Finding Us (2 page)

“Damn, are you girls ever ready on time?” he teases as he takes a seat next to me on the couch.

I roll my eyes, “Shut your face, I’m ready.”

“Well, where’s your other half?” Rex banters back.

“I’m right here. Let’s go, pain in the asses.” Summer answers before I can even get a word out.

“Damn Sum…” Rex whistles.

Rex and Summer have been dancing around their feelings for a while now. It’s only a matter of time until they screw each other’s brains out. I’ve tried to meddle in their relationship, hoping to help, but both of them deny they have feelings for each other. I know it’s all just an act and time will tell.

“I have to be at work in an hour,” I tell them both. “I forgot that I’m filling in today.”

After lunch, I haul my ass down three blocks to make it to my class on time. If I wasn’t there to start the girls with their warm ups right away, it would be complete chaos for the rest of the class. As soon as I place my bag down on one of the empty chairs along the side of the room, two of the girls come skipping in the door.

“Ok girls, you know the deal. Start doing your warm ups until the others get here.” I wave to the moms on their way out the door.

I shake my head in disgust thinking about my conversation with one of my girls’ moms just the other day. Apparently, when the moms drop off the girls most are dressed like they are going to the gym to meet up with their “trainers” and others are dressed to the nines going to meet their “sugar daddies”. I live on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, which is safer and more upper class, but it’s repulsive to think of what the moms are really doing when they drop their daughters off.

A few days ago, the mom of one of my favorite girls, Mia, asked me to babysit for her because she had a business dinner on a Saturday night and her normal sitter was home with the stomach bug. She offered to pay me two hundred dollars for two hours of my time. I think I had a lapse in judgment that day. When she got home that night, the two of us sat around and finished off a bottle of wine in front of the fireplace. When Mia fell asleep, she spilled the details of some of the other moms. It was more than I ever cared to know about.

Within ten minutes my jazz class is full of eight year olds and we get down to business. I work the girls hard but I know they can handle it. A few of the other dance instructors have commented to me a few times about how well they are doing. I smiled and told them of course they were doing well; they had one of the best teachers. If there was one thing I was good at, it was dancing.

Two hours later, class is over and the girls are ready to drop.
You’re welcome moms!
As for me, I was just getting warmed up.

When I arrive home after dance class, Summer and Rex are cuddling awfully close on the couch. I shut the door harder than normal giving them a heads up that I was home, they both jump apart and I try to hold back a giggle.
Busted!

A pizza box is opened on the floor along with a tipped over cup. “Um, you gonna pay someone to clean that spot off our rug?” I joke with Rex.

“Shit.” He jumps up off the couch to retrieve some paper towels and starts cleaning up his mess.

“So what’s the plan for tonight?” I ask the both of them as I grab a slice of pizza from the box. It’s cold but I don’t care, I’m too hungry and lazy to warm it up.

Rex walks into the kitchen and answers, “I guess we’re going to Club Two Twelve. My brother is going to be there tonight.”

“Your brother?” Summer and I say in unison.

Rex laughs, “Yeah, I know, you’ll finally get to meet him. He just finished wrapping up some new clubs and setting up a new apartment building out in California. I didn’t expect him to be gone for this long.”

“So wait, is he older or younger again? I forget.” Summer asks.

Rex glares at her and I snicker.

“He’s twenty-six, but before you girls start getting all crazy, he’s a bit of an asshole. He’s still dealing with some shit that happened a few years ago.” Rex walks over to the pizza box that’s lying on the floor and picks it up. “He’s not the same person he used to be.” He says quietly.

I’m not the same person that I once was either. I’m not that shy, sheltered girl my parents made me be. What my parents said went, there were no ifs, ands or buts about it. My father wanted me to take over his company when he retired, but that was something I had no desire to do. Did he care? No. I applied to colleges I wanted to go to, my parents applied to colleges for me that
they
wanted me to go to. My parents refused to pay for me to go to school unless it was one that
they
chose, they had me by the balls so what did I do? I went to the school
they
chose. I took the classes
they
chose and
they
paid for them. The day I graduated with my bachelor’s degree in Business Management was the same day I cut all ties with my parents.

Summer wouldn’t go to college without me so she applied to the same school I did. That’s the only thing that made college bearable for me. Summer and I have been best friends since kindergarten; she’s the sister I never had. Summer has the parents I wanted, the ones that listen and pay attention to their daughter. I wanted to be heard,
they
couldn’t care less. My best friend and I are opposites; which is why we get along so well, I think. She’s tall, I’m short. Summer has shiny sunshine blonde hair, I have chocolate brown. She’s pale skinned, I have olive skin. Summer has striking blue eyes, I have green. The only thing we aren’t opposites on is our love for dancing. We should have gone to Julliard but my parents wouldn’t hear of it.

Dancing is my outlet now, my way to rebel. It’s my way of facing everything. When I’m sad, I dance. When I’m pissed off at the world, I dance. When I’m happy, I dance. Dancing is my way of living.

Summer is eyeing me, gauging my change of mood after Rex’s comment. I shrug my shoulder letting her know I’m ok. “So what kind of clubs does your brother run?” I probe Rex.

“Knox runs night clubs up and down the East and West coast for the most part. He also owns a building development company.” Rex stares off into the distance. “He took over everything after Dad died.”

I snag another piece of pizza and head into my room. I take my time eating and gathering my things for my shower to get ready for tonight. I don’t know why I bother showering before the club; within five minutes of being in there I’ll feel like I need another one, but since I’m all sweaty from class and we are meeting Rex’s brother, I thought maybe it would be a good idea.

