Page 34 of Love In The Air

He frowned but didn’t say anything as she dismounted.

“Great job you two,” Jen said, making a note on the notebook in her hand. “Take five.”

“I’m gonna grab some water,” Iz mumbled, hurrying away from Chance and over to the cubbies where her stuff was.

“You and Chance seem pretty cozy lately.”

Iz glanced over at Tori as her friend came up beside her.

“We’re just being friendly,” she said, shaking off the weird feelings stirring within her. “For the sake of the show.”

“Really?” Tori raised a brow.

“Yes, we agreed to be friends, and it worked. He’s honestly not that bad anymore.”

He wasn’t that bad back in high school either, but she had some weird, misguided hard-on for competing with him, which automatically made him her enemy. Iz couldn’t help but wonder if she’d spent the time to get to know Chance back then, if they could have been friends…or more.

“Just friends?” her bestie asked with a heavy dose of suspicion.

“Yes, Tori. Just friends.”

With benefits, but her bestie didn’t need to know that.

“Whatever you say to help you sleep at night, Iz. But that was one of the hottest routines I’ve ever seen, and I don’t just mean the moves. You two were setting that hoop on fire. That man looks at you like you’re a snack and he hasn’t eaten in a week.”

She glanced over to where Chance was warming up across the studio. His gaze was indeed focused on her, raw hunger emanating from his bright green eyes. He sent her a devilish grin that promised her all sorts of wicked things when rehearsal finished. A shiver of anticipation raced down her spine. She heard Tori’s soft scoff from beside her as they moved into a lunge position.

“Yeah, just friends, my ass.”

Iz ignored her. They were just friends. Did they also enjoy a physical aspect to their friendship? Yes, but that didn’t mean anything. Just because she trusted him not to drop her didn’t mean she trusted him not to break her heart. He couldn’t because she wouldn’t give him her heart. She didn’t give it to anyone.

“Okay, but be careful,” Tori warned. “Banging your duo partner is one thing, but if you all get serious, make sure you’re on the same page or someone’s going to get hurt. And not in the broken bone falling from the hoop type way.”

“It’s not…like that,” she protested, but her words didn’t come out as strong as she’d intended.

Tori searched her face, eyes widening before she sighed softly and shook her head. “Shit, you already fell, didn’t you?”

“No!” Her eyes narrowed as she glared. “Can it, Tori, you don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I’m your best friend, Iz. Who knows you better than me? I know exactly what I’m talking about. A little advice?”

Taking a big sip from her water bottle, Iz waved a hand in the air for her bestie to continue, knowing Tori would whether Iz gave her the okay.

“Talk to him, like really talk, with clothes on.”

“Hey!” They talked plenty with clothes on.

“Emotion stuff,” Tori said with an insistent gleam in her eyes. “Don’t close yourself off like you normally do.”

“I don’t—”

“You do, Iz,” she interrupted. “You hold people at an arm’s length, you know you do.”

Okay, fine, maybe she did, a little. But being vulnerable with people was hard. It gave them the power to hurt you, leave you. Why risk being crushed under someone’s shoes like that? Having your heart ripped into a thousand shreds like what happened to her mom when her dad left? It didn’t make sense. How could anyone trust another person like that, knowing it could all end in such misery?

“We’re having fun.”

Tori raised one eyebrow, disbelief clear on her friend’s face.

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