~CHAPTER NINE~

It had been too long since Andrea’s apartment had been filled with laughter.

It sounded foreign to her, but in a good way; like catching an older French couple murmuring to each other as they walked down the street holding hands.

Comfortable.

Innocent.

Unburdened.

Ryan was entertaining a small group of girls with his jokes, always the ladies’ man.

Rose was jumping from person to person, trying to get to know everyone.

The others in the room were either members from Andrea’s new, still unnamed, dance team or a friend of Andrea’s that didn’t mind hanging out with a bunch of dancers. With everyone hanging out in Andrea’s one room apartment, things were a bit cramped, but Andrea wouldn’t have it any other way.

Lizzy and Bre, the two other female dancers , were sticking close to Ryan and Andrea. They were shy at parties and when they were in a room full of people they didn’t know very well. When they danced however, they forgot all about being shy, which both amazed and entertained Andrea.

Tony, Murphy and Brandon, the other dancers, were talking mostly with each other, feeling most comfortable with the other males, but they also talked to Andrea, Bre and Lizzy, knowing that not talking to them would both look bad and make it awkward for them down the line, since they were all in the same crew.

Matt was also at the small party, having made up with Andrea, but he stayed near Ryan, trying to not ruffle any feathers.

The other invitees were mingling casually, but Andrea wasn’t paying too much to them. She didn’t really talk to them on a day to day basis anyway, but she was also too busy making sure her new dancers were clicking well, since the party was mostly for them.

Andrea was keeping busy filling and refilling drinks and snacks. She hadn’t made or bought a main dish, thinking that between the chips, crackers and other snacks, everyone would have enough. She enjoyed playing hostess. She liked how cramped her apartment felt. She loved that everyone—dancer or not—seemed to be getting along.

“Is that the door?” Bre asked suddenly, looking at Andrea.

Andrea hadn’t heard the door, being too busy trying to convince Ryan to try hummus. There wasn’t any music playing, and people weren’t being particularly loud, knowing that Andrea had neighbors above her, so Andrea was kind of surprised that the only person who seemed to have heard it was Bre.

She didn’t doubt the girl’s hearing however, and jogged to the door, dodging groups of people as she went.

Someone made a joke about her hurting her knee again by running, making Andrea laugh as she reached the door and pulled it open.

The smile slid off her face and into one of shock.

“Well, I was going to say ‘I bring pizza,’ but it looks like you’re already set without some,” Jay said, showing Andrea the box of pizza in his hands as he looked past her and into the room full of people.

Andrea, conscious that everyone in the apartment behind her had gone sort of quiet as they tried to see who was at the door, said, “Oh, it’s fine.” She stepped out of the doorway. “Come in.” Even though Andrea still had a small problem with him, it still felt weird to turn him away when he stumbled upon her party.

Jay didn’t move. Instead, he shook his head and gave Andrea an embarrassed grin. “I don’t want to intrude. I was only passing through and figured I would bring you food. And indirectly make sure you hadn’t hurt yourself again and were lying on the floor of your apartment, dying of starvation.”

A sudden thought came to Andrea. “How did you know where I lived?” she hissed. The day he had tried to take her home from the hospital, he had failed, and Andrea had taken the bus home, so she knew that that wasn’t it.

Jay, to his credit, looked a little sheepish. “Dancers know everything,” he answered.

Andrea couldn’t question that. Everyone knew everyone in their profession, so someone knowing where Andrea lived wasn’t that uncommon. Andrea just hoped that Jay hadn’t gotten the information from his team. She knew they’d want to know why he wants to know.

“Come in,” Andrea repeated.

Again, Jay shook his head, but offered the pizza anyway.

“Dude,” Ryan said, suddenly appearing in the doorframe. “It’s a party. No one cares if you were invited or not. Get in here.”

Jay chuckled lightly, but did finally step into the apartment. “I didn’t know that you knew Dre too,” Jay said to Ryan as Andrea shut the door behind him. The conversation among the others picked up again, making the atmosphere lighten again.

“What?” she asked, before Ryan could say anything, looking between Ryan and Jay a few times.

“One of my dancers is friends with him,” Jay answered innocently.

“I know of him,” Ryan said quietly so that Jay couldn’t hear. He refused to meet Andrea’s glare.

Jay, unaware of the situation he had just thrown Ryan into, asked, “How was that chicken, by the way?” with a laugh.

Andrea, from behind Jay, raised an eyebrow at Ryan and crossed her arms across her chest. She now knew exactly when Ryan had met Jay, something that he had failed to tell her about at all.

“What are you doing?” Ryan asked suddenly of Jay, trying to throw the attention off of him. Jay was kneeling on the ground, untying his shoes.

“Oh,” Jay gasped, standing again. “Sorry. Habit.”

“Do you take off your shoes at everyone’s house?” Ryan asked, a smile playing on his lips.

“It’s a good habit to have,” Andrea said harshly, still glaring at Ryan.

“I’m going to go…over there,” Ryan said, pointing in the first direction he saw and heading towards it.

