Page 47 of A Certain Step
Willa hung up the phone and sat on the bed for a moment. She could do this. She was a grown adult, for crying out loud.
It didn’t matter if these were technically uncharted waters. She’d danced with Ethan before. Hell, she’d rehearsed the “Midnights at Pemberley” number with him multiple times when he’d been nervous. She’d used him as a partner when she had a choreography in her mind that she wanted to nail down. Yet, as hot as those moments might have been, none ended with a kiss. None had the heat and fire that “Marry Me” contained.
Sahar ambled into her bedroom. “You’ve got this, babe. Pretend he’s the most hideous person on the planet.”
Tilting her head to the side, Willa narrowed her eyes.Like that was possible with Ethan.Chestnut-brown wavy hair falling in his face, the most alluring smile she’d ever seen, eyes so uniquely blue...It was unreasonable to pretend with that man. And knowing what a gentle, brilliant person he was on the inside, too? She was shit out of luck.
“Okay, right, yeah, that’s not the best advice. But you’ve danced with him before.”
She sighed. “Not ‘Marry Me’—the intensity of that choreography isn’t one I’ve actively rehearsedwithhim. And, hi, yes, I haven’t kissed him. He’s never had his damn perfect lips on my neck? I realize we’re changing during that number, but you’ve got to remember what it entails. Plus, how many bloody times do he and Naomi have to kiss during ‘All For You’?”
Sahar’s face fell, her teeth baring. “Oh shit. Yeah…”
“Yup,” Willa said, popping the p.
Sahar shook her head. “I don’t have any good advice I can give you. Frankly, even with all my initial crushes, I haven’t been in your shoes. But the most important thing I can say is that it’s Ethan. Everything aside, it’ll be a great show day because you two are both excellent performers. Everything else? His mouth? Yours? Leave it to the end of the show. Right now, just force your mind to focus on the dances, the music, everything but the kiss. I know it’s easier said than done, but you’ve got to try.”
She nodded in agreement. Sahar was right. Willa had no other choice right now.
“Okay, I’m showering. I’ll try to talk myself out of a full-fledged breakdown in there.”
“Do you need me to come early, too?”
Willa paused for a beat, thinking it over. “Our numbers are easier, but I’d love for you to be there. Just so I have someone with me who knows how I feel? But if you’re too tired, I absolutely get you wanting to stay behind until your call time.”
Sahar nodded. “I’ll come. I’ll nap during breaks.”
“You’re the best,” Willa emphasized.
Sahar smiled. “You’d do the same for me.”
15
ETHAN
He was going to kiss Willa, place his lips on her neck, skate his hand up her thigh, and draw his fingers along her breastbone. Well, Darcy would do those things to Elizabeth, but today—maybe for the rest of the week—Elizabeth wouldn’t be Naomi. She’d be Willa. His best friend. The woman he wanted more than anything—the woman he was sure he loved more than anyone else.
Ethan wasn’t prepared for any of it. What made matters worse was his certainty that she couldn’t possibly feel the same way. She’d be nervous, sure, but not for the reasons he was.
He couldn’t think of this as anything other than a performance. He couldn’t risk slipping up. It wasn’t them. It was an act. He’d touched Willa’s body and swayed with her many times, but despite how those instances had left him wanting, he couldn’t give in to the desires coursing through him. He wouldn’t risk jeopardizing his friendship with her.
This could be like the other times.
It had to.
He was already sweating, and the spring humidity was coming in with full force. Ethan stripped off his clothes and stepped into the shower,setting the lever to the coldest temperature possible. He needed to forget. Snap out of it urgently.
The piercing water worked on his body, but his betraying mind still wandered. Willa’s long, gorgeous legs, her beguiling lips, those beautiful brown eyes, her sweet, dimpled smile. And good lord, her laugh—her breathtaking, perfect laugh. He desperately wanted to play it on a loop like his favorite song. Listen to it over and over and over again.
He scrubbed his skin like his life depended on it, as though the earthy-scented body wash would somehow whisk away his thoughts of her.
Nothing would help. He was a lost cause.
Ethan got out, reached for a towel to dry off, and braced himself for the most excruciating bout of self-control he’d ever have to exercise. He secured the towel around his waist, planning to style his hair here instead of at the theatre, when a small creature wobbled into the bathroom with a loud meow. “Shit, Tulip. I’m so sorry, girl. It’s been a hell of a morning,” he declared.
He forgot to feed his cat. Tulip meowed at him again, her little attitude more pronounced. “I’m coming. I’m coming. Let’s get you food,” he said.
He hurried over to his cabinet, opened a new can of wet food, and added it to the bottom of her automatic feeder bowl. He was going to have a long day, and she might as well have some extra sustenance so at least one of them could experience a modicum of comfort. He took her bag of dry food, filled the inside of the feeder, and added more water to the mini fountain before nuzzling her fluffy orange coat.
