Page 67 of Heir of Fire
Because Finn Kingsley was in love with Gianna Moretti.
THIRTY
GIANNA
Bliss.That was Gianna’s new favorite word. It was all she had been experiencing since they came back from their date and continued their secret little meet ups late at night or while they took the bike out. She was completely enthralled, constantly giggly like a schoolgirl with a new crush.
It sickened her.
But she loved it.
All she wanted to do was talk about it to everyone and anything, but that was the one downside. She couldn’t. She could talk about it to Cecilia, but even then it wasn’t the same because she wanted to be able to get all the girls in on it. She missed the group gossip and being able to talk about everything together.
While she was avoiding life with Finn, she was able to forget that so many people in her life didn’t know about their relationship yet. The thought made her anxiety constantly flare, which caused her to push herself too much during practice, so then she was left messing up time and time again.
She let out a frustrated groan, pushing small bits of hair back that escaped from her bun. The studio was empty now, save for a couple of people who might have still lingered in the fitness room next door. Otherwise, she had the studio to herself,which she preferred. She hated messing up in front of her teacher, whose nose flared every single time Gianna’s leg wasn’t curled enough or when her face wasn’t serene because she was concentrating instead on getting every move right.
When she was alone, she could let the music consume her without worrying about anyone’s watchful eye.
“That wasn’t a very elegant noise.” Finn’s voice came from behind her, forcing Gianna to turn around.
She snorted. “Yeah, well most things in life aren’t.”
He approached her, letting his hands settle on her waist. “What’s got you so frustrated?”
“I can’t get the move right and it’s making me over think it. And when I overthink it, I just get more in my head about it when really I should be trying to get out of my head so I could just let my body move. Even now, I’m wasting time trying to explain it to you when I need to just figure it out,” Gianna said with a huff, throwing her head onto his chest. “I’m so tired.”
Finn pressed a kiss to her head, wrapping his arms around her. Surprisingly, the action did help her. It soothed her enough to make her think logically, even if only for a second.
“What do you usually do to get yourself out of ruts like this?” he asked.
She shrugged, pulling away to look at him. “Usually, I just dance until my feet bleed, then go home and eat while soaking them in ice water to forget about it all.”
He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, that sounds healthy.”
“Well, what do you recommend?”
“Why don’t you go through the dance, and I can help you with the part you keep messing up on. You said it was some kind of jump or whatever, so I’ll help you. Maybe I can see something you can’t.”
Gianna thought about it for a second. It wouldn’t hurt to try. At this point, she really didn’t have much to lose other than herdignity if she fell and completely embarrassed herself in front of him.
She nodded her head. “Fine. Sit against the wall.”
She tried to walk away, but he held her in place for a moment longer. Before she could ask what was wrong, he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her lips, allowing it to linger there for a moment before he pulled away once again.
“You almost forgot that, by the way,” he said, finally going to the wall.
“God forbid,” she muttered, a small smile sneaking its way onto her lips.
He took her phone that was connected to the speaker, settling down on the floor while she faced away from him to look at herself in the mirror.
Finn shook his head. “No, try doing it without looking at yourself. Act like this is a performance. You wouldn’t be able to stare at yourself if you were actually performing.”
She turned around. “I also wouldn’t have a crowd of only one person.”
“Am I making you nervous?”
It did make her nervous. She was either comfortable performing for a group of people or for no one at all, not doing a one-on-one with someone like Finn who already made her stomach flutter uncontrollably.
