Dallas
Exactly 30 minutes after she went in, she came out in black shorts, white crop top, a jean jacket and a pair of Vans. She was putting her hair up in a messy bun when I blurted out, "Wear it down". Her hands froze in her hair then she looked up at me, like she was wondering why I said what I said. She smiled then let go of the band and fluffed up her hair. It was then I realized just how long her hair was unlike Courtney's, which was straightened and short because of her dancing shit, that reminded me that we had a fight and I mentally shook it out my head. "Are you ready?"
"Yeah I'm just gonna grab a purse. Be right back", she said and rushed back to her room.
I went back to the show which was long forgotten since she stepped into the living room. I find it disturbing that she could take all my breath away in just a casual attire, I mean it's just fucking shorts and a crop top. "Okay I'm ready", she smiled slightly.
I put on my sneakers and got the door for her, "You know you don't need to get my door and shit like that huh?", she raised a brow teasingly as we got into the elevator.
"Yeah I don't need to but I want to and you can't stop me".
She laughed and muttered, "Stubborn". I opened my car door for her then she just shook her head amusingly.
"You can pick whatever song you want. The stereo is yours"
"That's blindly trusting. I mean I don't just let people touch my stereo", she laughed.
"It's a test, let's see if you'll pass it"
We were listening to Pop Smoke all the way. I was surprised because even Courtney liked girly music so I don't ever let her touch the speaker. We got her phone, she wanted the Samsung Flip so I got it.
"You could have gotten me a more affordable one though".
"You don't see me complaining, so just smile and accept it".
"Okay ", she laughed and laughed some more when her stomach grumbled loudly. "Fuck, I've not had any food today".
"Damn. It's literally time for lunch. How about we stop at a diner?"
"Yeah i could use food right now", she groaned.
I didn't fail to notice how she wasn't a bit embarrassed about her grumbling stomach, if it were Courtney she'd totally...then I paused in my thoughts. It feels fucking wrong that I'm comparing my girlfriend of 3 years to her cousin that I just met. I subtly shook my head as I pulled into the parking space of the diner, Judy's. She got out of the car before I could get her door. We got settled in a booth while Edith, the waitress came through on her roller skates. The boys and I visit this diner all the damn time so we know Edith, she's our regular waitress.
"Hey yo Dallas. What can I get you and the beautiful lady?", she asked boisterously
"Hey Edith, this is Texas", i pointed at Tex.
"Nice, what a pair", Edith teased.
"What would you like to have?"
"This is literally my first outing since I got here, so I don't exactly know what you all eat around here".
"You should definitely try the burger with a strawberry milkshake. Its delicious", Edith told her.
"Its fucking good. Trust me its worth it", i reassured her.
"Hmm okay then"
"If that'll be all, I'll come back in a few minutes with your order", Edith smiled at us and rolled away.
"Looks like you frequent here a lot", she raised a brow.
"The boys and I come here all the time"
"The boys?"
I smiled, "Yeah, you met Rune. There's still two more people to meet and I promise you they are in agog to see you"
"What? See me? I mean, I'm not all that " she said with bewilderment.
"Enjoy", Edith said with a smile as she dropped our trays.
"This will probably sound weird but why is your Gram page filled with just paintings?"
She gasped dramatically and placed her hand on her chest, "Oh my God, have you been stalking me?"
I laughed at her blatant dramatic reaction, "Err....mildly?"
She bit into the burger, chewed for a while then her eyes went wide as saucers. Now imagine big eyes getting bigger, yeah that's what she looks like and she moaned which made my heart skip a bit, "This is golden, this is soo good". I watched her bite more in to the burger and what was left wasn't much to feed a 3 year old. She swallowed then looked at me with scrunched eyebrows, "Is there a thing like mild stalking?"
I quickly shook my head to dissuade the thoughts on how cute she looked with the expression on her face, "Yeah my word obviously"
She shook her head, "I don't really like taking pictures, it's work to do all those poses and I think it's not for me ", she laughed.
