Hey guys sorry it's been a while! This chapter is rather short but I hope you like it. :) The video on the side is of Brad and Sage's dance and in the story the table is the bed in the video, hope that makes sense. :P Also I don't own the video it's from youtube. I don't own it! Please please please comment or vote to let me know how I did! And the more votes/comments i get the sooner I'll update. Who know's maybe I can update by Christmas as a present :) 

Chapter twenty-two

I had been avoiding Aaron for the past four days. Every time he knocked on my front door I pretended that I wasn’t home. He called me and I didn’t answer. He texted and sent paper airplanes but I didn’t reply.

Maybe I was too embarrassed or I was just mad that he had acted like I had some kind of disease.

I filled my time with practicing the next dance Brad and I were going to do in my dad’s meeting room. We had decided on dancing to the song Speechless.

Nate was going to help us move things around and Kalina was going to handle the music.

And I was most likely going to be grounded for eternity.

I heard the doorbell echo around the house and I rushed down the stairs to answer the door. I pulled it open and was met by Aaron.

I sighed while attempting to shut the door without letting him speak. His hand shot out and held the door open. “Wait.” He said looking me in the eyes.

“Aaron, please don’t.” I said not wanting to hear him speak.

“No, Sage. You have to listen to me.” He pleaded. The look in his eyes was the only thing that convinced me to listen to him. I opened the door just enough that I could lean on the doorframe and make it impossible for him to walk inside without knocking me over. “Sage, I overreacted-”

“Ya just a little.” I snapped.

“But,” He continued ignoring my attitude. “Will you at least listen to why I freaked out?” I shrugged while motioning for him to continue. “My sophomore year I slept with this girl…and she was a virgin.” He said before clearing his throat. “The next morning she was crying and saying how much of a mistake it was with me being…me. Anyways I decided from then on that I wouldn’t be like that with a virgin again.”

“You’re worried I would cry?” I asked incredulously.

“No Sage!” He yelled before raking his fingers through his hair. “I was worried that if we did sleep together later on you would realize that I am not a good person. I don’t get great grades and your dad hates me! Would you really want your first time to be with someone like me?”

“Aaron.” I said dropping my arms by my sides.

“I can’t be everything that Nate can be.” He said meeting my eyes again. That’s when I noticed he was crying.

“Hey, hey.” I said gently resting my palms on his cheeks. “No matter what kind of person you think you are or my dad thinks you are do you know who I think you are?” I said trying to get him to look at me again. I pushed a tear away from his cheek with my thumb. “I think that you are an amazing person with a beautiful heart…and I wouldn’t want to be with anyone else. If we were to ever break up, which I hope doesn’t happen then me not being a virgin would’ve been my problem not yours.”

“I don’t want to ruin anything for you.”

I leaned closer to him and time seemed to go by painfully slow while I closed the distance between us. Our lips met and we kissed his hands moved to the top of my arms and I thought he was going to push me away but he stopped.  

“I love you.” I whispered as I pulled back from him.

“I’m sorry, Sage.”

“Please, stop apologizing.” I said taking his hands in my mine.

“An explanation doesn’t seem like a good enough apology for what I did.”

“It’s good enough for me. I don’t need or want anything else.”  I said refusing to let him pull away from me.

“Sage…I’m so sorry.” He mumbled again while shaking his head.

“Ok, if you say sorry one more time I might have to slap you.”

“It might make me feel better.” He said which made me laugh. He looked at me amusement sparkling in his eyes before he laughed with me.

*********************

“Sage!” My dad screamed while dragging me to the car. “Do you not understand that you can’t do things like that?” He said before closing my passenger side door. He slammed his door shut before starting the car and speeding away as I waved goodbye to my friends who were standing outside my dad’s work building.

My duet with Brad had gone flawlessly. Thank god the meeting room had marble floors and not carpet because we did a lot of floor work in the routine.

We had moved all the chairs outside the big meeting room and had pushed the table to the back of the room where Brad and I could still use it a few times during our dance.

Brad had just worn loose dress pants and a white button up while I wore the same simple black dancing dress that I’d worn last time, and both of us decided that we wouldn’t wear shoes.

Some of the business men had looked at us like we’d committed a sin; my dad being one of them, but others had looked at us like they remembered their teenage days and like we’d accomplished something. Although their small smiles turned to cringes when my dad yanked me from the room even though I was nearly laughing.

“Dad it really wasn’t that big of deal, some of them were smiling.” I pointed out.

“Sage…you could have just ruined our business deal.” He said through gritted teeth while he gripped the wheel so hard that his knuckles turned white.

“I doubt that’ll happen dad.” I said brushing it away.

“Sage!” He yelled making me jump. “You can’t continue to be immature like this. You can’t just dance around with your friends and do whatever you want.”

“Dad I just wanted you to notice how good I’ve become. I mean you didn’t go to any of my competitions, I just had to show you that I’m good at something, that I’m important in something.”

“Sage, I don’t care.” He said as we pulled into our driveway. “I don’t care that you waste your time making these stupid dances; you need to stop because sooner or later I’m not going to put up with them. You’re making a fool out of both of us and the least thing I could be, is proud.”

I nearly bolted from the car and turned before closing the door. “Mom would’ve been proud.” I snapped before slamming the door at his shocked expression.

I ran inside and looked back to see my dad’s car pulling out of the driveway.

I closed the door behind me and sprinted upstairs before throwing myself down on my bed.

My mom had died when I was five. She was in a car accident and she’d always been more supportive about my dancing then my dad ever was. After she died my dad became more and more involved in work, leaving me practically by myself.

We never talked about her because it bothered my dad, but I’d just snapped. I couldn’t take all his yelling and he pushed me towards it.

I screamed at my ceiling before rolling over and burying my face in my pillow.

At some point I must have fallen asleep but I was suddenly jarred awake by a loud tapping on my window.

I sat up straight and gave myself a head rush before I glanced out the window and saw a grinning Aaron.

I gave him a small smile before standing up and opening my window.

“Is my dad’s car in the driveway?” I said before sitting back on my bed.

“Nope, it’s just your car.”

“So he hasn’t come back yet.” I said sighing and lying back down.

“How was the fight?” He said lying next to me.

I laughed because he already knew there had been a fight. Guaranteed it wasn’t that hard to figure out. “It was pretty bad…but then again they all are.”

“Ok, but how bad was it?” He asked while wrapping his arms around me.

“I brought up my mom.” I said no louder than a whisper.

“Your mom?” He asked.

“She died when I was little…I just said that she would’ve been proud of me when my dad wasn’t.”

“Harsh.” He said leaning his chin on the top of my head.

“I know, and I feel horrible. I should’ve just left everything alone.”

“Everyone makes mistakes.”

“Maybe I should just forget about dancing…”

“Are you kidding? Do you know how good you are?” He said turning to look me in the eyes. “You are absolutely amazing.” I looked away from him and didn’t say anything. “Does it make you happy?” I nodded while pushing some of my hair behind my ears. “Then that’s all that matters. Do what makes you happy. It will always be your choice, not your dads. Just know that I will always be here for you.”

“I love you Aaron.” I murmured as I began to fall asleep again.

“I love you too…and I’m still sorry about what I did.”

I leaned forward so fast that he fell backwards as I ripped the pillow out from beneath his back. I smacked him with it before yelling at him. “Shut up!” I said before he pulled me back down as we both started laughing.