Page 45 of Hot Summer

“I’m sure they’d blur it,” Tia said.

“Yeah, but the last thing I need is Brad getting an eyeful and—”

She stopped, seeming to catch herself. No one spoke for a few heavy beats, so it was just the sound of spandex and hair spray as people didn’t ask while very viscerally wanting to ask.

“He seems like he likes you,” Tia said carefully.

“No, yeah,” Ada said. She was nodding and agreeing, but it sounded more like an attempt to move the conversation along rather than an actual agreement. “We were talking about that in the beach hut on Saturday when I was debating partnering up with Leo....” She hesitated for a long moment, and then her eyes flicked to Cas’s in the mirror.

It made sense now why Ada had stayed with Brad for so long. She’d been stuck with him last week, but had still decided, for some godforsaken reason, to re-partner with him for week three. Cas hadn’t understood at the time, but of course Ada was still giving him a shot when she had producers in her ear encouraging her to.

Cas shifted closer to Ada and subtly nudged her toe against the side of Ada’s foot. Tried, when Ada met her gaze, to communicate that she supported her no matter what.

Ada flashed Cas a grateful smile.

“I’m kind of glad you didn’t,” Delilah said, laughing awkwardly as she tugged down the hem of her skirt. Cas was sure she was—being partnered up with Leo, a pairing with absolutely zero interest on either side, meant she was able to spend as much time as she wanted causing problems with Lexi and Charlie.

“Are you going to give him the cold shoulder during the competition today?” Sienna asked. She was swiping mascara onto her bottom lashes, her eyes wide and her mouth popped as she tried to get the right angle.

Ada shrugged, combing through her hair with her fingers.

“I think so. I’ve got to dance with him, obviously, but I don’t want him thinking that it’s an invitation in, like, any way, shape, or form.”

“You still need to figure out how you’re going to dance at all in that thing,” Lexi said. She was grinning, borderline giggling as she pointed at Ada’s slowly lowering top.

“Maybe it’ll have to be a lot of hip movements,” Ada said. She gyrated her hips so she was almost grinding against the dressing table, sinking a little weight into her knees so she dipped a few inches in height.

Tia whooped and whistled. “Yes, girl!”

Ada’s grin was immediate. Infectious.

She rolled her body again, and though the top tugged lower, it stopped just short of actually revealing full nipple, instead pressing against her breasts so that they swelled perfectly over the top.

“Holy shit.” Cas hadn’t meant to say it, had really only meant to think it, but the words were out of her mouth before she’d even had the ability to stop them.

And then Ada winked at her, she winked, and Cas was sure that she’d died and gone to sapphic heaven.

“Grind on every single one of those boys when we get to the ring,” Sienna said. She rolled her own body in the chair, her hips nearly making contact with the dressing table.

“And then skip Brad and watch his head explode,” Cas added.

Ada laughed and clapped Cas on the shoulder, her fingers pressing into Cas’s exposed skin.

“I think we might have a plan, girls.”

If Cas had thought she’d seen enough when they’d been practicing, it was nothing to the actual competition. It was more awkward than Cas had anticipated, largely because, despite the music they always played over these scenes in the edit, there was absolutely no music playing during the competition itself, but there was still something almost unbearably sexy about it, especially once they all got over the awkwardness of dancing around without any music on.

Cas’s approach hadn’t been well thought out—she skimmed her body across each of the boys, traced her tongue down a few throats, but with each turn she took, with each pass of her hips, she felt herself leaning into it just enough that she knew she’d get away with having a passable performance on social media.

Or, at least she hoped she would.

Where the real joy came, though, was watching the other girls dance. And Ada in particular.

Watching Ada’s body move as she glided over the boys who couldn’t keep their eyes off her.

Cas felt herself getting drawn further and further in. She was mesmerized by the curves of Ada’s body, by the slow, sinuous way she moved. She looked so sweet and innocent most of the time, and the contrast was making Cas’s pulse skyrocket.

Ada took extra time with Leo, like she knew that that was the perfect way to set Brad’s teeth on edge. Cas was torn between watching Ada grinding on Leo and watching the way that Brad’s body very intensely began to betray him, from the firm set of his feet on the ground to his crossed arms and furrowed brow that gave away every single thought in his head.

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