Breaking Hearts (B-Boy #2) (3 page)

“Lovely,” I muttered.

“Then you have the other girls who dress as if they’re going clubbing.” She shook her head and scowled. “I hated them the most. They’re like a poor man’s excuse for rocker groupies.”

My eyes lit up in realization. “Ah, I get it.”

“What?” Anna asked suspiciously.

Not wanting to offend her, I carefully asked, “Is it safe to assume your boyfriend…that these groupies…um…well, you know.”

“Yup,” she said with a pop of the P. “One of those hoes got a hold of my man. God forbid I ever run into that skank. She’ll be picking up pieces of her weave off the floor.”

I eyed my computer and sighed in disappointment. “Well, I guess that throws asking you to go with me out of the question.”

“You were going to ask me to go with you?” she asked incredulously.

“I mean, not at first, but you know, now that we had this big ‘heart to heart’ I figured why not? Especially since you have more knowledge of it than I do. Thought you could be the Sacajawea to my Lewis and Clark.”

“What?” The look she shot me screamed ‘Nerd Alert’ but before I could say anything to fix things, she added, “You know what? Fuck it, I will join you. Let’s go.”

“Seriously?” I replied in disbelief. Thinking twice about it, I fidgeted uncomfortably. “I’m not much of a fighter. If something goes down with that girl you hate, I don’t think I can help you out.”

She burst into laughter. “I’m not going to do anything to that hoe-bag. Sure, I look all tough, and sure—”

“You’re obsessed with blood and guts,” I pointed out.

She giggled. “Honestly, that dude is not worth getting kicked out of Cal U for. Besides, I want to rub the fact that he’s not affecting me in his face. I want him to see me and realize I’m better off without him. Kicking his new girlfriend’s ass would be a bit counterproductive, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

She lifted her arms and flexed. “Also, I’ve been hitting the gym and I’m sure I look fierce. Wouldn’t mind him seeing me. Pretty sure he’s gonna regret dropping me.”

I eyed her arms and nodded in agreement. “Yup, you definitely look trim.”

“Nothing like a breakup to snap you back into shape.”

“Okay, guess we have a date next weekend.” I sat up and rubbed my hands against my jeans in thought. “So, anything I should know before I venture into this unknown world of dance battling?”

“You make it sound like a war,” she said in amusement. Her face suddenly straightened. “Actually, it kind of is. There’s a level of pride that resonates in the b-boying community. From what I saw back home, the pride either brings people together or viciously tears them apart.”

“Now that sounds like a good premise for a teen soap opera.”

“Yeah, I guess it sort of does and I’d be lying if I said that I hadn’t seen friends ripped apart by these things.”

Picturing a tribal war, I shuddered. “Anything else I should know?”

“Just one crucial thing,” she answered with angry eyes.

“And what’s that?” I whispered.

“Never fall in love with a b-boy.”

Chapter 4

“Are you ready to do this?” Anna asked as she linked her arm through mine. She wore her usual black get-up and looked impossibly striking with her newly dyed lavender hair.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” I asked in confusion as we made our way to the Student Commons. Pausing in front of a pair of oversized doors, I noticed Anna pulling back slightly. Figuring her newfound bravery was nothing more than a front, I coaxed her forward. “Let’s go in. Let’s show that ex of yours what he’s missing out on.”

The corner of her mouth lifted up in a tight smile and pushed against the door. “As you wish.”

The moment I entered the Commons I couldn’t do anything but gawk. It was like something out of a movie! As soon as she pushed open the heavy blue door, the pounding of the bass and the rattling of a snare hit my chest at full force. Anna expertly navigated through the crowded room, which was thick with heat and moisture. I followed her aimlessly, completely awestruck. One thing was for sure, the videos I had watched did not do this breaking thing justice.

My head snapped from left to right, taking in all the sights and sounds I could gather. We squeezed our way between two huge circles of people, all of whom I swear were vibrating with excitement. I peeked between the bodies and caught sight of a dancer in the middle of each circle going berserk, but in a good way.

“Wow…” I breathed.

“You like this?” Anna asked, sounding somewhat distant. It wasn’t hard to tell she was looking around for this Shawn guy.

I was surprised Anna even heard me above the cheers. “This is definitely not something I’ve ever experienced before.”

Finally turning her eyes in my direction, she laughed. “Wait until the battle starts.”

“Wait, the battle hasn’t started yet?” I asked in confusion.

She shook her head. “These are what they call cyphers. It’s not an official battle per se, but it’s as good as any.”

