Page 10 of Dance With Me
They parted and he waved as they got in the car and drove away. Not long after, his parents said their goodbyes and went home with promises to call during the week.
Clare left for work, and Joe sat on the sofa, finishing off the bottle of wine they’d opened. All in all, it hadn’t been a bad weekend and Tuesday, he’d see Seb again.
Chapter Six
Seb
After his walk with Rocco, Seb had called his friend Dominic and invited him over. He didn’t feel like being on his own, and Natalia was staying with Louis again.
He ordered pizza for them both and put the wine in the fridge. Dom had said he’d be there in around half an hour, about the same time as the pizza.
As he waited, he thought back to his first meeting with Dom. They’d met about a year ago in a nightclub. Dom was five-foot-four, but his platinum white spiked hair had added an extra inch or two. He had pale, smooth skin with sparkling green eyes, which he’d accentuated with gold eyeshadow and black eyeliner. He’d been dressed like a model, extremely tight leather trousers and a gold top, casually baring one shoulder. What had made him stand out, though, were the gold ankle boots with four-inch heels. Seb smiled at the memory.
Dom had been relentless with his flirting and wouldn’t take no for an answer. Seb had given in a little, and they’d moved to the dance floor, dancing with each other to the thumping bass, but when Dom put his arms around Seb’s waist and pulled him tight to his chest, Seb had panicked and run from the dance floor.
He’d not been with anyone since Daniel; the memories and his feelings were just too raw. The mere touch of someone else’s hands had sent him into a spiral. Dominic had followed him to the bar, thinking he’d done something wrong, and after many margaritas, shots, and a lot of coaxing, Seb had told him about Daniel.
Natalia and Seb had met Daniel while touring with a dance troupe in their early twenties. Soon, he and Seb became a couple, and when the opportunity came to open a dance studio in Chester a few years later, they’d jumped at it. Natalia’s parents had put up most of the money, and Seb had some savings put aside from when his grandfather died, but Daniel’d had nothing. They each had their specialities; Natalia’s was Latin, specifically tango, Seb’s was contemporary and ballet, and Daniel’s was jazz and tap.
After about six months, though, Daniel had started to lose focus—missing lessons, not coming home and just being absent. When Seb had finally managed to talk to him, he’d said he couldn’t do it anymore. His wanderlust was just too great; he needed to get away. Seb had reluctantly agreed with him, knowing if he’d made him stay, they’d end up resenting and hating each other, and Seb never wanted that with Daniel. He loved him too much.
Daniel had packed his bag, kissed Seb and, without a backward glance, walked away. Seb had been heartbroken. He’d lost touch with him, but six months later, Seb was contacted by Daniel’s brother, Ed. Daniel had died of an accidental overdose. He’d felt like his heart had been ripped out of his chest. He’d loved Daniel so hard, and he just couldn’t believe he would never see him again. But then, Ed had blamed Seb, saying he should have realised Daniel had been struggling with an addiction. Seb had had no idea that Daniel was using. He’d tried to explain to Ed that he truly hadn’t known, and eventually, they’d put their differences behind them and become distant friends. In the end, Seb felt he hadn’t known Daniel at all.
Since that night, when Seb had told Dom his deepest secret, they’d become good friends. They’d been attracted to each other but agreed they would never be lovers. It turned out that Dominic was a dancer too, but rather than teach, he’d toured the world competing, specifically in pole dancing. And he was damn good at it, having won both national and international competitions.
As predicted, Dom turned up right on time, just as the pizza arrived and they tucked in, the wine flowing freely. After thinking about the events of the day, Seb had decided to confide in Dom about his mystery stalker. He told him about the notes, the photographs, the rose and the car.
“Why the fuck didn’t you tell me this before? Jesus Christ, Seb.” Dom ran his hand through his white-blond hair, tugging on the ends.
“I don’t know. I suppose I didn’t want to bother you. Natalia doesn’t know the full story, but she does know about the photographs that came in the envelope. We changed the locks and the alarm system as a precaution.” Seb tried to explain, but he knew Dom was annoyed with him.
“What about your car? Can they fix it? I can drop you at the garage if you want when it’s ready.” Dom had calmed down a little and was stroking Seb’s hair.
“That would be great. Joe dropped me home earlier, so I didn’t need to get an Uber.” As soon as the words left his mouth, Seb groaned and could have kicked himself. Why the hell did he mention Joe?
“And who exactly is Joe?” Dom asked with a smirk and a sparkle in his eyes. “You’ve not mentioned him before.”
“Oh, he’s just someone I’m teaching to dance,” Seb said nonchalantly. “He and his fiancée came to me last week to choreograph the first dance for their wedding. He was driving past earlier and offered to give me a lift home.” Seb picked at a loose thread on the sofa. “We sat and waited for the tow truck, he bought me lunch and then dropped me off here.” Seb stood up and started to clear the dinner plates away.
“Er, I don’t think so. Sit down and tell me the rest.” Dom dragged him back down to the sofa. “What does Joe look like? Don’t tell me you’re not interested. I’ve seen that look before.” He pinched Seb’s cheek and grinned at him.
“There’s nothing going on. He’s getting married if you missed that part, so it doesn’t matter what he looks like. He’s off-limits.”
“But you like him,” Dom continued in a sing-song voice, pushing for an answer.
“I might.” Seb looked away, trying his best not to laugh. “He is bloody gorgeous.” He went on to describe Joe in excruciating detail.
“He sounds delicious. And you’re sure he’s straight?” Dom asked, dipping a pizza crust into the garlic sauce.
“As I said, he’s getting married, Dom. To a woman. There’s just no point in obsessing. Although”—Seb paused—“I have agreed to extra lessons with him.”
Seb dropped his head to the back of the sofa and closed his eyes.
“Who am I kidding, Dom? If I’d met him any other way, I would totally be getting to the bottom of him.”
Dom spat his drink out. “I can’t believe you just said that.”
They looked at each other and laughed. Dom poured them both another drink, but Seb refused to discuss Joe anymore. He wanted to keep him to himself a little longer, and anyway, as he’d told Dom, Joe was getting married. He just had to keep reminding himself of that fact.
