"May I ask for this dance?"
Ester looked up from her purse and smiled at Jake. He was smiling down at her, showing the dimples on his cheeks. Ester straightened her back and took a sip of her water.
"Ballroom hasn't even started yet, Jake." Sie reminded him.
"Well, a gentleman can never ask too early now, can he?" He asked her.
"You're right." Ester played along.
"So? Was that a yes or no?" Jake asked, making Ester look around for Devon. He wasn't here yet, which really didn't surprise her. Most of the time, he came later than he should and thanks to him, Ester always had to wait and was unsure if she even got to dance in the four hours of the lesson. So she didn't even feel remotely sorry when she accepted Jake's offer.
"Yes." She said with a nod and a kind smile on her face. Jake grinned and then nodded back.
"But what about your friend?" Ester continued and Jake shrugged.
"She's not coming tonight. Late shift." He told her.
"Oh, I see. So I'm your second choice." Ester was just joking, but Jake thought she was serious and widened his eyes.
"No! Not at all. I just thought because you're alone too and I'm alone tonight-"
"I was just kidding. I'd love to be your second choice." Ester chuckled and bumped his arm with her shoulder. Everybody seemed so tall compared to her.
"Well, if that's the case. You're the best second choice I've had for a while." He tried.
"Are you flirting with me, Jake?" Ester laughed, enjoying the man's company.
"Is it working?" He rubbed the back of his neck.
"I'm not sure yet." Ester teased and he laughed at that.
Jake was about to say something when Sierra walked in and so the lesson started. They were still dancing the tango, adding new steps each week. Ester thought dancing with Devon was awkward, but dancing with Jake was beyond that.
She just blamed it on herself. She really didn't like to touch others and before Sierra's dance lessons, she even hated exchanging pennies with the cashier in the supermarket. But Ester could practically feel herself getting accustomed to being touchy with others.
"Ester, shoulders higher and back more arched." Sierra instructed and Ester tried her best to do as told. But she just felt like tonight something was off. And that thought got verified every time Sierra corrected her pose.
Jake also wasn't better, but he didn't seem to take it that seriously. Why did Ester even take it seriously? It was just dance, for heaven's sake.
"Great, now you got it Jake. Ester, eye contact." And so she looked up into his grey eyes, admiring their colour for a few moments.
"Good." Was all the instructor said before leaving their side.
Just good. Not splendid or amazing as she often said to her and Devon. But who could blame her, she was probably just praising Devon all the time. Yet, that asshole didn't even come.
"Are you okay?" Jake asked her, causing Ester to snap out of it and smile up at him.
"Of course." She said reassuringly and the man grinned again.
"That's good. I don't think I've ever heard the instructor's voice this often within five minutes. I, for my part think your pose is great." He joked, not noticing Sierra coming their way.
"Well, that's why I'm the instructor an you're the student."
"Oh, uh-" Jake didn't know what to say as he was too shocked to even think. Ester looked at her friend and saw Sierra's emotionless face. She really did change whenever she got into that instructor phase, Ester thought.
"Sorry." Was all Jake came up with, making Sierra nod and then clap her hands.
"Thank you everybody. That was a great round. Take a break." She instructed and the people did take a break whilst Sierra walked away.
"I'll be back in a second." Ester quickly told Jake before following Sierra to the back of the room.
"Hey, is everything alright?" Ester obviously surprised her because she saw her friend jump slightly before turning around.
"Oh, Ester. Yeah, I'm just a little on edge. I had a fight with mom." She told Ester, who frowned. She couldn't possibly imagine Martha and Sierra fighting. They seemed like the best of friends.
"Oh, what happened?"
Sierra's face darkened as she sat down on a chair and crossed her arms over her chest.
"It was about Devon. Apparently he was arrested last night and Mason bailed him out, called mom and they went home." Ester's eyes widened at that information.
"And instead of torturing him and letting him know how wrong that was, mom sent him on vacation." Ester frowned at that.
"On fucking vacation in our beach house." Sierra shook her head in disbelief.
"And when I told her that I thought it was a bad idea to praise him after a night in jail, she told me to mind my own business and leave my brother alone." Ester's mouth opened.
"Like he deserves it." Sierra scoffed.
"But why would she-"
"I don't know! I remember this one time I got a parking ticket and it was like hell broke loose." She exploded. Sierra just didn't understand. She had a great relationship with her mother and she never snapped at her.
"Whatever. I just want to wrap tonight's lesson up and then go home to sleep. I'm not feeling it today at all." She sighed and Ester nodded in understanding before walking back to Jake.
.
.
.
The next morning, Ester woke up to excited knocking on her room door. She groaned when she opened her eyes and that apparently was a sign for Olivia to open the door and jump on her roommate's bed.
"What time is it?" Ester groaned, turning away from her friend.
"Like seven a.m." Olivia answered, making Ester pull her blanket over her face.
"Leave me alone, it's too early." She sighed.
"Alright, so I'm guessing you don't want to see your surprise then." Olivia said and then stood up again. Ester's eyes were open in a heartbeat and she sat up on her mattress. Oh, she was a sucker for surprises. She had a love hate relationship with them.
"What surprise?" Ester asked as she stood up and slowly followed her roommate outside.
"Someone left a surprise outside on our doorstep." Olivia answered.
"How do you know it's for me?" Ester frowned and then caught sight of it when they entered the living room, where Olivia had placed it on the coofee table.
"Oh my God." They were beautiful. Red roses, at least fifty of them.
"I don't have filthy rich friends." Her roommate said and Ester shot her a look.
"But why would anyone send me flowers?" Ester asked aloud.
"We'd find out if you'd read the attached card." Her friend rolled her eyes and watched Ester shrug before searching for the card. Once she did, she found her heart was racing.
"What are you waiting for? Open it." Olivia impatiently said.
"Aren't you supposed to be at work?" Olivia was working every Saturday in order to provide for her college classes.
"Yes, but I called and said I'd come in later due to an emergency." She simply shrugged, making Ester raise an eyebrow.
"Don't make me hurt you." Olivia warned and her friend laughed.
"Okay, okay." Ester took a deep breath and then opened the black card. Before she even finished reading, Olivia started squealing.
Not even a dozen roses can reach your beauty. - Your secret admirer
"Oh my God!" Olivia squealed another time and Ester took a step away from her. She probably should've found this situation flattering, but she couldn't help but feel a little weirded out.
"Why are you so silent? Mister handsome is making a move, isn't that exciting?" Came her roommate's curious voice. But Ester shook her head.
"I don't think it's Devon. Yeah, no it's definitely not Devon." Ester said, even though the possibility of it being him was still there. She knew Devon long enough to know he'd never do that. To her, that is. They hated each other.
"Why not? Do you have another rich guy to consider?" Olivia asked.
"Why does it have to be a rich guy?" Ester didn't see the connection.
"Girl, these are at least fifty roses and look at the fancy packaging. Do you know how expensive they are?"
When Ester shook her head, her roommate sighed.
"You're hopeless. It is definitely Devon." She said. Could it be Devon? Ester quickly shook her head again. No way.
"Whatever. I'm too tired to think about this now. We'll talk when you're home from work." Was all Ester said before leaving her friend gaping in the living room.
That was not the kind of surprise she wanted.
A/N: Who do you think it is? Any suspicions yet?
Xoxo.