Dance for Me

by J.C. Valentine

  “The university cut funding to some of the programs this year. As this is one of the few paying gigs on campus, it was one of the first on the chopping block.”

  Stopping in my tracks, I turn to her. “Paying gig?”

  “Yes.” Her head cants to the side, and she frowns. “Each model gets a hundred dollars for their time and a gift certificate to Jed’s.”

  So free dinner and cash. Suddenly, my earlier concerns don’t seem as pressing.

  “You didn’t know?”

  I shake my head. “I had no idea.”

  “Well, I’m sure now that you do it takes some of the scariness out of it.”

  I grin. “That’s very true.”

  “Do you have any questions for me?”

  “None that I can think of.” But I do have the sudden urge to give Annie a hug and thank her for pushing me. “Thanks for your time.”

  “No problem. Enjoy your evening.”

  I rush home in a better mood than I’ve been in weeks. The boost of adrenalin gets me through a full night of work and even earns me extra tips. The high carries over into the next day, too. Something Ransom seems to pick up on. He smiles more, directs more of his attention to my side of the room. Even Annie notices, nudging me each time he does it.

  Maybe she was paying a little too close attention, though, or I wasn’t paying enough attention to her. I might have seen that she was up to something, but I didn’t. When she lingers after class, I figure she has another question to ask about an assignment.

  I don’t expect her to ask Ransom out.

  “It’s just a little get-together with friends. Nothing fancy.”

  Ransom casts a brief look at me over her shoulder, and I try to communicate my extreme dislike of this turn of events, but he doesn’t seem to notice. Thankfully, he’s on the same page. “I’m sorry, Miss Guerra, I appreciate the offer, but it’s probably best if I don’t.”

  “Is this because you’re a teacher? Because you’ve gotta eat, right? If anyone asks, we can tell them it’s a study group.”

  He cocks an eyebrow. “A study group. At a bar.”

  “Of course. It would be incredibly inappropriate to hold it at your house. This is a public place. No one could question your intent.”

  I completely disagree with her. I doubt if the dean or someone higher up saw one of the instructors sharing drinks with the student body that they’d look very highly on it.

  “I still think I’d better take a pass,” Ransom insists, and I breathe a sigh of relief.

  “Well, we’ll save a seat just in case you change your mind,” Annie presses on. “Even professors have to eat.”

  Ransom and I share a look as Annie breezes by me on her way out the door. Mine is a warning that he’d better not show up tonight. I don’t know what his is.

  The second I step outside, I grab Annie’s elbow and wheel her around. “What are you doing?”

  Her smile is devious. It knocks me back a step because nothing about Annie is devious. At least, I never thought it was. “You might claim that it’s done between you two, but I know better. I don’t know how I never noticed it before, but you two are totally in love!”

  My head snaps back and my nose scrunches at the accusation. “We are not!”

  “Are too! You two can’t keep your eyes off each other. I swear, even with air conditioning, it was a sauna in there today. Hell, you practically burned my clothes off.”

  “Now you’re just exaggerating.” This is the Annie everyone fears. When she gets feisty like this, it’s usually best if everyone gives in or walks away. I’m about to walk away.

  “I’m right. You give him the same look Brody gives you. Admit it, you still want him.”

  “No.” My jaw clenches and I walk faster. Only two hundred and two steps until I reach my car.

  “Admit it!” Annie has to practically jog to keep up because of her short legs.

  “Fuck you!” I snarl and pick up the pace until she’s jogging. But whatever fuel she’s running on today is allowing her to keep up, which isn’t good for me. I round on her, irritated and desperate for her to leave me alone. I’ve closed this chapter. I don’t need her trying to pry it open.

  “What do you want me to say?” I yell at her.

  She isn’t even fazed by my anger. “Just admit that you’re still into him.”

  My eyes narrow on her. I hate this side of Annie. I hate that she makes me look at myself, question myself. Casting my gaze around the parking lot, I reluctantly give her what she wants. “Fine, I’m still into him. But,” I add, cutting off her clapping and delighted squeal, “that doesn’t mean that I’m going after him. It’s over.”

