Page 36 of Love You Still
“I would get down there with you, but we both know I may not get back up,” she quips.
We both laugh softly as she walks toward one of the chairs, slowly lowering herself down to take a seat.
“What’s on your mind?” she asks, waiting patiently for my answer.
“This is a bad idea,” I finally say.
“How do you know unless you try?”
“I didn’t come back to town to get back together with my ex, Bristol. I need to focus on getting back in shape and making all my dreams come true.” I bang my head on the door a few times.
“Remember that sometimes life gives us a do-over. I would hate for you to pass up this chance and regret it for the rest of your life.”
“I won’t regret it.” I’m not sure if I’m trying to convince her or myself. “Look, I have a class to teach. Are you staying or going back to check on Audrey?”
“I need to go, but think about what I said, Seli.”
“Not you, too,” I groan. “My name is Selina. Seli was the lost little girl who left Tyson’s Creek with nothing but a dream.”
Bristol wraps an arm around my shoulder and pulls me in for a side hug. “But who said you couldn’t be both?”
She flashes me a small smile before waddling out the door.
I don’t know what it is about Tyson’s Creek, but no matter how many times I try to escape, somehow, I always come right back to where I started.
“You ladies ready to go?” Vance says cheerfully as he leans against the doorframe of our dance space.
He’s changed out of the clothes he was wearing earlier, and his hair is damp from a recent shower. Instead of his normal attire of dusty work boots and a flannel shirt, he’s wearing analmost new button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled to the elbows and dark jeans fitted perfectly to his muscular legs.
“Of course. We just need to change first,” Love replies.
She grabs Jade’s hand and pulls her toward the changing room at the front of the studio, leaving Vance and me alone.
“Didn’t your mama teach you not to stare?” He chuckles.
I drop my head to my chest. Nothing like ogling a man to make things awkward. To maintain some of my dignity, I ramble off ideas for what we can do with the girls, trying to look anywhere but at Vance.
Vance steps into my line of sight, causing me to stop my rambling and look into his eyes. “Change of plans. Connor texted me and asked if I would drop off Jade and Love at the house. Something about things with Audrey not going as planned.”
My shoulders sag slightly at the news. I’m sad that things are going badly between Audrey and Connor, but mostly I’m sad to be missing my chance to see where things stand between Vance and me. I know I need to tell him how I feel, or I’ll regret it forever. However, I don’t want to just lay out all my cards on the table. I hoped that this date with the girls there would’ve worked as a buffer, allowing me to feel out the situation before putting my feelings into words.
“No problem. I could use the extra time to work on my pirouettes,” I respond, trying to hide the disappointment in my voice.
“Oh, no. You aren’t getting rid of me that easily. You promised me a date.”
“Why are you pushing the issue so much?”
Vance stalks toward me. “I just want to spend time with you, Selina,” he says with nothing but anguish in his voice. “I miss you.”
My breath catches in my throat as I straighten my back, unwilling to give in. “It’s been over fifteen years, Vance. Surely, you don’t expect things to just go back to the way they were?”
I back up slightly, eager to get away from him.
“You’re the one that ran away, Seli. Forgetting about me and everyone else in this town.” He continues to stalk toward me with passion in his eyes.
“I never forgot about you,” I whisper as I back closer to the wall. “I tried. God knows I tried. That’s why I had to leave, Vance. If I’d met you that night, I would have agreed to anything you wanted, but I wanted my dream more.”
I brace myself, waiting for him to answer. I was always afraid to tell Vance that I wanted more than the house by the creek surrounded by a white picket fence. I wanted that for our future more than anything, but I also wanted to dance. Now that I’m older, I know that there was room in my life for both, but at the time, it was a one-or-the-other decision. I followed my dreams of becoming a famous ballerina and tried to forget the small town I grew up in and the love of my life. Now I have the chance to have both, but it all depends on Vance’s response.