Page 13 of The Dance

I blinked, then blinked again. Theater? He knew I was minoring in dance. He’d remembered the night before without me telling him, and we’d discussed my majors on the way to the party. Why did he lie?

“Actually,” I peeked up at Blake, tempted to tell the truth. “I’m majoring in business with a minor intheater.”

“Business?” His mom glanced at Brandon. “Brandon went to Texas A&M and got a business degree.”

I looked at Blake again, and for a split second, I could see he was hurt that his mother was talking to hisgirlfriendabout his brother. Even though I hated to be used for a ruse, I felt bad for Blake. He took care of me the night before, making sure I made it home safely, fed me, and didn’t take advantage of a drunk girl.

I grabbed his hand and responded, “That’s amazing. It seems he’s successful, but business isn’t my passion, and I fully believe you should follow your dreams.”

* * *

The restof the party went as I’d expected. People I didn’t know stood around talking, eating, and drinking. Other than lying to Blake’s family, I had a good time, but it was weird to pretend to be the girlfriend of a guy who didn’t want to be my boyfriend. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to date him, but I hadn’t expected him to flat-out tell me he was using me to look good to his family.

I had no desire to see him ever again.

The following afternoon, I was in the middle of folding my laundry when my mother called for our weekly chat. I only saw her once a month when I made the three-hour drive to San Antonio for a visit. Sometimes she would come to Houston if she wasn’t busy with the clothing boutique she owned or didn’t have plans with her boyfriend. He was a new one, and I understood she needed time to build a relationship with him. She hadn’t been lucky in love.

“Hey, Mom,” I greeted.

“Hi, pumpkin. How was your week?”

“It was good. Had classes and stuff.”

“That’s great to hear.” She paused. “Listen, I have some bad news.”

“What’s wrong?”

I heard her exhale. “I’m closing Ooh-La-La.”

“What? Are you for real?” I stopped folding the T-shirt in my hands.

“Business has slowed down, and it’s no longer bringing in income. The holidays didn’t go as I’d hoped they would for sales.”

“You didn’t say anything to me.” I was only in my third year, but I felt as though I knew enough to help my mother out with her business. Hell, I knew her store firsthand because I was always working there on weekends or summer breaks when I was in high school.

“I didn’t want to burden you with it.”

“It’s not a burden,” I argued. “You’re my mother, and this is what I’m going to school for.”

“I know, pumpkin, but—”

“But can’t we figure something out?”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know. Maybe online shopping? You can ship things out,” I suggested. I knew I could come up with something if I had more time, but online shopping wasn’t a bad idea. We could reach a lot more buyers, which would mean more money.

“I’m not an enormous store. Women want to try on clothes before they buy them, or I’ll have a lot of returns and I don’t want that headache.”

“So, we need to get you more customers.” I started to pace in my small bedroom. “More people through the door.”

“I’m afraid it’s too late. My lease is up in three months.”

“It’s not too late.” I thought for a moment, staring out my window at the parking lot. “How about I come next weekend, and we can maybe try social media. Gain traffic or something. We can have daily sales we only post online. We can run ads too. We’ll figure this out.”

“It’s that easy?”

“It’s worth a shot.”