By the time it was over, I was panting heavily from the exertion with sweat dripping down my body. I felt like it had gone really well, that I had made it into the zone where I could do no wrong. As I walked off the stage, I was sure that, no matter what happened, I could be happy with the fact that I’d done my personal best and left everything I had inside me out on the dance floor. If I didn’t get an offer, then at least I wouldn’t have anything to regret about my performance.

Several people offered me their congratulations as I made my way back to the changing area. I nodded absently in response, focused on getting cleaned up so I could just go find Jackson. Now that it was over, I felt an urgent need to talk to him about everything going on in my head. I just hoped that I hadn’t waited too long.

****

Once I had changed back into my street clothes and made it to the lobby to search for Jackson, the place was packed. I was one of the last performances of the night, and I’d had a ton of makeup on that I’d wanted to wash off. I’d thought I hadn’t taken that long to get ready, but apparently it was still longer than everyone else based on the mob of people I had to weave my way around while I was searching for him. I finally spotted him across the room and was headed that way when I heard my aunt’s voice from behind me.

“I certainly hope you don’t expect to get a good offer after that performance, Kaylie,” she said in her grating tone of voice.

Jackson’s eyes were on me, so I gave him a reassuring smile before turning to great my aunt. “Hello, Kathy.”

Her expression turned icy with my words. “How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that disrespectful name? You know that it’s either Kathleen or Aunt Kathleen, Kaylie. Really, must you be so immature? You’re getting ready to graduate from college. I would have thought you’d have outgrown this kind of behavior by now.”

Okay, maybe it was immature to always use a nickname I knew she hated. But I was okay with it because it got to her every single time. And I’d take my wins with her where and when I could. I was pretty sure that wasn’t going to change regardless of how old I was.

I offered her an extremely insincere apology. “Sorry, Aunt Kathleen.”

Apparently she either chose to ignore my sarcasm or didn’t catch it. “That’s much better. Now, I’ve made some calls to see if we can get you some extra training before you go out on any auditions this summer. I really wish you had taken my advice on gone to a school better suited to properly train you. You’ve developed some atrocious habits during your years here.”

“That’s funny because I thought I did very well tonight,” I disagreed.

“Please, Kaylie. You know you’ve never been a good judge of that. Trust me when I say it will be an uphill battle to get anyone who was here to ever seriously consider you in the future. You have your work cut out for you if you want to undo the damage you’ve already done.”

Jackson joined us in the middle of my aunt’s tirade, placing his hand on my back in a comforting gesture. When he didn’t walk past and continued to stand behind me, my aunt gave me a questioning look.

I introduced them. “Aunt Kathleen, this is my boyfriend Jackson. Jackson, this is my aunt.”

Jackson stretched out his free hand to shake hers. “A pleasure, ma’am.”

“It’s nice to see Kaylie dating someone with manners,” my aunt replied. “But I hope you understand that we are having a private conversation right now regarding her future. Would you mind waiting over there?” she asked as she gestured away from where we were standing.

I was mortified by her behavior. Jackson was being perfectly polite to her and she still had to be a major bitch just so she could continue to tell me what a horrible dancer I had become.

“Jackson, no. You don’t have to go anywhere.”

He leaned down to kiss my cheek before addressing my aunt. “Actually, I do mind waiting over there. Kaylie invited me to be here with her tonight, so that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

“Well,” Aunt Kathleen muttered. “I guess our conversation will just have to wait until tomorrow then since you are too busy with your boyfriend to have a serious discussion with me. Kaylie, plan on my picking you up for breakfast at your dorm at seven a.m.”

I didn’t even have the chance to respond and tell her that I didn’t want to talk with her about this—let alone sit down for a meal—before Jackson jumped back into the conversation. “If your plan is to spend the whole meal talking down to Kaylie and badgering her, then I don’t think she has time for you tomorrow morning either.”