Page 1 of Play With Me

Prologue

CARMELA

Age 19

Mami and Papi always said that I danced before I walked. It didn’t matter where I was. If there was music, I was dancing.

Throughout my entire childhood, I dreamed of becoming a professional dancer in New York. Study at Juilliard. Dance on Broadway. Maybe one day, be a backup dancer for Beyoncé or Christina Aguilera.

Mami has other plans for my future.

I come from a strict Cuban American household. Church on Sundays, pray before every meal and every night before bed, be an active part of our community, mind your elders, and do everything your parents tell you to.

But above all else, no sex before marriage.

And no dancing for a career.

“You need to get a good college education, Carmelita. Find a good job and a good husband. Start a family. I don’t want to hear any nonsense about dancing in New York. Do you know who dances in New York? Women of the night. On poles. Do you want to end up like them? That’s what women do while they are waiting tomake it.”

“That’s not true, Mami! I don’t want to go to college. I want to dance!”

“You should feel lucky we can afford to send you to school, mijita. You will go, and that is final! And you will behave while you are there. You don’t want to end up like Mae’s daughter, do you? Disgracing her family. They can’t even show their faces at church.”

Ana, Mae’s daughter, had been unlucky enough to get pregnant the very first time she hadpremaritalsex. She went home with her tail between her legs and a bun in the oven. Her parents even thought about moving to a different town, they were so humiliated.

Like every other conversation we’d ever had, Mami’s word was final. They enrolled me in the college a few hours away to get a business degree, and sent me off with a warning to do nothing but study.

No parties, no boys, and no sex.

Which is precisely why when my roommate asks if I want to go to a club in New York tonight, I jump at the opportunity.

“My brother is out of town for business and saidwe can crash at his apartment. His job pays for it, and it’s enormous!” Lisa exclaims as we rush to get ready.

Lisa is at school on a full-ride softball scholarship. She’s five-ten, blonde, bubbly, and I immediately liked her after Mami told Papi that she’d be trouble when they moved me into the dorm. We’ve been inseparable ever since school started, and I have half a mind to ask her if I can go back to California with her over summer break so I don’t have to spend it helping with the church’s summer program for kids.

Not that there’s anything wrong with volunteering my time, but now that I know what it’s like to live on my own, I don’t want to go back.

“I’m just excited to dance. Dancers get discovered in clubs all the time!” I tell her as I fluff my hair before putting more hairspray in it. I plan on sweating a lot tonight, so bring on the humidity-proof spray and the waterproof makeup.

“Oh my God, you could totally get picked up! You’re such a great dancer! I heard that sometimes girls get picked to dance on podiums or even in cages! How hot is that?” Lisa tosses all of our makeup and hair products in a bag and zips it up. “Okay, I think that’s it. We can drop this off at my brother’s and then meet up with my friends for a little pregame before the club.”

“Are you sure we’ll be able to get in?” In the back of my mind, I know we can get in so much trouble for being in a club when we aren’t twenty-one. I canhearMami in my ear telling me it’s a terrible idea, but I’ve never wanted to do something so badly in my life. I just don’t want to get into trouble.

“Oh yeah, totally. Holly is dating some rich guy who said he’d vouch for us as long as we don’t try to drink there. Now let’s go! We don’t wanna miss the train!”

The club is everything I dreamed it would be. Loud, sweaty,exhilarating. While Lisa and her friends head up to the VIP area where Holly’s boyfriend and his friends are, I stay down on the dance floor and get lost in the beat of the EDM.

Getting into the club had been easy. Holly’s boyfriend shook hands with the bouncer, who just opened the rope for us and didn’t even bother checking IDs. The only thing any of us has ordered at the bar is water, but I have a hunch that they are drinking upstairs.

There’s only one thing about tonight I’d change if I could—my outfit. Holly took one look at my black cotton leggings and tank top and told me there was no way she was letting me wear them out. Since we’re roughly the same size, she lent me a red bandage dress that isn’t exactly ideal for dancing in.

But I think that was her point.

A pair of large, warm hands encircle my waist, startling me. Spinning around with a jolt, I look up to see the hottest guy I’ve ever seen smiling down at me. “Hi there, tiny dancer. Holly and Lisa sent me to fetch you.”

“Fetch me? Am I a dog?” I shout over the music.

He smiles warmly, flashing nice teeth surrounded by a neatly trimmed beard the same dark color as his perfectly styled hair. “Poor choice of words. I apologize.” He reaches for my waist again and for some reason, I let him draw me closer so he can speak into my ear. “We’re going to leave and go someplace a little quieter.”

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