Page 77 of Just a Little White Lie

“Sloppy my ass, old man.”

I can feel a hard glare creeping into my eyes, and it takes everything in me to soften my expression and not tell the kid where he can shove his bad attitude.

Forcing a light tone, I tell it to him straight. “Every dancer in the world starts out sloppy. You work hard, you practice your ass off, and that sequence you put together is gonna be amazing.”

Maverick eyes me up, obviously clinging to his bravado and maybe hating the way I still tower over him, even though he’s the tallest student in the class. I rise a little taller—I can’t help myself—and cross my arms.

He needs to know that I won’t be intimidated, or put up with his insults.

The standoff lasts for another few seconds, and it’s like we’re stuck in some old Western movie.

I can’t be the only one to feel it, because Lauren whistles a cowboy tune—you know, the one that plays while the tumbleweed rolls across the bottom edge of the screen—and it breaks the tension.

Gotta love that woman.

Arlo laughs.

“Good one, Miss.” He shoves Maverick’s shoulder and gets a dark look of reprimand in return.

Dante steps up with an eye roll. “Stop messing around, you guys. We’ve got work to do.” He points to me. “You staying, Old-School? It’d be nice to have your help.”

As much as I’m not loving all this old man/old-school talk, I can’t help a smile.

Dante’s getting into this, I can see the others are too. Lauren’s little crew of misfits is starting to rise to this challenge, and I want this for her. She could use the win.

My smile grows a little bigger, and I point across the room. “All right, you lot, get into positions. Let’s take it from the top.”

I play it tough and work these kids into a sweat. I’m not hesitant about making them redo moves until every member of the group has got it right. It pisses a few of them off, but I really don’t care. I want to give them the best shot at success, and if they want to place at the competition, they need to be as close to perfect as we can get them.

They look relieved when the bell rings, and as they trail out of the room for morning break, I wonder how much complaining is going on behind my back.

Lauren approaches me with a small grin, running her finger down my slick arm.

“You worked hard too, and I appreciate that.” The look in her eyes makes my insides warm. “You’re not asking these guys to sweat alone while you stand on the sidelines and order them around. You’re dancing with them, and I think that’s the only reason they worked so damn hard this morning.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure they hate me right now.”

She laughs and shakes her head. “You’re a really good dancer.” Her grin is adorable, and when she rises to her tiptoes, my chest stirs with anticipation. “You’reveryenjoyable to watch.” She wiggles her eyebrows, and I snatch her against me with a little laugh. Lifting her off her feet, I swing her around and forget the fact that I’m sweaty, holding her against me because I don’t want to do anything else.

“They worked hard this morning. Maverick’s a pain in the ass, but I guess you’re stuck with him.” I set her back on her feet but leave my hand on her hip. I love the way her body fits so well against mine. Each curve seems made for my palm, a perfect fit… a place to settle.

She leans into me so my hand slides around the small of her back. I love the way it dips just before cresting out to form her flawless butt. My fingers want to inch a little lower, fill my hands with her and lift her off her feet again. Her legs might wrap around me, and then we can spend the morning break making out like two horny teenagers.

But then she starts talking, and her tone is serious enough to make me listen.

“I know you don’t want to hear this, but he’s kind of the leader. I need him. The others look up to him. They trust him, and we can’t afford to lose that.”

I scratch the top of my head, not loving that fact. “He’s just got so much attitude.” I hate the way he talks to me, the way he talks to Lauren sometimes. Where’s the freaking respect?

It bugs me that kids like him get away with it. I know he’s had a rough time. I don’t envy him, and I wish it could be different. But that doesn’t change the fact that Lauren is amazing and has done so much for him already. I want him to drop the attitude and be grateful for what he’s got. Does he even know how lucky he is?

Lauren purses her lips, resting her hand on my chest and getting my attention with her soft touch. “They all have attitude, but yeah, him in particular. I think he expects adults to treat him badly, so he throws off this warrior vibe. It’s like some kind of defense mechanism. Like he’s trying to protect himself before you even open your mouth. I don’t know.” She shrugs. “He’s growing on me.”

“Just as long as he doesn’t treat you badly.”

She gets this sweet look on her face, and I trail my finger across her cheekbone and down the side her neck. I love touching her. She’s soft and smooth and—

She rises up to meet me, pressing her lips against mine. I relish the taste of her, quickly deepening the kiss and loving the way she folds against me.

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