Page 12 of Dance With Me
Joe
Tuesday evening couldn’t come soon enough as far as Joe was concerned. He’d thought of Seb all weekend after their meeting on Saturday, and Monday and Tuesday had dragged interminably. At six pm, Joe got the bag with his dancing shoes out of his cabinet and headed for the lift.
“Ooh, whatcha got there?” Hazel asked, nosing in the bag.
“Oi, get your hands off. Nothing for you,” Joe replied, a smile tugging at his lips.
Hazel raised her eyebrows. “Why so secretive? Something going on?”
“Nothing you need to concern yourself about.”
“But that bag’s from a dance shop, and you don’t dance.” She eyed him quizzically.
“Look, I’m not supposed to say anything.” Joe tried to look anywhere but at Hazel.
She gave him a playful nudge. “Come on, spill the beans.”
Joe contemplated whether or not he should say anything. Clare had explicitly asked him not to tell his family, but she hadn’t said anything about Hazel…
“I’ll tell you, but you need to keep it a secret. Don’t breathe a word of this to anyone.” Joe glanced around to see if anyone was around or listening. “Clare and I are taking dance lessons for the first dance at our wedding. You can’t tell anyone. Promise you won’t say anything, especially to Clare. I’m not supposed to say.”
“Oh my God. Does the dance teacher know what happened at the Christmas party? You know, the ankle, the black eyes?” She motioned to her eyes as she said this, trying not to laugh.
“Yes, the dance teacher knows, which is why I’ve booked extra lessons with Seb. Although I haven’t told Clare that bit of news yet, so that’s another piece of information you need to keep to yourself.”
Hazel mimicked zipping her lips shut, laughter dancing in her eyes.
“And on that note, I need to go, or else I’ll be late, and Clare will have my balls.” Joe hoped not literally. “See you tomorrow, and I’ll be out for lunch, so you’ll need to bring your own tomorrow. I’m not buying again. Get yourself off home anyway. It’s after six.”
With that, Joe called the lift and waited for it to arrive.
As he drove to Nava Dance, his nerves jangled, and his breathing sped up at the thought of seeing Seb again. Nothing had happened between them so far, but he’d been thinking about the man and his beautifully expressive dark brown eyes more and more.
Urgh, he needed to get these thoughts out of his head.
He pulled up outside the studio but didn’t see Clare. She’d agreed to meet him there, going straight from work, but had arranged to go out with her friends after.
He grabbed the bag from the back seat and stepped inside the studio. No parents in the foyer, so Joe assumed there was no class going on. He could hear music, though, from inside and stepped to the door to listen more closely. A slow, haunting song bled through the doors, and Joe couldn’t help but peer through the small window.
What he saw took his breath away. Seb was moving to the music, pivoting and leaping, his body so sensual and fluid. The movement was hypnotic, and Joe could feel the emotion and power from the dance. Blood started to flow south as he was caught up in the dance before him.
Entranced by the sight of Seb dancing, he didn’t notice that Clare had stepped up behind him. Her warm touch landed on his bare arm, startling him.
“Bloody hell, Clare. Where did you learn your ninja skills?”
“What are you looking at?” she whispered in his ear.
“Err, nothing, nothing. I was just… erm.” Joe was flustered, not knowing what to say.
He bumped into the door as Clare moved him forward, and the music stopped.
“Are we going in or just standing outside?” she asked impatiently.
“No, we’re going in. After you.” He opened the door for her, and she swept past him into the room, oblivious to Joe’s earlier reaction to Seb—thank goodness.
Seb turned as they walked in. “Hey guys, how are you both today?” He smiled at Clare, but his eyes wouldn’t meet Joe’s. Seb took a long drink from his water bottle, his Adam’s apple bobbing with the action, and Joe watched in helpless fascination as he swallowed it down. He imagined his lips skimming the skin on Seb’s throat.Calm the fuck down, Joe, he told himself.
“Let’s do a quick warm-up, and we’ll make a start,” Seb said, mopping the sweat from his neck with a small towel.
