On The Floor (Second Story) by Jennifer LaCross Read Free Book Online Page A

Direction comes on and I smile. This is my sister’s favorite song and every time I go home we have a sister dance off to it. I smile and start to dance around my room. I look a little ridiculous, but I don’t mind since no one can see me.
    I hear a knock at the door and look at the clock. Jenna is a few minutes early, but this song is her guilty pleasure as well, so I yell for her to come in. Meanwhile, I keep dancing around, shaking my head and rolling my hips.
    Then I feel strong hands grip me at my waist. Definitely not Jenna.
    I immediately stop my movements and jerk around to face Jake. He smiles and I can tell he is trying not to laugh.
    “I thought you were Jenna!” I say breathlessly.
    He ignores my comment. “Interesting choice of music,” he says barely containing his laughter. His playfulness is so different from the coldness he showed me last night. Confusing much?
    “My little sister made this mix. I’m not a big fan but it brings back good memories of home when I listen to it. She calls it my Getting Ready Mix .”
    “So she is the big One Direction fan?”
    “I would call her a fanatic,” I say with a big smile. I can’t help but smile when I think about my sister. I miss her like crazy.
    “Going out tonight?” he asks.
    “Yep,” I say as I nod my head.
    I notice Jake’s eyes sliding down my body taking me in. He starts at my hair and lingers on my lips. His eyes then drop to my chest and his gaze continues all the way down my body until he gets to my shoes. Then his eyes shoot back up to meet mine. “You look… nice,” he says swallowing loudly.
    “Thank you,” I respond smiling as my breath speeds up. He was checking me out! “Had you stopped by thirty minutes ago you would have caught me in sweats singing Baby into my hairbrush with the Biebs!” I laugh. That would have been embarrassing.
    “I’m sure you still looked just as beautiful.”
    “Thanks,” I say smiling shyly.
    “So, is this a girls’ night or do you have a big date or something?” he asks jokingly.
    “Um, kind of a date I guess. Whenever Jenna starts seeing a new guy she tries to set me up with one of his friends. So this is kind of like a double date. They are usually pretty lame,” I say. I’m a bit nervous telling him about the guy I’m being set-up with.
    “Fun! I’m sure the guy will be really cool,” he says his smile not reaching his eyes.
    “Yeah, maybe he’ll be the one ,” I joke.
    His face tightens as he nods his head. “Maybe.”
    Then silence. I guess my joke didn’t go over so well.
    “Jenna should be here soon to meet me. Do you have any plans tonight?” I ask him, trying to work through the tense mood that has formed between us.
    “Huh?” he says shaking his head to clear his thoughts. “Oh, yeah. I’m gonna head to Mackey’s Pub with the guys from my band. Nothing super exciting.”
    “Mackey’s Pub? I’ve never been there. It’s not near campus, is it?”
    “No. It’s about twenty minutes from here. It’s near my grandparents’ house. Just going for a drink or two.”
    “Well that sounds fun!” I smile at him trying to get him out of this mood. He has had this contemplative look on his face since that little joke I made.
    “I mentioned before that I could help you with planning activities and you haven’t taken me up on my offer. Did you want to get together later tonight to plan?” he asks sounding hopeful.
    “Um, tonight?”
    He gives me a tense smile before he answers. “Yeah, like around midnight? You can tell me all about how your date went.” He says the word ‘date’ like it’s painful.
    “Um, sure?”
    “I mean unless you really hit it off with the guy. Then you can text me. We’ll reschedule.” I can tell by his tone that he is trying to make the effort because we are friends . But I am pretty sure that this "date" I’m going on is annoying him. He almost sounds as though he is daring me to meet up with him tonight. Or daring me to go home with