Chapter 7: More Than A Crush

Nicki

I walked into practice for the first time in two weeks and I sat with my crew. It felt good to have time off. Even thought I haven’t seen Aubrey since that night, we’ve been texting nonstop. I’m really falling for him. “I wonder what we’re doing today,” Blake mumbled.

“Probably run,” Nae rolled her eyes at the thought. Cassie walked in with her crew a few minutes later and she didn’t say a word to me. She didn’t even give me an eye roll.

“What’s up with her?” Carmel asked as we looked over at her. I shrugged it off because if her being hurt means I can have one less problem in my life then so be it. Shad walked in with Coach Chimere and looked at Cassie. He looked as if he had something to say but he kept his mouth close. Aubrey walked in as he glanced at all of us. His eyes locked with mine for a second before he spoke up.

“Today we’ll be doing more conditioning and we’re also going to be cutting two girls today. You guys can stretch and then go to the track.” He blew his whistle and walked away. His behavior seemed kinda off to me but I just thought nothing of it. After we ran for a while, we went back inside to learn a new dance move. Of course I nailed it while other people struggled.

“Cassie! Keep up!” Shad yelled at her. She stopped trying all together and flicked him off.

“My office now!” He stated and walked away pissed. She slowly followed behind him with a sigh.

“Good job Blakelynn and Jaznae. Nice Da-Xia,” Aubrey went on with compliments but he straight up ignored me once again. I was getting so sick of him and his bipolar ways. “Onika, you’re getting sloppy on the pop motion,” he told me in a monotone voice. I rolled my eyes and sat on the floor.

“Nic what are you doing?” Blake asked me while dancing.

“I’m sick of this. If he wants to treat me like shit then I won’t do shit,” I huffed as he walked back over to me.

“Did I just hear you say shit twice? Two-hundred pushups ladies.” He blew his whistle. I was beyond my breaking point right about now.

Cassie

I walked in and sat down in front of his desk. “What the hell was that out there!?” He yelled at me. If there’s one thing I hate the most is when people yell at me and Shad knows that.

“I couldn’t do the dance so I stopped,” I shrugged.

“That’s bullshit and you know it. I’ve seen you dance better than that every day since I’ve met you. That’s why I made you captain last year. I saw in your heart that you love dance more than anything in this world. Now I just don’t know if you have that same passion to be captain.” He calmed down a bit but looked at me as if he was disappointed.

“Then give it to Onika. You’re probably fucking her too,” I snapped.

“So that’s what this is about? Cause I fucked Meyshia?” He got up and stood in front of my seat.

“You didn’t even have the courtesy to stop when I walked in. You fucking came with me standing right there!” I yelled at him.

“I tried to pull her off of me but-,” he started to say but I stopped him.

“No I don’t wanna hear shit you have to say!” I got up.

“Are you mad because I fucked Meyshia or are you mad because I won’t fuck you?” He got closer to me. I pushed him as hard as I could and he stumbled back a bit.

“Go to hell!” I flicked him off and stormed out of his office. I grabbed my bag and was about to leave.

“If you walk out that door, don’t bother coming back,” I heard Shad say from behind me. I sucked up the tears that wanted to fall and walked out of the door, never looking back.

Drake

Everyone stood in shock as Cassie walked out without a second thought. I looked at Shad and Mere who looked just as shocked. Sure he said don’t come back but he was bluffing, no one thought she would actually leave. “Everyone get back in positions!” I yelled and blew my whistle. After practice, there was a light knock on my door. “Come in,” I said while looking through some of the girl’s background information.

“Can I talk to you for a minute Coach Graham?” Her soft voice filled the room. I looked up and nodded. She walked in and placed her dance bag on the ground. She sat down and stared at me.

“Why are you staring at me?” I asked her.

“I’m trying to figure you out. It’s almost as if you’re two different people and I’m not sure which one is the real you. It’s like I don’t know anything about you,” she stated in a monotone voice, similar to the one I gave her during practice.

“You know me Nic. I’m just different during practice,” I told her but she shook her head.

“No Coach I don’t know you.” She grabbed her bag and got up.

“I told you to call me Aubrey.” I moved closer to her and grabbed her hand.