  “I hear you,” she claims, but there’s something about the way she says it that makes me suspicious. “I have to run. We’re meeting at eight tonight, right?”

  I still don’t trust her, but I nod. “Brody said he reserved a table.”

  “Great! I’m bringing Jason. See you there.”

  A night out with friends and Jason. All I can say is that the guy had better be on his best behavior. Assuming he manages to actually show up.

  FOURTEEN

  I spent way too much time picking an outfit, and now I’m late. Jed’s is packed for a weeknight, but Brody’s ability to plan ahead allows me to go straight in. The hostess points me toward a table in the back, and even though I spent the entire afternoon filled with doubt and a creeping sense of unease due to Annie’s strange behavior, I still find myself searching for any sign of Ransom.

  I hate myself for being so weak. Why can’t I just stop thinking about him? I need a distraction, something to help me take my mind off everything. I feel some of the tension I’ve been carrying around dissipate when I spot everyone seated around the table. Brody brought a couple of his friends along, as well as Mitch and Price, who we’ve known for years, and I see that Annie managed to drag Jason along, too. I can’t say that I’m happy to see his blotchy red face, but I am happy that Annie appears happy.

  Brody sees me first, and his wide smile serves an injection of happy. I could be in the worst mood, and one look at him would make everything right again.

  Maybe Annie was onto something. Why am I chasing after someone untouchable, when I have Brody?

  That’s an easy question to answer. It’s the very fact that Ransom is untouchable that makes me crave him. I’ve always been the kind of person who gravitated toward trouble. A shrink would probably tell me that I have daddy issues, or it’s due to my parents’ untimely deaths and having to grow up too fast. And they’d be right because what kind of person could get dealt the hand I have and not be screwed up?

  Unfortunately, I can’t help wanting what I want. The side effect of owning a heart is that you can’t control who it falls for. There’s no reasoning with it, no talking it out of stupid decisions. Even when it’s bound to get burned, it runs headlong into the fire. But people can train themselves to like different things. Can’t they?

  When Brody leaves the table and embraces me, I decide to prove to my heart that it doesn’t rule me, and I give him an extra-long hug. His arms tighten around my shoulders and he kisses my hair in response. When he pulls back, he gives me a strange smile like he’s not quite sure what to make of my behavior. Hell, neither am I. I just know that I need to crush this unhealthy obsession for Ransom before it takes over any more of my life.

  After forcing his friends to move down so I can have the chair directly beside him, Brody pours me a glass of beer from the pitcher sitting in the center of the table.

  “You look beautiful tonight,” he says, leaning down to whisper the compliment in my ear.

  “As opposed to every other night?”

  The kiss he places on my temple is sweet and full of affection. “You know what I meant.”

  I do. Brody always appreciates the way I look, even when I’m at my worst. Finding his heavy thigh under the table, I squeeze it. “Thanks.”

  His eyes catch mine, and he tips his head. It
would be so easy to let myself fall for him. Brody is an easy guy to love. He’s charming and sweet, cute and gentle, and the best part of all—we’re friends. We don’t even have to try to get along because the connection is already there.

  Laying my head on his shoulder, I glance down the table to where Annie and Jason are seated. She’s looking at me with raised brows, and I raise mine right back. I don’t know what message she’s trying to send me, but I hope she gets mine—I don’t need anyone’s approval on how I choose to live my life.

  “Good to see you made it, Jason,” I say, raising my voice so he can hear me over the music. “We missed you last time.”

  He lifts his chin, a gesture I’ve always hated, but only when he does it. “Hey, Joe.”

  That’s about the extent of our exchange. Jason and I used to get along, almost like friends. He was cool, someone I could laugh and joke around with. Then I found out what he was really about. Not wanting to cause trouble or hurt anyone, I distanced myself, but when I saw how his behavior was affecting Annie, Jason and I had a heart-to-heart. It didn’t go well, and Annie still doesn’t know anything about it, but, needless to say, Jason and I will never be friends.

