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Excuse the mistakes
Picture of Reed's Mom on the side (fun fact, her mom's name is Claire)-->
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I wasn’t breathing.
This was the third time in the last ten minutes that I was doing this set of turns. My lungs had long ago given up, and they would only work if I wasn’t doing something that required a lot of focus and balance. So, breathing during turns, side aerials, and pretty much my whole dance routine was just not going to happen.
As the music ended, I finished my last turn, touched the floor for second, and did an aerial. I landed gently on my knee. As I kneeled there, panting but otherwise frozen, Katja, the owner of my dance studio and choreographer of my dance, stood up from her chair.
Without a word, Katja nodded once and walked out of the studio. I let out a choked sound of relief and flopped onto my back on the hard, rubber floor.
Contrary to popular belief, Katja not saying anything to me after an hour and a half of working on a dance was a good thing. It meant that she didn’t have any corrections. When Katja said something, it was usually in a mixture of English and Russian that scared the crap out of me.
Russian was a very aggressive-sounding language, especially when you had no idea what Katja was saying.
As my heart attempted to return to its regular pace, the door to the studio opened. My head lolled to the side, and I saw Zephyr standing just outside the door. She was wearing a pair of yoga pants and an electric blue Bella Dance Company t-shirt, which was the name of our studio.
“What do you want?” I moaned, folding my hands on my sweaty forehead, “Can’t you see I’m dying?”
“You’re fine,” Zephyr replied, rolling her eyes at my overdramatic admission of impending death. “And,” she continued, “That fake boyfriend of yours, who is waiting at the front desk, is also pretty damn fine.”
“What?” I sat straight up, wincing as the sudden movement stretched my sore muscles. “Parker’s here?” I asked shrilly, “At this studio?”
“Yep,” Zephyr quipped as she casually untwisted the strap of her tank top. “Now get out there before the other dancers start throwing themselves at him.”
“Why should I care about that?” I replied, pushing myself up to my feet, “We’re not actually dating, Zeph.”
“Well, you should be,” Zephyr stated, flicking her bangs out of her eyes, “Parker’s hot.” Before I could respond, Zephyr gestured towards the front desk with her hand, and after giving me a stern look, she turned and walked out of the studio.
As I watched the door swing shut slowly behind her, it hit me that I’d never told Parker where I danced. I frowned and started to stomp out of the studio to demand to know how he’d found out, but then I became intensely aware of how I must look.
My hair had been thrown carelessly up into a ponytail, and my eyeliner and mascara was smudged, which made me look sort of like a crack whore. Not to mention, I was wearing just a sports bra and a pair of short, spandex shorts.
I thought about grabbing my sweatpants and a t-shirt to cover up, but then I decided not to. I had a pretty nice body because of my years of dancing, and I wasn’t going to hide it. I wasn’t embarrassed.
I hurried out of the studio and walked down the hall. When I entered the front of the dance studio, where the reception desk was, I found Parker standing there, flirting with a fellow dancer named Nikki.
“So, you just ride that motorcycle everywhere?” Nikki asked, and I couldn’t help but notice the way she stuck her boobs out towards Parker.
“Yeah, I do,” Parker replied, and for the first time, he looked completely uninterested in the girl standing before him, obviously flirting with him. To make matters more confusing, Nikki had on a leotard that was two seconds away from riding up her ass like a thong. I would’ve pegged Parker as a guy who’d be into that.
“Reed!”
Parker’s voice ripped me out of my thoughts, and I snapped to attention in time to see Parker looking at me with an expression of relief. “There you are, Babe,” he said, slipped past Nikki. He slid his arm around my shoulder and gave me an awkward kiss on the side of my face, sort of near the corner of my mouth.
“You’re dating her?” Nikki asked, but it wasn’t really in a bitchy way. She just sounded genuinely surprised, which some people might take offense to. However, we weren’t actually dating, so I didn’t care all that much.
“Of course,” Parker said, and our eyes connected. His showed a lightness and amusement, and I couldn’t help but roll my eyes.
“Can I talk to you for a second?” I asked, trying to keep my voice casual, when really, I wanted to know how the hell Parker found out where I danced. He didn’t strike me as the stalker type, but then again, I didn’t know too much about Parker.
“Totally,” Parker replied, and I smiled at Nikki as I pulled him down the hall and into the first empty studio I came across. I turned on the lights, and as the door clicked behind us, I gave Parker an annoyed look.
