Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

Kim

My foot taps with impatience as I watch the flight board at LaGuardia Airport. My flight has been delayed…again.

It's a terrible ending to a terrible day.

Or has it been two days? It feels like a lifetime ago since Leo had me pressed against that wall, though I'm still sore between the legs.

I'd gone back to my room and put myself back together for bed, realizing that he'd never given me his number. It really had all been a line. Nothing more.

Fine. It was better.

We'd agreed it was a single night. But I hadn't been able to sleep. I'd barely managed a few hours before I had to get up and take the car to the airport.

The flight had been hellishly long, and the traffic in New York worse.

I'd barely arrived in time for my four o'clock call time, though it hadn't mattered. Dozens of dancers had yet to be seen and the tryouts had begun at eight in the morning. There must have been a hundred dancers at the audition, at least. All of them, the best of the best.

This was their open call and everyone who had dreams of being a professional ballet dancer was there.

I finally was seen at seven, and I could say this. I'd given my absolute best.

Not that the panel judging me had even cracked a smile. They hadn't. I'd just gotten the stock response, you'll hear from us in a week or two . And then I was sent on my way.

I took a cab back to the airport, where I'd sort of slept on a row of chairs. Like I mentioned, no hotel money. And after two nights of barely sleeping, I'd woke to find that my seven o'clock flight back to Vegas was delayed. Which was a major problem.

I had a final this afternoon. It was my last class I'd taken during the summer session, and I needed to pass to get my degree.

Furiously, I typed an email to my professor on my phone, thanking my lucky stars that I had enough charge to send it.

Then, I sidled up to the desk.

"May I help you?" The attendant gives me a thin smile that tells me she is nearly out of patience.

I'm sure I'm not the first person to ask what's going on with our flight. "Any word on when we'll board?"

The smile grows more brittle. "Hopefully in the next half hour, but maybe longer, depending."

"Depending? What's wrong?"

"Mechanical issues."

I sigh, I can't wait much longer. "Any other flights I can take? I really need to get home."

She looks down at her screen, tapping away. "Delta has one leaving in fifteen minutes. If you hurry…"

"Oh, that would be great!" I say, relief rushing through me. Professor Stilton, my Latin teacher, is a stickler for the rules. I'd put off taking the required language courses, a choice I now regret.

Because if I missed this final, there was no way she'd pass me.

"Let me book it for you," she taps away. "The additional fee will be six hundred fifty-two dollars and twenty-three cents."

My jaw drops. It was twice the price of the original flight. "Oh."

She looks up at me, understanding why I haven't just pulled out my credit card. "Or you can wait for this one."

I nod, my shoulders slumping. I don't have $653. Not in my checking or savings. I don't even have it in credit. Once a month, something comes up I can't pay for, and it goes on the plastic.

My shoulders slumping, I return to my seat. Firing up my phone, I see an email from Stilton.

Clicking it open, I get through the first seven words: I'm sorry, but there are no exceptions… before my phone dies.

"Great," I mutter, my eyes sliding closed. Today is not my day.

The flight finally boards two hours later and I know I have no hope of making the final. It means I'll fail the class.

Which means I'll have to pay out of pocket to take it again next semester. That's if I'm not leaving for New York.

The idea of leaving Vegas without my degree makes me wince.

Some guy takes the seat next to me. He's good looking and athletic, and I can see by the way his gaze keeps sliding to mine that he's interested.

I've never been less so.

Between my irritation and what happened with Leo, I can't even imagine flirting with this guy, or any guy really.

"Going to Vegas?"

I look over at him, my brows drawn together. Is he serious? We're all sitting in the same airplane. "Yep."

"Me too. Can't wait. I've never been."

I shake my head. If he's looking for a vacation hook up, he can forget it. "Have fun."

"You on vacation too?"

I try not to sigh. "No. I go to school there."

He's blond and tan with decent muscles. I'm sure some girl would love his attention. "Oh, cool. That must be great. I go to Harvard, which is super intense. I sometimes wish I'd gone somewhere less serious."

Did he just insult me while agreeing with me? "Yeah. Sure," I'm already done talking to him, so I start searching for a plug for my charger. I need to finish reading that email. Maybe Stilton threw me some Hail Mary and there is something I can do to pass her class.

"You…" He gives me a wavering smile like he's working up the confidence to ask. Such a turn off. "You wouldn't be free tomorrow night, would you?"

I stop searching, my brain going to back to Leo's proposition. The one where he promised me an orgasm via his tongue in five minutes or less. That was the offer of a king. This one… "Sorry. No."

His smile falls. "Sure. I understand."

Mentally, I wonder what he understands. I didn't offer an explanation, but I go back to searching for a plug. I'm not trying to hurt this guy's feelings, I just have actual problems I'm trying to solve.

Finally, I find one and plug in my phone cord, waiting with bated breath. But nothing happens. The phone doesn't charge.

"Crap," I mutter under my breath as I let out a long sigh.

"Phone issues?" he asks.

Is he still here? "Just a dead battery."

He sets down his bag and starts rifling through, pulling out some slick black thing or other. "Portable charger." And then he hands it to me.

Finally, something is going right. "Thank you," I gush on a breath of air. "I'm about to miss a final and I was reading the email from my professor when my phone died." I plug in the battery and the phone instantly comes to life.

"Hot mess?" he asks, and my chin snaps up. Did he really just ask me that? But I don't answer as my email pops back up on the screen.

I'd had this one class to take during the summer semester and then I would be done. Technically, I already walked for graduation, but I don't have my degree yet.

Stilton's email comes up and I wilt again. Either I show up for the final or I fail. I should have known.

I knew I was cutting it close but…

I can feel tears welling in my eyes as my elbow drops to my knee and my head falls onto my hand.

This is bad. Really bad.

I know the course will cost a minimum of five thousand to retake and its money I don't have.

"So…what about that date?"

"What?" I lift my head back up as I look at the guy next to me.

"Tomorrow?" his gaze slides down me. "I've kind of got a thing for hot messes."

My mouth opens and then closes a moment before I unplug his charger and hand it back to him. "Have fun in Vegas."

It takes another hour before we finally taxi out to the runway and take off. On the bright side, I've got plenty of time to figure out how I'm going to retake that class. I finally get my charger to work.

But as my phone recharges, another email comes up, this one from the Ballet Company.

They want to thank me for auditioning, but they don't currently have a spot for me. They'll let me know if anything changes.

I don't cry. The Harvard dick is sitting in the same row as me and I won't give him the satisfaction of confirming that I am a hot mess.

On the bright side, I get to work my ass off to make enough money to retake Stilton's class.

But I don't see how this day could get any worse.

Then again, the universe can be a real jerk sometimes.