Page 40 of The Way We Dance

I held myself to the highest standard and always put on a professional front. I followed all the rules. I worked my ass off. I did extra shit, like teach football players how to focus and balance and leap, all to make extra money and get extra credit in the community.

All it took was a little interference from Tyson Black and I felt out of control. Wild. If I was any less of a lady, I may have stormed up to him and yanked his perfect hair from his perfect head. Maybe even try strangling him.

The past couple of weeks had been hell. I still had bruises I covered with makeup on my face. I walked to work everyday scared out of my mind that someone would storm inside Brisé again and hurt me—or one of my kids. I put up with Ty. I mourned Sam's hardship. I all but begged my mom to come down for the recital.

Ty was about to get all of that. He was about to be the poor soul that felt the wrath of me finally snapping. I felt good about that too because he was the reason I was losing my handle on my emotions.

"Don't act like you aren’t using Sam to piss me off. That is all this is. All you have done is try getting under my skin and you found the worst way, didn't you?"

Ty tilted his head, still unable to speak or comprehend what was going on. I didn't want to look at him, I didn't want him near me. I was about to yell at him to leave but I never got that chance.

He had snapped back to his senses and was directly in front of me in two strides. He lifted me up and put me on the counter, positioning himself between my spread legs. It was my turn to be too stunned to talk and with me on the counter, we were eye to eye.

He got inches from my face and the snarl he gave me told me he was pissed too.

"As fun as it is to see you fall the fuck apart, I had hoped the stick that is shoved up that ass would have vacated when you did. I have been trying to pull it out, but I sure as fuck haven't been trying to make you lose your goddamn mind."

I opened my mouth to speak but he squeezed under my chin, using his thumb and pointer finger to purse my lips like a fish.

"I didn't plan on pissing you off like this. I didn't give Sam those tickets to lure him away from dancing. You told me yesterday you were going to use football to befriend him, to chat with him. He obviously likes the Jets so it slipped out to offer his mom and him some tickets. Something tells me they don't make it to too many games because its fucking expensive. So excuse me for helping that kid have the chance to do so."

I squinted my eyes, but knew he did have a point. I was so wrapped up in my selfishness that I didn't even consider how lucky Sam was to get this chance. I wasn't sure how Ty knew that the Watson's couldn't afford that luxury, but I should have been glad Ty was giving them the opportunity.

"Yeah, I overstepped when I told them you were going but it all fucking fell into place and I didn't want to give you the chance to say no. You told me you wanted to connect with Sam and chat with him. You promised you wouldn't lure him with candy so why not join him at the game. I thought it would be the perfect time for you to get into his little head and have that talk you told me about."

At this point, I was feeling myself come down from my tirade. My breathing had softened and my shoulders had slumped. I knew I was being irrational again. Ty seemed to be sincere and I had been so stressed and ready to lose it on someone.

Ty had given me the perfect opportunity and it seemed he was taking it away just as quickly.

"Yeah," I nodded, not worrying how unprofessional I still sounded. Ty still had his body in between my legs, my shoulders were slumped, and he had just put me in my place. No sense trying to do a one-eighty now.

"Yeah?" he asked, not sure if he was hearing me correctly.

I nodded again and looked up into his eyes. We were eye level and in his attempt to calm me down, Ty was only inches from my face. His hands were on my thighs, initially to hold me in place, but as we sat there staring at one another, his hands started slowly climbing toward my hips.

His soft touch was creating goosebumps on my skin and I could tell he felt them by the way his lips quirked a little. For a moment, I felt like he was going to kiss me. All the makings of an amazing kiss were in play and my body was giving away how good I felt with his hands on me.

Ty didn't seem like the kind of man that second guessed or questioned himself. He seemed like if he wanted it, he took it, so his hesitation almost had me back pedaling from his hold.

Almost.

There was still a part of me that buzzed for him. After the emotions I had been having and all the ups and downs, it would be easy to convince myself that it didn't really matter who was here with me, that I would crave the attention and connection.

But that wasn't it either. It was Ty I had used as my muse to give myself release on Sunday. It was his angry and manic image that made me want to melt.

I didn't see that in him tonight, yet, I still wanted to get closer to him.

I licked my lips, hoping he took the hint and closed the gap. I was not bold enough to do that myself or I would have. I had used all the energy I had to yell at him and look where that had gotten me.

One side of Ty's lips lifted in a small smile. "Is that how I do it? Will that work?"

I squinted my eyes at him, my turn to be confused and waited for him to explain.

His hands went further up my legs, his thumbs closing in at the apex of my thighs. He squeezed harder, causing a small moan to escape my lips.

"Is this how I get that stick out of your ass, Miss Priss? Do I need to coax it out like this?" His thumb was softly rubbing my pussy on the outside of my leotard. So soft that I could barely even feel it. But it was there, enough to make me want to move and press into him harder.

He was taking his cues from the way I was responding to him and I knew I needed to nod if I wanted him to keep going. If he wanted to see me come undone, I was going to let him. Hell, he had already seen this much.

I moved my hips forward, causing his thumb to apply a little more pressure. My hands went to his shoulders to give myself more leverage. This wasn't why he was here, I knew we were supposed to be dancing. It is what I was getting paid for.

But this was what I needed. This was what I wanted.

Just as I decided to wrap my legs around his waist and pull him closer, the front door opened and the lights went off.

"I'm back, bitch!"

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