"At first I was thinking you were going to be a recluse but as it turns out, you are quite verbal and I wouldn't call you soft-spoken yet because I feel you are not".
"You think I'm not soft-spoken? Who else can be more soft-spoken than I am?", she laughed. "Well in terms of pictures, Kris takes the wheel on that one. She takes good pictures of me and posts them without telling me"
"I'm guessing Kris is the blonde?"
"Wow, you really did well on your stalking. Yeah she's the blonde".
I watched her finish up her burger in two bites, she painstakingly folded the burger wrapper and dropped it on the plate then sipped her milkshake slowly. I must say it's fun watching her do things because it looks to me like she takes extra care in doing things most people don't give two fucks about. "Are you done eating?"
"Obviously, yess", she deadpanned.
I threw a couple bills on the table for Edith, "I was going to pay for it, i don't even know why you are paying. You just got me a phone remember??"
"Yeah but I asked you to lunch so I'm paying and that's that", i smirked at her as I opened the passenger door for her.
"So these friends of yours that cannot wait to see me, when am I meeting them?"
What better way to invite her over to our first match, "You'd have to come to our soccer match to see them"
"I dunno jack shit about soccer", she exclaimed.
God, that accent will be the death of me. "Well, you'd be coming with D so she'll put you through", i shrugged.
"You've really thought about this, huh?", she raised her brows teasingly.
"Definitely. I'm a thinker"
"Well I bet I'll come and see how good those skills you bragged about are, eh?"
"Brag about? Are you kidding me? I am the soccer demi god", I teased.
"Of course you are, but seeing is believing, they say", she mumbled.
"I'll be expecting you next week Friday. I'll be looking for you in the bleachers", i said as I pulled onto the curb of her apartment.
"Fine fine, no problems." She turned to look at me, "Thanks for the outing and also the phone, you didn't really have to"
"I'm just a call away, anytime you feel like seeing New York just hit me. I'll be there"
"Okay, cool. Can I get Diane's number?", she handed me her new phone.
"Of course", i typed in the number and handed it back to her.
She leaned closer and gave me a peck on the cheek, " Thanks Dallas, see you around". She smiled then got out of the car.
I watched her walk away with a smile on my face, it was just a fucking peck. I don't know why i feel so giddy about it and I have a girlfriend i shouldn't be encouraging this or better still I shouldn't see it as anything but a friendly gesture. With that thought, I pulled away from her curb and went home. That was when i realised that throughout the day, I never for once thought about Courtney which left a bad taste in my mouth as I drove home seeing that we still had a score to settle.
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Texas
I couldn't stop the smile on my face when I entered my apartment. I enjoyed my day and for the first time in forever, it was with someone that wasn't family. I brought out my new phone and dialed my mother's number, it rang for a while then directed me to voicemail so I decided to leave a message. "Hey Ma, I know I should have kept in touch since we got here but it has been either this or that. I miss you so much since there's nobody to get me up for my early classes. Hell all of my classes start in the morning it's stupid. I dunno the time difference between us so I'll guess you are either in bed or at work. I'm making friends too because I know that's what your issue is. I love you and I miss you. Muah", i blew her a kiss and ended the message.
With nothing to do, I decided to call Kris. "You hung up on me yesterday bitch", she accused.
"Hey calm your tits, I bumped into someone and my phone went bad, I just got another one"
"Hmmm....few minutes in New York and you're already bumping into people. Come on tell me, who did you bump into?"
I could feel her brows wiggling, "Dallas", i muttered.
"My ship is sailing!!"
"Christ Kris, you are gonna blow my eardrum one of these days".
"Oh please, he got you another?"
"Hmm yeah and we got lunch afterwards"
"Oh me goshh. That sounds like a date".
"No no Kris don't get ahead of yourself and don't put ideas in my head, it was just a friendly outing that happened after my stomach grumbled. Nothing more, nothing less", i rolled my eyes.
"Hmph, buzzkill. Any new friends?"
"Yeah i got one. Name's Diane and she's Dallas' sister"
"What the fuck? This is working too perfectly. That asides, our competition has been postponed".
"Till?"