I nodded, dumbfounded, as I watched one of the dancers do a back flip. “You got that right. I’m definitely not in Virginia anymore.”

“The battle’s supposed to start in a bit. Do you want to stay up front or stand towards the side over there?”

“What’s the difference? Which spot is better?”

She shrugged. “Depends on your preference. We can stand back there,” she pointed to a spot by a set of speakers, “And get our ears blown out by the music or we can sit in the front of the circle and risk getting kicked in the face.”

“Neither of those options seems too appealing,” I quipped. I went on my tiptoes and spotted an area by the DJ. “Why can’t we stand over there?”

“You can’t block the DJ. He needs to see the battle to time his music.”

“Oh.” There was definitely a lot I had to learn and I could only hope I wouldn’t ruin things until I did. Feeling a bit uneasy, I suggested, “How about you pick?”

“Fine, whatever.”

About fifteen minutes later, Anna and I found ourselves in the back corner by the speakers. Having briefly read through my insurance guidelines on my phone because hey, you never know, I learned that hearing loss would definitely be covered by my medical plan. Unfortunately, plastic surgery wasn’t. Needless to say blown out eardrums won out over a broken face that day.

“Hey, hey, hey!” a deep voice boomed over the loud speaker.

I winced at the feedback from the speakers, quickly regretting our choice. Pushing away the urge to plug my ears, I desperately glanced at Anna, only to find her calmly eyeing the people around us. Attempting to emulate my unaffected roomie, I looked over the heads of the seated crowd and noticed that the two circles from earlier had come together to form a giant one. A lone man stood in the middle addressing the attentive crowd. He wore a military styled jacket with different patches all over, which was quite fitting given the level of authority he exuded.

Lifting the microphone to his mouth, he eyed the crowd before breaking out into a huge grin. “You know why we’re here. We’re going to have thirty-two b-boys—”

“Ahem!” the tall blonde from the library, Vivian, called out. Despite being seated in between a pair of husky guys, my eyes quickly found her. She somehow stood out and was easy to spot. I noticed she was dressed in a pair of soccer pants and had a pink bandana wrapped around her head. She looked like a hip-hop ballerina.

“Sorry, and b-girls,” the man added with an apologetic bow. “Anyway, this group of humans will battle it out with three rounds each. Before it starts, let’s show our own D.J. Wizdom some love.”

The sound of scratching records exploded right beside me. Yup, I was definitely going to be deaf by the end of the event.

Grimacing, I looked back toward the floor and watched the M.C. rile the crowd up, pumping his arms in the air. “First on the chopping block are Spinja and Crimson.”

The room erupted into loud cheers and whoops. A few more people gathered around Anna and I, causing me to struggle to catch a glimpse of the dancers—I mean b-boys. I peered in between pairs of shoulders and easily spotted the first competitor, who jumped right into the center of the circle. He wore a pair of tight maroon pants, which led me to wonder if I’d be getting a free strip show during his rounds. There was no way he’d be able to dance without ripping some part of the uncomfortably sexy looking pants.

I nudged Anna. “Can he even breathe in those?”

She threw her head back and laughed. “I doubt he’s even wearing underwear.”

“That’s nasty.” I shook my head and noticed Mr. Tight Pants was still standing alone. Frowning with the rest of the crowd, I careened my neck, looking around for his mysterious competitor. Judging from the rustling in the audience, I wasn’t the only one getting antsy.

“Spinja! Calling B-boy Spinja!” The MC looked around and let out a loud breath. “Yo, Jacob! Where the hell are you?”

“Coming,” a calm voice yelled from somewhere near me.

And that’s when I spotted him walking through the door on my immediate left. Now I never believed in love at first sight, but lust was definitely a different story. My stomach fluttered as he squeezed past me, somersaulting when his shoulder grazed mine. This b-boy was definitely not a boy at all. With his messy brown hair, striking eyes, and devastatingly chiseled features, he was more of a Greek god.

I felt Anna’s elbow in my ribs. “Close your mouth. You’re drooling.”

Embarrassed, I glanced up and noticed the weird look in Anna’s eyes. I immediately shut my mouth and brought a hand up to my lips feeling a surge of guilt fill my core. “Oh my God, Anna. He’s not your ex…is he?”

Please say no. Please say no.

Wait a minute…why the hell would I care if he was? So what if the gorgeous…hot…sexy…wait a minute, where was I going with this? Oh yeah, so what if the strange b-boy was her ex? Would it make any difference? It wasn’t as if I’d do anything but admire him from afar anyway. Still, it didn’t feel right to be caught gawking at someone’s ex, especially when said person was standing right next to me.

