charlotte Bronte would be a logical recommendation.

  "I'm glad you like it." Jace crossed over to sit on the bed across from her. "I have something for you."

  Ben's eyes grew wide and her brows lowered slowly. Her body angled slightly away from him.

  Jace was slightly disappointed, seeing how suspicious she was still of him. He pushed the feelings out of his mind as he presented the bright yellow flyer to her.

  Warily, she picked up the paper and read it. "What is this?"

  "A friend of mine invited me to this concert thing tonight. I thought that you might want to go." Jace shrugged, now unsure of whether this was a good idea after all. It was quite possible that she wouldn't want to go at all. Jace had thought that they were friends but it was possible that she didn't think so. She could very well still be in the mindset that he was her master, not her friend.

  "Concert? Like a symphony concert? I didn't take you as someone-"

  Jace cut her off. "No, like bands. Like rock and alternative and stuff."

  Bentley stared at him blankly.

  "Okay," Jace replied. He stood up and went over to the vintage record player he had over in the corner. It was a buy from Mark that Jace had made a year back. He had only one record before, The Beatles, and had gradually accumulated more over time. He was lucky that vinyl was coming back into style and some of his favorite bands had made some records.