Breaking Away Read online

  Her eyes narrowed as she pinned him with a look.

  “I told you I had to be here at four. Its six minutes past. I’m pretty sure I’m not gonna be able to dance now! I try to be nice and crap, but you continually piss me off. I gotta go,” she said, slamming the door before running into the studio.

  As he watched her disappear inside, Phillip shook his head. He couldn’t understand how he pissed her off. He did everything she asked of him, and all she did was crap on him. Just when he thought things were good between them, she’d turn into the angst teen he was blessed with. Shaking his head, he decided to sleep in the car until she got out. Leaning his head back, he was just about to shut his eyes when the passenger door opened, and Claire fell into the seat.

  Looking over, he watched as she crossed her arms and looked out the window before she said, “We can go.”

  “Why?” he asked, sitting up.

  “Because I’m late. I can’t dance if I’m late. If I’m late again next week, I’m kicked out of the group class,” she said softly. When a tear ran down her cheek, Phillip’s heart seized.

  “You’re only a few minutes late. It’s not a big deal,” he protested.

  “It is to Reese,” she said, palming her tears away. “I told you I couldn’t be late, and you still wouldn’t get up. I don’t ask for money, for clothes, or for anything really. The one thing I wanted was to be here on time, and you couldn’t even do that.”

  Feeling like shit, he said, “I’m going to fix this.”

  Opening the door, he slammed it shut before walking towards the studio. He had no clue what he was going to do, but he knew he had to do something. Surely, Reese would be reasonable. It was his fault, not Claire’s. No reason to punish her because of his lateness. She would understand that he was tired. He hadn’t gotten any sleep the night before because he was up thinking about sex with her, for god’s sake. She would have to be sympathetic about that.

  He passed by a few parents and reached for the door to the studio that Claire was always in. Pushing it opened, six girls, including Reese, looked over at him. She looked delectable. Her hair was in a long braid down her back, her breast snug in her yellow sports bra. Her nipples were hard and just the sight made his mouth water. Add in the fact that her shorts were basically panties and were showcasing her ass, and it had him hard within seconds.

  Fucking A.

  Putting on a dazzling smile, he started for her, but when he looked up from her tits to her face, his smile dropped from her glare.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, stopping the music and putting her hands on her sexy hips.

  “I came to talk to you,” he said simply, getting close enough to smell her. She smelled fantastic.

  “I’m teaching a class right now.”

  “I understand that, but Claire said you wouldn’t let her in.”

  Her eyes narrowed as she said, “That’s right; I have a strict policy on lateness.”

  “I get that, but I was the late one. She was ready, but I had a hard time getting out of bed, late flight,” he said, giving her another smile. She had to feel the sizzle he felt looking into her eyes. He knew she did. This was going to be easy, and Claire wouldn’t hate him.

  “Can’t you make an exception?” he asked sweetly.

  “No.”

  What the fuck?

  “Why not?” he asked, his smile dropping.

  “Because I said so, now please leave. I have a class to teach.”

  With that, she turned and hit play on the music, walking out towards her class.

  Stunned, Phillip watched for only a second before asking, “Are you serious?”

  She turned, her eyes full of annoyance as she said, “Yes, now leave.”

  He said her name again, but she was ignoring him, and that pissed him the fuck off. Stomping out of the room, he decided that he wasn’t done with Reese by a long shot. Going out to the car, he opened his door and got in with not a word to Claire. Pulling out of his parking spot, he drove faster than he needed to back home. Claire tried to ask what was wrong, but he ignored her. He was so mad that his hands were shaking. How dare she? He gave her countless orgasms, made sure she was good and fucked before he left, and she couldn’t help him out? What the hell?

  Pulling into the driveway, he looked over at Claire.

  “I’ll be back.”

  “What’s wrong with you?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “Nowhere.”

  She let out an annoyed breath as she asked, “Well, what did Reese say?”

  “That you needed to be on time, and she’s right. That won’t happen again. I’m sorry, but I need to set some things straight with her. I’ll be back,” he said sternly.

  Claire’s face softened as a worried look came over her face.

  “Don’t get me kicked out, please!”

  “I promise that won’t happen,” Phillip assured her. “Now, go do your homework or something.”

  “Oh my God, I swear,” she mumbled as she got out, slamming the door behind her. Phillip backed out of the driveway, driving too fast again, to the studio. Pulling into the same spot, he jumped out, locking his car before going back inside. The parents from before watched as he dropped down into a seat and pulled out his phone. He was so pissed that he wanted nothing more than to be on the ice, so he could slam into someone. He was irritated that he had wanted to sleep instead of taking Claire, and even more angry that Reese was a bitch about it. Never had he been so disrespected in his life! What the hell was her issue? What was the big deal? Everyone deserved one tardy, and it wasn’t even Claire’s fault. He tried to tell her that, but she wouldn’t even give him a chance.

  Leaning back in his seat, he ignored the text from Claire asking him not to worry about it as he waited for Reese’s class to get out. He could feel the parents’ eyes on him, but he wasn’t worried about them. He was bubbling with anger and ready for a fight. Reese had better have good reason for not listening to him. They slept together for fuck’s sake. That awarded him at least some respect from her, didn’t it? Letting out an annoyed breath, he tried to check his Facebook, liking his friends’ statuses as he waited. Finally, the door opened and girls spilled out, giggling and sweaty as they headed towards their parents. As he watched people clear out, he waited for Reese to come out, but she never did, so he got up and went towards the studio room.

  When he entered the doorway, he found her moving slowly to some soft music. Her movements were like air, her arms moving with each beat before she raised her leg straight up, as if she were raising a feather. Swallowing loudly, he soon forgot why he was mad as he eyes ran up and down her beautifully sculpted leg. She really did have the best legs he had ever seen. Leaning to the side, she held herself there for a few moments before she finally looked up and noticed him.

  An annoyed look came over her face before she dropped her leg and reached to shut the music off. Looking over at him again, she said, “What are you doing here?”

  Clearing his throat, Phillip said, “Came to talk to you about the way things went down an hour ago.”

  Shrugging her shoulders, she looked bored as she said, “I don’t know what there is to talk about.”

  Glaring, Phillip put his hands on his hips. She was being rude, and it was pissing him off all over again.

  “Why are you being like this?”

  “Being like what?” she asked, mimicking his stance with her hands on her hips, jutting out her chest.

  It took everything out of him not to stare at the two little pebbles that were her nipples but, somehow, he managed as he said, “You’re being rude. All I want to know is why we couldn’t work something out this afternoon. It wasn’t Claire’s fault; it was mine.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” she said, her voice raising some. “Rules are rules, and they apply to the dancer and their families. She has to be here on time. That’s how I run things.”

  “Well, the way you run things