Chapter 41
The next day, I was already packing up my stuff by the time Mae got home from school. "What....what are you doing?" Mae asked when she saw me put my clothes back in the duffel bag.
"Packing," I said. "I already told you that I'm leaving tonight."
"You actually are?" Mae asked. "I thought you would have wanted to stay."
"Yeah, so did I," I said. "But things obviously aren't working out between us, so it would be best if I just left today."
"Is that....is that a breaking up line?" Mae asked.
"I don't know, Mae," I said. "I don't know about anything that's going on between us anymore. You ignore me for two weeks then you might have feelings for someone else. I don't even look at other girls anymore back in Miami. I thought we could make it work. Everyone did."
"When are you leaving?" Mae asked.
"The sooner the better," I said, zipping up the duffel bag.
"The sooner the better?" Mae asked. "Now you're sounding like you don't want to be around me."
"Maybe I don't," I said. "Because by the way you lied to me about hanging out with the dance team just so you could hang out with only Jerome, you don't want to be around me. You're even thinking about staying here."
"Can we go somewhere together before you leave?" Mae asked. "Please?"
"I don't know," I said. "I just want to head back home and forget any of this ever happened."
"You want to forget we ever happened?" Mae asked, looking a bit hurt.
"I never want to forget that we happened," I said. "I want to forget about what happened since I've been here. And I don't feel like being around my girlfriend or whatever you are to me when she might like someone else."
"Please, Ryder?" Mae asked.
I sighed. "Fine. Where do you want to go?"
"I'll give you directions," she said. "But we have to take you car there. Can we go now?"
"Sure," I said. I grabbed my phone and put it in my back pocket before following her out of the house.
We got into her car and she gave me directions to wherever she wanted to go. It took a few minutes to get there and when we were there, I was a bit confused. "Is this a dance studio?" I asked.
Mae nodded and unbuckled her seatbelt. "Yeah, it's my old studio."
"Also the place where you grew up with that Jerome guy," I said.
"Don't focus on that," she said. "Come on."
We got out of the car and after I locked it, I followed Mae into the studio. She first led me to the office of the studio head and explained that we were going to be using the space for a bit. Even though Mae wasn't part of the studio anymore, the studio head was more than happy to let her use it.
"Why are we here?" I asked once we were in the main studio.
"To dance," she said.
"What?" I asked.
"Do you still remember the very first duet we did?" she asked. I nodded. "We're doing that. Go to your position."
I sighed and took my phone out of my pocket, placing it on the bench. After I was in the starting spot, she connected her phone to the speaker and played the very first song we ever dance to. The song that we won first place with.
And we danced the duet. I didn't forget a single move. It was etched in my brain and it always would be because of the chemistry Mae and I had when we dance. It was the first dance we performed as a couple. I couldn't ever forget it.
The dance ended with a hug and having her in my arms was enough for me to have tears form in my eyes. I dug my face in her shoulder. I wasn't ready to let her go even if she was ready to let me go.
We hugged for a bit longer before Mae pulled away and looked up at me, tears identical to mine. "Why did you want to do our duet?" I asked.
"You know that feeling we got?" Mae asked, wiping her tears away. "The chemistry from the dance? I don't get them from anybody else. Even before I was in Miami and I liked Jerome, I didn't get that feeling when we danced together. I only get it with you, Ryder. I only want it with you. I don't like him at all. I did, but then I fell in love with you. I thought I still liked him, but it was only the memory from me being back here. And I was only hanging out with him a lot because he reminded me of you, but he isn't you. Nobody will ever be able to replace you and I'm really sorry, Ryder. I don't want us to be apart. I'm really sorry. Is there any chance you can forgive me?"
I took a deep breath. "Not yet."
"I know," she said. "That's fair enough. I'll make it up to you if you stay until Saturday. Please stay? I promise I'll make it up to you. I can show you all around Lachine and I don't have school tomorrow, so we can even head into the main city of Montreal. You'll love it there. We can go to the shopping center or even to the Mount Royal park and have a picnic there."
"I guess it couldn't hurt to stay for another day," I said.
Mae smiled and threw her arms around me. "Thank you so much. I really am sorry and I promise tomorrow, I'll make sure you have an amazing time. And when you leave, we'll Skype every day after school, unless you have dance rehearsal. In that case, we can Skype at night. And I can see if I can go to Miami for spring break. Oh, and speaking of, I am still going back to Miami. I may miss this place, but I miss Miami a lot more. Besides, I'd break Tulip's heart if I stay here."
"And mine. But you already broke it."
"Ryder...."
"I'm kidding," I said. "I'm still hurt, though, so you better make up for it tomorrow."
"I will," Mae said.
"Mae?" a voice suddenly said. Mae turned around and, of course, Jerome was standing there. "What are you doing here? Are you thinking of rejoining the studio?"
"No, I can't when I'll be moving back to Miami after the school year is over," Mae said.
"You are?" Jerome asked. "I thought you were staying down here for good."
Mae shook her head. "No, I was planning on going back to Miami ever since my mom told me we were coming back here. Miami's my home, I can't leave it."
"Right," Jerome said. "So, what are you doing here then?"
"Oh, well my boyfriend here, Ryder, lives in Miami and he's visiting for one more day, so I thought we would do our duet that we used in a competition back in Miami," Mae said.
"Boyfriend?" Jerome asked. "You have a boyfriend?"
"Yeah," Mae said. "We've been dating for almost five months now. Anyway, we should probably head back to my house. Good luck in Nationals, Jerome."
"Thanks," Jerome said before me and Mae left.
We got into my car and I drove back to her house. Her mom was home by that time and she just finished making dinner. "Where were you two?" she asked.
"My old studio," Mae said. "I kind of wanted for us to dance our first duet to bring ourselves closer again. It worked. By the way, would you be okay with me going to Miami for spring break? My and Ryder's six month anniversary is actually during spring break."
"Yes, of course," Mae's mom said. "If you can buy a ticket yourself."
"What?" Mae asked.
"I'm kidding," her mom said.
"Oh, and can Ryder and I go into the main part of Montreal tomorrow?" Mae asked.
"You sure are asking for a lot," her mom said. "Yes, you can, but only because Ryder has a car. But don't spend too much money, and remember, you're having dinner at your father's house tomorrow."
Mae nodded. "Right. You're coming too, Ryder."
"I'm sorry, what?" I asked.
"You never met my dad yet," Mae said.
"Well, I'm still kind of mad at you, so I'll stay here."
"Ryder, I thought...."
I knew what she was going to say. "No, I'm still mad at you. You have to make it up to me tomorrow and if you do, then I will have dinner with your dad."
"Ryder, come on."
"That's the deal," I said. "If you end up making it up to me tomorrow, I'll go with you to your dad's. So you have a lot to do tomorrow."
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A lot of you weren't happy with Mae last chapter. cx At least I didn't make Ryder automatically forgive her. He's right, she has to make it up to him. cx
I could have had this up sooner, but my dad's hamster decided to escape and everyone had to look for it for a good fifteen minutes. cx We found her, so all is well.
The song attached is just a reminder of the song Ryder and Mae first danced to.