Dancing Away with the Player | Book #3

Not What I Expected

"What did you just say?" I wondered.

"I said, do I know you?" He repeated.

"You don't know me?"

He pondered in thought. "Honestly, I have no idea who you are."

I stared at him completely confused by his questioned. It has only been four years and he forgot me, he forgot me to the point where he doesn't know what I look like. It didn't make any sense. All I did was cut my hair, now all of a sudden I'm unrecognizable to him. This must've been a joke, he must've been joking because if not this was one joke I definitely didn't understand.

"You're joking, right?" I asked him.

He shook his head. "No, I seriously don't know you at all. Have we met before?"

I laughed. "Y-You're definitely joking. You can give it up James, you got me."

"I'm being serious. It's strange how you know my name, but I've never met you before," he denied yet again.

My eyebrows knitted together. "I'm Stella, Stella Johnston. We've known each other since we were young."

He hit his forehead. "Stella!"

I nodded my head. "Now you remember me."

"Yes, we went to highschool together! How have you been?" He questioned me.

I looked at him strangely. "Yes and we went to Juilliard together too for dancing. Do you not remember that?"

"I would never go to Juilliard, I'm not a dancer, I don't even think I can dance. I know that you went to Juilliard since my mom told me. Whereas I got into business," he explained.

"No, you went to Juilliard with me and we ended up as partners together. You were a pain in my ass but then you confessed your feelings for me and I didn't want you because you were a player."

He smirked. "I was a huge player."

I nodded my head, agreeing with him then continued on. "Then I met your brother and we hit it off. After, you came to me and I told you I had feelings for you and Dylan. To sum it up, I dated Dylan but I had feelings for you. So I broke up with him, then you left New York to go to California, and took over your dad's company."

James chuckled. "I would've remembered all of that. It sounds very intense. I had no idea you had feelings for Dylan."

I blinked a couple of times, trying to take in what he said to me. "I had feelings for you too. I still do James."

"You hardly know me and I hardly even know you," he voiced.

"I do know you, very well actually. You love adventures, going to your grandparents water park, and painting drawings. I know that at the age of nine you got into cooking, and wanted to be a chef, but your grandpa passed away. I know that you love playing dolls and having a tea party with Brooklyn even though you hate it. I also know that you never wanted to take over your dad's company. It was never what you wanted to do."

I watched as James' face washed blank with confusion, like his brain cogs couldn't process the information that I had told him. Every muscle of his body just froze. Part of me hoped that what I said would change his mind, but I had no idea. I was standing in front of a new version of James. He blinked a couple of times then cleared his throat, as if coming back to reality.

He slightly frowned. "Look I haven't seen you since high-school, which was years ago. You seem like a nice girl, but you're not really my type and I'm not interested in you."

My heart broke as I heard those words slip through his lips. I thought he loved me, I thought this was it. I couldn't wrap my head around the thought of James rejecting me. He doesn't even know what I'm talking about. I honestly didn't know which was worse: him not remembering me or being rejected. I didn't understand any of this. Did his feelings change within the four years?

He turned to walk away and I gripped onto his hand, feeling sparks jolt up my arm. His eyes studied my grip then looked at me. Did he feel it too? I couldn't help but wonder if he did or not. A tear rolled onto my cheek, but I didn't care; I had to stay focused. I couldn't let him just walk away like that. I knew that after us meeting we wouldn't see each other again. I would be on my flight back to New York while he'll be here in California.

"You can't just walk away. I've been waiting for this moment to happen for four years now. I want you James, I choose you. You're who I want to be with forever and even after that," I confessed to him.

"Look I get that–"

I let go of his arm in anger. "No you don't get anything! Every single day I regret not being with you. I regret choosing Dylan over you. I regret letting you go. Every single day, I waited for you to come back to New York and you never did. Everyone told me to move on, but I couldn't. I can't move on from you because I love you. It took me so long to realize that and I'm sorry that it happened when it was too late, but you're all I want."

"I don't..." he trailed off.

"Please say something," I pleaded.

"I'm sorry, but I have some business to attend to out there, but it was nice seeing you again. I just wanted to tell you that your dancing was spectacular up there," he complimented.

"Thanks," I muttered.

I watched him give me a small smile then walked away from me, leaving me all alone in the hallway. I knew I had to get back out there to Benjamin and those business owners, but instead I backed myself against the wall and slid down to the floor. I covered my face in my hands and sighed.

This felt like a nightmare. The type of nightmare that was more of a night terror, because it felt as if I might die from the pain in my brain, I was desperately trying to wake up, screaming for help, yet nobody came. The worst part about this night terror was that James looked at me like a stranger and that was something worse than anything.