Toe to Toe (On Pointe Book 1) by Penelope Freed (comprehension books txt) 📗

outside. I grab Tyler’s shirt and pull him close so I can whisper in his face. “Do not say anything about it.” His eyes sparkle with suppressed mischief, but he plants a quick kiss on my lips.

“I promise.”

Chapter 16 Hannah

“…Really liked her tutu. The girl who did the Paquita variation right before Lisa. Did you get a chance to see it close up?” Ms. Parker asks me as we walk into the restaurant. My stomach growls at the thought of the gooey, cheesy enchiladas I’m about to devour. Or maybe I’ll have fajitas. I’m so hungry, I could eat both.

“I didn’t get a good look at it, she was standing on the other side of the stage from us most of the time. But it looked really pretty under the lights,” Lisa answers for us. I follow the group through the door, just in time to see Olivia and Tyler standing by the hostess stand, his arms looped casually around her waist, pressing her against his chest. His very broad chest.

When he and Olivia left before us, I assumed they were going to go hang out by themselves. I wasn’t prepared to have to sit across a table from them all night. Something flashes through me, flipping my stomach upside down, my breath coming in shallower and shallower gasps. Tears prick the back of my eyes but I can’t tell if it’s sadness, anger or a post-performance adrenaline crash. One more dip of the emotional roller coaster I’ve been on this weekend.

I follow as we walk back to the large table they’ve put together for us. The adults all sit together at one end of the table. I sit between Lisa and Katy on one side, Olivia and Tyler sit next to each other opposite us. Lisa surreptitiously squeezes my knee once we sit down. I bump her shoulder with my own and try to hide the shaky breath I take as I slide my phone onto the table next to hers.

“So Tyler, how come you stayed for the classical sections even though Olivia wasn’t dancing?” Katy asks the second we’re all seated. I haven’t even picked up my menu yet. I freeze, eyes darting back and forth from Katy to Olivia. I desperately want to know the answer, but I just as desperately don’t want to draw attention to myself right now.

“Geez Katy, what the hell?” Olivia glances over at the adult end of the table to make sure they haven’t heard her. “Seriously, what’s your problem?”

Katy just shrugs, doing a good job of acting innocent, “I don’t have a problem, I was just asking. You couldn’t pay my brothers enough to be here, even if I was the one dancing, let alone if no one they knew was on stage.”

Tyler just laughs, twirling a bit of Olivia’s hair around her finger. “Dude, please don’t tell your brothers I was here. Hunter will never let me live it down. Liv asked me to come back and keep her company, so I did.” He shrugs like it’s no big deal. “I mean, the dudes in tights I could live without, but Lisa was really good and Hannah was…” he glances down at Olivia and seems to change his mind about what he was going to say. Tyler clears his throat but Olivia cuts him off before he can say anything else.

“Besides, I’m at all his football games, it’s only fair that he comes to my thing. That’s what a good boyfriend does, right?” Olivia adds in a steely voice. I don’t miss the way she stares directly at me as she emphasizes the word boyfriend. I also don’t miss the way her hands are wrapped possessively around his bicep.

I don’t even flinch, my mind spinning in circles thinking about what he was going to say before he changed his mind. What was Tyler going to say? I was what? The need to know what he was going to say burns through me. I hold myself frozen, afraid to move and disturb this world where Tyler Stanley thought I was…something. Something he didn’t want to say in front of Olivia. His girlfriend. Who I thought was my best friend. I’m so confused, my emotions jumbled and tangled up inside me.

I’m elated that Tyler finally noticed me. I’m angry that Olivia invited him here in the first place. I’m jealous of the way they are so comfortable with each other. I’m disappointed with myself for still wanting him, even though he’s dating my best friend. Maybe disappointed isn’t the right word. Ashamed. I’m ashamed of myself for being “that girl,” the one who wants a boy who’s already taken. Does that make me a terrible person? But doesn’t it make Olivia a terrible person for inviting me on that double date in the first place, and for inviting Tyler tonight?

Something pokes my side derailing my train of thought. I look up, not realizing I’d been staring down at my hands as they twisted my napkin in my lap. “Huh?” I look around the table. Katy clears her throat meaningfully. The adults are lost in their own conversation, but everyone else is just staring at me. “Oh, um, thanks Tyler.” I gulp, his name crossing my lips feeling alien and wrong. “Thanks for staying to watch, Lisa and I appreciate it.” I add, hoping to get some of the attention off me.

Olivia is still glaring at me, but turns to Lisa to ask what she’s planning to order. Right, we need to order. I look down at the menu in front of me but I can’t focus on the words. I can feel eyes boring into me from across the table. Do I look up and see who it is? There’s a 50/50 chance it’s Oliva or Tyler who’s staring at me and honestly I don’t know which one would be worse.

I peek over the edge of my menu to see Tyler eyeing me thoughtfully and quickly look down again. I try