This blog post was first posted on Roxanne's Realm on 2/20/15. To see more of her post click on the link.
They say confession is good for the soul so here goes.
“Forgive me, fandom, for I have sinned. I have lusted over
Jesse in Pitch Perfect, who is not a book boyfriend.”
Seriously, I am in love with his character! I mean, who
doesn’t love a straight guy who can sing, dance, AND make you laugh? Not to
mention, he’s adorable. Trust me folks, I had my fist in the air by the end of
that movie. (Only awesome people will
understand that reference.) It remains one of my all time favs and you
better believe I will be first in line to get Pitch-slapped when the second
movie comes out.
Though I could write an entire blog about the thousand
reasons to love Jesse/Skylar, I shall refrain. Instead I will focus on the
moment that he won my heart forever.
Like most of you, I was friggin impressed with Anna’s
performance of “Cups”. (Go girl!) My nine-year-old daughter memorized it as did
most of the pre-teens/teens of America. I, however, was swooning over Jesse’s
reaction. Remember? He stared, awestruck, and uttered one word.
“Wow.”
That one word, so overused and overlooked in most
situations, hit me like Cupid’s arrow. What girl in her right mind wouldn’t
want a man who is so impressed, so enamored, so dumbfounded by her talents that
he is left with his jaw hanging to the floor? Wow. Instantly I turned to my poor husband and asked if he’d ever
had that kind of moment with me. God bless him, he smiled sweetly and like a
seasoned pro answered, “Every day, baby. Every day.” (That’s good training for
you, ladies.) After I laughed at his obvious lie, I let it go. But I did
secretly fantasize over such adoration.
I realized the writer of Pitch Perfect had caught me up in a
love affair that would affect my next novel. My heroine deserved a love like
that. Amilynn needed a love like that
to sweep her off her feet and make her feel worthy and worshiped. I wanted
Ezekiel, the sexy wolf shifter hero of BREAK HER FALL to have a Jesse-Wow
moment.
The following scene was born. Amilynn
goes to the small stage in the alpha house to dance her stress away before her
first official date with Ezekiel. She thinks she is alone with the music, but
she has an audience. I hope you love it as much as I do!
(I found this online, it did not come from my brain but it's perfect.)
Ezekiel made it all the way back to his apartment and through his shower before he realized he had no clue what to wear to a Latin dance club. Usually, he didn’t care. But this was for Amilynn and if he had to dress up a bit, she was well worth the effort.
He found Melissa still in the kitchen, talking to Vivian. The two of them were laughing when he came in. “Hey,” he said.
“Hey yourself.” Vivian smiled at him, her hazel eyes full of mischief. “You and Ami put on quite a show today. Have fun?”
“Yeah, actually. I think your compadre broke my ribs, but what the hell.” The ladies both chuckled at him. “And thanks to Melissa, here, I have to accompany said warrior princess to a dance club.”
Vivian gave Melissa a grin.
Ezekiel continued. “And now you have to tell me if I’m supposed to dress fancy for this shit.”
Melissa hugged him around the waist. “Jeans and a nice shirt should be fine, sweetheart. No heavy boots.”
“Thanks. Anything else I should know? Like don’t step on her toes or she’ll gut me?”
“That’s a given,” Vivian said with a one-shouldered shrug. It was all in good fun, but he felt like there might be a hint of truth behind the joke.
“Great.” He rolled his eyes and headed downstairs to his apartment with Vivian and Melissa giggling behind him. At least someone was amused by his suffering.
He passed by the closed doors to the theater and heard music. If his little brothers left the sound system on again, he was going to kill them. The music came from behind the closed curtain and he went around to the side of the stage.
The woman behind the curtain made his breath hitch. He slid into the shadows where he could watch. The song changed and a lovely smile crossed her face. She closed her eyes and slowly lifted her arms into the air, going up on the points of her toes.
Amilynn was a woman of many talents, as he discovered. Being more of the athletic type, Ezekiel hadn’t had too much exposure to ballet, but he recognized it for what it was. He never would’ve thought to mix ballet with a rock ballad. She did it effortlessly. “When You Love Someone” played and Amilynn’s smooth movements and soft lines were the most elegant thing he’d ever seen. She cast a spell with each step, entrancing him and holding him in place. He was afraid to breathe, afraid it would break the magic.
This was a whole new side to his chosen mate. He’d seen the warrior, the seductress, the teacher, the stubborn ass. This? This was the angel, a part he assumed not too many had the pleasure of knowing. Observing her now, no one would believe her to be anything more than a genteel lady. She leapt, her legs extending in opposite directions, her arms over her head, and her back perfectly straight. It made his heart skip. She was amazing. The lyrics to the song were perfection. They told everything he wanted for them and more.
The melody of the song heightened, bringing the listener to that point of emotional precipice. Each drumbeat raised his pulse. Ami turned, her body fluidly spinning round and round, propelled by one powerful leg until he lost count of the rotations. She ended, just as the song did, in a graceful split, her hand slowly rising above her head, her face full of rapture so deep it brought him to his knees.
Ezekiel let out the breath he’d held and blinked rapidly to clear his eyes.
If he ever looked back on their courtship, retelling their story to their children or grandchildren, Ezekiel would say this was the moment he fell madly, hopelessly in love with Amilynn. He would tell of how he stood paralyzed by her beauty and talent and untamed spirit while she danced her way into every corner of his heart.
Swoon! For more of Ezekiel and Amilynn, check out BREAK HER FALL on Amazon, Nook, or AllRomanceeBooks.
If you haven’t read book one, PRIDE BEFORE THE FALL, grab it now while it’s on sale for .99!
I’d love to hear about any Jesse-Wow moments you’ve had!
Lovingly,
Jo