"It'll happen next week, i can't wait to get it over with"
"Oh that's good. Why do I feel like there's more?"
"The team has decided this competition is Juanita's last"
"Please tell me, its what I'm thinking. Please please"
"Yes it is. I think I'm ready"
"And you can do it. I'm rooting for you, Team Leader".
She giggled, "Please. Oh also, IbrokeupwithSean"
"What? Come again very slowly?"
Letting out a groan, "I...broke....up...with.....Sean"
"Oh my God, he really cheated??"
"Yeah"
"I'm sorry I'm not there right now".
Her voice broke slightly, "It's okay, I'm over it". I could hear background voices, meaning she was kind of busy. "Hey, Tex we'll talk later, yeah? Got shit to sort out. "
"Okay bye", i said then hung up.
I decided to get started on my school project with a sketch, I played my favourite playlist then got started on my pad. Thirty minutes later, I realised that it was so not looking like my school project but it was starting to look like Dallas. "What the fuck? Ugghh", I groaned into the throw pillow. I closed the pad and laid on the couch and started thinking about the day I had with a smile on my face. From his casual clothes, to his curly hair I feel like running my hands through, the way he got comfortable on my couch, our easy conversation during lunch, his natural smell that is not the cologne, he smelled like baby powder which I thought was really cute and his..., my train of thought was altered when I heard the doorbell. "Who the fuck is that now?", i muttered. On opening the door, I came face to face with my cousin.
"Hey babe, you gonna let me in?", Courtney raised her annoyingly perfect brows.
"Yeah sorry sorry, come in", i moved aside and she stepped in. She headed to the kitchen as soon as she got in and that was when I saw the bag she was carrying, "What's in the bag?" I said as i got comfy on the counter stool.
She opened my refrigerator and started loading it with ziploc bags and plastic containers, "Mama Costa was not joking when she said she was gon' fatten your skinny ass up. This is all food and dinner for tonight".
"Okay then, I'll give her a call to say thank you". She faced the refrigerator squarely, she felt off which was even off for her as a person. "Err are you okay Court?"
"What? What do you mean?", she looked at me and shrugged.
"You don't look okay is all"
"I'm fine, I'm okay", she sat and served me a plate. I threw her a sceptical look then she sighed, "I had a huge fight with my boyfriend".
"What? You have a boyfriend? How come I didn't know?"
"I do have a boyfriend and you know him", she furrowed her brows in her confusion.
"If I knew him, would I ask?", i spread my arms. "Anyways, what was the fight about?"
"I'm a ballerina and you know it, right?", i nodded and she continued. "I was at his place then I got a call from my dance coach telling me to come through for rehearsals that night"
"Rehearsals at night, who the fuck does that?", i grumbled.
"I've wanted to be prima for so long, worked hard for it, never got late for rehearsal, pushed myself to do better in all the dance routines and after all that he gave the solo to someone else last year. I was at his place, i genuinely wanted to spend time with him because I've either being in one camp or another all summer, cooked dinner and all. Then coach called, i already rejected coming in but then he had use the prima thing, i had to leave. I've put my all in this year I want to get it but Dallas is not being supportive"
My heart clenched, "Wait what? Dallas? Dallas is your boyfriend?"
"Yeahhh you didn't know?"
"It's not like you introduced us". I shook my head as if clearing my head, "Back to the subject matter, I think your coach is a bitch ass and you are a bigger fool for letting him control you using your obsession with being a prima". I said those words with anger because I just found out the guy I might have a crush on was my cousin's boyfriend then I realized the weight of my words then said "No offense though", as an afterthought.
"Why do you think I'm a fool?"
"Logically speaking, he gave the solo to someone else despite your effort and rehearsals whatever. Who's to say he's not going to give someone else this time?"
"It's weird you and Dallas think the same. I just feel like--"
"Hey Court, there's nothing bad in being hardworking and wanting something but when you've put your all in something and it just doesn't work out, more like in this scenario, you are being cheated, you just have to get your mind off it and lose the extra work and just be happy with being in the corp", i stood up to drop my plate in the sink.
