Blind Kiss(13)

“I bet she does.” Joey was scanning Gavin up and down.

I looked out of the corner of my eye at Gavin and watched him wink at Joey. When I elbowed him, he said, “What? I’m gonna help you out here and kill the little prince with kindness. I think he likes me anyway.”

“I’m sure he does. He thinks he can convert anyone.”

“Get warmed up, Penny,” Professor Doug said.

“I gotta get up there. Sit by Doug. He’s cool.”

Gavin nodded and took a seat.





5. Fourteen Years Ago


GAVIN

What was I doing chasing this girl around? Until an hour ago, I literally believed we were put on this planet to eat and fuck. Now all I wanted to do was wash her hair and suck on her ears. What was happening to me?

I was currently hungover and tweaking from coffee. And this girl, Penny, the dancer with the almost black eyes and silky hair, was making me crazy.

I want to swim around in her dark oceans I’m gonna fuck her. No, I want to cook breakfast for her in my underwear. I want to kiss her with a mouth full of hot chocolate, then fuck her.

I was confused.

“Hey man, so what do you think?” the professor asked.

“She’s amazing.” That was a gigantic understatement. She was warming up, and I was observing her flexibility. Joey had his hand on his hip, staring at us from the edge of the stage. I waved at him and batted my eyelashes. He looked embarrassed. I could tell he was jealous of Penny. She danced beautifully. It was impossible to take my eyes off her. Not to mention I could see her nipples through her tank top.

“She and Joey have been partners for two years. They really are the best we have here,” Doug said.

“What’s his problem?”

“A crisis of confidence, perhaps. Not unusual for seniors.”

Penny was doing this insane jump across the stage while Joey Jackoff was just standing there.

“She’s so good,” I said.

“Yeah, almost too good for this place.”

Joey took his eyes off Penny for one second and seemed to miss his mark where he was supposed to catch her and fall back, shielding her from hitting the stage. She fell to the floor with a thud and landed on her knees.

“Are you fucking kidding, Joey?” she yelled.

“Settle down, Penny,” Doug said.

My little firecracker had a temper and I liked it.

Doug went to the front of the stage and ordered Penny to stay on the ground. “Penny, straighten your legs and stretch them out. Just rest for a bit, I’ll get you some ice.” He turned toward Joey. “You’re out today. Get it together. Let’s hope this isn’t a serious injury.”

Joey shrugged and pranced off the stage like he didn’t care. Just before he was out of view, he turned and looked at me. I flipped him off.

I walked toward Penny as she sat with her knee propped up. She was watching me.

“That guy is such a fucking baby. I’m sick of his shit,” she said.

Penny didn’t seem to be in pain, though she did look extremely pissed. Doug ran off to get ice.

“Are you okay?” I asked her.

“Yeah, but he could have really messed up my knee.”

She stood up easily and began stretching, bending over right in front of me as I watched her with intense focus. I’m not gonna lie, I was embarrassingly turned on.

Doug had a strange look on his face when he returned with the ice. “Do you even need this?” he said to her.

“No, I’m fine. I just wanted to get rid of Joey. He’s ruining this routine for me, Doug.”

“I’ll have a talk with him. He’ll get it. The level of difficulty on his part is minimal, but we all know how he is. He doesn’t like to be in the shadow.”

“Put a goddamn spotlight on him if it’s going to patch up his ego. I don’t want to get hurt.” She was so assertive and smart and witty. I was totally into it.

Doug kept looking at me like he was sizing me up. I smiled.

He put his attention back on Penny. “Can you continue, or do you want to call it a night?”

“No, I want to try the jump a few more times. I want to work through this bruise, otherwise I’ll be sore in the morning.”

Doug looked at me again.

“You’re not thinking . . . ?” Penny said.

“Well, he looks strong.”

Before I even let the conversation go any further, I said, “I can’t dance to save my life. Seriously, two left feet. Just awful . . . a spectacle, really.” It wasn’t entirely true. Back in Hollywood, where I grew up with my mom, she had taught me how to dance, but I wasn’t about to jump around on a stage in a pair of tights.

“No, we just need you for the lifts,” Doug said.

I would get to hold Penny? My eyes lit up. “Lift?”

“But he won’t have the form, Doug.”

“No faith in me, Little P?”

She smiled. “It’s more complicated than that.”

“No, Penny. He’s got the strength and I want to get you off your feet. Work on balance for a bit.”

If my roommate Mike were here witnessing this, I’d definitely get an earful. He was always heckling me about falling in love in five minutes, then out of love five minutes later.