Kissing the Debutant (The Dangers of Dating a Diva Book 3) Read online

  Jack speared Lillian with one final look. “Can we get started this weekend?”

  Lillian shook her head. “I…” Well, he was going to find out just how different they truly were, eventually. “I have a debutant luncheon back home on Sunday, but I should be back by three.”

  Jack didn’t even flinch at her admission. “Okay, Sunday then. Three o’clock?”

  “I’ll be there.”

  Jack flashed her a grin. “You won’t regret this.”

  When he was gone, Lillian leaned against the cool brick, excitement coursing through her. When was the last time she’d been excited about dance?

  Probably before it represented her future.

  Definitely long before she met Jack Butler.

  A debutant ball was supposed to be a shining moment in a young woman’s life, or, a shining cluster of moments. There were dress fittings and luncheons, and teas spread over the months leading up to the singular event.

  And this luncheon was the final step.

  Lillian sat in her spring dress, a gauzy purple fabric, tapered at the waist with pink rosebuds decorating the full skirt. Her mother’s hair dresser had blown out and curled her long blond hair, draping it over her shoulders.

  After so long of wearing her usual buns, it was a strange feeling when the strands grazed her neck. She brushed a hand through it, hearing her mother’s voice in her head. “Don’t touch your hair. Sit up straight. Don’t slouch. Act as though holding a penny between your knees.”

  Lillian crossed her ankles, trying to get comfortable in the high-backed golden chair around a table full of girls who looked no more comfortable than her. She knew some of them from their years in Lexington society. Their mothers were friends, and so they were expected to be too. Most of the girls attended various private schools, some close to home and others far away like Lillian in Ohio.

  But they all came back for debutant events. Soon, they’d walk down the gilded staircase to prove themselves to be women of substance and no longer girls.

  Meagan Sanders set her water goblet down and let her eyes fall on Lillian. “You’re quiet today, Lillian.”

  She was always quiet, never joining in on the gossip these ladies enjoyed. “I’m just taking it all in.” They’d listened to a keynote speech about philanthropy for an hour before the food was even served. Now, Lillian waited until she could politely leave.

  “Well,” Susan Carmichael started, flipping thick, black hair over one shoulder. “My mother told me you have an audition for the American Ballet Company.”

  Excited chatter wound around the table, and Lillian averted her eyes. “Yes, that’s true.”

  Meagan smiled at her. “My mother wishes I’d follow in her footsteps as a lawyer. She’s always bragging to me about how Lillian Preston takes after her mother and wondering why I can’t do the same.”

  Lillian’s mother would take some pleasure in the envy of her friends, but it only turned Lillian’s stomach sour. They were right. She’d always done whatever her mother asked of her. Would she continue to do so for the rest of her life?

  Susan leaned forward conspiratorially. “Tell us, Lillian, how is Defiance Academy? I tried to convince my mother to send me there, but she wouldn’t.” Lillian knew the truth. Susan wasn’t accepted into the academy.

  “It’s fine.”

  “Fine? You go to school with the children of billionaires, diplomats, and celebrities. That’s more than fine.”

  The line of questioning made Lillian uncomfortable. She’d never paid attention to the kids in her classes. To her, they were peers, not people to be revered. Sure, Wylder had a famous brother. She knew kids from the academy would end up playing professional sports and creating apps or vaccines or a million other important contributions to society.

  And all she’d do was dance.

  One shoulder lifted in a shrug. “Honestly, no one acts any different at school.”

  “That’s so cool.” Meagan sighed. “They’re so normal.”

  “Well, yes.” Why wouldn’t her classmates be normal? She thought of the high walls around campus and the strict rules meant to protect the important students from the press or anyone else who’d try to get to them. Maybe it wasn’t as normal as she’d thought.

  She caught sight of her mother talking with the keynote speaker at the front of the room and shot from her chair. Setting her napkin on the table, she gave the other girls a tight smile before crossing the room, winding through tables to get to her mother.

  “I’m ready to go, Mom.” Lillian stopped in front of her.

  Her mom turned toward her. “No, dear. It’s early. It is rude to leave now.”

  Lillian glanced at the clock on the wall. She’d expected this to be over by now and only had about an hour and a half to make it to the dance studio on time. If they left now and didn’t hit traffic, they could do it. “Please, Mom. I was hoping to fit in a practice this afternoon.”

  Her mom huffed out a sigh. “Fine. Driving you back early suits me, anyway. I can get back in time for bridge club.”

  “Great, let’s go.”

  Lillian said a few quick goodbyes on her way out and could finally breathe again as they stepped into the parking lot. Her heels clacked across the pavement. She hated wearing heels because of the damage they could do to her feet—feet she needed to protect for her future as a dancer. Once debutant season was over, she’d throw away every pair she owned.

  There was no point going back to their house because Lillian’s bag was already in the car, so she convinced her mom to head straight for the highway. It was only when Lexington was in the rearview mirror she smiled.

  All weekend, she’d thought of dancing with Jack again. It might not work out, but she was ready for something new, something challenging.

  “Have you chosen an escort yet?”

  That was not the challenge Lillian wanted. “No.” She slumped down in her seat.