“That’s just it. You treat me like shit during practice but like I’m a queen outside of practice.” She tried to pull her hand away from me but I tightened my grip.

“You mean something to me and I have feelings for you. I want to see where this takes us.” I pulled her closer to me by her waist. She just stared at me while I slowly moved in to kiss her but she placed her hands at my chest and pushed me away.

“No Aubrey! We are not doing this. I’ve had a crush on you since I saw you. You carried yourself in a confident way that was sexy. My crush has only grown since then. It’s grown to the point where it’s not even a crush, it’s more than that. I really like you so it’s going to kill me to say this. This, us, whatever you want to call it, has to stop. We can’t keep doing this. You have your career you need to think about and I have mine. I’m only seventeen and if anything happened between us, you could go to jail. Does that not bother you!? We need to forget anything ever happened between us.” She had tears in her eyes.

“You don’t mean that. Nicki you know we can’t just throw what we’re trying to build.” I shook my head at the thought.

“We have to Aubrey! We had great moments but that’s all they are. Memories that will be replaced by new ones. Let me move on and be happy.” She cried as I pulled her into a hug.

“Onika please just think about this.” I had tears in my eyes but I refused to let them fall. Even though we haven’t known each other that long, she’s been on my mind daily. I fell for her and I wanted to make her mine but now she doesn’t even want to be with me.

“I’m sorry Aubrey.” She stood on her tiptoes and held my face in her hands. She connected our lips and kissed me. I stood there trying to savor the kiss but she pulled away. Even though it was just a peck, it held so much passion in it. She grabbed her bag and quickly left out of the room. I balled up my fist mad at myself for letting a good girl go. She made me feel something I haven’t felt since my mom died.

“DAMN!” I yelled and punched the wall. I left a hole and my fist was bleeding but it didn’t amount to the pain I felt when she walked out that door.

Blake

I stayed after to wait for Nicki but I needed to talk to Shad first. I walked to his office and knocked. “Yeah?” I heard him say so I opened the door. He looked up at me and smiled slightly.

“Hi.” I smiled as he stood up and walked over to me.

“Hey Blake. What brings you by?” He asked as he stopped a few step in front of me.

“Um I actually came to talk about Cassie,” I sighed.

“Oh what about her?” His whole demeanor changed.

“I think you should let her back on the team.” I looked at him.

“And why would I do that?” He glanced over at me.

“You should do that because everyone deserves a second chance. She’s an amazing dancer and she’s a leader. Let’s face it, Cassie and Nicki are the dance team,” I explained.

“Why do you care so much? She’s never said a word to you in your life.” He looked at me strangely.

“I care because I know talent when I see it and you can’t just let someone like her walk out.” I tried to get him to see where I was coming from. He stepped closer to me and smirked a little.

 “I’ll let her back on the team if you do me a favor,” he said.

“Done, what’s the favor?” I asked. If he wants me to stay late to clean the gym then I will never try to help others again.

“I want you to go on a date with me.” He stared at me as my mouth literally dropped. He wants me to what?

“Wait what?” I scrunched up my eyebrows as he chuckled slightly.

“I want to get to know you better and I want you to get to know me better.” He took my hands in his. I weighed out my options. I wasn’t attracted to him on any level but I really wanted Cassie to come back so we could have a strong dance team and I guess a date with him wouldn’t be so bad. It’s just one date right? I moved my fingers and laced them through his.

“I would love to.” I smiled at him.

Chapter 6: You Are All That I See

 

Shad

I hate the fact that Drake made me do this. I looked over at Meyshia as she sat in front of me. “Why did you call me in here Shad?” She smirked at me.

“Look Meyshia, I’m sorry I have to say this but we have to let you go.” I couldn’t keep eye contact with her.

“Why?” She pouted.

“We have to cut one more girl and what you and Coach Graham have been getting into, it just isn’t right,” I told her.

“So that’s it,” she stated.

“That’s what?” I asked. I glanced over at her attire. She had on a tight shirt and some tight shorts to match. Now that I’m looking at her, I don’t think she’s wearing a bra.

“You’re jealous,” she giggled. How in the world did she get any sign that I was jealous? Why would I be? She’s a hoe and I already had my eyes set on someone.

“I’m not jealous,” I said but she just got up and went to sit on my lap.

