Love's Beat

Chapter 21

Aunt Judie left early in the morning but not before whipping up some of her world famous pancakes.

Ember had to wipe up her drool from the floor along with her brother's. Man, how did she survive the past year without her aunt's cooking?

She had wanted to drop her off at the train station but her aunt stubbornly refused and said that she was completely fine riding the cab alone.

Ember secretly cheered because she wanted to take advantage of the extra time she had to work out the dance routine.

Then she immediately made another offer to accompany her aunt because she felt guilty.

"Ember Marguerite Ashe, I am not a little girl or I wouldn't have trusted you enough to live here on your own. Do you honestly want me to take back my decision? Believe me when I say I will drag you back by your hair like a cavewoman if you push me on this."

That got her mouth closed shut and locked tight.

Yeah, Aunt Judie was never actually a morning person.

Max was settled on the couch with the television blaring while Ember sat on the floor with her back propped against the wall. Jaden's laptop was a comfortable weight on her lap as she watched the dance routine for Jesse's performance.

Thankfully, Max hadn't asked about it while he had his gaze riveted onto Ben 10. She wanted to lounge next to him and watch it too because Ben 10 was pretty darn cool. Admitting that and risk being called immature didn't really bother her. Seriously, who wouldn't love changing into a powerful alien and save the world?

It was just like James Bond.

Minus the sexy Bond-girls.

And the cooler looking gadgets.

And the super sweet rides...

Okay, so the point was moot.

Adjusting the earphones she had plugged in, she concentrated on the dancing figures on the screen. It was pretty simple to follow but she had made the choreography simple in the first place anyway.

Jesse hadn't made much changes or if any at all, to the one she gave him before when he had practically bullied her into making one for him. She had begged a few favours from the guys back at Rush to help her out with it so she could avoid attracting attention or trouble from him and consequently, other students.

And look where that had gotten her. She had spiteful glares thrown at her left and right as she walked down the hallway with him stuck to her side like an annoying bug that won't go away. Then instead of snubbing her or crucifying her every time she insulted him, he laughed it off and go around claiming to be best friends forevah.

That boy had some serious issues to work out.

Having watched the routine a couple of times already, Ember clicked off the window and caught sight of a folder on his desktop. Pictures.

Biting her lower lip, she let the cursor hover over it as she debated whether or not to invade Jaden's privacy. Sure, it was the absolutely wrong thing to do and she felt it screaming in every part of her as she tapped twice on the pad.

Immediately, she saw tons of pictures appearing on the screen. Her heart beating a wild rhythm, she clicked on the first one.

A picture of Jaden in a ski suit posing at the top of a snowy mountain appeared. He was grinning adorably into the camera with a pair ski goggles over his eyes.

She smiled at the next one. It was one of him lying in the snow, proof that he had just experienced a wipeout in the snow. He had his hand up in a thumbs-up sign and there was a slight smirk on his face that was half-buried in the fluffy white powder.