꧁༺ 𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓣𝓱𝓻𝓮𝓮 ༻꧂

Tessa

The reason I transferred schools last fall was simple: drama. Specifically, drama with my ex-boyfriend. Sean Jackson. The golden boy of my old college and a football player everyone worshiped.

At first, I thought Sean was my dream guy—sweet, charming, and seemingly perfect. But when he cheated on me with a cheerleader, then had the audacity to tell the entire school I was a stalker obsessed with him, the bullying that followed made it clear—I had to leave.
Staying at that school meant enduring the whispers and pitying looks every time I walked down the hall.

So I decided I was going to transfer to a new school, even though I had to drop out of the number one ballet school of the country, and forget all about him. A fresh start where no one knew who I was. No Sean, no drama, and definitely no football players.

Or so I thought.

Because then I saw Noah Parker.

He had to be one of the most attractive men I had ever seen. He was tall, with dark brown hair that always seemed slightly messy in the most beautiful way, and these warm, captivating brown eyes that you could get lost in. Unfortunately, he was also a football player.

After my break up with Sean, I made a vow that I would never date a man involved in any type of sport because I knew they were all the same. Although, Noah seemed different. He was kind and I knew he had a daughter who he was obsessed with which only made me like him more.

Of course, none of that mattered because he didn't even know I existed.

"Tessa, are you seriously still obsessing over him?" Cassie's voice yanked me out of my thoughts. Cassie was sitting on the studio floor, tying her ballet slippers, a knowing smirk on her face. My cheeks burned as I quickly shook my head.

"I'm not obsessing, Cass. I just... can't seem to get him out of my head." I admitted with a sigh, stretching to avoid her teasing gaze.

Cassie and I met at the start of the year when I joined the ballet company. She was outgoing, adventurous, and completely shameless. Cassie was the exact opposite of me, but somehow, we clicked instantly. She was also the first person I confessed my crush on Noah to, and she hadn't let me live it down since.

"Tess," She said, standing to join me at the barre, "You know I love you, but unless Noah's a mind reader, he's never going to know you're into him unless you say something."

I sighed, exasperated. "You know why I can't, Cass. I've sworn off football players, and I'm not about to break my rule just because he's the finest man I've ever seen."

Cassie giggled, clearly amused. "I get it. Sean hurt you. But not every athlete is a lying, cheating asshole." She arched an eyebrow at me. "Noah's different. I don't know him personally, but I've heard he's a great dad, and he doesn't sleep around." She pointed out and I let her words sink in.

I have heard from other people that Noah didn't date because of his daughter, but I felt like there was a deeper reason than that. Whenever I watched him, I noticed that even though he was always smiling there was a sadness behind his eyes and it made me wonder who put that there.

Before I could dwell on it, the sound of giggling filled the studio as a group of little girls skipped through the door. Cassie groaned softly beside me. "I still don't know why I let you talk me into teaching kids." She muttered, though her lips twitched with a reluctant smile.

I laughed. "Because you love me, and because you needed the extra cash."

"Fair enough." She stretched her arms over her head but suddenly froze, her eyes lighting up. "Oh my God. No freaking way!" she hissed excitedly, nudging me.

"What?" I asked, removing my leg from the barre so I could turn around and find out what got her so excited. I wasn't prepared to see Noah Parker walking into the studio holding a bright pink Barbie gym bag in one hand and the hand of the cutest little girl I had ever seen in the other. My stomach flipped as his eyes landed on me, his gaze so intense it felt like my entire body was on fire.

"Say something!" Cassie whispered as she nudged me and I blinked a couple times, remembering that we weren't alone. I cleared my throat and tried to ignore Noah's heated gaze as I smiled at everyone.

"Welcome in, everybody! I'm Ms. Tessa and this is Ms. Cassie and we will be your new instructors."

A chorus of tiny hellos filled the studio, but I barely heard them. My heart was pounding too loudly as I tried to ignore the way Noah was still watching me. "Why don't you all get your slippers on and once you are ready meet us over at the barre, okay?" The children quickly threw the bags on the ground and started to take off their shoes when Cassie elbowed me.

"He's still staring at you." She whispered and I shot her a glare, but curiosity got the better of me.

