Part 10 (1/2)

Okay, so he doesn't suck. That's when he kicks things up a notch. Our bodies move closer together as the music slows for this middle section. He plays my body, moving his hands down my sides and dips me back slowly until my long hair dangles to the floor. The faster rhythm resumes and Peter surprises me. I'm smiling now. I can't help it. We rock-step and twirl our way around the room. The students watching cheer and whistle. This is what they came here to learn.

The next time Peter whirls me against his chest, he holds me tight. His muscular forearm is across my chest as he presses my back tightly to his body. I hear his voice in my ear, asking, ”You up for throws?” I nod, without hesitating. He releases me, spinning me out.

”Do it,” I say, breathless. The pounding inside my chest won't stop and I can't wipe the smile off my face. The song is almost over and I wonder what kind of move he's going to do. When he s.h.i.+fts his hands, I follow his lead and I know.

Peter swings me out and snaps me back. When I race toward his chest, his hands slide from my arms to my waist. I grab hold of his strong shoulders and feel the momentum. Peter guides me, leading the move. My legs kick straight back up behind me. I feel the air catch my skirt, forcing it up. Peter's hands hold me tight as I glide back down. Peter guides my body so that my legs wrap around his waist before he dips me back.

The music crescendos and ends with us in that pose-eye to eye and breathing hard. A thin sheen of sweat covers my body. I'm suddenly very aware of his hands and my thighs. It's the way we were the other day, right before he pushed me away. Peter seems to realize this, and sets me down. His hands slip off my body and he turns back toward the other students.

Breathing hard, he says, ”Start with the basics. No throws. You guys haven't signed the waivers yet.” I watch him walk across the gym and grab water from a cooler.

Turning away, I wonder how bad that just looked. Everyone had to be able to tell how much I want him. I couldn't hide it, not with his body pressed against mine like that. I sit down on the bleachers and Millie slips next to me, overly excited.

”That was so awesome! Dude, you were like all,” she makes a movement with her arm, ”and he was all...OH MY G.o.d! It was so cool! I would die if I could dance like that. Why didn't I know you could dance like that?” Her eyes are bugging out of her head.

”Uhm, you did.” I say, looking at her. ”You dragged me here because I love swing dancing, remember?”

”Ah, so you were an unwilling partic.i.p.ant this evening?” Peter appears from over my shoulder. He holds out a bottle of water for me. I take it, crack open the cap and drink.

Millie answers for me. ”I dragged her here. It's for her own good. She's going to turn into an old maid if she doesn't find some guy to drool over soon.”

Peter says nothing. His eyes are on my face, but I don't look up. Millie talks too much.

Trevor has taken lead of the cla.s.s and Millie bounces off to rock step with Brent. They step on each other, a lot. Every time it happens, Millie stops and laughs.

Peter sits next to me. ”So, old maid, I wouldn't have pegged you for a swing dancer.”

”Yeah, well...Don't judge a book by its cover and all that.” I don't look at him. I drink my water and watch the newbies kick each other as they try to dance together. I lift my chin, tilting my head towards the couples dancing. ”This club should have s.h.i.+n guards.”

Peter laughs. ”Yeah, right. We weren't even allotted a budget for water and I had to fight with them to get this lovely building.” His eyes flick to my face. ”As you can tell, when April comes around, we're all going to be sweating buckets.”

A bead of sweat rolls down my neck and between my b.r.e.a.s.t.s. I'm dripping way more than I'd like already. April is going to suck. ”Maybe we can borrow a cla.s.s room? There aren't that many kids here.”

”Trevor thinks that it'll grow pretty fast.”

”Does he?” I ask, looking at the guy.

”Yeah, he said there was a lot of interest, but no one comes in the beginning. It's the kind of thing people don't want to start, but they're happy to come once there are enough people to dance with.”

I can barely understand what he's saying. All rational thought has left my brain. d.a.m.n, he smells so good, even covered in sweat. As Peter speaks, I act as though he has no effect on me, but he does. Every word he says pulls me to him. And it's the whole package, not just his looks. Why does he have to dance too? And he's good. I loved every second of it. If we practiced, I bet we could do more complicated moves and I'd love every second of that too. How pathetic is this? I'm crus.h.i.+ng on my teacher.

”Yeah, I suppose so.” I nod before getting up, trying hard to make it look like I don't care what he does. ”Well, off to mingle with the ma.s.ses.”

As I'm walking away, Peter calls my name. ”Sidney.” His smile fades, but there's still a sparkle in those beautiful blue eyes. I look at him, waiting for him to say something, but he just shakes his head and looks away, ”Never mind.”

I want to know what he was going to say, but I don't ask. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. Maybe if I say it enough times, I won't care about Peter Granz.