Secrets & Lies

Day 1| 39

"Seriously when was this part of my job description?"

"It isn't, but it should be. Up a little...just a little more—Yup right there."

I rolled my eyes as Sebastian sighed in content. He'd coerced me into giving him a back massage since his back was sore from the gym. "Alright, that's enough." I chirped.

He groaned in response and rolled onto his back. "A friend of mine Is coming over in a bit."

"Who? Don't give my address out to people."

"Relax. He's a good friend, he even knows where I live. He's my tattooist." He explained. "Mhm. I'm gonna be leaving out soon to meet up with Evangeline."

"Javier's sister?"

He offered me a raised eyebrow and a very disapproving expression. "Yep."

"When did you two become friends." He scoffed. "A while ago. A little bit after Javier and I became friends."

His eyes widened so quickly I thought they'd bulge out of his head. "Friends?!"

"Um Yes. I'm pretty sure I made you aware of this already. But none of that matters. My friend Kayla is supposed to stop by to pick this up. She should be here in a few minutes. I'm gonna go change. If she comes before I'm done get the door would ya."

I stood from my kneeled position in front of the couch and jogged to my bedroom to put on more comfortable clothing. Evangeline and I had planned to go to this dance class. She and I both shared a similar love for dancing. She'd grown up doing ballet and I'd done modern, Hip hop, and ballet. I didn't get around to dancing much these days though.

Just as I pulled my shirt over my head I heard the front door open and close. "Nyla your friends here!"

"Here I come!"

I slipped on my comfy sneakers and jogged downstairs with the bag I had for Kayla. It was a compilation of some pictures and sentiments we'd share over the years. She claimed she had to prepare some sample projects for some buyers and I didn't question her much.

"Hey, where are you going looking like that?" She asked. "Dancing with Eva."

"Oh, why wasn't I invited." She pouted playfully. "You were. You have work to do remember." I laughed. "True. How longs is he staying here again?" She asked.

She and I both looked towards the kitchen where Sebastian was making pancakes. It's 2 in the afternoon. I guess it's morning somewhere. "A couple of days while his house is renovated, he hates hotels," I replied.

I'd practiced the lie I told Kayla and Jace about my new roommate a few times in the mirror. "Have you guys...."

She widened her eyes a bit and nodded while I scrunched my eyebrows together in confusion. "Um..."

"Have you climbed that man like a stripper pole?" She whispered. "Kayla!" I exclaimed. Clearly, I was too loud because Sebastian turned to us and pulled his AirPod out of his ear. "You say something to me, love?"

"No."

I offered him a small smile and he put his AirPod in while nodding. "No, I have not," I whispered back. "Ya should—"

"Alright it's time to go, can't be late for my class."

It's always best to stop Kayla before she gets ahead of herself. "Bye Sebastian!" She called out as I pushed her towards the door. "I'll be back in about two hours!"

***

I met up with Evangeline at the dance studio and she was adorned in baggy sweatpants and a shirt to match. "Very comfortable I See." I teased. She giggled as she pulled me into a tight hug. "What better way is there?"

"How'd you find this place?" I asked while we walked upstairs to the studio. "Usually when I'm out here this is where I come to dance. Helps me clear my head."

I nodded in understanding and sat my stuff on the bench once we got inside. At the front of the studio stood a man with brown skin, curly hair, and beautiful green eyes. For some reason, his eyes seemed so familiar. "What's up y'all. I'm Brandon James for all my newcomers. Take a few minutes to warm up and we'll get started in a few."

Brandon held eye contact with me for a second longer than he probably should've and a small smirk spread across his face.

We went through another of similar exchanges. He'd glance at me and hold eye contact or circle me to watch as I followed through with the routine. "Alright y'all, it's the last ten minutes. Let's move on to the split battle." Brandon announced.

"What's that?" I whispered to Eva. "He splits the class picks a header for the team he isn't on and we go head to head with the material." She explained. I nodded and turned my head to hear where he'd place me.

I ended up on the other team as the header. "You ready?" Brandon asked me with a challenging look in his eyes.

"Yeah, Bran muffin, show us what you got," I replied. A couple of people snickered and Brandon cracked a sarcastic smile.

He nodded toward his assistant and he played the music. "Alright."

When his team finished dancing, Brandon turned to me with a cocky expression. "Do you need assistance, princess?" He asked sarcastically after noticing we hadn't started right after he finished.

"No, I think I got it Bj."

***

"You should've seen it, Javi! Ny was really sticking it to him. It was cool to see. People don't normally out dance Brandon." Evangeline gushed. Eva and I decided to stop at a small Cuban restaurant for dinner where Javi joined us a few minutes after we'd arrived.

"Her "stick it to the man" attitude is never too surprising." He chuckled. "Whatever." I grinned.

"I saw that they accept volunteers for their youth day, you joining?" I asked Eva. "Absolutely. You should too. It'll be fun. They usually have one of those every year and every time I've been a volunteer it's been great."

"You should join too, Javi." Eva encouraged. "They're always looking for someone to do face painting." She added.

"Face painting? I didn't even know you drew."

"I don't do it much anymore. Newfound passions and all that." He replied. He seemed as if he wanted to avoid the subject so I decided to drop it for now and ask about it later. "Best artist I've ever seen. Michelangelo ain't got shit on you, big brother!"

The three of us laughed and continued talking about random things. We kept talking long after we'd finished eating. All the way up until the place was closing.