Anna shook her head. “No.”

Oh thank God.

Discreetly, she jutted her thumb toward the side. “But that guy is.”

Trying hard to remain inconspicuous, I slowly turned and spotted a cute guy, though definitely not as cute as Spinja, leaning against a nearby wall. He had his arm draped around a petite brunette who was wearing a pair of those weird harem sweats that looked as if you had shit yourself.

“Do you want to go?” I asked good-naturedly, even though there was no way I could leave now. Not when I had an actual person to cheer for. My eyes automatically flitted toward the circle where Spinja finally took his spot.

Anna shook her head. “I told you I was here to show how much he didn’t affect me. If I leave now that’s just doing the opposite.” She gazed out over the crowd and set her lips into a firm line. There was no budging her after that.

Relieved, I let out a silent breath and turned back toward the circle. Maroon Pants had opted to go first and though he was doing some pretty impressive stuff, I couldn’t help but stare at Spinja instead. There was a fierce determination in his eyes that even from twenty feet away was hard to miss. It was a look so intense that I found myself wishing that one day he’d look at me that way…

Chapter 5

Present

Jacob’s eyes bore into me angrily. I could almost feel the intensity of his glare burning my skin. “Why couldn’t you just have stayed away? Every time you walk into my life you just mess everything up.”

My fists clenched together. I took deep breaths, fighting the urge to punch him in the face. Oh, who was I kidding? I was fighting the urge to cry.

“I didn’t mess anything up!” I yelled angrily. “I’ve never messed anything up!”

“Seriously? You can stand there and look me in the eye and tell me that blatant lie?”

I blinked in shock. “Who says I’m lying? I haven’t done anything wrong.”

It was the stupidest thing I have ever said. I knew exactly what I did to him. I just hoped in time he would realize exactly why I did it to him.

Chapter 6

Past

Battle after battle, round after round, my heart beat rapidly as I silently cheered for this man I only knew as Spinja. After watching each one of his runs, I quickly understood how he came to have such a nickname. To put it simply, he’d spin on his head for a very, very long time. Sure there were others that could do the same move, but not the way this boy did it. In fact, this man made head spinning his own. There was a certain style and fluidity to his moves that no one could top and I was quickly becoming obsessed with it. It was as if he commanded the Earth to spin on his axis. He controlled everything—including me. Each time he jumped in for his turn, I’d feel my heart thrash, crying out against the sudden rush of adrenaline. He didn’t just dance, he sexed the air! When the time came for the final round I was utterly exhausted.

Luckily, it looked as if I wasn’t the only one who needed a breather. The army jacket-clad MC entered the center of the circle sweating, as if he were one of the dancers who had been dancing off and on for the past hour. Blotting his moist forehead with a dingy towel, he bellowed, “Finals are next! Let’s take a ten-minute break. I’m sure these guys need it.”

Funny thing was that none of the competitors looked as if they did. Despite their flushed faces and sweat-soaked shirts, they looked ready and raring to go. Little cyphers immediately began to break out around the room.

Though I wanted to stick around and watch more of Spinja’s moves, especially in the more intimate setting of a cypher, Anna grabbed my arm, tugging me toward the door. “Come on, let’s go. I’ve been needing to pee since the quarter-finals.”

“Uh, yeah. Sure.” My lip twitched in disappointment when I saw Spinja walking in the opposite direction; my eyes longingly following after him. Once he was swallowed up by a swarm of people, my stomach dropped, suddenly feeling empty. Feeling disgusted with myself, I shook my head and muttered, “What the hell is wrong with you? Don’t tell me you already have a crush on the dude already. How shallow can you get?”

Shallow or not, I couldn’t help but continue to look out for him as we navigated our way to the restrooms. It was a feat in itself considering I couldn’t walk two steps without someone shoving into me.

“You’re looking for Jacob, aren’t you?” Anna asked smoothly as she elbowed a boy right in his spine. “Move it!”

“Hmm?” I replied, only half-listening.

“Spinja! You’re looking for Spinja!” she said in a louder voice.

My hand instinctively covered her mouth. My cheeks warmed as my head whipped back and forth. “Shhh! What’s the big idea?”

Her eyes bugged out and she immediately grabbed my wrist, lowering my hand. “Ew! That is effing nasty. I have no idea where that hand has been.”

“Shut up! People can hear you!” My eyes continued to scan left to right and I was sure I’d spot people laughing at me.