“It’s okay to be jealous. I bet you have a bigger dick than Coach Graham anyway.” She smirked slightly as she straddled me. I knew I was in some trouble now. She started to grind on me which made me get hard. I mean I’m a guy and just because Meyshia is a hoe, don’t mean she’s not sexy as hell. “You want me?” She whispered into my ear. I nodded as she unbuckled my belt

~~~

“Uh Shad,” Meyshia moaned lowly as I slammed her down on me. I told her to keep quiet so we don’t get caught. “You’re so big,” she mumbled before locking lips with me.

“Shad we have, OH MY GOD!” I heard Cassie scream. I quickly pulled my mouth away from Meyshia to look at Cassie. I was about to get up but Meyshia just kept slamming herself down on me and I was approaching my orgasm.

“Shit,” I groaned as I started to cum. I stared at Cassie as she stared at me as Meyshia continued to fuck me. Cassie turned and ran out of my office and I could swear that I saw tears in her eyes. Damn.

 

 

Nicki

I sighed as I walked into the doctor’s office with Mylan. She’s still sick but not as bad. Aunt Naira couldn’t make it today but they looked past some of the rules and let me bring her in myself. “How are you feeling baby?” I asked her as I sat her on the bed in the room.

“My head hurts,” she pouted. I rubbed her head until the doctor came in. He gave her some medication and we walked out of the doctors.

“How about we get some ice cream?” I looked at her as I held her in my arms.

“Yes!” She clapped her hands. I swear sometimes I feel like Mylan is like my own daughter. I walked down the street from the doctor’s office and got ice cream.

“What do you want My?” I asked her. She put her hand to her chin and thought about it for a while.

“Cookie dough!” She smiled.

“One small cookie dough ice cream and one small vanilla ice cream,” I ordered. We got our ice cream and sat down. “How does your head feel?” I asked her while wiping the ice cream off of her mouth.

“It still hurts,” she pouted. I pulled her onto my lap and we went back to eating our ice cream.

“Onika?” I heard my name so I turned around and saw Coach Graham walk over to us.

“Hi Coach Graham.” I smiled and blushed slightly, remembering the last time I was around him. He’s given us a week off so we could enjoy our summer a little. It shocked all of us that he was being that nice but we weren’t complaining.

“What are you doing here?” He asked while looking at My.

“I’m just eating ice cream with my sister,” I told him.

“Hi beautiful what’s your name?” He bent down towards her.

“My name’s Mylan.” She smiled at him.

“I’m Aubrey.” He shook her hand. She giggled and looked down at her lap.

“Aubrey?” I was confused.

“That’s my first name. I usually just go by my middle name, Drake,” he flashed me a smile.

“I like it, it suits you,” I looked at him.

“What are you doing for the rest of the day?” He sat down next to me. I stared at him for a second, just taking in his features.

“I don’t know. Her head hurts,” I said while rubbing her head.

“I want to hang out with Brey!” She pouted. Oh no, she’s already given him a nickname.

“We could go to the carnival that’s around the block,” he suggested.

“Are you sure you feel okay?” I checked her head again to make sure she didn’t feel warm.

“I feel better.” She smiled showing her little teeth. I sighed and looked at Coach Graham.

“I guess.” I rolled my eyes playfully as we got up and headed to the carnival.

Drake

I sat next to Nicki as Mylan got on a ride with a one of her friends that she ran into. We sat close enough to keep an eye on her. “You know you’re a great sister,” I told her.

“Thanks. She’s all I really have besides my aunt and Blake. I wouldn’t know what I would do without her,” she sighed.

“You will make a great mom someday. You already treat Mylan as if she was your own.” I smiled at her as she blushed.

“Thanks Coach Graham.” She smiled slightly.

“You know you can call me Aubrey or Drake if you want.” There’s a small list of people I actually let call me that. Mere is one of them.

“Okay Aubrey, so why don’t you tell me why you’re spending one of your days off with one of your dancers and her sister.” She looked at me.

“You tell me Onika.” I scooted closer to her. She bit her lip and looked down a bit.

“You can call me Nicki.”

“Nicki the girls want to eat so I can just take them to one of the food places in here.” A woman whom I’m assuming is Mylan’s friend’s mom.

“Okay. You be good My.” She pecked My’s cheek and they walked away.

“Come on.” I stood up and held out my hand. She looked at it and then at me. She finally placed her hand in my own and we started walking. I slowly let my fingers fall into the gaps of her own. She looked down at our connected hands and blushed slightly.

“Where are we going?” Her soft voice asked.

“In here.” I smiled and pulled her into the photo booth. I placed in a dollar and we started taking the pictures. The first one we smiled, the second one we made a silly face, the third one we were staring into each other’s eyes, and for the final picture, I slowly leaned in and placed my lips on top of hers. We heard a flash but paid it no mind. I pulled back and observed her. She tried to fight the smile that wanted to escape onto her face. We got out and grabbed the pictures. I grabbed her hand as we walked around the carnival for a little longer.

Blake

I groaned as I heard a knock on the door. No one was home so that means I have to answer it. I knew my hair was all over the place but I didn’t care. I sighed as I got up and opened the door. “Oh do you know where Nicki is?” Nae asked me.

“She took Mylan to the doctor earlier.” I yawned as I started to wake up more.

“Do you know when she’ll be back?” She looked like she had to talk to her about something important.

“No but you can wait for her if you want,” I offered.

