Page 24 of Return to McCall

Alex turned to face Lily and laid a warm hand on her thigh. Lily swallowed hard and looked up. “I sat down beside you as the bartender was pouring your whiskey. You were so intent that I don’t think you noticed me. You just closed your eyes and brought it to your nose, breathing it in. I just sat there and watched you experience it with your whole body.”

Lily looked up and met Alex’s eyes. They were sparked with gold and glittering with the reflection of the lake water.

??“It was the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Lily smiled and slipped her hand under Alex’s, still warm on her thigh. Relief settled in her chest as the music stopped, and Alex squeezed her hand.

“Your turn, Ms. Larimar.” She nodded in the direction of the record player just inside the cabin. “I’ll just sit right here and see what you come up with.”

“Oh, great.” Lily rolled her eyes. “At least there’s no pressure.” She shot Alex a wink as she went inside, where she found the rustic pine box full of Alex’s albums and started thumbing through them. She was looking for something specific, something she knew would be there, and it was. Lily dropped the vinyl out of a cardboard sleeve with worn, sun-faded edges and centered it on the player, dropping the needle onto the record carefully. Music filled the cabin, instantly warming the air with a sultry Cuban vibe.

“I knew it.” The door opened, and Alex smiled as she came back into the cabin with both drinks in one hand. “Buena Vista Social Club. I knew that’s what you’d look for.”

“I just love it. It feels like you could just wander down a street in Cuba and find them playing in some club with the doors thrown open and the audience sitting in random chairs on the sidewalk.”

Alex put their drinks on the stack of books in the windowsill, then offered Lily her hand.

“What?” Lily tilted her head for a split second before it dawned on her. “Oh no. I can’t dance. I mean, I’ve literally never done real dancing.”

Alex just smiled, her hand still extended between them.

“Like…ever.”

Alex slid one hand warm around the small of her back, pulling Lily lightly against her. “You don’t have to know how to dance.” She paused, then bit Lily’s lower lip, soft as air, brushing it gently with the warmth of her tongue as she stepped back. “You just have to trust me enough to follow.”

Lily took Alex’s hand again as she taught her a basic salsa step, which turned out to be a repetitive step forward with one foot, then back with the other. The acoustic Cuban rhythm melted into the air around them, pushing their bodies closer, until Alex took her hand in hers and raised them to shoulder level.

??“Hold your frame.” Alex looked at Lily’s arm and pushed against her hand until Lily pushed back slightly. “There you go. Keep me in my place.”

Lily arched an eyebrow as Alex started the step for them again, holding her eyes. Their bare feet were silent against the wood floor, and Alex’s rhythm was sure and constant. The heat between them shimmered, as real and tangible as the music.

“I’m going to spin you into a half turn. Just keep that basic step going.”

“Wait, what?”

Alex spun her so that Lily’s back was against her body. They both were still doing the same basic salsa step, only now Lily felt every inch of Alex behind her as she moved. Alex’s breath brushed the delicate skin of her neck, and she closed her eyes as she listened. “Now we’re going to spin back.” Lily nodded, focusing on the heat of Alex’s body behind her. “Just let me move you.”

Alex spun her back, but this time there was no space between them, and the rhythm of the music hung in the air as if they were dancing under last shards of a sunlit Havana evening. The energy between them was intense as Alex slipped one thigh between hers while the music dripped heat in the background. Time was slow and silent as Alex pushed her hand slightly forward, and Lily leaned back from the waist until her hair touched Alex’s hand at her hip.

“Goddamn.” Alex’s voice was raw, as intense as the music behind them. She brought her slowly back up, unfolding Lily’s body onto hers, until only breath hovered warm between their lips. “That was unbelievably beautiful.”

Lily closed her eyes. Alex traced her cheek with her thumb as the music stopped, and the needle fell silent against the record as dawn started to shimmer against the windows.

* * *

Lily pushed open the door to Gus’s Place later that morning and spotted Sara in the corner, settled onto one of the cozy couches by the windows with a white ceramic diner mug of coffee in hand. She hurried over and sank down on the couch beside her, leaning in for a hug. It was so good to see Sara, although Lily had almost slept through her alarm. After the dance, she’d slept for a couple of hours in Alex’s bed, her still damp hair warm against her chest, and the last thing she remembered was Alex’s fingertips trailing over her back as she fell asleep.

“I’m so sorry I’m late.” Lily settled back into the plush cushions and sighed as a server handed her a latte in an identical mug. “Last night was a late one, and it was hard to get out of bed this morning.”

“So tell me everything.” Sara laughed and pulled her feet up underneath her on the couch. She took a sip of coffee and leaned in. “What’s happening with Alex?”

“What?” Lily just managed not to spray latte foam across the coffee table in front of them. “How could you possibly know about Alex?”

Sara laughed, leaning back and cradling her mug in her hands. “Well, when Sam came home that first night and told me you were here, I couldn’t understand why she hadn’t invited you to stay at the house, but she said she put you in with Alex.” Sara winked at Lily over the rim of her cup. “She didn’t seem to get it, but I saw this coming from that moment on.”

“Well, not that I hate being in a cabin with the hotness that is Alex.” Lily reached up to take the menu that the waitress handed her and shook her head. “But there’s no way I would have wanted to intrude on your house. It’s bad enough I showed up out of nowhere and expected you two to have a place for me at the retreat.”

Sara laughed, sweeping her blond hair up into a makeshift bun that she quickly speared with a pen from her pocket. “Are you kidding? That was the best news I’d had in ages.” She stopped short and nodded at the server, who was power walking back to their table. “Do you know what you want to eat?” She laid her menu on the table and dropped her voice. “My new server Allison has the tableside manner of an Olympic sprinter. She’s a godsend when we’re busy, though, so I’m not complaining.”

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