“How did you find out where I dance?” I demanded, crossing my arms over my chest. I was trying to look tough, but in reality, I was feeling slightly uncomfortable now that I was alone with him, half-dressed.
“I have my ways,” Parker said, grinning. I raised an eyebrow, and he sighed. “Apparently Eddie and your pal Zephyr go to the same school. I asked Eddie to ask her. To tell you the truth, I was actually really surprised that she told me.”
As I made a mental note to kill Zephyr after Parker left, I pushed my slightly sweaty hair out of my eyes and asked, “So why did you want to know?”
“I have to keep tabs on my baby mama,” Parker replied simply, shrugging his shoulders.
“That’s great,” I said sarcastically, “But why, pray tell, did you feel the need come in and talk to me?”
“Well, I was thinking,” Parker stated, rubbing his jaw.
“Uh oh,” I commented, smirking, “that’s dangerous.”
“Ha ha, very funny,” Parker said, and despite the annoyed tone to his voice, Parker looked somewhat amused. “Anyways, I was thinking that if we’re fake dating, we should at least go on a fake date, just to show your mom.”
“That is actually a pretty good idea,” I said thoughtfully, and Parker raised an eyebrow.
“Why do you sound so surprised?” Parker demanded, throwing his hands up in the air, “I’m capable of intelligent thought, you know!”
“Sure,” I drawled, but Parker was right. We really did need to underscore the fact that we were dating to my mom. So, going on a fake date with Parker was a pretty good idea. “So, when are you thinking for a fake date? Like, tomorrow, or something?”
“I’ll squeeze you in,” Parker said, winking at me. I rolled my eyes, and Parker chuckled. “So, I’ll pick you up at seven?”
“Sounds fantastic,” I replied, winking dramatically at Parker.
Before Parker could say something else, the door to the studio opened, and Zephyr stuck her head in the room. “Hey, guys,” she said, drawing our attention, “I don’t mean to break up your little love fest here, but Reed, we have to work on the choreography for our class’s dance.”
“Oh, right,” I said, remembering the dance we had to finish choreographing for the class we taught together. “C’mon Parker, I’ll walk you out.”
“Sure,” Parker replied, and he followed me out of the studio and down the hall of the studio. As Parker stepped through the front door, he turned and looked at me. “See you tomorrow night, Baby Mama.”
*
“Reed, honey, can I talk to you for a second?”
I looked up from my mug of hot chocolate, which was pretty much all whipped cream, to see my mom standing in the doorway of the kitchen. I propped my elbows up on the kitchen island where I was sitting and said, “Yeah, sure.”
My mom walked into the room, and her heels clacked against the tile floor loudly. She shook her perfectly styled, red hair out of her face as she came to stand across the kitchen island from me. “I managed to reschedule that date with that young fellow, Bryan, that you were supposed to have on Sunday.”
I sighed dramatically and took a sip of my hot chocolate. I’d made a point of not telling my mom that I had a “date” with Parker, since I wanted the moment I told her to be as shocking to her as possible.
“Mom, I can’t go on a date with him,” I said, doing my best to sound sad.
“Oh, and why is that?” My mom demanded, putting her hand on her hip and giving me an annoyed, stern look.
“Well,” I said, purposely taking another super long sip of my hot chocolate, “I’m seeing someone.”
“What?” My mom breathed, looking totally shocked.
“Yeah,” I confirmed, shrugging my shoulders. “It’s been about a week and a half, but things have been going pretty well.”
My mom let out a squeal of excitement and clapped her hands together. “Ooh, Reed! I’m so excited about this! Tell me everything; every last detail about this boy.”
I smiled. Now, things were going to get fun. “Well,” I said, drawing my mom in, “His name is Parker, and—”
“Hold on,” my mom commanded, and she held her hand up to stop me from talking. “Parker? Parker, as in the boy who saw me in just my bra and who touched your butt? That Parker?” My mom’s voice had gotten shriller as she talked, and her face had turned close to the same color of her hair.
“Yeah, that Parker,” I confirmed simply. I could tell that my casual tone was really getting under my mom’s skin. “And,” I said, sliding off the stool, “If you’ll excuse me, I have a date to go get ready for.”
I placed my mug in the sink and started to walk out of the kitchen. For a few seconds, my mom didn’t say anything, probably because she was still shocked at the horror that was Parker. However, as I started to walk up the stairs, I heard the loud clicking of her heels as she hurried after me.
