Juilliard or Else Read online

  He reminded me of the guy on the poster in Jade's room minus the lip ring and tattoos.

  "Hey, I'm Tucker," his voice strong and masculine sending chills up my arms.

  "I'm Abigail," I thought I whispered that to him, but I guess I was wrong because Jade yelled from across the room, "Grandma Gabs." I laughed at her and hit my head with my hand, dumbfounded.

  I heard Tucker chuckle next to me. When I looked back over to him, I could tell that I blushed, which made his smile widen and the dimple deepen.

  Holy crap, his smile is to die for.

  "Umm…Grandma?" he asked as his brows pulled together at Jade's nonsense statement. Of course that didn't make any sense to him at all.

  "Jade thinks my name sounds like a grandma's name, so she started calling me Gabs."

  "Gabs, I like it." He nodded.

  "I like Tucker; it's different."

  He leaned in, resting his elbows on the table as he looked deep into my eyes. My stomach dropped as my heart began to race. I tried to concentrate on my breathing, which wasn't helping my heart; it was only pacing faster. Right away, I could tell he was trying to read me, just like Jade had done earlier. But the way he was looking at me with his eyes boring into mine gave off this strong sense of power; I really liked it.

  Tucker's eyes flickered down to my lips, then back up to my eyes. My breathing hitched in my stomach, giving me the worst case of butterflies. My head dropped and felt my face flush again.

  "It's adorable that you blush so easily, but don't drop your face when you do. I'd rather see it." His statement made me look back up to him. "You should smile; it brightens up your cute face."

  Right after he said that, I immediately smiled. Goosebumps raked up my arms and chilled down my spine. And here sat a deep draw I had for him to touch me…a brush of his fingertips against my hot skin. I couldn't help this giddy, happy feeling that started in the pit of my stomach and tingled throughout my body.

  Tucker stood up from the table and held a hand out in front of my face. "Come on, let's put some music on and play some pool."

  I actually hesitated and looked at his hand. I glanced around to see Rachel facing the guy who wanted to play pool with her; they were standing close to each other just talking. When I saw Jade over by the jukebox machine, she was also standing very close to Jett, who now was tucking a piece of her black hair behind her ear and dragging his finger across her cheek.

  Tucker cleared his throat, then wiggled his fingers in front of my face.

  "You shouldn't worry. Brad won't bite and Jett is a romantic at heart. Your friends are safe," he reassured me.

  When I met Tucker's gaze, our eyes locked onto each other. The magic pull was back and drawing me to him, to be in his arms. I had never felt this way before, but Tucker was the first guy that I had ever been around. He was the only guy I wanted to be around in this way.

  I slowly placed my hand in his. His hand was so strong in my little one and he led us over to one of the empty pool tables, his skin is soft against my palm, giving my hand one squeeze before he let go.

  Picking up the two pool cues that were laid out on top, I watched him as he chalked both tips, then handed one to me. I had no idea how to play pool. I watched Tucker place a triangle rack at the top of the green felt table and start putting all the pool balls in the middle. Every once in a while, he would shuffle them around and then finally took the wooden piece off, leaving the pool balls in place. He walked around to me and placed a white ball where my hip was resting and faced me.

  "Okay, you get to break."

  "Break what?" I asked curiously. I didn't know I got to break something.

  Tucker chuckled and shook his head. Realizing that wasn't what he meant, I was mortified to realize I was actually having a blonde moment .

  Great, now I'm a dumb blonde. I needed to recover myself quickly.

  "Sorry, I don't know how to play. Don't the balls just go in the hole?"

  "THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID!" Jade yelled from behind us.

  Everyone in the room with us started laughing at her little joke. I shook my head at the silly girl and felt the heat rise again to my face. After Tucker leveled out his breaths, he continued on with his instructions to the game.

  "You hit the white ball into the group, and that's called breaking," he explained as he smiled.

  I leaned over the table and felt Tucker's presence right beside me. My hands started to shake and I could smell his faint cologne on his body. Being right next to me, his height was overpowering. Taking a deep breath, I pushed with force on the pool cue and completely missed the white ball.