“Thank you,” she said as I opened the door wider to let her in. I closed the door and went back to the living room. The TV was on music videos, I had a bag of skittles, and I had mountain dew. My typical lazy day routine. Nae walked into the living room and sat on the other end of the couch.

“You still eat those?” She laughed lightly as she looked at my skittles.

“Yeah such a horrible craving but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.” I smiled a little at the fact that she remembered that skittles were my favorite candy.

“Blake,” she sighed. I did not like the way she said my name. I know she’s gonna be getting into her emotions in a bit.

“Yes?” I asked while not looking at her.

“Blake, look at me,” she stated. I slowly moved my head and made eye contact with her. I’ve always had trouble making eye contact with people and she knew that.

“I’m sick of this. Why can’t we just be friends again? We can forget the past and just move on. No questions asked,” she pleaded.

“No questions asked?” I wanted to make sure I heard her right. If I didn’t have to tell her why I stopped talking to her then this could be a good thing.

“No questions asked,” she repeated.

“Okay,” I smiled lightly. She smiled back and pulled me into a long overdue hug. It felt good to have my best friend back.

Nicki

“Thank you,” I said to Aubrey as he placed Mylan in her bed. We silently walked out of her room and back downstairs. It was silent so I guess no one was home. “I had fun.” I smiled at him.

“Me too.” He had a certain look in his eyes.

“So I’ll see you at practice?” I asked.

“Yeah most defiantly.” He hugged me and then left out of the house. I blushed to myself at how perfect today went. It was good to forget about all the issues that come with liking him for one day. I walked into the living room and was shocked to see Blake and Nae passed out on the couch. I shook them both softly. Nae begun to stir as Blake sat up.

“Oh hey Nicki.” She yawned as Nae started to sit up also.

“You’re finally back?” She asked.

“Yeah, when did you two become all buddy buddy?” I looked between them.

“We’re friends again,” Blake said as Nae smiled.

“Yay! My best friend and my cousin are besties again so we can all hang out without it being so damn awkward,” I laughed.

“Where were you all this time?” Blake asked me. I was debating if I should tell them about Aubrey or not. They are my best friend and cousin so I knew I could trust them. I told the entire story to them and I couldn’t stop smiling.

“YOU GUYS KISSED!?” Nae jumped up.

“Shut up before you wake up My. It was just a peck,” I shrugged.

“That still counts Nic,” Blake smirked at me.

“I just can’t believe this happened. I mean he’s my coach guys,” I sighed as I finally stopped smiling. What will I do?

Chapter 5: Where Things Go Wrong

 

 

Drake

“Uh,” I groaned as I pulled her head closer. I swear this girl is a freak. She took me all the way into her mouth and deep throated me. I close my eyes and came in her mouth. She swallowed all of it and then stood up. I pulled my pants back up and fixed my clothes.

 

            “I’ll see you tomorrow coach.” She winked and walked away. I stood there in shock. Yeah I was use to girls falling over me but this girl was in high school. Even though she is eighteen, it still doesn’t make it right. I looked over to find my eyes locked with Onika’s. Shit. Did she see that? She frowned at me and got into her car. She pulled off and was gone. I turned around and punched the wall, not caring about my hand. I was pissed that I allowed her to do that but I was even more pissed over the fact that Onika saw. Not only could she tell someone but I actually cared about her feelings. I mean we almost kissed in my office today and then she saw some girl giving me head. I knew this would come back to me eventually.

Nicki

I dropped everyone off at their house and now was driving back to mine. I can’t believe it, Coach Graham and Meyshia. That girl is like a walking STD. I can’t even be mad, it’s not like he’s mine. I shook my head out of the thought. I turned the radio down a bit and glanced over at Blake.

“Blake?” I wanted to see if she was sleep or not because her eyes were closed.

“Hmm?” She asked without opening her eyes.

“Do you know Nae?” I asked her and immediately saw her tense up and open her eyes.

“Well you just introduced us when I got here so I guess,” she shrugged.

“Why’d you tell her that you never lived in California then?” I was waiting as silence surrounded the car.

“I knew she would tell you that,” she huffed.

“So I’m taking this as you do know her,” I said simply.

“Yeah I know her,” she sighed and looked out the window. She seemed like she was in a deep thought about the situation.

“She told me what happened between y’all. Why’d you just stop talking to her?” I pulled up to my house and shut the car off. I turned and looked at her.

“It’s just complicated Nicki. Please just drop it,” she said softly and walked inside. I sighed as I thought about anything Nae could have done to upset Blake to the point where she would ditch her. I couldn’t think of anything so I walked inside my house.

“Hi Nicki.” Aunt Naira kissed my cheek as I hugged her.

“Hi Auntie.” I smiled and walked to the living room. I soon saw a head full of curls hiding under a blanket. “I wonder where Mylan is.” I pretended that I didn’t see her. She giggled as I walked closer. “There she is!” I snatched the covers off of her and picked her up. “Hi baby.” I kissed her cheek and patted down some of her hair.

“Hi Nicki.” She smiled while showing off a missing tooth.

“How was your day?” I asked as I sat down and pulled her onto my lap.

“It was good. I got to sleep and then watch cartoons,” she grinned. Mylan is my seven year old sister and will be starting 2^nd grade this coming fall. I can’t believe how much she’s grown up. She meant everything to me and I made it my job to protect her and help her any way I know how. Somehow throughout the night my mind went back to Coach Graham. I sighed as I went to bed. I need to get him off of my mind and soon

