Page 19 of Slow Burn
‘Didn’t look that way,’ I said, trying not to sound bothered.
‘Anyway, why would it matter if Iwasdating somebody?’ he asked, raising his eyebrows at me, goading me.
‘Obviously it wouldn’t,’ I said. ‘I was simply trying to work out why everything I say seems to irritate you.’
‘I had not realized you were such a delicate flower, Lira,’ he said. ‘Perhaps you ought to go back to teaching your wedding dances. I am sure everyone ismoltonice to you there.’
‘They are, actually. And for the record, speak to me asyour equal, or don’t speak to me at all. Now, shall we run what we’ve got one more time, before you have to get your train? The last one leaves at ten past ten.’
He shuddered. ‘I would hate to be stuck all the way out here for the night.’
God, he was annoying. He was nothing like the man I remembered from Paris, who had been sweet and attentive and had acted like he never wanted to let me go.
I jabbed at my phone to press play on the music and took my place on the dance floor, waiting for Gabriele to join me.
‘Five, six, seven, eight,’ I said, impatiently.
We began to dance, both of us easily remembering the steps we’d rehearsed. Irritatingly, every time we found ourselves attached at the hip or the forehead or the nose, as was traditional in the Argentine tango, I forgot all about how much his attitude was driving me mad. Instead, I kept remembering how otherworldly it had felt when we’d been in bed together and he’d been pounding into me so intensely I’d thought I might have been about to pass out.
CHAPTER EIGHTLira
I opened the door to Sedi, who continued to forget her house keys no matter how many times we all reminded her.
‘Twice in a fortnight – we should be honoured,’ I said, teasing her and standing aside to let her in.
‘Yeah, well, I thought I’d make an effort to come home while I’m in London. I’ll be flying to Australia at the end of next month, so I won’t be seeing you at all for weeks after that, you’ll be pleased to know.’
I pulled her in for a hug. ‘I always love seeing you, you know that.’
‘The feeling’s mutual, I suppose,’ she grumbled. ‘God, I’m hungover,’ she said, heading for the kitchen. ‘I need a pint of water!’
‘Out last night, were you?’ I asked, calling after her.
It didn’t surprise me. Sedi’s social life was about a hundred times more exciting than mine and always had been. Sure, all three of us had spent most of our time dancing in our teens, but Sedi, more than either Nolo or I, had managed to balance that with copious amounts of drinking and partying. And there were boyfriends,lotsof them. She wasn’t the luckiest when it came to love, and by her own admission, she had dubious taste in men, but I’d always admired her for going after what she wanted, for not being afraid to upset people, whether that be some guy she was seeing or our parents. Sedi would never have found herself in the position I was in: pretending to run a dance studio while secretly rehearsing for a West End show. It sounded ridiculous even in my own head. I needed to tell them, and I was going to do it today. My stomach twisted itself into knots in anticipation, although I wasn’t quite sure why. They’d be happy for me, wouldn’t they?
I followed Sedi into the kitchen, where she was gulping water directly from the tap like a thirsty dog.
‘Gross,’ I said, teasing her.
‘Sorry,’ she said, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. ‘Desperate.’
‘Just don’t let Mum catch you,’ I warned her.
Mum was a stickler for manners, but she also forgave Sedi anything, and boy did Sedi know it.
‘Where were you last night, then?’ I asked, thinking I might as well live vicariously through Sedi in the absence of any social life of my own.
‘Just at a dinner,’ said Sedi, suddenly going all coy.
‘Somewhere nice?’
‘Mayfair.’
I whistled, impressed. Then I peered more closely at Sedi – I was pretty sure she was blushing.
‘Why are you looking at me like that?’ she demanded, pulling the black cap she was wearing further down over her face.
But I was not to be deterred. ‘Were you on adate, DJ? Because you’ve gone all red.’
