With me.
Chapter Nine
Rayna
For some inexplicable reason, I did what Josh asked.
I forgot about the other three people in the studio and danced with him. Just him and me.
It was one of the most liberating moments of my life, and each time he lifted me, I felt like I would spring wings and soar.
When he picked me up in his arms, I embraced him tight, and buried my face in his neck. I hadn’t planned on it, but my lips grazed his skin, and I heard a sound like a strangled groan coming from his throat. For one second his body tensed, then he released me and resumed our dance.
Then came the first peck on the lips. For the first time, I met him halfway and lingered on the kiss for one more second. My lips tingled as I pulled away, but that didn’t stop me from smiling. I could see that smile reflected in his eyes as I danced away and he followed.
Then it was time for the real kiss.
Slowly, Josh walked toward me from across the studio, his blue eyes on mine, intent, serious, too much in character for my taste. When he was right in front of me, he clasped his hands on my waist and pulled me up so I was standing en pointe. Butterflies danced in my stomach, and I fought the shaking that spread through me as Josh put one hand on the back of my head while his other arm wrapped around my waist. His mouth collided with mine. We fit more perfectly than I remembered, and for a moment, I was lost in him. Like one of the videos we had seen, Josh dipped me down, his lips brushing against mine. It was not a real, open-mouthed kiss, but it sent rivulets of fire and desire into me all the same.
Straightening, Josh twisted me around and finally let me go. Like a star-struck Juliet, I gazed at him, too stunned to move, until the cue in the song prompted me to turn and run up the pretend stairs.
We were where we had started, across the studio floor, watching each other with loving, pleading eyes, as if I was on the balcony and he was on the ground, and we couldn’t be together forever.
The music ended and Madam Petrov let out a huge sigh. “That was …” She smiled at us. “That was lovely.” She turned to me. “You, my dear. I don’t know what happened, but I saw the change when you danced. Really danced. Bravo.”
I smiled at her, until I caught sight of my mother standing behind her. With narrowed eyes and mouth set into a thin line, my mother watched me like a hawk.
Uh-oh.
“Madam Petrov,” my mother said. “May I talk to you for a minute?”
“Of course.” Madam Petrov walked out of the studio with my mother, who, before stepping out, shot me another glare.
Once they were gone from sight, I exhaled deeply.
With his arms crossed, Josh walked to me. “I agree with her, you know.”
I shifted my weight, already too conscious that we had kissed. Again. “About?”
“You were great this last time. I mean, you’re always a great dancer, but this time …” He ran a hand over his hair. “You were something else.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “Thank you.” I was going to leave it like that, but I felt like I owed him something. “I think …I think it was your words. About forgetting about them.” And dancing with you.
One corner of his lips pulled up. “I’m glad I could help.”
“Don’t glo—” I heard my mother’s voice rising and turned to the door. Madam Petrov listened intently as my mother said something to her. Whatever it was, it didn’t look good. I lost the smile and sighed.
Josh followed my line of sight. “What is it?”
“I … I don’t know,” I said, being honest. I had no idea why they were arguing and why Madam Petrov allowed my mother to talk to her like that.
Josh dropped his arms and took another step closer to me. “Hey, so, after we’re done here, I’m gonna meet up with my roommate. He’s in a dance crew and they have a rehearsal tonight. It’s supposed to be fun and …” I knitted my brows together and he paused. “Anyway, I thought you would like to come. It should be cool to see them dancing.”
I glanced to the door once more. My mother said one last thing to Madam Petrov and marched away, stomping her foot like a defiant child.
“Tonight isn’t a good night,” I whispered, knowing that, with my mother in this mood, she wouldn’t let me go anywhere other than our private dance studio, where she would put me through the workout of my life. I sighed and didn’t look at him again as I said, “I’m sorry.”
As if nothing had happened, Madam Petrov entered the studio and asked us to dance again.