  The waitress arrives with two platters piled high with appetizers and sets them down in the middle of the table, along with plates for everyone. Brody fills mine first, and my eyes widen at the amount of food he gives me.

  “I can’t eat all this.” Hell, I can’t even see the plate.

  “I’ll eat what you don’t,” he says, smiling as he chews on a chili-covered fry.

  “That’s why he did it,” Mitch says. He’s seated across from Brody, and his hazel eyes twinkle with mirth. “I bet half the food on your plate is intended for him. He just wants to make sure none of us get any.”

  Brody pats his flat stomach and grins shamelessly as he chews a stuffed potato. “I’m a growing boy.”

  “That’s nothing. You should see him at breakfast,” the one who vacated his seat for me says. I think his name is Trent. “If you’re not first at the table, there’s a good chance you won’t eat.”

  “This is how it starts,” Mitch says, shaking his head. “A little extra fries here, and a couple more chips there. Before you know it, you’ve become his unwilling partner in crime while all your friends go hungry.”

  I cover my mouth to keep the beer from coming back out as I laugh. “Who says I’m unwilling?”

  Mitch’s jaw drops and Brody belts out a laugh as he slings his arm over my shoulder. “Yeah, Mitch, who says she’s unwilling?”

  Spending time with my friends is always cathartic. The next couple hours pass fast, with a lot of food and even more drinks shared among us. Brody always finds a way to touch me, whether it’s brushing my hair off my shoulder or putting his arm around the back of my chair and absently tracing his fingers down my arm. By the time our empty plates are taken away, he’s given up trying to keep up any pretenses of being just friends, and pulls me into his lap.

  I don’t mind. We’ve always been close, and I love Brody’s affectionate side. It’s always there, but it’s way more intense when he’s been drinking.

  Resting my cheek on top of his head, I push my toe into the floor, rocking us gently to the music as we watch our friends dance.

  “Do you want to dance with me?”

  Closing my eyes, I shake my head. “I like it right here.” The truth is, I’m so tired I could fall asleep right now. That’s what alcohol does for me, makes me sleepy.

  Brody cinches his arms around my waist, pulling me in tighter to his chest. “Me, too. Your boobs make amazing pillows.”

  Jerking back, I slap his chest. “Ass!”

  “What? They do. They’re like little fluffy clouds of heaven.”

  I slap him again. “My boobs are not little.”

  He chuckles, pulling me back so he can nuzzle his scruffy cheek against my cleavage. “Nope, they’re not. They’re exactly the right size.” He hums contentedly, and I feel a little...weird letting him get this close.

  The line of friendship is vanishing too fast.

  Patting his shoulder, I tell him, “It’s getting pretty late. Maybe we should round everyone up and say goodnight.”

  His glassy eyes scan the room. “Yeah, good idea. I’ll drive you home.”

  “No,” I say pushing him back in the chair when he attempts to stand. “You’ve had too much to drink tonight. I’ll bring everyone back here, and then I’ll take you home.”

  When I stand, my head feels a little lighter than usual like it’s not fully attached to my body, but it’s nothing I haven’t experienced before. I’m not a lightweight, but I may have had slightly more to drink tonight than I realized. Still, as I collect everyone and we say our goodbyes, I don’t feel unclear. In fact, I feel pretty steady.

  I allow Brody to lean against me as I lead him to my car, despite him being more than twice my height and weight. The fact that I can do that without falling over adds to my confidence that I am well enough to drive. When I trip over a crack in the parking lot as I head back to the driver’s side, I’m a little less certain, but Brody’s house is only five minutes down the road, and my apartment is only a few more from there. All I have to do is take a little extra care in making sure my attention is on the road.

  I don’t even get the door open when I feel a hand on my shoulder pulling me back.

  “There’s no way in hell you’re getting behind that wheel.”

  When I look up, it’s into Ransom’s seriously pissed off, hard as stone onyx eyes. I’m instantly incensed by his presence. What the hell is he doing here? “Excuse me?”

  “Give me the keys. I’ll drive you two home.”

  “What makes you think I’ll just hand my keys over?”