"Dallas says the same thing and we had a huge fight. I don't know how to face him, you put this shit in perspective for me really. It's good to have you in New York, you know?"
I smiled slightly and shrugged, "It's just my two cents".
"Looks like I'll head to his place and clean this air out before it goes bad. I really love him and I dunno really know what I'll do without him". She nodded and stood up to get her things.
I walked her to the door, "Thanks for dinner and for coming over".
She hugged me, "No, you thank you and goodnight babe"
"Yeah night", i whispered and locked the door. I rested my head on the door, slightly heartbroken. The one person I thought I was having a good connection with was already off the market and bought by nobody else but my fucking cousin. I sat on the couch and shot a text to Kris.
Texas: Sorry to burst your bubble but Dallas is Courtney's boyfriend
Then few minutes later, I busied myself with the TV which I didn't even know what was going on on it, my phone buzzed.
Kris: WTF!! Facetime now!!
A call came through, "What the fuck boo?! He's taken?"
"Ermm yeah. I just found out and he never told me"
"Maybe he thought you knew?", she raised a brow.
"Maybe" i shrugged. I grabbed my sketchpad and showed her, "My first attempt at drawing after a month"
"Is that--?", my nod cut her off. "He got rid of your block. Are you okay?", she asked with a worried tone.
"I'm okay really. I'm fine. I just decided to tell you, you know to stop your Dexas ship. It's not happening and I'm friends with his sister so I got one sibling"
"I'm not calling the ship off just yet, anything can happen"
"Whatever. I've got an early class tomorrow"
"I'll talk to you later babe", she blew me a kiss.
The call ended and I decided to sleep in my bed for a change because since I started school, I've been sleeping on the couch and let's hope I don't get too comfy and forget I have a class. With that thought, I went to bed.
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Dallas
I was drifting in and out of sleep thinking about the day i had with Texas, it was different and, i can't even get the right word to describe how my day went. I got settled in bed and decided to sleep for real this time when I felt hands on my body and a kiss to my shoulder. With the whiff of lavender I caught, I knew it was Courtney.
"I'm sorry baby. I was being harsh and insensitive to your feelings, I promised not to put dance over you and I did it again. Forgive me?"
I sighed and turned my body to look at her, "You are forgiven if you lose the clothes", i grinned childishly at her.
"How about you get it off yourself", she smirked as she placed her lips on mine.
I didn't waste time in deepening the kiss, I wrapped my hand around her waist. I thrusted my tongue in her mouth and tilted my head to gain a better angle. I pulled away to remove her shirt and immediately went back to attacking her lips. Flipping her over, I wrapped her legs around my waist and grounded my erection against her shorts which earned me a low moan, "Fuck I've missed you", i whispered lowly in her ear.
"I missed you too", she wrapped her hands around my neck.
I removed her shorts, it didn't have a button so it came off without any hassle. I pulled her panties with the shorts so immediately, my fingers found her entrance and slid in.
"Fuck Dallas", I heard Texas moan in my ear. My hands stilled at the realisation of what I just thought in my head, "Dallas move your fucking fingers, damn". I raised my head to look at her, just to make sure it was my mind playing tricks on me. I found Courtney staring back at me impatiently, I started moving my fingers. "Ohh, faster Dallas"
I kept my eyes on her face while increasing the pace of my fingers just to know who the fuck I was giving pleasure to at the moment, i flicked her clit and she just came suddenly on my fingers.
"Fuck", she said after coming down from her high. She wanted to remove my briefs when I grabbed her hand, she looked at me in shock.
"I'll be right back", i whispered at her and got out of bed. I walked to the bathroom and splashed water on my face. "What the fuck is wrong with you?", i said to myself in the mirror. After few minutes to gather myself, I walked out of the bathroom to find Courtney in my shirt and on her phone.
Immediately she heard me come in, she dropped her phone and faced me. "Hey, are you okay?", she asked with a worried look.
I wrapped my arms around her to pull her closer. I breathed in the familiar lavender smell, "I'm fine".
