Page 10 of Promises & Pumpkins
I resisted the urge to memorize every curve of her body in the tight jumpsuit, and it took all of my self-control not to imagine tearing the sheer tights covering her thighs. “Why didn’t you say something?” I asked.
“When was I supposed to say something?” She planted her hands on her hips, popping one leg out to the side. “Oh, you’re so good at eating my pussy. By the way, I coach ballet? I mean, you didn’t even tell me you had a daughter. When was this going to come up organically?” When she pursed her lips, I felt a small twinge of guilt. I hadn’t meant to blindside her.
“Okay, that’s fair.” I put my hands up in gentle surrender, hoping to ease some of the tension swirling between us.
“Yeah, I thought so.” Harper relaxed her arms at her side, glancing at the class over her shoulder. “Anyway, I should get going. Class ends at four thirty. You’re welcome to stay and watch or you can come back then. Most of the parents do the latter.” Harper half-turned to the side like she was ready to walk away.
“Don’t talk to me like there isn’t something between us.” Wasn’t there? It had all been too easy to think we weren’t compatible.
Harper shook her head. “There isn’t. It was just one night.” A small smile pulled at her lips like she had the same thought I did.One really great night.“I really should get going. It was good to see you.”
When she turned, she stretched onto her toes, spinning slightly before she danced over to join the rest of the class and leaving me in the cloud of her sweet scent and her insistence that she wasn’t interested.I’m just not really looking for anything serious right now.I groaned. Everything with my new neighbor was getting a lot more complicated.
Chapter 10
Harper
“First position.” A room of little feet shuffled to the right place. “Very good. Third position.” I smiled when most of them did it again, giggling when a few small faces scrunched to try and remember that their front heel should line up with the middle of their back foot. When a couple stumbled, Kelly moved over to help them.
The second class was almost over, and parents were starting to filter in through the front door. I tried to avoid looking over my shoulder each time the door opened, keeping my focus on the gaggle of little girls struggling to keep their focus while the temptation to wave at their moms grew stronger. Their focus started to slip in the form of stifled giggles.
“Okay, okay.” I clapped my hands together lightly to bring their focus back to me. “Let’s show your parents what you learned today. Hand on the bar.”
A patter of hands clasping onto the bar echoed down the line. “Hi, Mommy! Are you watching?” one of them asked, even though all of the parents were lined up along the side of the mat. When the door opened again and Maddie’s smile grew wider, I could feel Miles’ eyes on me, and I took a deep breath.He’s just another one of the parents, Harper.
“Ready, ballerinas?” I asked, earning an excited nod from each. “Now plié. Remember to bend your knees!”
A small chorus of oohs and ahhs came from the small audience waiting to take their daughters home. When the girls stood up straight again, Kelly and I clapped. “Beautiful, girls! Absolutely beautiful,” she said, winking at me. “You’re all starting to look like real ballerinas now. We’ll see you all in a couple days!”
The girls scurried past us toward their parents, some holding hands and others practically racing. Was it just me, or were they taking longer than normal to leave? I avoided turning around, listening while the door opened and closed with each group that walked out.
“Okay, spill,” Kelly said, walking up behind me. Even with the abundance of mirrors in the studio, I hadn’t seen her walk up behind me. I sucked in a deep breath to get my suddenly rapidly beating heart to return to a normal pace.
“Spill what?”
She looked at me like I had insulted her, resting her hands on her hips and cocking her head to the side with a scowl. “Don’t do that. Why are you being so weird today?”
I shrugged, gathering the small blocks we had used during class for balance. “I’m not being weird.”
“Yes, you are.” Kelly took one of the blocks from me and narrowed her eyes. “Is it because the hottie single dad from the other day has been staring at you since he walked in the door?”
I rolled my eyes. “He’s not staring at me.” The goosebumps on my arms and the hair on the back of my neck that stood on end said otherwise.
“He’s totally staring at you, and every single mom in this place knows it, too.” She smirked, and I looked back over my shoulder. When I made eye contact with Miles, I gasped, whipping my head back around. “Oh, now he’s coming this way,” Kelly said, clearly excited for my pending embarrassment.
“Shit, shit.” I looked around for a quick excuse to escape. “Act natural,” I said, cradling the blocks against my body.
Kelly laughed. “I’m acting fine. You’re the one who looks like you’re about to pass out.”
I glared at her. “Ugh, nobody asked you anyway. Will you just go away?” When she didn’t move, I nudged her by shoving the blocks into her arms. “You can take these. Nowgo.”
“Maddie absolutely loves coming to dance class,” Miles said when he was close enough for me to hear him. I spun around, smiling too wide to be natural.
“Oh, hey,” I said like I hadn’t been anticipating this moment since he walked in the door. “We really love having her in class. She’s so sweet.”
Miles looked back to where Maddie spun in small circles by one of the benches and smiled. Then he looked back at me, and his smile changed with the slow once over he gave me. I felt his eyes drag along every curve of my body while he did. “So areyou,” he said, and my cheeks betrayed me with their warmth. I knew I was blushing when his eyebrow twitched. “When you blush like that, I can’t help but shoot my shot again. Let me take you out.”
“I’m really not the dating type.” I shook my head, unable to come up with another excuse.