Anna rolled her eyes. “You do realize that the music in here is loud, right? You have to yell to be heard.”

“And you were yelling!” I yelped.

“Dude, did you ever think that maybe you’re a relationship virgin because you freak out at any mention of a guy you like?” She tugged at her shirt and grimaced. “Seriously, you need to get a grip on yourself.”

“I do have a grip on myself,” I hissed. People were looking at us. I was sure of it.

“Estelle, you’re eighteen.”

“And your point is?”

“You are beyond a late bloomer.”

I knew she was teasing but her words cut me to the core. I pressed my lips together and walked quietly beside her, intent on keeping my eyes straight. I wasn’t about to give her anything else to tease me about. God knew I’d heard it all before.

At least that’s what I planned to do.

It was strange but it was almost as if I could feel him nearing us before I even saw him. All the hairs on my arms stood at attention and even my breaths became labored.

“Are you okay?” Anna asked. She glanced over my head and the look on her face spoke millions. With a tiny smirk she whispered, “Your Prince Charming is coming.”

I’ve only ever regretted three choices in my life. It’s funny, but those three choices started at the exact moment I chose to sneak a peek beside me.

Regret #1: I should have just kept my head down.

Once I caught a glimpse of Jacob standing impossibly close to me in all his shirtless glory I knew I was done for. Any hope of denying my growing infatuation was completely thrown out the window. My heart sped up and my palms became sweaty. If this was the feeling all those love songs were written about, I had no idea how anybody made it through the day.

Regret #2: Word vomit to the extreme.

Despite always having a slight fear of speaking to the opposite sex, for some reason my body went on autopilot. Taking a step closer to him, I lifted my chin and blurted out, “You were amazing out there.”

Why oh why did I choose that exact moment to gain an ability to speak to pure hotness? Even Anna looked as if she was face palming in my honor.

Jacob, who was about six-inches taller than me, looked down in surprise. His eyes met mine and the split second relief I felt from realizing he didn’t think I was a total idiot was completely washed away when he threw me a crooked grin, showcasing the dimple on his right cheek. “Thanks. Glad you like it.”

Don’t say anything more. Don’t say anything more.

“That spinning thing you do is amazing. I’m Estelle, by the way.” Heart beating faster, I giggled uncontrollably.

Fuck me.

Despite the fact that Anna was visibly gagging beside me, Jacob luckily didn’t seem to mind. “Took me a while to perfect it.” He nodded his head, growing a distant look in his eyes. I found myself grasping, trying to imagine what was running through his mind. I leaned up expectantly, wanting to hear more. Jacob must have noticed because he soon looked down and winked. “Glad to know I’m not the only one who thinks it’s cool.”

“I think it’s amazing,” I repeated.

Damn it.

The crowd by the bathrooms suddenly thinned and Jacob pushed forward, disappearing into the men’s room, leaving Anna and I standing outside in silence. After a few moments she gazed at me in amusement.

“What?” I rolled my eyes in exasperation, trying to downplay my growing sense of humiliation. “I really don’t want to hear what you have to say right now…or ever.”

“I wasn’t going to say anything,” she replied nonchalantly.

“Good.”

“Actually maybe I will say something—”

“Please don’t,” I hissed.

“—I need to say that I officially lost my urge to pee.” She shot me a teasing grin.

“Huh? Why?”

She began to laugh as if enjoying her own private joke. “Man, you got it bad for Mr. Spinja.”

I felt my cheeks warm. “No, I don’t.”

“Yeah, you do. It’s so obvious you’ve developed some sort of infatuation with Jacob.” She wagged her thin eyebrows up and down. “Can’t say that I can totally blame you. He’s pretty hot.”

Still blushing I replied, “I still don’t see how anything I could do would affect your bladder.”

“Maybe it’s because I now feel the need to vomit instead.”

I sneered, trying to mask my embarrassment. “Ha, ha. So funny.”

“Like I said before, no wonder you’re a relationship virgin.” She snickered. “You really don’t know how to act around the opposite sex.”

Feeling a bit put off, I crossed my arms and frowned. “That’s…actually not a very nice thing to say.”

Anna smiled apologetically. “I’m just trying to help you out.”

I shot her a doubtful look. “Don’t really see how. If anything I just feel insulted.”

She let out a breath and reached out to squeeze my shoulder. “Listen to me, you can’t expect to win a guy over if you let word vomit escape your mouth whenever you’re speaking to him. Trust me, it’s really unattractive.”

“I was just complimenting him on his…skill set,” I muttered.