~~~

The next day Blake and I got ready to go to practice. I picked up Nae first because she lived the closest. It couldn’t have been more awkward in the car.

“Look I don’t know what y’all problem with each other is but y’all need to fix it because I am not dealing with my best friend and my cousin having beef with each other,” I snapped as I stopped at a red light.

“There’s no beef on my part,” Nae replied smartly as she sat back and stared at Blake who wouldn’t meet her gaze. Blake automatically got even quieter and just looked out of the window. I shot Nae an unpleasant look through the mirror. “What?” She asked but I just shook my head.

“You okay Blake?” I glanced over at her as I saw a tear fall from her eye.

“I’m fine,” she said just above a whisper as we pulled up to Nia’s house. She got in and sensed the tension.

“What the hell happened in here?” She asked as she looked between Nae and Blake. Nae just shook her head and continued to look at Blake who was still looking out the window. I picked up Xia and Carmel and then we headed towards the gym. I parked and we all got out of the car.

“Y’all can go ahead. I think Blake and I need to talk.” Nae looked over at us and we all got the hint. We left and went into the gym.

Blake

I shot Nicki a look and mentally pleaded for her to stay but she just shook her head and went inside the gym. I stood awkwardly in front of Nae. She looked at me as I shifted my eyes to the ground. If she wanted to apologize then she could save that. I already mentally cursed myself for crying in front of her.

“What’s the deal Blake? I don’t get it and I never will get it unless you tell me. Why do you hate me do much? What did I ever do to you?” She started to get a bit emotional.

“Trust me I don’t hate you,” I replied softly.

“Then why did you just suddenly ditch me?” She asked. I prepared myself for this conversation with her for years but right now I was not ready.

“Look it’s nothing. I was just going through some things and I still am,” I told partially the truth.

