Page 9 of Falling With a Spin

Looking at the clock, I see that only five minutes are remaining. I chew on the tip of my pencil, which is just one of the many nervous habits I have, and deciding on option one was not wise and also really gross. I scribble down the best answer for the last question and stuff my belongings in my bag. I hand my test to the professor, giving him a small smile.

Walking out of the classroom into the quad, I thought a weight would come off my shoulders. But, it feels like more was added, and the urge to run to the nearest dance room rises inside me with each step back to the apartment.

Chapter 3

Emma

The buzzing from my phone wakes me up, and I startle out of bed. Grabbing my phone, a text from Chad immediately pops up. But not just one; there are at least ten of them from the last ten minutes. I rub the sleep from my eyes, reading them each.

Rolling my eyes and ignoring the slew of other messages, I type a quick reply.

I check the time on my phone, and it shows 4 p.m. That leaves me with two and a half hours to get out of bed and get ready. Groaning, I get up and head towards the shower, turning it on and letting it heat the small space. After class, I came home and was thankful to see Taylor and Garret were gone. I didn’t intend to take a nap, but once I fell onto my bed, there was no stopping my eyes shutting close and letting sleep take over.

Jumping into the shower, I quickly wash my hair and body, then wrap myself in my black robe before walking over to my closet. When I turn on the light to find something to wear, I’m just met with disappointment. All that's in my closet is either a few dresses or sweatshirts with book quotes on them that I found on Etsy. It’s part of being a book collector; don’t judge me.

I walk out of my closet and go straight to Taylor's room, knowing that I will find something in there that will do for tonight. Shuffling through her clothes, I come upon a skinny, thin, strapless black dress that comes to mid-thigh. A smile comes to my face as I hold it up against me in her full-length mirror.

“Perfect,” I whisper to myself.

When I walk back into my room to get ready, I grab my phone, checking to see if Chad has replied. However, the typing bubbles keep popping up and disappearing. Rolling my eyes, I give up after a few minutes and lock my phone, toss it back on the bed, and turn around to finish getting ready.

Two hours later, I’m completing the look with a pair of red heels that I stole from Taylor. My hair is loosely curled and pulled half up, with a few pieces of hair pulled to the front. I went with a simple makeup look since I don’t wear much as it is anyway. I chose only a few pieces of jewelry: a silver necklace with a pair of ballet slippers that was given to me by Caleb for Christmas, diamond earrings that I bought myself, and a matching ring that Taylor gave to me.

I still have about fifteen minutes till Chad gets here, so I quickly spray myself with my peach body spray and throw my I.D., lip gloss, and phone into a small purse I have along with my overnight bag. I put on a black jacket and grab my keys, making my way towards the lobby.

By the time I make it down and outside, the sun is already setting. I check my phone for the time right as he shows up. He steps out of his 2016 black Tesla and meets me at the door. Even with the heels on, he still towers over me. He is wearing black denim jeans, a white dress shirt, and a black leather jacket..

Hey, Babe,” He leans in to give me a quick kiss on the cheek. “You ready?” He says, taking a step back and looking at me up and down. Inspecting my outfit, I chew on my lip nervously as his eyes continue to roam over my body. I’m unsure of what he thinks about the outfit since he never responded to my message.

“Hey, yeah, I'm all ready.” I give him a small smile, and he takes my hand, leading me towards the car. “Are you going to tell me where you are taking me?”

“It’s a surprise.” He twirls me around, “You look fucking sexy. I didn’t know you’re capable of making yourself look this good.” He gives me another look over, and his eyes darken as he drinks me in. Irritation bubbles inside me. I want to snap back with. Well, if you answered my text, then I would know what to wear. Choosing to ignore it, I give him a tight smile as he opens the door for me.

Before I can buckle up, Chad leans over from the driver's side and captures my lips with his. I close my eyes, and his hand grabs my hip, bringing me closer to him, while his other hand moves toward my chest.

My arms wrap around his neck as he squeezes my. When his hand travels up to cup my cheek, he bites my bottom lip, and a gasp leaves my lips, and his tongue slips in. It takes everything in me not to crawl in his lap right then and there. Pulling back from him, I stop before it can go any further. His brown eyes darken, and I swear his jaw tightens, but it quickly disappears, and he gives me a heart-stopping smile.

“We should get going so we don’t miss whatever you have planned,” I say breathlessly. Without a word, Chad turns from me and starts the car.

I pull down the visor fixing my lipstick and makeup, hoping that it’s not ruined too much. Tonight has to be perfect for us.

We pull into a parking spot at Season To Taste twenty minutes later and I have the biggest smile on my face. I’ve heard it’s one of the most expensive restaurants in Boston. Back home, we have a few nice places to eat, but most of them are in Scottsdale. My mom would say that the people who can go there are either working and their company pays for it, or they are filthy rich. Neither of those is my mom, and I’m perfectly fine with that. She raised me as a single mom with one income, and the few things she did provide me with were more than I could ask for.

“I'm sorry we can’t go anywhere better. It’s the only place I was able to get us in at such late notice,” he explains as he parks the car.

A sharp pain goes through me. Did he forget about today? Or were places just booked out? He did say he had something special planned.

I debate on asking him, but I shake my head from the thoughts and exit the car. He takes my hand, threading our fingers together as we walk towards the front doors.

The place is beautiful. On the outside, it has full-length windows where you can see inside, a canopy above the doors with warm lights, and on the front doors, it has the restaurant's name in a slanted cursive. Chad holds the door open, and my breath hitches with how breathtaking the inside looks. It’s decorated with lights hanging from the ceiling, similar to the ones from outside, and on the tables, there’s vases with a single rose in them. Candles are lit at every table, and couples are seated at them with loving smiles on their faces.

“I have a reservation for two under the name Chad.” He tells the hostess, who you can tell has had a few too many spray tans and bleaches her hair often.

“Right this way,” she leads us to a table that's next to the open glass windows. The entire walk to our table she’s looking and talking to Chad and only giving me side glances.

It’s nothing new.Everywhere we go, women of all ages only pay attention to him. I have always found it rude, and the one time I did bring it up, he said, “I only see you, Emma. You’re my world.” I choose to brush it off now instead of making a big deal about it, but it does bother me that he doesn’t do anything about it.

“Is this okay for you?” She asks him, rapidly blinking her eyes at him.