“His skill set,” Anna repeated with a chuckle. “Do you remember what I told you before about b-boys? Those guys don’t need any more compliments. Their heads are so far up their asses that any increase in self-confidence will probably make them self-combust.”

“Are you talking about breakers as a whole or just him?” My left eye twitched along with the intensity of my voice.

She cocked her head to the side. “What do you mean?”

“What I mean is did Spin…er, Jacob do anything to you particularly?” My crush was growing by the instant, which was ridiculous considering all I knew about the b-boy was that he could spin on his head really well. If he was bad news I needed to know now because knowing myself, my infatuation was only going to grow. My personality was addictive in that sense. To my relief she shook her head.

“No,” she admitted. “But they’re all the same and remember what I warned you about?”

“Never fall in love with a b-boy.” I sighed. It sounded so much like a cheesy romance novel that it left a bad taste in my mouth.

“Bingo.” She pointed an electric blue painted fingernail in my direction. She glanced around as the bathroom line fully dissipated. “Well, I made it this far. Might as well go in, right?”

I nodded, but didn’t respond. If I did I might have told her how foreshadowing her words sounded.

I remained outside, listening to the symphony of flushing toilets. Allowing my mind to wander, I came to a realization. I wasn’t going to fall in love with him. I was just going to stare at him and admire him from afar. It’s what I’d been doing to boys since I hit puberty and it would probably be what I’d continue doing until the day I died.

***

“Finals!” The MC, who I learned was named Joe, yelled out into the crowd. “Five rounds! You hear me? Five rounds! Spinja and Arrow! Get your asses in here.”

Like some lovesick puppy my head snapped up automatically. I spotted Jacob rising from his seat in the front row and methodically walking into the center of the circle. My heart began to speed up and my breaths quicken. It was ridiculous how the very sight of this stranger could elicit such a response from me. As discreetly as possible I touched the corner of my mouth.

Good. No drool.

Joe gazed at the two as if egging them on. “Guys, you know the drill. This is the last time the judges will be seeing you so do not—I repeat, do not hold anything back. You feel me?”

“Yup,” B-boy Arrow responded as he wiped off the bottom of his sneakers.

“Yeah, man,” Jacob replied, cracking his neck from side to side.

I scrunched up my mouth and leaned toward Anna. “Who do you think’s going to win? That Arrow guy was awesome in the last few battles.”

“I don’t know,” Anna responded. “Arrow’s power move combos are insane, but Spinja’s top rock kills it.” She glanced over and smiled at the confused look on my face. “Spinja dances better but Arrow hits windmills and flares more precisely.”

“Oh.”

I heard Anna snort. “Well, I know who you want to win. I take it you’ll be going to a lot of these from now on, right?”

My face heated up again. “Shut up, Anna. I can think a guy is cute without turning into some sort of stalker.”

“You think he’s more than cute.” She winked. “You think he’s amazing.”

Scowling, I turned my head quickly and watched Arrow’s first round. As Anna predicted, he had some pretty impressive moves. A flip there, some one-handed bounces there, he was clearly at the top of his game. I was beginning to feel a bit scared for Jacob, but he remained cool and collected. He watched Arrow intently and would even clap and cheer along with the crowd whenever he did something impressive. By the end of Arrow’s first round I was completely freaking out and had no idea how Jacob could have kept such a level head…nor did I know how I’d possibly be able to stand four more rounds. I was sweating enough as it was.

Once the brass of an old James Brown song hit, Jacob jumped into the middle and began moving his feet so quickly my eyes could not keep up. From head to toe, each inch of his body moved in synchronization with the music. Each twist and turn was almost sensual.

I gulped, raising my hands to my cheek. I was pretty sure they were flushed red once again. My gaze darted to the side, making sure no one could see the bright color of my face. To my relief they were all as entranced with Jacob as I was. There was no way anybody could look anywhere else. Not the way he was commanding attention.

After the end of Jacob’s round, Arrow took the stage, but I could not even bring myself to look at him. My gaze was continuously fixed on Jacob. He wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand, never losing the intensity in his glare. I was entranced; hypnotized by him. It was as if he were the only person in the room, and though I didn’t know him from any Dick, Tom, or Harry, a small part of me knew I would get to know him…someday.

Trying to maintain some level of sanity, I forced myself to turn my head and peered across the crowd. There were countless rows of people sitting cross-legged around the circle, but more than half of the females in the crowd were busy staring at Jacob as well. Suddenly feeling a pang of jealousy, I looked away.