  “That’s not a problem, dear. I can ask my friends if any of their sons will be available to attend. We will not let you go unescorted. If worse comes to worst, Charles can take you.”

  “Cousin Charles?” More like a second cousin she barely knew.

  “Yes, I’m sure he’d be delighted.”

  “Mom, I haven’t seen him since we were kids.”

  “Yes, but he’s family.” Family whose mother moved them from Lexington to get away from these society functions. “But I will look elsewhere first.”

  She wanted to tell her mom she could get her own escort, that she didn’t need some unsuspecting boy roped into it by their mothers.

  But the truth was, Lillian’s mother was more likely to find someone who’d say yes than Lillian.

  How sad was that?

  11

  Jack

  “Hey, you’re late.” Jack pushed off the front counter, smiling like an idiot when Lillian stormed into the studio, texting furiously on her phone. His smile faded when he caught sight of her dressed in a cloud of lilac fabric and rosebuds, her long silky blond hair fanning out behind her.

  Pretty sure I just forgot my own name. Jack tried to focus on what they were here for.

  “You’re lucky I’m here.” She shoved her phone in her bag and looked up to catch him staring. “What are you looking at?”

  “Nice dress.” Jack managed to stop gaping long enough to get the words out. She was gorgeous, but she was also clearly not in a good mood, and that was going to make this even harder.

  “I’ll be sure to tell my mother you like her sense of fashion.” She shoved past him to the back room to change.

  “Meet me in the small studio when you’re done,” Jack called after her, second-guessing his last minute decision to send Mia home. He’d thought things would go better with just the two of them, but now he was wondering if they needed a buffer.

  Jack paced across the small studio room, waiting for Lillian to join him. He had one more chance to get this right. He just hoped she’d meet him halfway.

  �
��Let’s get this day over with.” Lillian sailed into the room, her hair back in its neat bun. She tossed her bag into the empty chair by the door. Without waiting for his instruction, she sank to the floor to begin her warm up.

  Jack took a seat on the floor, wincing as he watched her bend her ankle at an awkward angle, rotating the joint and flexing her right foot before she moved to the left.

  After several minutes of working on her feet and stretching her body, Lillian walked to the barre. She ignored him as she held lightly to the barre, moving into a perfect relevé, slowly rising up and down on the balls of her feet until she was en pointe, bearing the full weight of her body on the tips of her toes. From there she moved into a series of grand pliés.

  She was so graceful and precise, Jack got lost in her movement.

  “You’re staring again.” Lillian moved back down to the floor into a middle split stretch.

  “I’m fascinated with your movement.” Jack didn’t bother to hide his admiration. A dancer like Lillian had to be used to the constant praise of others.

  “What are we doing today?” She glided back to her feet and stood in first position with her feet turned out.

  “Well.” Jack lumbered to his feet. “First of all, please relax. Just stand like you normally would.”

  “This is how I stand.” Lillian stared at him blankly.

  “Okay.” Jack clapped his hands once and moved to stand in front of her. “Just do what I do, but first, take your hair down.”

  “Why?”

  “I need to get you out of your comfort zone. You’re not a ballerina today. Today you’re just a girl who likes to dance.”

  “Fine.” Lillian took her hair down and removed the pins holding the wispy flyaway strands that fell around her face.

  She looked uncomfortable.

  Someone has to teach this girl how to relax. Jack started second-guessing his plans for today. Lillian needed to have some fun for a change.

  “All right, now shake it out.” Jack tossed his head back, running his hands through his own wavy hair. “Just like that.”

  The corners of Lillian’s mouth turned up ever so slightly.

  “You think I’m ridiculous, don’t you?” He laughed.

  “Very.” Lillian tossed her hair back, shaking out the long tresses.

  “Come on, Lil, that was lame.” Jack put his hands on his hips. “Shake it like a nineties hair band.” He bobbed his head like a lunatic.

  “You’re a strange boy.” Lillian laughed, but she shook her head, anyway.

  “We need music.” Jack turned to the smartphone dock on the wall and flipped through his playlists until he found something fun they could dance to. He whirled around to the beat of the music, tapping his foot and acting as goofy as he possibly could. He was rewarded with a rare smile from Lillian, her hair cascading down her back in a golden halo.

  “What now?” she asked.

  “Shake it out.”

  “My hair?”

  “Your whole body. Just shake off all the rules. He bounced on the balls of his feet, flinging his arms and hands and rolling his shoulders.

  “You look like a weirdo.” Lillian folded her arms across her chest.

  “Come weird out with me then.” He reached for her hand, tugging her close. “I won’t even look if you promise to give it a try.” He closed his eyes, realizing she was more afraid of looking foolish than the activity itself.

  He smiled when he heard the whisper of her slippers against the floor as she hopped along with him. “All right, Lillian!” He twirled around, raising his hands over his head with his eyes closed. “Dance it out!”

  He cracked his eyes just for a moment to make sure she was getting the point of the exercise. One glance told him she was secretly enjoying it. She still looked like a prima ballerina, but she was as relaxed as he’d ever seen her.

