Slow Down, it's all Legit

Whether I was making a big mistake with quitting dance or not, I did not want everyone to know that it was my entire life for so long. Maybe I should have been proud of it, but I could not bring myself to tell everyone that I was basically married to the sport for my entire life. It was a great life when I was actually excited to don a tutu and go prancing around the stage for ballet, jump at the chance to tumble my way across the stage during acro, love every minute of time steps during tap, or any other moves during jazz. The truth was that I did not want to be defined by my sport anymore. I was a dancer, first and foremost, and Amberlinne after that and I was tired of only being known because of what I did.

Luke could see that I was not really in the mood to board anymore so he decided that we had enough for the night so without a complaint, he took me home telling me that I needed to rest up because he had a surprise for me for the next day. I was fairly certain that I was not really going to enjoy the surprise because he had a wicked smile on his face as he told me about it, but I was not going to question him. It was better that way.

I knew that I owed Zander a call since I ditched him for the night so after I showered and before I went to bed, I called him to talk. For some reason, I really enjoyed talking on the phone with him and loved to fall asleep while talking to him. Even though that was something that sounded so much like we were a couple, it just soothed me in a nonromantic way. So we talked for a while until he could tell that I was practically asleep so he whispered a good night and hung up. He always knew just the right time to hang up and let me sleep.

My phone vibrating right on my head woke me up bright and early the next morning and it did not put me in a good mood. Of course, it was Luke and I could already see the smirk on his face before I even answered the phone.

“Good morning sunshine!” he greeted after I grumbled out a hello. “Are you forgetting that you have a surprise in store for yourself today?”

“The way you just stated that makes it sound like I am the one surprising myself and if that were the case, there would be no need for this call,” I muttered, still very angry that he woke me up. “State your case and be gone.”

“Well aren’t you little miss bright and happy this morning? I would just like to tell you that you need to be ready at six sharp tonight and Zander needs to be there with you. Wear something dressy, preferably a dress if at all possible.”

“So why the hell did you call me at seven in the morning if I don’t need to be up?!”

“Well, you see sweetheart, that is all part of my job. It doesn’t really pay in the money variety, but it does allow me to spend quality time with your pretty little face. I’m supposed to annoy you and that is all there is to it.”

“I hate you,” I hissed and hung up the phone. Not a minute later he sent me a text telling me that he loved me too. Ugh, I did not like mornings.

Actually, I did not really mind mornings that much; it was just being woken up when I was not ready to be awake that make me mad. Luke knew that very well and yet he insisted on doing it. Why? I didn’t really think it was too much to ask to be left in peace in the morning.

Since I was up anyway, I decided that I would just go down to make breakfast for Shaun. Saturday was the one day he had to sleep in so I really wanted to show him how grateful I was that he was letting me stay with him. Not only that, but helping me board and introducing me to all the guys. He was a really great person.

When he came down the stairs sniffing the air with a smile on his face, I knew that I had done a good thing. Pancakes, eggs, sausage, and bacon were laid out on the table, hot and ready for him to eat and he looked very pleased. He told me that I didn’t have to do it, but I really did and I didn’t care what he had to say.

Mason came barging into the house while we were eating and helped himself to the food after I told him to go for it. He liked to randomly enter the house (a lot of the boarders did actually) and Shaun was totally cool with it which I thought was awesome. Soon after, Luke was sitting at the table with us as well, eating the rest of the food. It looked like a pretty awesome picture, if you ask me, but I’m sure it was very interesting as well. We had a different kind of family, but I was coming to realize that blood had nothing to do with it.

Zander and I went out for lunch that day and talked extensively about what we thought Luke’s surprise was and why he was doing it. Obviously, we were going somewhere fancy because we had to get dressed up and Luke was not one to get dressed up a lot. Zander seemed pretty excited to be going out with all of the guys because he always felt like he had to share me with them. Since I got to Mammoth Lakes, Zander had never really done anything with the guys and he did not think that they accepted him so it was awesome that they were finally willing to let him be a part of things.

It took me an unusually long time to get ready for the night, mainly because I had no idea what to expect. I was fairly happy that I still had my more preppy clothes because I had some good dresses that I could wear out, but I still was not sure why I needed to wear a dress. I decided on a deep purple, strapless mini-dress. It had a black lace overlay on the bodice which fit snuggly and perfectly then gently floated down and hugged my curves everywhere else. My father did not particularly like that dress only because he told me guys looked at me far too much in it. For that reason, I decided to wear it.

I was looking forward to turning heads that night wherever we went. After adding a pair of strappy black stiletto heels, I was so ready to make a splash. I guess I did like the attention that I got when I wore clothes that fit my body really well, but I knew that I could get tired of it very fast. There always had to be a moderation in what I did when it concerned wearing clothes such as that dress, that was just the way I did things.

Apparently I was taking too long to get ready because Luke, Zander, Mason, and Shaun White were all waiting in my living room. Rather impatiently, might I add. They were all screaming up to me to hurry up-like that would ever make me move faster. Just for that, I decided to move slower since I really enjoyed irritating them. I felt as if it was my job to teach them that patience is a virtue.

I was just about to head out the door when Luke came barreling into my room without so much as a knock in the door. Very rude, if you ask me. He just stopped in the doorway though, and stared at me with a blank look on his face. His eyes were all glassed over and his mouth was hanging open, seemingly unable to function as a normal human being. Not that he was ever really normal to begin with, but his functioning was usually better than that.

“Luke, dude, you alright there?” I wondered, waving a hand in his face. I knew why he was staring, but it kind of felt uncomfortable that he was the one staring at me like that.

He shook his head back and forth, as if to shake out any improper thoughts he may have been having (ew). “Yeah, I’m good. You look amazing Amberlinne.”

“Well thanks Luke. You’re looking especially good yourself.” And it was the truth. He was wearing black jeans with a dark purple button down shirt. The color, coincidentally enough, seemed to match my dress perfectly and I think he noticed that fact too. His smirk told all.

“I guess you will have to be my date tonight Miss Gallaway, we do match, after all.” He winked at me, but I just rolled my eyes, grabbed my clutch, and walked out the door.

Zander and Shaun had very similar reactions to the one that Luke had while Mason, it must be admitted, looked rather…well, mad. There was really no other word to describe the look on his face as he saw me walk down the stairs and he seemed to get even angrier when he saw the looks on the other guys faces.

“You sure clean up nicely,” Shaun informed after picking up his jaw from the floor.

“You are not going anywhere dressed like that,” Mason hissed. His voice was hard and I was definitely taken aback by the way he spoke to me. He had never used such a tone with me before and it kind of freaked me out.

“Mason, what’s wrong with the way I’m dressed?” I wondered softly. “I thought the dress looked nice.”

“Have you noticed the way all these three idiots are staring at you, Amberlinne? I don’t even want to think about the way every other guy we come across is going to stare. There is no way that I am going to deal with that. Am, you know I think of you like a sister and I do not want to have to fight them off all night.”

“You won’t have to Mason; Luke is going to be my date. Besides, I don’t need a guy to fight my battles for me. I am perfectly capable of standing up for myself and you know that perfectly well so don’t worry. And there is no way I am going to fall for anyone’s lines no matter how smooth they seem so you really need to chill out and relax."

He mumbled something along the lines of “well that makes me feel a whole lot better” but did not make anymore fuss about it. I was definitely grateful for that.