  Disappointed, I stood up straight to stop my hands from shaking. I looked up from under my lashes at Tucker, and of course, he was smiling. His dark blue eyes in the dim light seemed so bright and I was lost in them. I bit my lip and looked down, hoping he would touch me.

  "Hey, don't look down." His fingers tipped my chin up and our eyes locked once again.

  This was the moment I thought he would lean in and kiss me. Then his thumb gently stroked my jaw line, and my cheeks heated back up as I gazed into his memorizing sapphire eyes.

  "You're so beautiful," he whispered. His breath hit my face in a soft whirlwind. My eyes fluttered shut as I felt his body move closer to mine. I had never felt this way before with the sudden rush of being this close to a person and having an attraction to them. I mean, I had seen it happen in movies, but never had it happened to me.

  When he didn't kiss me, my eyes drifted open to find his eyes tightly closed. Almost as if he was fighting himself, trying not to kiss me. Another disappointed feeling washed over me as I stepped back. His hand slowly dropped back to his side and he cleared his throat. Sadly, whatever shockwave passed through us was now gone.

  We had already played four rounds of pool when Carol called my cell. The ringtone for her wasn't music to my ears. I hit ignore and shoved the phone back into my pocket, watching Tucker place the pool balls in the triangle for another round…and this time, Rachel and Brad were betting against us. I already knew that Tucker and I were going to lose; it didn't matter who would be on my team. I sucked no matter what. I saw Jade sitting on a stool with Jett right next to her side. Even though I hadn't been around a group of people like this before, I was at ease around them, having fun and letting go.

  "All right, it's on," Brad said clapping his hands and rubbing them together. "You goin' down, blondie," he said, pointing at me.

  I rolled my eyes when Tucker leaned in to whisper in my ear, "It's all right. Watch this."

  I turned my head towards Tucker's face; our mouths were so close together. I could feel his breath against my lips. The instant attraction was back with full force this time around. His hand brushed up against my hipbone, sending strong electric waves through my veins in the best way possible.

  He turned away before anything could happen. I don't know if I was grateful or disappointed, but I was leaning more to the disappointed side. Tucker had treated me with nothing but kindness, even though I sucked at playing pool. I was lucky I made two shots each game. Tucker would just shake his head at me and laugh.

  My cell started ringing again with Carol's annoying ringtone. I knew if I didn't answer, she would just keep calling. I held up my finger to Tucker who was taking the first shot into the game; he sent me a wink.

  "Hello."

  "Abigail, could you meet me for lunch tomorrow?" Carol asked me in a very calming tone. She usually just demanded that I would have lunch with her right there on the spot. So with her asking me, it was very different. Maybe my dad had a talk with her and she wanted to mend things with me.

  "I think that would be okay. I'm going shopping with Rachel and her mom tomorrow though."

  "All right, just email me a place and time. Good-bye, Abigail." Then she hung up. I pulled the phone from my ear and stared at the screen. The wallpaper of me and my dad smiling up at me made me feel remorse.

  Carol just wanted me to email her a place and time.
That was it? No argument, no demanding me to go? I was actually confused, but Tucker's presence made me quickly forget when he came to stand next to me.

  "You okay?" he asked, meeting my eyes.

  "Yeah, I am." I gave him an innocent smile, making all my thoughts of Carol disappear.

  "Good, because I'm ready to show you what I have planned for Brad's big mouth."

  I softly giggled at him, causing a piece of my hair to fall in front of my eyes. Tucker slowly raised his hand and tucked the stranded piece behind my ear, dragging the tip of his finger across my cheek. My breath hitched again deep into my stomach. I found myself stepping closer to his body, not wanting the touch to end. Why was the feeling so strong for him to give me my first kiss? I wanted it so badly. Was it wrong for wanting it so bad?

  I sure hope not.

  Of course, the thought of Tucker giving me my first kiss made me drop my head in embarrassment and start scuffing the toe of my boot on the carpeted floor.

  "You've got to watch, though. Brad's not lying down on the ground," Tucker said to me before leaving my side.