"Okayy. So do you need help with this?", she started moving her hands towards my already flaccid dick when I grabbed her hand, yet again.
"I'm good, really. I just wanna have you in my arms like this".
"Are you still mad?"
"What? No!!" I exclaimed. "What changed your mind though?"
"You mean who. I had a talk with Texas and she said the same thing. Just be in the corp and do my thing yunno?"
"Yeah I do."
"Plus I love you so much and I didn't want us to have a fight just because of my stupid relentless chase of being a prima"
"It's okay, I understand and I love you too", i kissed her forehead and pulled her more closer.
"I love you more", she said sleepily.
I chuckled forcibly as I ran my hands through her hair while staring up at the ceiling. Why the fuck did I imagine Texas moaning out my name? I kept on wondering because deep down in my mind, i didn't do anything with Courtney because I knew I was scared of moaning out Texas' name instead of Courtney's. I went to bed that night with a heavy heart and a utterly confused head.
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I was making my way through the hallway to get to my class when I saw Texas across the giant fountain in the middle of the hallway, i haven't heard from her since we had lunch together. The reason for my inner turmoil was just few feet away from me dressed in a ripped mom jeans and black long sleeved sweatshirt looking top which was teamed up with a pair of Doc Martens boots, her curly hair was grabbed in a half ponytail, she was carrying a canvas more like struggling with it. I approached her with the intention of helping her, i grabbed her arm and she turned her head sharply at me, looking at me with those big uncommon hazel eyes.

Her lips split into a small smile, "Hey", she wiggled her fingers which peeked out from the sleeve of her shirt.
"Hey. What have you got there?", I pointed at the canvas.
"Oh this", she used her index finger to scratch the bridge of her nose while looking at the canvas before looking back at me. "It's a project for a class. I'm supposed to explain the project but I don't know, I just got out of a bad painter's block and I'm not too confident about the painting. I have to talk to the whole class and I don't even think I have it in me to talk to a whole fucking class. I've got stupid nerves right now, I'm fucking---"
I cut off her ramble with a chuckle, i knew she had no idea how cute she looked rambling off. "It's okay. You can show me the painting and do the talking while I listen. How's that?" She bit her bottom lip in thinking and i looked away to resist the urge of making her release it with my mouth.
"Okayy umm that's cool. I thought you were off to a class?"
"It's not till another 30minutes so its good. Come with me", I carried her canvas and walked outside the building to find an empty spot to sit for few minutes. I unfolded the canvas and i came face to face wirh a beautiful looking masterpiece.
A girl was standing on a legde and few people were beneath her. She has a cut on her hand that was bleeding like a whole lot. The blood instead of going on the floor was staining the white shirts of the people below her.
"Is it bad? Oh God I knew it was gonna be bad"
"No no, I love it. So the explanation?"
"Yeah okay, we were given a word to describe in a painting. Mine was Pain. Basically what this painting means is that, pain when kept to oneself can be shared unknowingly. You are gonna ask me how. You have a friend who is being sexually abused, trust me I'm not being abused", she said with a laugh when she saw my face. "She keeps it to herself but you as a friend notices her distant looks, bruises around her wrist but you ask her about it, she says nothing but you can't help being worried".
"She doesn't want you to be worried about her was why she didn't tell you anything but you can't help it seeing all the signs. In a way, her pain has been shared. Just like the painting, the girl's hurt, the people in it are being stained without knowing it. Pain is shared without her and the recipient's knowledge."
I watched her talk the entire time and I decided that I could never be tired of watching and listening to her talk. "Whoa that's fucking cool,"
"Really?"
"Yeah luv. You are gonna blow your Professor's mind"
"For real?"
"For real"
She checked the time, "Shit, I've got to go. Don't wanna be late again"
"Okay. You look beautiful by the way", I blurted out. "Fuck", I mouthed.
Her eyes widened like saucers then she smiled, "Thanks Dallas but you shouldn't be saying that to me since you have a girlfriend. See you around and thanks for listening to me", she lifted her canvas and walked off.
Where the fuck did that come from??