Page 43 of Shattered Rhythm

“What if none of them interest me when you’re in the room?” he asks in a low, seductive voice, and my heart starts racing. I push him away gently with my hands on his chest, and he steps back easily.

“Does that line normally work for you?” I reply with a teasing smile. He smirks in response, and I make my way to the middle of the dance floor, trying to think of a way to change the subject. I want to talk to Chase some more, but his flirty demeanor is too much for my heart.And my panties.

He comes around to stand in front of me, smiling, and I notice Chase is wearing black sweatpants and a faded dark shirt with a Tatooine print, showing both suns.

“That routine looked like a lot of fun. You’re really good, Chase, as a dancer and a teacher,” I say.

“Thank you. That means a lot coming from such a talented dancer like you,” he replies, hooking his pinky finger in mine. I look down at our hands and smile at the cute gesture that seems to be our thing now. “You want to try the routine?” he asks, and I grin.

“Don’t you have places to be? Things or girls to do?” I ask teasingly.

“Nothing or no one I’d rather do,” he says with a shrug, and I can’t help but laugh.

“Sure, show me your routine. I want to learn the ways of the Force,” I say, making a Star Wars reference, and his whole face lights up.

“Patience, you must have, my young padawan,” he replies in his best Yoda impression as he walks to his phone to turn the music back on.

He demonstrates the routine once again, and I watch intently, taking mental notes of every move, then we start practicing together. It’s an absolute blast, and we’re laughing the entire time. Chase is being flirty as hell, and every time he shows me a new move, he makes sure to put his hands on me to correct my form, even though I know my technique is pretty much flawless.The man definitely has game.All the touches and flirting are getting me turned on, and I begin to flirt back a bit.

After finishing the whole routine for the first time, I hear clapping, so I look down to see Jaxon, Ryder, and River standing in the hallway by the chairs.

“Since you didn’t come to the meeting we set up earlier, we figured we have to check if something is keeping you,” Jaxon says to Chase.

“Or someone,” Ryder adds on a fake cough.

The implication hits me hard, and I feel a sinking feeling in my chest. Of course Chase does this with all his female students—use private dance lessons as a way to get handsy and charm his way into their pants. I’m just another dumb chick that fell for his charm. I should be glad they came in right now. I don’t know if I would have stopped where this was going.

God, I’m so fucking stupid.

My face falls, and I quickly go grab my water bottle, but Chase follows me and turns me around with a hand on my shoulder.

“We good, gorgeous?” he asks.

“Sure, why not?” I reply, forcing a curt smile. “Thanks again for taking time for me.” I step out of his grasp and make my way down the stage, only to be intercepted by River and Ryder by the exit, while Jaxon gets up on the stage to talk with Chase.

“Hey, Liv, what’s up?” River asks, looking at me with concern.

“Did Chase give you a hard time?” Ryder teases with a smirk, and I can feel my cheeks flush with embarrassment.

“No, he was great. I just…have some things to take care of,” I say, trying to move past them, but they don’t budge.

“Come on, Liv, you can talk to us,” River insists, his eyes gentle, so I take a deep breath and decide to confide in them.

“I don’t know. I just feel stupid, I guess, like I fell for some player’s charm,” I admit, feeling vulnerable. Ryder’s smirk fades, and he puts a hand on my arm.

“Hey, don’t talk like that. You’re not stupid,” he says firmly, trying to comfort me. “He’s just…Chase.”

River gives me a reassuring smile and adds, “He does care about you a lot though.”

“Sure,” I say, trying to brush off the topic. I’m done talking about Chase and his flirty behavior.River seems to get that and changes the subject.

“Hey, we talked about hanging out more last week and watching a movie. Are you free tomorrow night? We could go to a cinema, but like I said, our living room is nearly a cinema itself,” he suggests with a smile. I smile back, feeling better already at the thought of hanging out with the two of them some more.

“Sure, that sounds great. Let’s watch a movie at your place.”

“Awesome, you’re going to love it!” Ryder says as he puts his arm around my shoulder and guides me out of the studio, River following closely behind.

CHAPTERTWENTY-FIVE

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