  I turned to face the table, watching Tucker walk around to the other end to where Rachel and Brad were talking. Both were holding pool cues in front of their bodies, swaying them back and forth in front of their faces.

  "Excuse me, man," Tucker said. Brad faced his body towards Tucker's back. My eyes went to Tucker's face as he slowly leaned down onto the table. His fingers curled around the pool stick as our eyes locked again and he winked at me. Tucker pulled the pool cue back once, twice and the third time, he went just a little too far and hit Brad right in his nuts.

  Brad grunted and went down for the count, holding his manly parts. I immediately started laughing at the sight of him dropping down on his knees, moaning in pain.

  "Dude! What the hell was that for?" Brad moaned out. Rachel started laughing and rubbed the top of his buzzed cut head as he leaned on her leg like a puppy dog in pain and wanting attention.

  Tucker pointed a finger in front of Brad's face and said, "Be nice to Gabs."

  I laughed harder, very content with Tucker defending my honor. I honestly didn't see that coming; he was my knight in shining armor. I put my cue on the table and went to Tucker's side. I reached up and wrapped my arms around his neck, laughing over his shoulder. I saw Rachel's eyes widen as I hugged him.

  At first Tucker was stiff and didn't do anything to embrace me. When I started to ease my arms from around his neck, I felt an arm wrap around my lower back and press me closer.

  I mumbled, "Thanks, knight," and pulled back. He had the biggest smile on his face, his dimple deep as it could possibly go in his left cheek. I couldn't believe my own action as my hand came up to trace the dimple. The feeling that shocked throughout my body felt so intimate and new to me. His smile slowly faded and his blue eyes softened, almost breaking my heart with the way he was looking at me as he slowly leaned more into my touch. Had no one touched him this soft and intimately before?

  Tucker suddenly pulled out from our little bubble and stepped back. His eyes went cold and dark as he looked over my head. I turned to see a bald African American man standing at the top of the stairs. He was dressed in an all-black suit and wearing a gold pinky ring, his gold watch just peeking out from his black jacket. I turned back to Tucker who was still staring at this strange man, but from the look on Tucker's face, I knew the guy he was staring at was dangerous.

  Brad kissed Rachel on the cheek and she gave him a playful shove. Then he slapped his hand on Tucker's shoulder.

  "Come on, man, duty calls," Brad said, snapping his fingers at Jett who kissed Jade and walked towards the scary man. I watched Tucker for any kind of sign that I should step away and let him pass me, but his face was hard as stone, his lips pressed together in a strong line.

  I stepped back from him when his angry eyes flickered at me as I moved away. I almost wanted to run in the opposite direction, but his hand reached out to grab my wrist and pulled my body back closer to his.

  His tall body framed over mine, almost acting like a protective shield as he stood right in front of me. If I leaned into his chest, I knew that my head would fit perfectly underneath his chin. He looked down into my eyes as his hand came up to softly brush my cheek again, sending rapid chills down my spine. I definitely had never felt like this before.

  "Will you meet me tomorrow at Times 3?" Tucker quietly asked me.

  My conscience was screaming at me to say yes, but I couldn't get the words to come out. My head started nodding in agreement. My breathing went uneven as he leaned in. His lips were so close to mine; I shut my eyes, waiting for him, but he just said, "Night, Gabs."

  And just like that, Tucker was gone.

  As the three of us walked the short distance home, Jade rambled on about Jett and everything about him. Rachel kept looking at me with her wide green eyes almost falling out of her head. I found out more about Jett in the last five minutes walking home than I knew about Tucker. My thoughts drifted to him again as his name came to mind. I still couldn't quite tell what the look on his face meant when the strange man at the coffee shop interrupted our game of pool.

  Learning to play pool with a guy was the way to do it. Sometimes, Tucker would lean on my back and move my hands on the cue to hold it better. I went along with it. When I touched his dimple and sadness spread across his face, my heart started to break for him.

  "And he owns his own tattoo shop." Jade's words hit me, bringing me out of my thoughts as we approached our building.

  "Who does?"

  "Gabs, who do you think? Jade hasn't shut up about Jett since we left the coffee shop."