“You don’t have to take your shoes off,” Andrea told Jay. “No one else has.”

“Okay.” Jay smiled. “Oh, where do you want the pizza?” he asked, raising the pizza box again.

“Let’s put in the kitchen,” Andrea answered quietly. “Follow me.” She had finally taken in the fact that he was in her house; something that a few weeks ago, she would have been livid about. Now though, as he followed her into the kitchen, dressed casually and with damp hair that Andrea knew was from the shower he took after dance practice, she was shocked to realize that she wasn’t angry about him being here. She wasn’t overjoyed about it either, but she figured that she could just distract herself with the other people if she needed to.

Even though it was technically open to the rest of the apartment, it was understood that tonight, nobody lingered in the kitchen. It was too small. With both Andrea and Jay standing on opposite sides of it, it was a little tight.

“I’m sorry for interrupting,” Jay apologized again as he set the pizza on the counter adjacent to the living room.

It was cheese, Andrea’s favorite.

“It’s a party, Jay,” Andrea told him as she took a slice of the pizza. “It’s okay.”

“I still feel bad,” Jay continued. “I wasn’t invited.” He trailed off, watching Andrea take a large bite of pizza, a bemused expression on his face.

“What?” Andrea questioned, full of food.

“You like pizza a lot, don’t you?” Jay was laughing hard now.

“Shut up,” Andrea cried, shoving him out of the kitchen. “Go talk to people…or something!”

Jay was still laughing, but entered the swell of people anyway.

For the rest of the night, Andrea catered to her guests. She did notice that jay stuck to her a little bit, which got a little annoying, simply because people would ask how they knew each other. Andrea always let Jay answer. When Matt asked and heard Jay’s name, he gave Andrea a curious look, but otherwise didn’t say anything.

After a few hours though, people, one by one, began to leave. Some had family to get back to, other commitments, and a few had late-night jobs. Soon, it was just Andrea, jay and Ryan left.

None of them noticed the time, as Ryan was telling joke after joke, story after story, letting Jay and Andrea the spotlight sometimes, but not for very long.

He was in the middle of telling a story that involved him, a friend and lamps when his phone went off. He was going to ignore it, but when he saw it was his mom, he had to take it.

A few seconds of short answerers on his side, which Jay and Andrea watched, still giggling lightly from the story, and he hung up.

“I have to go,” Ryan said. “My mom says that I promised to help set up a Facebook account, and insists I do it now. And this actually isn’t a joke,” he said, a light smile on his face. “Count on my other to always give me new material.”

Ryan got up from the couch he was sitting on and walked toward the door. “See you later Dre. Good seeing you, Jay.”

And he was gone, leaving Andrea painfully aware that now she was alone with Jay, in her apartment.

Apparently, Jay felt just as awkward, as neither of them said anything for a little while.

“Thanks for letting me crash your party,” Jay said, breaking the silence, giving Andrea a smile.

Andrea smiled back, not really thinking saying “You’re welcome” or “Anytime” was quite appropriate.

Jay stood, and Andrea followed suit, knowing now that he intended to leave.

“Do you know where the nearest bus station is?” Jay asked as he and Andrea walked to the door. “I didn’t come from the hotel, and have no idea where the stations are around here.”

Andrea opened the front door and answered, “Going straight out of the apartment, go forward until you see the curvy thing, then you turn right and head that way until you see the blue thing. The station’s near there.”

Jay stared at her. “Curvy thing? Blue thing?” he asked.

Andrea groaned. She had never been good at giving directions. She remembered things by picturing them, not by distances or street names. “It would be better if I showed you,” she sighed, stepping out of the apartment herself.

“Are you sure?” Jay asked, watching her lock the door behind her. “Is your knee up for it?”

“My knee is fine,” Andrea told him, leading the way down the one flight of stairs. She lived above a small café, which was nice, especially for coming and going without really letting anyone know. “It hasn’t hurt for a while,” she said, leading the way down the street.

“Oh, good,” Jay said, walking next to her. “Are you dancing again?”

Andrea nodded. “I’m not one hundred percent yet, but it’s getting there.”

“Good,” Jay said again.

“How was that dance competition you were in?” Andrea asked, surprising even herself by initiating the conversation.

“It was good. Didn’t win, but the energy was good,” Jay answered.

They fell into silence, letting the city noises do the talking.

They turned a corner, and Andrea pointed to where someone was standing. “That’s the station.”

“Thank you,” Jay said, nodding slightly. For a second, Andrea thought he was bowing, but brushed it off as just a nod of thanks. He started walking away, but turned back around and told Andrea, “When you guys start dancing again, call me. I want to watch, and maybe compete against you guys.” A devilish grin spread across his face, and Andrea couldn’t help but laugh at the image it created in the night light.

“Alright,” she said. “Better bring you’re A-game when it happens then!”

Jay pointed threateningly at her, walking backwards away from her. “You know I will!” he called, then turn and ran to the bus stop, just as the bus pulled up.

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