Page 28 of My First Mistake
“Focus!” Samuel barks, clapping again. “Dancing is not supposed to be fun!”
Addie pulls a confused face and mouths, “Seriously?”
I make a shushing gesture with my lips before she gets us into more trouble, and the eye roll she gives me in return does something to me. Something that makes me want to bring her bratty side out to play. I glance around the room and confirm everyone is too focused on their steps to notice what we’re doing. And I know I might be opening myself up to a swift kick in the balls here, but I do it anyway, I swat Addie’s ass. A gentle tap, but enough for her eyes to blow wide and her mouth to drop open. She doesn’t miss a single step though.
“Did you just?” she mouths.
“I warned you not to roll your eyes at me,” I mouth back.
She presses her lips together, trying to look indignant, but her pupils are so dark it’s hard to see the sparkling hazel of her eyes. Her lips twitch now, like she wants to smile, but daren’t. The skin at the base of her neck turns a light shade of pink, the faint blush disappearing beneath the collar of her sweater—a place where I’d very much like to explore right now. I’d love nothing more than to see just how far that blush goes.
She tries to stomp on my standing foot with her heel, but I dodge her, and then maneuver her into a twirl, a move that was not sanctioned by Samuel and which therefore draws me a thorough scolding. I think this is the first time in my life I’ve been given a dressing down by a man in Cuban heels.
When Samuel is done berating me, Addie and I resume our scripted dance and she’s practically vibrating from suppressing her laughter, and we resume our silent argument.
“That was your fault.”
She tilts her chin, a smirk on her pretty face. “It was no less than you deserved.”
I growl, yanking her body even closer to mine, and then I dip my head enough so that I can press my mouth close enough to her ear and speak without Samuel or anyone else hearing. “You, my naughty Firefly, deserve an actual spanking for that.”
Her breath catches in her throat and I feel the shiver run through her body. She likes the sound of that, even if she’s not going to admit it to me.
“And done!” Samuel announces. “Let us take a short break and then we will practice again.”
Addie steps back, her eyes full of fire as they burn into mine. I’m probably going to hell for all of the things I’m currently thinking about doing to her right here in this dance studio, but that doesn’t stop me from thinking them.
Chapter 15
Addison
# Never ask questions you don’t want to know the answers to
We had a lovely dinner after the dance rehearsals and I got to spend some time with Brax and Eva before they headed off to their cabin, barely able to keep their hands off each other as soon as they got out of the door. As happy as I am for them to have found their person, I can’t help but feel a pang of envy too. Because why can’t I find that? Chase was also with us, of course, and I will admit that it wasn’t entirely terrible being in his company
After dinner, we walk back to the cabin, both of us fairly quiet. I assume he’s tired, or full from dinner—or both. But I’m quiet because I’m not entirely sure what happened between us when we were dancing earlier. It definitely felt like he was flirting with me, and I’m sure I flirted back. Or are we justtoo familiar with each other that I can’t decipher the difference between that and Chase just being Chase.
And what the hell does all of that even mean if it’s true? Two days ago, I hated him. At least I spent eight years of my life convincing myself I hated him.
Clearly, I don’t.
Clearly, I am losing my mind.
When we getinto the cabin, Chase lights the fire in the living room, and I make some tea. Ginger for me. Rooibos for him.
I add a small shot of bourbon to each and then we sit in front of the fire, each of us staring into the flames and a ton of unspoken tension between us. When I can’t bear the silence any longer, I take a sip of tea and find the courage to speak. “So, the spanking?” I blurt out.
He smirks at me, an eyebrow raised in amusement. “You liked the sound of that, did you, Firefly?”
Yes, I did, but I will never admit that aloud to you. “No, I mean the actual spanking. You smacked my ass while we were dancing.”
He shrugs. “You rolled your eyes. Did I or did I not warn you there would be consequences if you kept doing that?”
“Yes, but I didn’t think you actually meant it.”
He turns a little in his seat, like he’s giving me his full attention. “I don’t say things I don’t mean, Addie.”
I know those words weren’t intended to hurt me, but my heart splinters open anyway. “Well, we both know that’s not true, don’t we?”
