Page 18 of The Promised Prince
“I’m going to need to see.” He added in his most official voice, “We can’t have people throughout the countryside claiming to be excellent dancers when they’re not.”
She brushed the crumbs off her skirt and stood up, reaching for his hand. “All right, but I need a partner. Do you think you can keep up?”
A smirk formed on his lips. “I’ve danced a time or two.” Trev grabbed her outstretched hand, electricity sizzling between them. It had been a long time since he’d felt this way and man, it felt good. She smiled too and then pulled him to a spot away from the blanket, placing him across from her.
“We need a beat to get us started,” Renna said. She stomped her foot wildly on the ground over and over, dust flying into the air. She nodded at him to see if he caught the pattern of the beat. “Recognize this?”
It was a popular folk song rhythm he’d danced to many times at parties. “Of course.” He reached for her hand again, and they started to chassé to the left in rhythmic moves.
Typically, Trev was an excellent dancer, but Renna made him nervous. He had to think about every move, what step came next, and where his hands were supposed to go. As he worried about trying to impress her, she tripped on his foot, almost falling. They both laughed, neither of them sure of whose fault it was. With each step or direction change, their laughter grew louder. They no longer followed the pattern of the dance, but instead spun around faster and faster.
“I think I’m going to be sick!” Renna broke free of the circle and spun to a stop. She focused on the ground with her hands on her hips, trying to will the dizziness away. It didn’t work. Losing her balance, she toppled over and landed on her back in the grass.
Trev burst into laughter. “You’re right,” he said, fighting his own dizziness until he made it to the ground next to her. “You are the best dancer I’ve ever seen!”
By this time, Renna laughed so hard that she couldn’t speak, or at least Trev couldn’t make any sense out of the words she said.
“I definitely think you should teach lessons. People would come for miles to witness your graceful movements.”
She hit him on the arm. “You’re making fun of me!”
“Your dancing deserves it!”
“I want another chance!” She stretched out, holding her stomach where the pains of laughter still lingered. “With real music and beautiful dresses so I can prove how good I am.”
“Maybe you aren’t excellent after all, but no one has dared to tell you.”
Renna tugged at a handful of grass and threw it at him. His eyes flickered with amusement, but he didn’t move. She grabbed another handful of grass and threw it at him again. He ignored her, so naturally, she pulled out more grass and knelt in front of him, piling it on top of his head like a bird’s nest.
He grabbed her arms and pushed her to her back again, the bird’s nest on his head scattering down over her. She squealed as his legs straddled her torso, restraining both her wrists with his one hand while the other plucked fresh grass.
“You don’t stand a chance!” He pulled at the grass around them, throwing it onto her in big mounds. Renna shook her head and her body trying to break free, laughing the entire time.
“Do you give up?” he asked.
“Yes! Yes!” she screamed, still trying to wiggle free.
Trev held a pile in his hand, ready to attack. “I’m not sure I can trust you.”
“I think you got it in my mouth,” she said as she spat into the air.
“You started it,” he said innocently. “You’re like a twelve-year-old.”
She laughed and squirmed again, trying to free herself.
“How old are you anyway?” he asked, still holding her firmly to the ground.
“Eighteen.” She gave one last struggle for freedom, but to no avail. “How old are you?”
“Twenty four,” Trev answered. He could feel the heaviness of her breathing beneath him, and for a moment, it was like everything in his life paused. This strange girl made him feel differently than he ever had. He studied her, her flushed cheeks, her soft lips, her green eyes that always seemed alight with passion about something. She was intoxicating. There was something about Renna that connected with him—a pull toward her he couldn’t deny.
But heneededto deny it. He was engaged.
The thought stung, and he quickly rolled his body off of hers. Trev gestured behind him to his PT. “I should probably get going.” He needed to put some space between them, even if he didn’t want to.
Renna
Renna let outa long breath, regret flaring inside her. She shouldn’t have been with a man on the ground like that. It had been innocent fun at first. Then something had changed in Trev’s expression, and suddenly their playful moment had turned intimate.
