Page 46 of I Wanna Dance

“You know, most of my friends have parents who behave like they can do no wrong,” Sofia chimed.

I frowned, my eyebrows stitching together. “We never said that.”

“No, you always admitted that you were entirely too fallible,” Isabella stated dryly. “So, you made a mistake. How are you going to fix it?”

“She’s the best thing that has happened to you since Mama and now you may have lost her,” Sofia said dramatically.

I looked up at her, raising an eyebrow. “That’s not exactly comforting.”

“Good,” Sofia grinned. “You don’t deserve comfort right now.”

“With daughters like you, I don’t need enemies.”

“So, do you have a plan?” Isabella muttered.

“Maybe.”

“Tell us,” Sofia demanded.

I wiggled my eyebrows. “Let me execute it, and then you can bow to the master of fixing things.”

“Which means you first screw things up so you can then fix them,” Isabella pointed out.

“Never said I was perfect,Mija.”

But she’d said I was still her boyfriend…a misnomer, I still thought for someone my age—but that meant she was ready to forgive and forget and hopefully move on to the next stage of our relationship.

CHAPTER 23

Leah

Ithought about calling Marco about fifteen times a day, but I didn’t. I thought about sending a message a hundred times, but I didn’t. What would I say?

The thing was that with Kevin, our relationship was lopsided, so we never fought, not really. I didn’t stand up to him. I didn’t lose my temper. I didn’t push. It was unhealthy as fuck.

I didn’t know if Marco and I had a fight and this wasnormalor if we’d broken up. I felt like crying a lot because I felt like I’d fucked up a good thing by being, as he’d accused me, a coward, which was why even though I didn’t want to go to a salsa class and deal with a no-Marco situation, I did. It was the least I could do. It wasallI could do. If he showed up, we could talk. I could…ah…I don’t know, tell him that I was all shaken up because of what he told me Kevin said to him and maybe said some stupid stuff to him. He could then tell me that he was annoyed and said some stupid stuff to me. And then we could make up. People swore on make-up sex, and I was sure that, given the chance, Marco and I would be really good at it.

So, I went.

The studio was quieter than usual when I walked in. The lights were dimmed, the air warm and still. I glanced around, expecting to see the usual group of students warming up, but the room was empty, save for Viviana, who was standing by the stereo, grinning wide.

“What’s going on?” I asked, frowning as I walked in. “Where is everyone?”

“Tonight’s class isspecial.” Viviana’s eyes and voice were full of mischief and excitement.

Before I could ask what she meant, Marco stepped out from behind one of the support beams. He was dressed in dark slacks and a fitted shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His expression was soft, almost nervous, and his hands were tucked into his pockets.

“Hi,” I whispered.

He was here. Oh My God! He was here. He hadn’t ended us.

“Hi.” Marco stepped closer to me. “I asked Viviana if I could have the studio for a little while.”

I swallowed. “Ah…we could meet…ah….”

“It had to be here,” he insisted.

Viviana clapped her hands, breaking the tension. “Okay, lovebirds, I’m off. Play nice.”

---