Page 3 of Coupled (Alphas Forever 3)

Ethan

This wedding dance thing just got a whole lot more interesting.

For the record, I was already into it to begin with. You probably wouldn’t guess it if you looked at me, but I’m a dude who loves to dance. You’ve gotta enjoy life, you know? So I was already in a good mood that day. But then Cara’s sister walked in. And the moment I saw Samantha, I could hardly believe my luck.

The girl is a bombshell.

I just wish I knew why she seems so on edge. As soon as I saw those nervous eyes, I wanted to wrap my arms around her and comfort her. I wanted to tell her, sweetie, whatever’s bothering you, you don’t have to worry about it any more. Whatever it is, I’ll take care of it. I’ll take care of you. When she ran out of the room, I felt the impulse to run after her. If we hadn’t met moments before, I would have.

As soon as she comes back into the studio, I go over to check on her. She looks a little pale, although I can tell that she’s putting on a brave face.

“Everything okay?” I ask, reaching out to touch her arm. She barely comes up to my chest, but the girl lights up the whole room with her beauty.

She glances at my hand and then tentatively raises her eyes to mine. She nods. “Yeah. I’m just a little nervous.”

“Don’t worry,” I tell her. “You’ll do great.”

“Unlikely. I’m a pretty awful dancer.”

“I doubt it,” I say. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the dance instructor enter the room. “Come on,” I say. “It won’t be as bad as you think.”

She gives me a weak smile and we join the rest of the wedding party. The dance instructor welcomes us all with a boisterous hello. She asks us if we’re ready to have some fun, and we hoot in response—all of us except for Samantha, who stands nervously beside me. I place a hand on the small of her back and give her a little reassuring rub. She looks up at me with grateful eyes. Damn, I have to fight the urge to wrap my arms around her. I just want to make this sweet girl feel better.

“Now, before we get dancing, let’s warm up with some stretches,” the instructor says. “Spread out, everyone. Give yourself some room. And follow along with me.”

We do as she tells us to. I’m a big guy and I don’t want to get in anyone’s way, so I stick to the back of the room. Samantha tries to nab a spot at the back, too, but she isn’t able to get one quick enough. So she claims a spot in the row in front of me.

I don’t know if she did that on purpose, but I sure am happy about the view. Her sweet little ass looks so sexy in those tight yoga pants of hers. And when the instructor has us bend over to stretch our hamstrings—fuck. I have to look away, because the view starts to make me hard.

Five minutes later, we’re all warmed up. The instructor tells us to follow along with her as she shows us some basic steps. And it truly is basic stuff. Just simple steps, simple arm movements. Moves I could do in my sleep. But I can tell that Samantha is flustered with even that.

When the instructor finally tells us to pair up with our partners, I give Samantha's hand a squeeze.

“You’re doing great,” I say.

“No, I’m not,” she says, looking frustrated. “I’m totally going to ruin my sister’s wedding.”

“You’re not going to ruin anything,” I say. If she doesn’t want to be with me, though, she’ll ruin me. I know we just met, but when a guy knows, he knows. Samantha and I would be perfect together.

The instructor starts going through the choreography with us, demonstrating the moves first to the music, then slowing them down and taking them step by step. It’s a fun dance that she’s come up with. The guys start on one side of the room, and the girls start on the other. First, we act like we’re checking them out. Then the girls act like they’re calling us out on it, but then we sweep them off their feet and we all dance a routine together.

Every time I come in contact with Samantha, every time I get to slip my hand around her waist or pull her close to me, I want her even more.

This one moment at the end of the routine drives me especially crazy. I’ve got my arms around Samantha, and she’s looking up at me. Her soft curves are all pressed up against my flexed muscles. Her eyes are looking into mine. And maybe she’s just really good at acting, but I swear she’s got lust in her eyes. I swear there’s hot electricity between these two sweaty bodies of ours.

The end of class comes too quickly. Soon, we’re all out in the lobby, tossing around the idea of grabbing lunch somewhere. When I look for Samantha, though, I don’t see her.

I step away from the group and catch sight of her just in time—she’s saying goodbye to her sister and heading out the door. I hurry after her.

“Hey,” I say, catching her just outside the building. “The rest of us are going out to lunch. Join us.”

“That’s okay,” she says. She gets her car keys out of her purse.

“Come on. You have to eat, don’t you?”

Samantha smiles but shakes her head. “Sorry. I can’t.”

I reach out and take her hand in mind. She looks a little surprised, but she doesn’t pull her hand away.

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