Shuffling out of the bathroom when I’m finished with my shower, I spot Summer’s hair cascading down the side of the couch and Rex is laying on top of her. I hear kissing noises and I hold back a little squeal, not wanting to disrupt their moment. I tip toe into the bedroom and shut the door quietly.
Finally those two are figuring things out.

I throw on a pair of boy shorts and a tank top while I get to work on straightening my thick hair. I don’t know why I torture myself with this shit but I do it anyway. I feel sexier with my hair straight instead of a crazy mess of curls. After my hair’s done, I apply some heavy dark make-up. I go for smoky eyes and red lipstick to go along with the outfit that I plan on wearing.

It dawns on me that I still haven’t heard Summer start the shower yet.
What the hell is going on out there? I swear to God if they’re having sex on the couch I’m making them buy a new one.

I’m stripping off my tank top as the door flings open and Rex steps in, “Hey…um…” he stumbles over his words as he takes me in, standing in front of him with only my black strapless bra and my boy shorts.

“Rex spit it out.” He still doesn’t respond. I snap my fingers a few times, “Rex!” I yell.

He blinks a few times, “Summer’s in the shower, I’m running home to change. I’ll be back in a few.”

“Okay.” I respond as I turn my back to him and reach for my dress.

I decide to wear my black mini dress with the plunging neck line down the front and back. I take off the strapless bra since I can’t wear one with this and dig out my double sided tape from the nightstand. After I’m sure the girls are perfectly in place for the night, I pair the dress with my red stilettos. I’m putting on my bracelet when Summer walks in wearing a towel around her body and her hair.

“Hey. Damn Jas, you look hot.”

Smirking at her I say, “You and Rex looked pretty hot and heavy.”

She groans and goes over to my closet to find something to wear. “Not going to talk about it with you.”

“Okay.” I say with a smile, knowing that she’ll tell me eventually.

Summer turns, glares at me, and then takes the towel off her head and throws it at me.

“You just wait, Jasmine. You’re gonna find Mister Perfect,” I flinch and look away, “shit sorry.”

During my freshman year at college I thought I had found my mister perfect but he was perfectly wrong for me in the end. Max was just another reason why I ran off after college graduation. He wanted to plan my future for me. He wanted me to move to Texas with him while he ran his father’s oil company, which would have been great and also solved my problems with my parents, but Max insisted that there was no need to work. That was a problem for me, I wanted to work. I wanted to be my own person. Max wanted a trophy wife and I was willing to be just that if he at least let me be my own person. Let me find my way in life. But the real kicker was that Max was cheating on me and I’m not even sure when it started. One night during finals, right before graduation, I was going to surprise him and leave dinner on his bed so that he would have something to eat when he was finished with his study session, but instead I walked in on Max in mid-thrust to a girl he had bent over his bed. It makes me physically sick to my stomach that he was sleeping with her while he was still with me. I’m so glad I found out then before wasting my time and moving to Texas with him.

“It’s ok. I’m over it.”

I am over it, for the most part anyway, although I still miss him from time to time. We could have been great together. Max was comfortable and easy going and we just connected really well together.

“Anyway, nothing is going on. We’re just friends.” Summer says as a blush creeps up her cheeks.

I grin, “Friends with benefits.”

She didn’t have a comeback for that.

I finish slipping my heels on and leave Summer to get ready.

An hour later, Rex has a cab stop in front of Club Two Twelve. He helps us out and puts his hand on the small of both of our backs and escorts us up to the big meathead of a bouncer whose name I can never remember even though I’ve seen him plenty of times.

“Ace,” Rex greets him with a curt nod.

“Rex,” then Ace mumbles something into the radio that he’s wearing and moves the velvet rope to allow us to pass by all the waiting guests.

“Asshole,” Rex says under his breath as we pass by Ace.

We walk into the club and right away I know it’s going to be a great night. The DJ is one of the best around and just so happens to be playing
Too Close by Alex Clare
, one of my favorite songs. The dance floor is a sea of guys and girls bumping and grinding all over each other, everyone’s bodies are moving to the beat.

Rex leads us upstairs to the VIP section. We sit in a booth that is reserved for us and place our order with the waitress. When she returns, she comes over with four shots instead of three.

I gaze over at Rex, looking for an explanation. “Knox”

Nodding, I peek around expecting someone to be walking over to us but I don’t see anyone.

Summer doesn’t seem to want to wait though. She smiles at me, “Down it and then we’ll go down to the dance floor?”

I shrug and lift the shot glass to my lips. The vodka burns going down but it hits the spot. I feel it settling in my stomach, warming my body. Summer and I stand up and make our way back down the way we came so we can get to the dance floor.

After being out on the floor for a while, a thin layer of sweat glistens on our bodies. A few guys have come up to dance with us but after a song or two they fall away like we have a shield around us.

I’m about ready to tell Summer that I’m taking a bathroom break when
City Boy by Donkeyboy
comes on.

My hips start rolling, rocking my body to the song, when I feel someone slide up behind me. I freeze for just a second at the unexpected hand on my hip. I’m swaying my hips side to side; the guy behind me starts to spin me around slowly.

God, I hope this guy isn’t ugly because he actually has some decent rhythm.

My eyes meet his and my breath catches. This guy is oozing sexiness. His light brown hair is styled into a faux hawk, his compelling blue eyes frame his handsome yet rugged face. His nose is perfectly straight and his pink lips part in a dazzling display of straight, white teeth. Just from assessing his facial features I’m all hot and bothered. I bite the corner of my bottom lip, damn his lips
.
He stands there; devilishly handsome as my eyes roam down to his powerful set of shoulders that are straining against his button down dress shirt. He has the air of authority and the appearance of someone who demands attention.