***
Josh
I didn’t end up going to see The S Team’s rehearsal on Tuesday. Or Wednesday. Or Thursday.
For the rest of the week, Rayna was even more reserved and stiff, as if I had said something that had hurt her, but as much as I wracked my mind to try to remember it, nothing came to mind. Even the touches and kisses from the dance had been dialed back down a little. She didn’t shy away from them anymore, but she didn’t let me linger. And she definitely didn’t move her lips with mine on the last kiss.
As much as I wanted to, I hadn’t invited her to come with me to The S Team’s rehearsal again. I was sure she would say no and I would only feel worse about it.
On Friday, Rayna surprised me.
After rehearsal, she stayed in the studio longer than usual, lazily untying her pointe shoes and undoing the bun in her hair. I was working up the nerve to ask her to do something—to show me another hidden wonder of New York, or even pretend I hadn’t seen the coffee shop across the street and ask her where I could get some coffee nearby, in hopes she would take me there herself—when her phone dinged.
She picked it up, checked her messages, and let out a loud sigh.
“Hey,” I said, approaching her. “Is everything okay?”
She didn’t answer me right away and, as she shoved her things inside her tote and stood up, I thought she wouldn’t. Then, she looked at me, a ghost of a smile on her lips. “Are your friend and his crew rehearsing tonight?”
“I think so, yeah. Why?”
She closed one hand around the straps of her tote. “If your offer still stands, I would be glad to go with you.”
The shock froze me for three long seconds. “Sure.” I grinned at her. “Let’s go.”
Like the other day, Rayna and I changed out of our dance clothes before meeting in the lobby downstairs. As she descended the stairs, I sucked in a sharp breath. She looked so, so pretty in a casual dark green dress, a cropped denim jacket, and ballet flats. Her dark hair was loose down her back, like a wild, dark wave. And her face … I sighed, knowing all too well that I shouldn’t allow my thoughts to go in that direction. This—her and me going to see Robbie and his friends dancing—was another attempt to break the ice between us, to keep the awkwardness away until the competition was done. Nothing more.
Yeah, right.
I should tell that to my body and the way it heated up just looking at her.
I cleared my throat as she walked up to me and I took her to the where the rehearsal was tonight: a rooftop in Chinatown.
Chao’s family owned a restaurant in Chinatown, and his entire, huge family lived on the four floors above it. According to Robbie, they often rehearsed there because Chao’s family was as loud and noisy as the songs they danced to. And all the stomping and jumping didn’t bother them, making the rooftop an ideal place to practice.
When we walked up the last set of stairs and through the door leading outside to an open seating area, I noticed Rayna’s face lighting up with a big smile and my heart squeezed.
***
Rayna
The place was gorgeous and unexpected.
A small fabric roof covered what looked like a living room. There was a wooden wall-like trellis to the side, where some plants grew over a worn-out couch, plus an armchair, a coffee table, and an even more worn-out rug. The rest was open space with a cement floor, and more plants and flowerpots spread around the ledge of the building. Twinkling
lights and colorful lanterns were hung over the entire place, making it look magical.
“Beautiful,” Josh said beside me.
“I know,” I whispered, still looking around, taking in every detail.
“I wasn’t talking about the place.” I snapped my head back and found Josh staring at me with his bright blue eyes. I felt a blush take over my cheeks and looked down at my feet. “Come on.” He brushed his fingers on my arm and gestured for me to follow him. “Come meet my roommate and his crew.” He steered me to his roommate, the guy I’d seen at the club with him. And just like that, his name clicked into my mind.
I smiled. “Hi, Robbie.”
“Rayna! Long time no see.” Robbie opened his arms wide and nodded at me.
Josh stared between us with a hard frown. “You two know each other? How?”
Then Norah stepped between us. “Hey, you.” She paused in front of me and extended her hand. With a smile, I pulled her into a hug, like we used to do years ago.
“Hi, girl,” I whispered.