  “Good job.” He slowed to a stop. “Today, I just want us to have a little fun. We can try a few steps from the choreography I’ve been working on for you, but we have zero goals for today. No pressure.”

  Lillian nodded. “Got it. Show me the sequence from the other day.”

  This time Jack moved through the steps slowly, breaking down each piece of the sequence into smaller movements she could study.

  She was quick to follow his example, twisting and turning with an elegance he completely lacked. She nailed the footwork this time, but stumbled on the intro to the first leap. Only a beat off with the music, she missed the landing and slammed into the padded mat covering the floor.

  “That was great.” Jack beamed, impressed she nearly got it on the first real try.

  “I fell. I do not fall.” Lillian shook her head with a scowl. “I was off rhythm, and my footwork was crap.”

  “It was great for a first try. Go again, but focus more on the music and let your body handle the rest.”

  Lillian snorted at that, making it no secret what she thought about his teaching methods. “Start the music over.”

  Jack leaned against the wall, watching as she returned to the uptight ballerina she was. So much for getting her to relax.

  Lillian ignored him as she counted out the beats of the music, nodding her head as she turned on her toe, lifting her arms from fourth to fifth position over her head. She tapped out the more modern footwork, giving it a ballet twist he thought was brilliant. This time she didn’t stumble at all as she moved into the air, kicking her feet just so, in perfect sync with the music, but she missed the flat foot landing, over-corrected, and crashed into the floor again.

  “Ugh.” Lillian slapped her palm against the mat.

  “That was definitely better.” Jack moved to help her up, but she ignored him.

  “Again.” She moved into a full body stretch before she took the starting position again.

  “Why don’t we try something more fun? We can come back to this later.”

  “No. Again. I don’t move on until I perfect a new move.”

  We’re going to be here for months. Jack watched as she ran through the sequence again and again, slowly improving until she stuck the first landing and managed to finish the sequence without falling.

  “That was awesome.” Jack clapped.

  “No, it wasn’t,” she snapped.

  “You’re too hard on yourself, Lil.”

  “I have to be. The competition never lets up, so neither do I.” She stopped long enough to take a sip from her water bottle.

  “When was the last time you had fun dancing?”

  “It’s not about fun, Jack. It’s about being good at something and giving it your all.”

  Jack sank down to the mat, patting the space opposite him.

  With a shrug, Lillian joined him on the mat after a few stretches to cool down her muscles.

  “Why do you do it?”

  “What? Dance?” She tilted her head in confusion.

  “Yes, why do you put yourself through such intense training if you don’t love it?”

  “It’s not that I don’t love it.” She brushed her hair back from her face and twisted it up in a loose bun on top of her head. “It’s more about owing it to myself and the talent I have to see how far I can go.”

  “Then tell me, what you do enjoy about ballet?”

  “I love the beauty and grace of it. I like that I’m good at it.”

  “You’re just not sure about a career in it.” He could tell by the look on her face that he’d struck a nerve. “That’s not a bad thing, you know.” Jack wondered if anyone had ever told her she didn’t have to pursue ballet just because she happened to be phenomenal at it.

  “Tell that to my mother,” Lillian scoffed. “She made it all the way to the American Ballet Company, had a successful career for a few years until an injury forced her into an early retirement. I think she married my father because she didn’t know what else to do with herself but settle down and have a family.”

  It was the most Lillian had opened up to him since he’d met her, and Jack didn’t
want her to stop.

  “And she wants you to have what she didn’t.”

  “I think that’s what she used to want,” Lillian said with a far-off look in her eye. “I don’t remember a time where dancing wasn’t part of my life. My mom swears I started dancing before I could even walk very well.” A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “I loved dancing with my mother when I was a kid. She was the best teacher. We laughed so much, and she was so patient. It was fun then. But then I think she realized I had the talent to go all the way, and it turned into something else.”

  “It wasn’t fun anymore.”

  “No. Not that. Not really. I guess it just wasn’t fun in the same way it used to be when I was little. I miss that sometimes.”

  “You know what I think?” Jack pulled his knee up, leaning against it with his elbow.

  “No, but I’m a hundred percent sure you’re going to tell me.” Lillian smiled.

  “I think you just need to cut loose and try to find the version of you who loved dancing and laughing with her mom. And until you can find that part of yourself, you probably shouldn’t make any life-altering choices about which path to take. Dancing or college. You’re the only one who can make that decision for yourself.”

  “You keep telling me to relax and loosen up and have fun, but I’m just not… sure I know how to do that.” She flushed pink from the tops of her cheeks to the roots of her hair. “I’ve been so serious for so long.”

  “Then there’s only one thing we can do,” Jack said, his expression serious.

  “What?” she asked.

  “I think it’s time for a night out at Down Under.”

  “Down Under?” Lillian frowned. “That sounds sleazy.”

  “It’s an underage dance club in Riverpass.”

  Lillian shook her head. “I can’t leave campus for something like that. And dance clubs really aren’t my thing.”

  “That’s exactly why you’re coming with us tonight. We’ll sneak you off campus. It’ll be great.”

  “We? Who’s we?” Lillian’s face paled at the mention of sneaking off campus without permission.