  I looked at Jade who was standing in the middle and she blushed. Her pale skin turned bright pink as I caught her looking down at her shoes.

  I leaned in to add, "I did see him kiss you."

  "Shut your mouth, Gabs."

  I giggled as we walked into our apartment building with a polite "Thanks" to Michael; he just nodded as he murmured, "Ladies," and tipped his hat to us.

  After we made our way into the elevator, Jade started talking again – mostly nonsense about Jett – and I remembered that Tucker had told me where to meet him tomorrow.

  "What's Times 3?" I asked, looking at the two of them.

  "A club, Gabs. Duh," Jade answered me and Rachel nudged her shoulder.

  "Why?" Rachel asked as she looked at me.

  "Tucker told me to meet him there tomorrow. Oh crap, he didn't tell me what time, though." I chewed on my lower lip. He didn't tell me a time – now what?

  "It's okay, Brad filled me in. They're going there around eleven. I already told him we'd be there." Rachel smiled at me. So I would get to see him. My conscience was jumping up and down in my head at the thought of being around him again. I was happy at that.

  Once we reached the apartment, Rachel and Jade both got ready for bed and headed to their rooms for our first night here. I hadn't unpacked a single piece of clothing. I had no idea what to wear to a club – just the thought of seeing Tucker again made my blood race and my heart feel like it was going to pound right out of my bony chest. I unzipped my two large suitcases of clothes and dumped them right on the bed. I started flinging clothes around left and right, trying to find something that would be club ready. I had nothing, no surprise there. I had Carol as a mother for nineteen years.

  Oh, Carol. I had so many mixed emotions for her right now. She raised me for nineteen years, paid for all my education, and my ballet lessons. I didn't agree with her most of the time we were together but yet she helped me achieve my dream. I'm here which means one more step closer to starting my classes at Juilliard.

  Sometimes she was a cold hearted person but other times, she was there in her own way, even if it didn't come out nice. I didn't want to be that hateful stepdaughter that most stepmothers dreaded getting in a marriage.

  My stomach flipped on the automatic switch, I had my body set to whenever I started to stress out about Carol. Feeling t
he bile coming up the pit of my stomach and hit the back of my throat in a rush had me racing to the toilet in a matter of seconds to throw up my coffee mixed with Chinese food. The smell of coffee mixed with my stomach acid made me sicker. The throw up wouldn't come out, it was stuck. I had two options. One: let it sit in the back of my throat until it settled down. Two: use my fingers and force it out. In the end, I used my fingers. I gagged into the toilet bowl, tainting it with my mess of problems. I rested my arm on the rim of the toilet and laid my head down, before I knew it, I was sobbing.

  My soft cries echoed in the white porcelain bowl, when I felt a hand rubbing my back. I jerked up quickly and tried to recover myself, swiftly wiping underneath my eyes and turned to meet Jade's ice blue ones. No longer having black makeup on around them, she looked like a blue eyed angel.

  "Damn, I knew you were just as messed up as I am." Hot tears ran down my face as I cried into my hand. Jade already knew about my problem within a day of living with me. I have been doing this for a couple of years now and not even Isabelle knew. Jade dragged me up and put me in front of the sink, she shoved me hard by the back of my neck, almost putting my head in the running water she turned on in the sink.

  A cold cloth was placed on my neck and I continued to cry softly to myself. Jade pulled my hair up into a high ponytail to get the falling strands out of my face. No one has ever done this for me.

  Taking care of me and being there for me at a time of need when I needed someone who could understand me. Jade handed me a new toothbrush, I watched as she headed into my room and shoved all my clothes off the bed to pull my covers back. I spit out the suds and rinsed, in just a couple of quick steps Jade pulled me back into my room and to the side of the bed and pushed me down to sit.

  "Get some sleep, we've got a shitload to talk about tomorrow chick." Jade left my room. I tucked myself in and sleep quickly found me.

  The alarm on my evil phone was going off on my nightstand. I roll over to put a pillow over my face to help drown out the annoying sound. My bathroom door bursts open and my pillow is tugged off my face. Rachel was standing there, her hair in disarray.