Page 31 of Grump's Nanny

With that, Kevin walked away, leaving me confused and bewildered. Kevin didn’t seem to give a shit that I was lusting over his grown nephew’s girlfriend which led me to wonder if there was trouble in paradise.

After all, she hadn’t brought him to the party. And any man who would skip out on parading the gorgeous creature in front of me around a room packed with influential people must not be as committed as he might seem.

After Kevin and Anna departed, I got up the courage to approach Haley once more and ask her for a dance. There weren’t many people taking advantage of the huge dance floor, but Jane and I had taken some ballroom dancing classes two weeks before she’d been diagnosed and I was eager to show off a little if Haley would have me as a partner.

For dancing, that is.

“Hey,” I said, swaggering to where she stood.

“Hey, yourself,” she replied. “Is there a particular reason you’re walking like you’re wearing a diaper?”

Good lord I was out of practice with this shit.

“I was trying to look cool so I could come over here and ask if you’d be willing to share a dance with this old man.”

At first, Haley looked at me like I’d sprouted an extra head, crossing her arms and looking at me curiously.

Then she asked, “What did you have in mind?”

As if orchestrated by cupid himself, Michael Bublé’s “Sway” began to play and Haley shrugged with a grin, presenting her hand to me.

I took it in mine and wrapped my other around her back, feeling for her shoulder blade to make sure I was not only in the right spot, but to prevent myself from “accidentally” slipping lower.

If there’s one thing I can say for my dancing, it’s that, while I needed the instructions and lessons to learn the types of dances,the style aspect of it came easily. Once I learned the mechanics, adding in things like turns or a sway of the hips was like riding a bicycle.

Haley seemed slightly surprised as I moved my body in time with the music, leading her through the classic box step of a rumba, a bit rigid at first, but then slowly loosening my body so that my own fluidity seemed to radiate to her, and by the middle of the song, I had her turning, dipping, and stepping out for various moves that were actually somewhat advanced.

I was surprised at her skill, and eventually I asked her, “Where did you learn to rumba?” There was no way she could have pulled off some of those moves as seamlessly as she had without some level of instruction.

“I took a ballroom dance class in college,” she said. “My partner was a guy Anna was dating at the time, and he ended up being a total creep. Tried to use ‘extra practice’ as an excuse to spend time with me. He grabbed my ass exactly once before I kicked him in the balls and walked out of the studio.”

I winced, just as every man does at the mention of that particular violent act, and chuckled. “Poor guy.”

“Poor guy is right,” she said as I lifted her arm and she spun beneath it before coming back to center, where I was very careful about my hand placement. “He could barely dance at our next lesson. Though I can’t claim full credit for that. Anna low-blowed him too, once I told her what happened, and I think she might have kicked even harder than I did.”

The song came to its crescendo as she finished her story, and I ended the dance with a dip that left her nearly horizontal. We were both slightly out of breath, and I stared at her for a moment, even as the next song—a perfect one for a hustle—came on, and we stood up.

Chapter Thirteen

Haley

Ishould have known I was getting tipsy by the third or fourth drink, but all of the glitz and glamor of the room, and the people in it, were intoxicating in their own way, especially after James came to talk to me. I’d been ready to go to bed, but he’d surprised me with what ended up being some pretty good conversation about skiing, something I never tired of talking about.

The room was completely empty before I even realized it. I was no less than six drinks deep and feeling distinctly relaxed and unfettered.

“When did everyone leave?” I asked. I hadn’t even noticed it happening.

“Slowly over the last hour,” he said, chuckling. “You may have had enough.” He reached for my now empty glass with a glint inhis eye, and I pulled it away in a mock gesture of defiance, and we both laughed.

“Do you need help cleaning up?” I asked, hoping he’d say no, because between my current intoxication level, the party dress, and shoes I wore, I couldn’t imagine cleaning up. The second I thought about the shoes, however, I kicked them off and was met with the immediate relief that comes with taking off something that was uncomfortable, even if you didn’t realize it was uncomfortable before.

“No,” he said, standing up from where he’d been sitting and giving a little stretch. “I have a cleanup crew coming in the morning. We don’t have to worry about it tonight.”

“Oh,” I said. “That’s good. I’m beat.” I looked down at my watch and, once my eyes focused, groaned. “I didn’t realize how late it was. I have to pick the kids up for school in like six hours.”

“Oh, right. Guess you’d better get to bed. Can I walk you home?” James said with a bit of an amused smile.

“But…” I said, trying to piece it together in my slow-moving mind. “But we live together.”

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