A Broken Soul(19)

For no other reason than I didn't want to leave her.





Lilly



THE SECOND THE song started playing that nervousness in my belly erupted in a swarm of butterflies. It felt like my whole body burned red, but, as always, the instant I began dancing, the rest of the world disappeared. There was nothing but the steady thrum of the music and Lana Del Rey's sultry voice. Every fiber in my body moved as if on autopilot, my feet carrying me across the floor as though they had a mind of their own. 

My head cleared of absolutely everything. There was no pain or heartache, no stage fright, no nerves. I was in my own world where I ruled over everything. I made the rules here, and the number one rule was that all the heaviness in life was left at the door.

The last few lines of the song played, and I let my eyes drift closed, not needing my sense of sight to finish the number. It was as familiar as the beat of my own heart. Once I hit that last mark, I pulled in a long, much needed breath as I slowly lifted my eyelids. For those four minutes, I'd forgotten all about Quinn being in the room with me, and seeing him watching me with an unreadable expression on his face gave me a start.

His eyes grew darker with every step he took in my direction, and I couldn't help but feel that, in that very moment, he was the predator and I was his prey. My heart began beating against my chest for an entirely different reason as he got closer, closer. Only inches stood between us when he finally stopped. I could smell the intoxicating spiciness of his cologne.

"S-so," I stuttered, out of breath from not only the exertion of dancing, but his heady presence. "What did you think?"

"That was … " The muscle in his jaw ticked, and his hands balled into tight fists at his side. "Fucking incredible," he finally finished, rendering me momentarily speechless.

"Yeah?" I asked on a sigh as the air around us went electric. Just like the night outside my apartment, my skin prickled with awareness as the moment stretched out between us.

"I've never seen anything like that in my life. The way you move …  it's unbelievable."

I couldn't help but touch him right then. Reaching out, I placed my hand on his arm and whispered, "That's an amazing compliment. Thank you so much."

I meant for my touch to increase the connection I felt between us, but for some reason it seemed to snap him out of it. I could actually see the shutters falling down over his green eyes.

Taking a step back, he cleared his throat and lifted his arm, rubbing the back of his neck. His tone when he spoke next was completely void of any emotion. "You're very talented. I have no doubt Sophia will learn a lot from you."

Disappointment coursed through my blood, my shoulders drooped in defeat, but I did my best to paste a smile on my face. "Thanks. She's a fantastic student."

"Well … " Quinn glanced down at his watch, and I got the impression he was trying to look anywhere but at me. "It's getting late. I should probably go."

I kept my tone light as I said, "Okay. I'll walk you out."

"No need." He was already moving, reaching the door in a few quick strides. "Have a good night."

And just like that, he was gone, leaving me wondering what the hell just happened.





Lilly



I'D BEEN DRAGGING all morning long. Concerns over my father were weighing so heavily on my mind I had trouble finding sleep at night. And to make matters worse, it had been a week and a half since my private performance for Quinn, and he was still giving me the cold shoulder. If there was any chance of surviving the day, I needed one of Chloe's pastries and a cup of coffee STAT.

Taking the internal stairs, I headed down to the café below and made a beeline toward the bakery side.

"Morning," I announced, as I dramatically flopped down onto one of the barstools.



       
         
       
        

Chloe smirked at me. "Well good morning, sunshine," she teased, taking in my less-than-enthusiastic expression. "Coffee?"

"Intravenously, please. And two almond scones while you're at it."

She set about making my coffee and grabbed my scones from the pastry display. "Rough morning?"

I made a sarcastic face and stuffed half a scone in my mouth, talking around the delicious, crumbly goodness. "That's putting it lightly."

Chloe grimaced at my stellar display of table manners and opened her mouth, no doubt to lay into me for talking with my mouth full. Lucky for me, a handful of customers made their way to the counter and started placing their orders, giving me time to swallow my food.