She pulled back, but held onto my arms. “You look good.”
Josh raised his hands. “Wait, wait. What’s happening?”
Norah turned her smile on Josh. “Rayna and I used to be best friends when we were younger. We went to the same dance studio.” She scrunched her nose. “She made me take ballet classes.”
Imitating her, I scrunched my nose. “And you made me take hip hop classes.” She chuckled.
“And you?” Josh looked at Robbie with hard eyes. What? Was he … jealous? No, it couldn’t be.
“I joined the crew when Norah did,” I explained. I could see the surprise in his eyes. “But it wasn’t for me. I had to choose between ballet and street dance and, well, I guess you know what I chose.”
He looked from me, to Norah, to Robbie, and back to me. “So you know everyone here?”
I quickly looked around. “No. I was with the crew for six months, and that was years ago. Even Robbie wasn’t in the crew when I was. I kept in touch for a while and I remember Robbie joining.”
Norah slipped her hand from my arm to my hand and tugged. “Come meet the rest of the crew.”
She took me to where the rest of their friends were grouped, rehearsing moves and chatting. Besides Norah and Robbie, I recognized Warren, Sadie, Mateo, Thomas, and Pam. Then she introduced to Chao, the one whose family ran the restaurant downstairs, M.K., and Mack.
***
Josh
Another fucking surprise. Who knew the girl I had almost slept with would also be a ballet dancer at the same company I was, and that she had been on the same dance crew as my roommate? This … this was fate being cruel. Or fate thought this was funny and was having a big laugh.
Rayna greeted them all with a big smile, looking like a practiced charmer, though I knew she didn’t notice it. She didn’t know the effect she had on people. Which made her even more charming.
Robbie brought me a beer. “I didn’t know you danced with Rayna.”
I took the beer and looked at him. “And I didn’t know you knew Rayna.”
“Like she said, she was already out of the crew when I joined, but she and Norah were still trying to keep in touch back then.” He took a long sip on his own beer. “You met her at NYBT, then?”
“Sorta,” I muttered, looking as Rayna and Norah talked and laughed as if they had always been best friends. “I met her that day at the club, almost two months ago.”
Robbie’s eyes bugged. “She’s the one who took you home?”
I tipped the bottle and swallowed a big gulp. The cold liquid washed down my throat, giving me three seconds to think how to answer him, but I didn’t have a good answer. “Something like that.”
“So, you two are what … together?”
I frowned. “No, nothing like that. We’re just dance partners.”
Robbie tilted his head, watching Rayna. “Just a one-night stand, then. I must say I never thought Rayna would be that kind of girl.”
“She isn’t,” I snapped, my voice tight. I sighed, trying to ease the sudden tension in my shoulders and neck. “Can we change the subject?”
“Uh, someone is touchy today,” Robbie teased. “Since you’re not in the mood to talk, I’m gonna grab something to eat.” He turned on his heel and disappeared inside the building.
In the mood to talk? What was he? A fucking psychiatrist? I preferred keeping things to myself. And right now, I really wanted to whisk Rayna away from this group and keep her to myself.
I let out a long breath.
Norah messed with her phone and she smiled as music started playing from the speakers around the rooftop.
Rayna laughed. “No! No!”
“Come on,” Norah said, grabbing Rayna’s wrists and pulling her to what looked like their rehearsal space. “You remember this one.”
“No, I don’t,” Rayna said, laughing.
“Sure you do!” Norah let go of Rayna and started dancing. Warren, Sadie, Thomas, and Pam joined her. “Come on!” Norah urged.
With another laugh, Rayna fell into step with them, matching their moves and joining in what I thought was one of their old crew dances. Despite myself, I smiled. Rayna was almost as good as the rest of the crew, but her movements had less explosion and more grace—just a like a ballerina trying to dance hip hop.
