Page 67 of The Way We Dance

Giselle

"That's it, Jasmine. Perfect." I praised the tiny dancer as she nailed her pile while holding onto the bar along the mirror. Her form was excellent and had improved immensely over the last two weeks.

A lot had changed over the course of those two weeks.

For one, Ty and I were in sort of a relationship. We didn't exactly discuss the parameters in detail, but we spent almost every available moment either talking, texting, fucking, or dancing together. I wouldn't go as far as to say we were exclusive, but I would be heartbroken if he told me he had plans with another woman.

Maybe it was not something either of us was looking for, but it found us nonetheless. For Ty as much as myself. He may not have said the words, but actions spoke louder than words, right?

No one had ever cared so much about my wellbeing, my happiness. Ty worked every day to make me laugh—something he said I didn't do enough of when we first met. He brought me random things he knew I loved. He even made sure he was an amazing student when it was time to dance.

On the field, his game was back to the way he was before he met me. At least that was what the commentators said on TV. When Ty was asked what he had been doing to get back into form, he told them he was practicing a lot and trying new ways to focus. That was true enough, and I accepted that as his answer.

I stopped needing validation for helping a star football player through the art of ballet. Initially, I wanted that nugget to add to the resume of my business, but now, I didn't care. I could see why Ty didn't want all the tough guys he played with—and against—knowing he took ballet.

The main thing was, he was treating Sam like a rockstar for being a dancer and Sam was eating it up. Sam had found his passion for dancing again and I thanked Ty for being a part of that.

I looked out of the window and saw Ty exactly where I had seen him the last few times he had class. Leaning against the cubby wall, arms crossed, eyes on me. I saw him in a newer light than I did that first night. As all the mothers in the waiting area took sneak peeks at him and swooned when he smiled, my heart fluttered knowing that the second all the kids left, I would be kissing him.

I even took a little pride in him.

So I told myself that after class tonight, I would insist he come home with me. I wanted to bring it up, once and for all.

What were we? Could I claim him as mine?

Class ended a few minutes later and I walked into the lobby, curious what a few of the moms were talking to Ty about. One was asking about football and the other touched his arm and asked what he was always doing hanging out in the dance studio.

He froze up for a minute, because he didn't want to admit he had his own lessons, but his shoulders relaxed as he smiled up at me. "Just here to take my girl home."

I smiled, though I kept it stiff and hard because my prima ballerina ego was still in check. But inside, I was melting, warm, and I lifted my chin a little higher. As unnecessary as it was, my brain was screaming, "That's right, back up bitch."

That was what Ty did to me. And with his words to her, I was even more ready to talk to him about making us something more—committed.

Everyone made their way out and just like every other time, Ty locked the door securely behind them. I had walked into my office to change, something I tried to do when Ty was with me, but he found me and stopped me.

"Leave that on tonight, the Miss Priss look makes me fucking hard."

I rolled my eyes, feeling myself slowly morph into regular ol' Giselle. I stopped undressing and met him in the middle of the room, wrapping my arms around his waist. “Everything makes you hard.”

“You’re not wrong,” he winked and pecked my lips.

"You sure you have to leave Saturday?" Shit, I sounded needy but Ty didn’t seem to mind. He seemed to be eating it up.

"Yeah, baby," he ran a hand down my face and patted my lip with his finger tip. "One more away game of preseason and then home for two weeks to kick off the year."

"Come home with me tonight, then?"

"Fuck yeah," he whispered as he leaned down to kiss me gently.

This was normally the part where our kiss grew and I ended up naked underneath Ty on my couch or desk. With him coming over later, though, we refrained and decided to get started on the lessons.

The quicker we got done, the quicker we could leave.

"This is your last class," I turned my mouth down in a frown as we walked onto the dance floor.

"I learned a lot," Ty did a leap and twirled around. It was not bad for a big guy like Ty with limited practice time. He had learned a few basics and that was all we really set out to do. We fixed a few of his problems with his flat feet and as long as he remembered to channel his focus on his leaps as much as he did the ball and the other team, he would have an amazing season.

"What am I going to do next week when no one is here to walk me home," I joked but I was serious at the same time. I didn't want to have this conversation now, I wanted to wait till we were at my place, but ending these lessons was a heartbreak in and of itself.

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