Glancing toward Noah, I saw him kneeling beside his daughter, whispering something that made her giggle. My heart softened at the sight of his gentleness with her, but the little girl didn't look as eager as the others. "She seems nervous," Cassie murmured. "You should go talk to her!" I hesitated but squared my shoulders. Taking a deep breath, I approached them with what I hoped was an encouraging smile.

"Hi there," I crouched down in front of her and being this close to Noah was causing my heart to beat frantically in my chest. "What's your name?" I asked and the little girl gave me a soft smile.

"I'm Rosie." Her little voice melted my heart and my smile widened.

"Well it's very nice to meet you, Rosie! Is this your first time joining us today?" She nodded shyly, clutching Noah's hand tighter and Noah cleared his throat. I slowly raised my gaze up to his and my pulse quickened as his smile reached me, warm and unexpected.

"She's a wonderful dancer, she's just a little shy." He assured me and I let out a soft giggle as I nodded then looked back at Rosie.

"That's okay, I can already tell that you're going to be one the best ballerinas I have ever seen. Now, why don't you head on over to Ms. Cassie? She can show you how to tie on your ballet slippers." I suggested and she nodded with a wide smile then looked up at Noah, who knelt down next to her.

"You've got this, kiddo. Go have fun!" He kissed her cheek and Rosie smiled then cupped her hand by his ear and whispered something that caused him to smile and a little blush to appear on his cheeks.

"Bye, Daddy!" Rosie suddenly took off toward Cassie and we both laughed as we watched her run away.

"I'll be back in an hour, trouble maker!" Noah called after her and she giggled as she waved goodbye.

"She's adorable." I grinned as we both slowly stood back up and Noah chuckled as he shook his head.

"Thank you," He replied, his voice warm. "She keeps me on my toes, that's for sure." He sighed as he stared down at me, his eyes studying me curiously. "Do you go to UCLA?"

"Yeah, I just transferred at the beginning of the year actually." He shook his head in wonder as I tried not to giggle at his reaction.

"I thought you looked familiar." His eyes softened, and for a moment, I felt like he could see right through me.

"Daddy, can I have my bag, please?" Rosie asked, appearing next to me and Noah chuckled as he held the bag out to her.

"Sorry, baby girl." Rosie took it and then looked up at me.

"Ms. Tessa, can you teach me how to tie my laces?" Noah raised his eyebrows in surprise at her and I smiled widely at Rosie.

"I'd be honored!" She grinned as she ran over to Cassie and started opening her bag.

"How did you do that? She rarely talks to anyone she doesn't know." Noah admitted in disbelief and I shrugged.

"I'm just good with kids, I guess." We smiled at each other and he was about to say something else when Rosie cut him off again.

"Ms. Tessa?" Rosie called out and I giggled as I took a step back from him.

"I should probably go." He nodded reluctantly and smiled.

"Right, sorry!" I gave him a small wave and turned to leave, but was stopped by Noah grabbing my hand causing electricity to shoot up my arm and give me goosebumps. "Wait... could you do me a favor?" He asked and I tried to act casual as I nodded even though my heart was hammering so loud in my ears I could barely hear him. "Could you just keep an extra eye on Rosie? You've seen how shy she is, I would just hate for her to feel alone." He whispered and I swear my heart literally felt like it had stopped.

As if my crush on this man could get any worse, he just has to be the sweetest father I had ever met. "Of course." The smile he gave me at that moment nearly caused my knees to give out on me. He squeezed my hand then released it and started backing away.

"Thanks, Tessa. You're the best." I felt my cheeks redden from his compliment and waved goodbye as I watched him walk out the door.

I walked over to Rosie and Cassie the second he was out of sight and Cassie was grinning at me mischievously as I sat down in front of Rosie. "Alright, little lady, are you ready to learn how to tie your laces?" I asked and she nodded eagerly.

"I think her Daddy would like you to teach him how to tie a different type of lace." Cassie whispered in my ear as she passed by and I gasped as I lightly slapped her arm causing her to erupt into a fit of laughter.

I smiled nervously at Rosie as I tried to stop blushing so bad from her comment and picked up her ballet slipper. As I proceeded to teach her how to tie her laces, I felt myself smiling as I realized that I would now be seeing Noah three times a week. But I reminded myself that no matter how sweet and good looking he was, I couldn't date him. I prayed that I would find the strength to keep my promise to myself, no matter how hard it might be.