Page 63 of Off Balance

I swallow deeply. "Yeah, okay."

"Have a great performance tonight. I'll be there watching you."

"Mom and Dwayne aren't coming until Sunday's performance."

"I know," he says simply, bending to kiss me one more time. "I couldn't wait that long."

With those mind-boggling words, he turns me to face the bathroom, giving me a soft swat on my bare ass to get me on my way.

A loud pound at the door makes me squeal and I take off running in case Dwayne is about to bust in again. Dom's booming laugh echoes as he grabs the last of his things and follows his brother, who I can hear griping down the hallway.

What is happening?

After the most amazing and confusing morning in my life, I head back to the studio to get cleaned up and dressed for the day. Dom's right that I have a change of clothes here. Since I mostly only ever wear workout clothes, and I sweat through them constantly, I always have extras. Dom was also embarrassingly right about my breath—it's terrible. It happens when my diet is very strict. I brush well, shower, and get changed. I’m contemplating doing my solo workout here before heading to the studio for morning class with the whole company, but I notice a missed message on my phone.

Marissa: We need to talk. Can you meet me?

There's an address, and a time listed. Thankfully, the place isn't far, and I'll have minutes to spare if I rush there now.

Me: I'll be there.

CHAPTER 18

DOM

There's something not right about Cam. He looks amazing, he always does. His movements seem flawless to me, but they lack the energy and brightness that usually flows out of him when he's on stage. I've noticed at the end of shows that the fabricated smile he plasters on his face as he waves and bows to the audience never reaches his eyes. But it's different when he's dancing. It's like he forgets there's an audience at all, and he becomes the performance.

Tonight, though, I sense something off. There's something about him that isn't connecting, and it worries me.

I didn't want to leave him this morning, especially after hiding him away like that. I was prepared to face the firing squad when my brother came in and found us like that, but Cam wasn't. I understand it. Honestly, I'm not ready either. We haven't defined what's happening between us, and I'd be lying if I wasn't second guessing every one of my actions and decisions over the last few months. The back and forth is driving me wild, though, and that's just in my own head. Whenever I'm far enough away from him to get some clarity, I can see all the reasons thiswouldn't work. But the moment he's in sight, those doubts fall away and all I can see is how much I want him.

All the reasons for this not to happen stopped mattering the first time I touched him. And the moment I kissed him? I was gone.

I amgonefor him.

I've never felt so completely consumed by another person in my entire life. I don't know what to do about it, how to fit this feeling inside my chest with everything else that lives there. I'm coming to terms with it not being a choice any longer, and throwing caution to the wind.

I'm not sure Cam is in the same place I am, though. And when he walks down the steps to greet the afterparty with Emile's arm wrapped around his waist, I realize I'm getting in way too deep before he's agreed to anything. Just because he kissed me, just because we touched… it might not mean anything to him.

Cam catches my eye as they come down the stairs. My gaze is burning into the hand Emile has resting on his hip. The same hip I kissed this morning as I explored my way down his body.

With a pleading gaze, Cam shakes his head almost imperceptibly.

I won't cause a scene or embarrass him. We haven't talked about any of this.

With a gentle nod in his direction, I mouth one sentence to let him know this isn't over. I meant what I said this morning.

"I'll be waiting."

It's after one in the morning by the time the music starts up in the studio. I'd hoped Cam would come directly to me, but I suppose this is close enough.

I don't bother slinking into the shadows this time, allowing the magnetic pull to lead me directly to him. The dark circles under his eyes are more pronounced now that the stage makeup is washed away. I swipe my thumbs over the skin beneath his pale eyes, then trace the hollows of his cheeks and beneath his bottom lip before bending down to kiss him. He rises to meet me, and I notice he's much taller than usual. When I step away, I see why. I'd been so captivated by his eyes and by being close to him, that I didn't register what he's wearing.

The pointe shoes. They're wrapped delicately around his strong calves. He's wearing one of my shirts and on him, it’s so large that it falls off his shoulder and covers him down to his thigh. Cam takes my hand and guides me to hold it above his head while he spins slowly for me. He's not wearing his usual leggings or shorts. Instead, all I can see is the waistband of this underwear, a silky looking… oh fuck me sideways, is that a thong?

As Cam completes his turn, I can't take my eyes off the firm globes of his ass. A perfect bubble of chiseled muscle.

I have the strange inclination to shove my face between his cheeks. It’s not that I haven't heard of ass eating. I know it's a thing. It's just never been something that was on my radar as a kink I wanted to explore. Until now. Because just looking at his ass makes my mouth water.

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