After two songs, Rayna called it quits. M.K. brought them beer, but Rayna and Norah refused the drinks, while all the others got a bottle. Then, Chao and Robbie came back—I hadn’t even seen Chao leave—with two big trays of food.
“Dinner!” Robbie yelled as he left the tray on the coffee table in the middle of the open living room.
The crew advanced on the little square boxes and then they spread out, some sitting on the worn rug, some sitting on the ledge of the rooftop, some sitting on folding chairs that had been hidden behind the trellis. Norah and Robbie sat on one of the couches, while Rayna and I sat on the other.
The atmosphere was upbeat and nice. Beside me, Rayna seemed more relaxed than I’d ever seen before. She smiled at lot, laughed, and when Norah told some embarrassing stories about their childhood, she blushed—that part I knew well.
Soon, the crew started rehearsing again, and Rayna and I fell into a comfortable silence while watching them. Or trying to watch them. The majority of my focus was on the girl sitting beside me, on the easy smile on her pretty face, on her long legs folded underneath her, on the way her dark hair was pulled to one side, revealing the inviting skin of her neck.
I adjusted myself, trying to lessen the pressure building in my pants.
Fuck.
Did I really have any hope that I could just dance with her? That I didn’t want to do anything else with her?
I closed my eyes for a second and inhaled deeply. Focus, Josh. She’s not that kind of girl and you’re not that kind of guy.
It was late when all of a sudden Rayna said goodbye to everyone and left, with a mere wave of her fingers to me. By the time my brain caught up and I threw a goodbye to the crew and raced down the stairs after her, it was too late. She had disappeared in the sea of people in Chinatown, and I had no idea which subway station she had gone to.
All night I had been hoping to walk her home—not with intentions to get invited in to finish what we had started, though that did cross my mind once or twice, but because I wanted to spend more time alone with her. More time talking to her, getting to know her. From the little I could see and feel, Rayna was a way more complicated girl than she appeared, and for some crazy reason, I wanted to get to know her.
With a sigh, I went back to my apartment.
Chapter Ten
Rayna
While the little girls turned and turned and looked like small drunk dolls, I tucked my chin in and yawned. Hopefully, nobody had seen it. Not that it was too hard to see how tired I was.
Even though I had Mondays off, my mother had put me through a hard workout late last night. When it was finally over, I took a shower and hit
my bed, but even as tired as I was, my body couldn’t relax. I was restless all night and barely slept.
Now I looked like a walking zombie.
Thank goodness these girls—four and five years old, just starting ballet—were so cute. I loved teaching them.
I showed them two easy moves and put the song back on, so we could add the two new moves to the other six I had already showed them. Because of their age and focus abilities, I didn’t do more than ten moves in a sequence and even then, I introduced moves two by two and only moved on when they seemed—mostly—sure of what they were doing.
Standing between them and the mirror, I danced with them and couldn’t help the smile that took me over. They were too cute. Clumsy and awkward and totally lost, but too cute. And they loved dancing. They didn’t care about ranking, or status, or about being the best and winning competitions. Right now, it was about the fun, about smiling and laughing and loving what they were doing. Which made me love what I was doing.
“That was wonderful,” I told them when I paused the song. “Keep that up and soon you’ll be dancing better than me.”
They all laughed and smiled, and one or two said it was impossible, while another said that was all she wanted.
I called their attention and started the song again. “Once more and this time I’ll only watch.”
They started dancing, casting sideway glances at me every few seconds as if I would show them what move they should be doing. And, well, I always did.
I walked in front of them, watching them to make sure everyone was mostly doing the same thing, when I caught something in my peripheral vision. I turned to the door and nearly tripped.
Josh was standing there, leaning against the door frame, arms crossed and a closed-mouth smile on his lips. My heart skipped a beat as I took him in. He looked good in dark jeans and a fitted black T-shirt. Too good for 8:45 in the morning.
The girls stopped dancing and turned to the door.
Dazzle Me (When You Dance Book 1) Page 8