  Tilting his head to one side, he gives me an impatient look. “I know you’ve been drinking tonight, and you just tripped over your own feet. If you think I’m going to stand back and let you endanger your life and anyone else’s, you’re sadly mistaken.”

  “It was a crack,” I shoot back lamely.

  “There’s no crack, just your clumsy, drunken feet.”

  I laugh. Like, really laugh, with snorts and everything. “Feet can’t get drunk.” Okay, maybe he has a point.

  He gives me a pointed look, and I know I'm beaten. I hand over my keys without further argument because I’m embarrassed to admit that I’m one of those people. The kind that think they’re the exception to the rule, and I know if he hadn’t been here, I might have hurt someone.

  “So what are you doing here? I thought you said you were passing on tonight.” After transferring Brody, who is so out of it he’s asleep the moment his ass hits the backseat of Ransom’s car, I climb into the passenger seat and wait for my answer.

  “Like your friend said, a guy’s gotta eat.” He turns the key in the ignition and pauses. Without looking at me, he adds, “And I might have wanted to see you.”

  Seriously, I’m pathetic because those were the single best words I’ve heard all week. I know I’m grinning like a lunatic, and I can’t stop myself. Giving me a sidelong look, Ransom returns the smile, and then puts the car into drive.

  Brody is passed out cold by the time we reach the frat house, and it takes three of his buddies plus Ransom to get him inside and into bed. I take a moment to pull off his shoes and tuck him in, giving him a kiss on the forehead before I go, because who the hell else is going to do it? After making sure someone will check on him throughout the night, I drive home with Ransom.

  “Do you want some coffee?” I ask as he parks in front of my place. I know what I’m asking, but I can’t get past the fact that he showed up tonight because of me.

  It’s risky, but what I should do and what I want to do are two entirely different things. Earlier, I thought it would be wiser to explore my options and not dismiss Brody. Now, I think life is too short to deny myself. I can deny it until I’m blue in the face, and maybe tomorrow I’ll resort to old habits and do just that, but tonig
ht I want to live a little. I want to have some fun. And I know without a doubt that Ransom can provide it.

  He stares up at the darkened windows as he considers my offer. We both know there is no coffee waiting for either of us behind those doors.

  I’m just about to retract my offer to save some face when he turns off the car and pops open his door. “Coffee sounds nice.”

  FIFTEEN

  Thank God Ransom is on the same page. We barely make it past the front door before we’re tearing at each other’s clothes. I lost my shoes somewhere near the door, my top between the living room and the kitchen, and my pants outside the bathroom. When Ransom pushes me down on the bed, I’m wearing nothing but a pair of lacy black underwear and bra. He’s still fully dressed in his jeans and gunmetal gray button-down shirt. He makes causal sexy in a way no man, I've ever met, can. My stomach flutters in anticipation as he stands between my legs and stares down at me.

  “I don’t know what I’m doing here,” he says, his voice low and rough.

  “You’re here to fuck me.”

  His grimace gives me a moment of panic. Did I say something wrong? What if he walks away? I sit up, smoothing my hands up his torso. “Stop thinking so much. You’re giving me a headache.”

  “I’m sorry.” His fingers burrow into my hair, tugging at the strands as he makes a tight fist at the back of my head. “I just can’t stop thinking about how wrong it is for a teacher to be with a student.”

  “We’re more than that, though.” Being involved prior has to count for something, right? “We’re adults, Ransom. Do you really think anyone would punish us for being attracted to each other?”

  “For acting on it, yes. Definitely.” Despite his words, Ransom leans down, pressing me back into the mattress, and kisses the swell of my breasts. If he cares so much about the rules, he’s certainly not showing it.

  Gripping his biceps, I revel in him, in his touch. It’s been so long. “Then we’d better make sure no one finds out.”

  A growl rumbles in the back of his throat and Ransom surges up, claiming my mouth with a bruising kiss. Our hands move frantically as we remove the rest of the clothing that separates us. Ransom is as eager as I am, but somehow he manages to rein it in.