“You knew that I would have been there for you.” She tried to lock eyes with me but my eyes were still focused on the ground.

“Well now I don’t need anyone to be there for me,” I shrugged.

“I still want to be there for you. You were my best friend and you just suddenly stopped talking to me. Imagine how that made me feel,” she said.

“I know I was wrong to handle the situation that way and I’m sorry for that,” I sighed.

“Can we at least be civil to one another?” She pleaded.

“Yeah,” I replied while looking at my shoes. How did I get dirt on them so fast? She grabbed my chin with her hand and gently made me look at her. We locked eyes and I cursed myself for letting her do this to me. She always made me lock eyes with her when we were younger.

“Okay?” She looked at me one more time.

“Okay.” I let out a breath when she released my chin.

Nicki

I watched as Blake and Nae walked inside together. I guessed they solved whatever they were going through. Nae came by me and soon Coach Graham walked into the gym.

“Start stretching and Meyshia, Shad wants to talk to you in his office,” he said without making eye contact with her. “Onika may I have a word with you?” He asked briefly before walking into his office.

“What do you think he’ll do if I don’t go?” I asked Nae desperately trying to avoid this awkward conversation.

“He’ll probably make you run,” she shrugged. I was in no mood to run extra today so I walked into his office.

“Shut the door,” he stated. I shut the door and sat down in front of him. “I think we both know why I called you in here,” he sighed.

“No I actually don’t know why you called me in here,” I smirked as I crossed my legs. He sighed and looked off to a distance.

“Look what you saw isn’t what you think,” he explained.

“All I saw was a hoe giving head to a desperate guy considering that he’s too old for her and that she’s known as the class slut. Who knows what she could have,” I shrugged.

“She approached me when I was trying to leave. I turned her down but she got on her knees and started giving me head. What was I suppose to do?” He scrunched up his eyebrows.

“You were supposed to be the adult of the situation and end it. Or better yet, you shouldn’t have let it happen in the first place,” I snapped.

“Just don’t tell anyone please,” he pleaded.

“Trust me, I won’t. I wouldn’t want that disturbing image to be trapped in someone else’s mind now would I?” I replied smartly.

“It was your fault I even let her give me head anyway.” He looked at me. My head snapped in his direction while I looked at him like he was stupid.

“Oh really? Now how would I have anything to do with you being a man whore?” I asked.

“First off I’m not a man whore. Secondly, if you didn’t show up late yesterday then that wouldn’t have happened,” he stated.

“Me showing up late has nothing to do with you getting head!” I was getting angry.

“See there you go again. Your temper is your biggest problem.” He shook his head.

“Well at least I don’t go around blaming other people for shit I did myself! Why don’t you man up and get your fucking act together!” I stood up and put my hand on the handle. He spun me around once again and this time he pressed himself against me so my back was against the door. My eyes went wide as I felt something hard rubbing against my lower area.

“You and this sexy ass temper turns me on so much,” he whispered into my ear. I was fighting the urge to moan out to him. He had me exactly where he wanted me and he knew it. Right now, I was putty in his arms. “I want something from you,” he mumbled against my ear.

“And what exactly do you want from me?” I asked while looking into his eyes.

“You know exactly what I want,” he told me while gripping my waist, pulling me closer to him.

“Do I?” I tilted my head slightly.

“Oh you do.” He let his hands travel down my back and rest right on my backside, gripping it hard.

“Mmm,” I moaned into his ear and he smirked. A knock on his door pulled us back into reality. He backed away from me while I backed away from the door. He opened it and Coach Chimere was standing there. She looked between us for a second and scrunched up her eyebrows. I quickly left the room and went back to practice.

Chimere

I looked at Nicki as she went out the door. My eyes shifted to Drake who was shifting nervously. I shook my head at him as he let out a sigh. “Go head and say it,” he mumbled.

“I’m not trying to tell you something you already know.” I locked eyes with him.

“Look it really ain’t what it seems. She just knows how to push my buttons and you know how I get when I’m angry,” he explained.

“If it ain’t what it looks like then I won’t assume anything. Just know this, next time it is what it seems, she’s gone,” I snapped and walked out the door.

“Mere!” He called out to me but I continued to walk. He needs to know I’m dead serious. I don’t need a little high school kid to mess up his life.