“Reed!” my mom called, “Reed, come back here!”
“I can’t,” I replied over my shoulder, “I want to change my shirt before Parker gets here.” I pushed into my room, but didn’t even bother shutting my door, since my mom was right behind me.
“That boy is no good for you, Reed!” My mom stated as I pulled a plain gray v-neck out of my dresser. I slipped it on and didn’t respond to my mom, which just made her even more frustrated. “Listen to me, Reed. You cannot see this boy.”
“Mom, stop,” I said, turning to face her. “You told me to get a boyfriend, and I did. Parker’s great, and I’m happy. Can’t you just leave me alone?”
“That boy is only in this for the sex,” my mom stated, narrowing her eyes.
“Are you calling me a slut, Mom?” I asked, acting all offended. In reality, I knew that she wasn’t insinuating that. However, seeing her head spin was somewhat amusing.
What can I say? I’m a teenager; we make our parents’ lives hell occasionally.
“No, I— that’s not what—I,” my mom’s voice trailed off as she tried to figure out how to respond to my accusation. Suddenly, the doorbell rang, and I grinned.
“That’s Parker,” I said, grabbing my purse and a zip-up hoodie. “I’ll be home in a couple of hours.” Then, I flounced dramatically out of my room, making it appear like I was more than excited to go on a date with Parker.
I could hear my mom walking behind me and swearing not so quietly, but I pretended like I couldn’t hear her. I hurried down the stairs and pulled on my sweatshirt. Then, I reached for the front door, and I yanked it open.
It appears Parker had done his best to look like the stereotypical bad boy. He had on a pair of jeans that rode low on his hips, revealing the top of his boxers. Parker had on a maroon v-neck and a worn, leather jacket, and he was even holding his motorcycle helmet under his arm.
Oh shit. I’d completely forgotten that Parker drove a motorcycle.
“Hey, Babe,” Parker said, smirking at me.
“Hey,” I replied, grinning broadly. I glanced back at my mom, and her expression made me wince. If looks could kill, Parker would be butchered on the spot. “We’re going to go, Mom,” I said, gesturing towards Parker, who actually had the gall to wave.
“We’ll talk later,” she replied giving myself and Parker each our own special, evil look. Then, without a word of goodbye, my mom turned around with a snap, and she stalked down the hall to her office.
“Shall we go?” Parker asked, holding a hand out to me.
“Sure,” I said, hesitantly, and I put my hand in his. Together, we walked down the front steps and across the lawn to my driveway, where I was faced with the problem of Parker’s motorcycle, which was looking particularly shiny and deadly.
“Here,” Parker said, handing me the helmet he was holding. I took it slowly, and frowned as my finger traced along the helmet.
“Maybe, we could take my car,” I suggested, but Parker shook his head.
“Nope,” he stated, “We’re taking Betty, here.”
“Betty?” I echoed, raising an eyebrow, “You named your motorcycle Betty?” Parker nodded with a grin on his face, and I chuckled. I glanced back at my house to see my mom staring at us through the front window, a disapproving look on her face, and I knew what I needed to do.
“Fine,” I said with little conviction, “Fine, we can take Betty.”
“Good,” Parker said, and he got on his motorcycle, without a helmet, and held his hand out. “Now, let me help you on here.”
I let out a deep breath and then tugged the helmet on over my head. Parker helped me keep my balance as I lifted a leg over the motorcycle, and I settled down stiffly on the stretch of seat behind him.
“Now, hold on tight,” Parker said, and then the motorcycle came to life with a loud roar. Without thinking about it, I wrapped my arms around Parker’s abdomen and squeezed tightly. Suddenly, we were making a u-turn in my driveway, and before I could jump off of the motorcycle and run back inside, we started making our way down the street.
A thought wiggled its way into my brain, and I squeezed my eyes shut to try and block it out.
I’m going to fucking die!
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The song on the side is Radioactive originally by Imagine Dragons, of whom I'm obsessed with... This cover is badass, especially with the violin player... Also, the hot lead singer isn't bad either ;)
So, what do you guys think? How do you think the fake date is going to go? I was going to put it into this chapter, but I decided against it so that I could spend a lot of time kinda describing how it was going to go.
I'm officially on break from school!!! I won't say for certain on the number of updates coming your way, but get excited ;)
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