Chapter 19

I pace the dance studio again, wiping my palms on my sweatpants for what feels like the twenty-fifth time. Nick will be arriving soon and for once, I don't know what to say to him, what to do. It isn't like I haven't planned the evening meticulously... Well, the first part I have. Dance practice and then dinner. After that is a big fog of trying not to think about it. My parents left an hour ago for their couple of days in London. I send a silent thanks to Claire for thinking of it and organising it. I'm excited about the chance to have Nick stay over, but that doesn't mean to say I'm not nervous about it.

Like I say, I've planned it all. My dad helped me make a chocolate torte for dessert—yes it's Nick, so I started with the sweet course—and I've planned pasta for the main course. Everything is prepped, I just need to cook it later. But it won't take long and it's something I can do—I've practised.

Dad gave me a hug before they left. Of course, they already knew about Nick. I'm not sure they even needed Claire to tell them. At least my dad didn't, and despite Nick's arrogance about it—that I will call him out on at some point—yes, my dad does adore him. But the way I see it, who wouldn't? Not me, that's for sure.

My mum hasn't been pushing for more tryouts lately. Which is odd, as the regionals are only a few days away. But she did mention something about being excited, and mentioned a surprise, so maybe Claire had told her about my plans to dance with Nick. If so, that can only be a good thing. I wanted it to be a surprise for her, but perhaps that's what she's referring to and Claire had asked her to not let on that she knew.

After another couple of laps of the studio and some half-hearted warmups, I have a stern talk with myself about being a pro and that I can't let nerves get to me - but this is worse than any competition, big or small. I'd rather be standing, waiting to dance for the damn royal family right now, than suffer the nervous bubbles that are dancing some sort of jive in my stomach.

I put on some music, determined to concentrate properly on some warmup routines. I hear the door open and there he is. He looks so gorgeous, his cheeks a little pink from the walk from the bus stop and a rucksack hanging off one shoulder. He smiles and the bubbles settle to a low boil.

"I... er." My power of speech seems to have failed me, though. He walks over and cups my face with both his hands, following with a gentle kiss.

"You were saying?" he says as he pulls back.

"Um... hello?" Nope, speech is still beyond my capabilities right now.

He sniggers and says, "Hello to you, too." He plants a kiss on my forehead before releasing me and heading to the changing rooms to take off his jacket and change his shoes.

As he comes back out, I change the music to our dance song as I'm not sure I can go straight into a hold with him right now. As he hears the first bars, he gives me a grin and I know I've made a good choice. We dance it through a few times and I feel better able to function. It's loosened me up and I'm having fun. I push everything else to the back of my mind. I'll worry about that later. Right now, I want to dance.

A couple of hours later, we're both pretty tired, and quite a lot sweaty. We've been through our dances for the regionals several times, nailing the timings. Nick won on his choice of the waltz and I got my choice of the cha-cha-cha. We've also been through what we plan to dance at the Nationals. We'll do the two from the regionals, but we'll also dance the other eight dances. The Viennese waltz, the faster of the two waltzes, still needs some work and we still have to finalise the paso doble. Traditionally, in that dance, the man takes the role of the bullfighter and the woman dances the role of the cape. We have yet to work out how to make it look effective with two guys instead, but I'm sure we can figure it out in time.

I think it's about time to finish, but Nick suggests dancing the waltz one more time—for luck, he says.

The music starts, and the familiar notes of "Is it You" fill the room. Nick steps into my hold with a small smile and a gleam in his eye that I don't recognise. The music takes us through the start like we've practised hundreds of times. One-two-three, one-two-three. We reach the first turn and coming out of it, Nick moves a millisecond before me. My feet are doing the correct steps, and after years of dancing they're on automatic, but it takes a few seconds for my brain to kick in that I'm going backwards and Nick is now leading. He's in control. A fizzle travels up my spine and spreads across my chest.

We reach another turn and I step forward, taking the lead again. There's a small part of me that registers that I didn't actually take it, but that Nick moved first, allowing me to step into the space he'd created. My heart starts hammering on my ribcage. I glance at him, and his sexy smile flips my stomach, the effervescence returning. I lead us into the whisk and the chassé, following with the promenade, and then another turn. Nick moves quicker again and my traitorous feet follow. I can't think straight, and if I didn't know the moves so well, I'd probably end up in a heap. As my brain short circuits, all I know is that I don't want this to end. We turn and Nick leads me into another whisk and chassé, followed by a spin turn, and I realise that this is no longer our choreography. Nick is ad-libbing. The thrill of not knowing what will come next sets every nerve ending alight as he dances me around the floor. He leads into a reverse turn and I recognise that we've returned to our practised dance and are entering the final sequence. Our ending features us splitting apart, holding hands with one hand and the other outstretched, but as we reach it, Nick moves his hand to my hip and pulls me closer. As the music stops, we're pressed together. He ghosts a kiss across my lips, and I swallow, waiting to see what will happen next, hardly daring to breathe.

Another song begins. When the first sounds of the guitar intro starts, I recognise the soft sounds of "More Than Words," a perfect song for the rumba. I didn't know Nick had swapped the playlist, and his thoughtful planning causes my knees to lose their ability to hold me up. Nick changes his hands to a leading hold. He gives me his tiny sexy smile again, the one that sends my insides fluttering. He kisses me again and as he does, he steps forward and I follow. Kissing while dancing is not something I've tried before, or even thought about. But it feels so right and natural. After the first basic step, he pulls back slightly and lifts his arm for me to turn, and as I step under, he brushes a hand down my back, my skin tingling from his touch. We open out for the New York step, and I seductively sway my hips away and back, earning a lustful look that sets my body aflame. Then, as we come back together, it seems natural to kiss. After a couple more basic steps, my ability to count to four almost fails and brings our bodies closer, making me dizzy with desire. Next, he leads me into a fan and the Alemana turn, where I step under his arm again and he trails a hand across my ass, keeping it there as we come back into a closed hold and another kiss. I think it's at about this point that any steps that can be recognised as anything officially ballroom are abandoned and we make it up, moving in synchronous harmony.

The final bars of the song fade and we're standing close. He has his hands on my hips and he drops his head to kiss up my throat. I lean back slightly to let him. I can't think past wanting to be closer, and this doesn't seem nearly enough.

"What is it you want?" He breathes open mouth kisses along my neck.

"I... I..." Words are definitely not my strong point today, but what he's doing is very distracting and I can't marshal my thoughts. "I don't know," I gulp.

"It's like a dance, D. Someone needs to take control, someone needs to lead." He kisses across to the other side of my throat and I'm glad he has a tight grip on me, as I'm not sure I can stand on my own. My hands are gripping his biceps, his strong arms, which have just been spinning me round. Not a position I usually find myself in and I want more of it. I plan to say I want you, but my brain, somehow filtering through what has happened, translates this into something else.

"What about you?" I whisper.

I feel his breathy chuckle against my neck. "I learned both parts."