39. Chapter 39

Chapter thirty-nine

Juliette

The following Friday, Caleb dropped Kelsey off at Ana's and headed to the studio. He popped in before class to let me know that plans had changed and Kelsey was going out with friends first, then sleeping at Ana's. "They're all ‘going out for pizza or something, I don't know,' were her exact words," he said.

"That's fine. Tell her to text me when she's back at Ana's, then."

"Okay. I didn't know if that was protocol."

"I do it all the time. I'm starting class, though, so you ask."

He left and I turned to find a semicircle of curious bystanders with their hands on their hips.

"So, are you and Caleb, a thing?" Cora asked bluntly.

The entire class snickered and giggled at my dropped jaw.

"No!" I scoffed. My pale skin turned dynamite red. "Don't be ridiculous!" My heart was suddenly running a two hundred meter dash.

"You admit he's hot, right?" she folded her arms across her chest, daring me to lie.

"That's completely inappropriate," I sputtered. Raised brows was the unanimous response.

"But our outfits are totally fine?" she pointed to my lacey leotard and booty shorts, lace-up peep-toe heels, and red lipstick. "This whole secret class, not inappropriate at all?" she gestured to everyone dressed similarly and ready to learn how to shake ass.

"This is a dance class… with proper attire… and… and… we're friends who don't cross well-established boundaries."

She scoffed mockingly, "We regularly spank each other, and you're telling me that's not sexual at all? "

"No! Not from me. I am not spanking in a sexual manner!" My voice was lifting an octave as I found myself cornered and outnumbered.

"Well, when I spank you it's sexual. What now? You gonna admit he's hot or?" her voice trailed and it dawned on me. They'd been talking about me behind my back. The betrayal!

"Well, you can tell him that if he's into threesomes I wouldn't mind him joining me and my husband." I didn't know who cut in because my mind was frantically making sure Caleb and I had never held hands, or had sex, or anything in between where we could have been caught.

"Choo, choo!" Cora snickered.

"Stop," I burned brighter. "You ladies are ruthless. Sexual deviants. Depraved!"

"Yeah, because you've never ever educated us on bondage, or domination, or new positions…" Cora wrapped her arm around my waist, hugging me sideways. "You like him. We're excited for you. And from what my husband says, he really likes you."

Xander's wife gasped. "Oh my God, Xander said the same thing! He said he gets all nervous watching you and the guys rag on him at dinner."

"My husband said he doesn't even try to be slick. He told me that Caleb gets real quiet when they talk about you."

"It seems I'm the topic of a lot of conversations," I muttered, scrolling through my playlists.

Amy, with the thickest of all Brooklyn accent's sent a cold shiver down my spine. "Well, I heard from someone that you two were spotted grocery shopping last weekend."

"Who?" I snapped. A shockwave of panic accompanied my racing memory of holding hands in the parking lot.

"Does it matter?"

"I'd like to know the credibility of this source. Yes, we do go grocery shopping together because we basically share custody of Kelsey right now and eat together—all three of us—almost every day of the week!"

"It was Tina, Jessica's mom," she admitted.

Thank God it was Tina because the whole class' curiosity deflated instantly as she was the absolute biggest gossip and built a reputation on exaggeration and lies for years .

"Oh, damn," Cora frowned. "Okay, so, say it was just friendly grocery shopping, why do you both have to go?"

"Because Caleb thinks I should expand my spice cabinet."

"Oh! Spices?" A chorus of giggles.

Cora was pure, relentless, mischief. "If he asked you out, would you say yes?"

"No! That's so inappropriate," I snapped.

"I bet he's a pleaser."

"Amy!" I scolded.

"What? He has that innocent kind of puppy dog look to him."

"Amy!"

Amy did not wither under my glare. "When was the last time you dated? Just go out with him. You two would be so cute together."

"I'm not dating a studio dad."

"She went out with FedEx man. My daughter told me," Amy chimed.

"You didn't tell us!" The chorus of indignation was deafening.

"Nothing happened! He isn't right for me. We had an okay time, but he's too young."

"Or there's an older stud catching your eye," Cora's Cheshire grin was unrelenting.

"Kelsey doesn't need any more drama in her life." A cacophony of commentary about bringing up the daughter and not Caleb himself followed.

"Just admit it, you like him," Cora nagged.

I didn't have to. They'd already figured it out. "I don't like Caleb like that. We're friends. And if he asks me out, I will say no because," I paused searching for a reason, "because we can't."

Raised brows and rolled eyes.

"At least admit that under any other circumstances you'd ride him like a pony," Cora grumbled.

"I would not ride him like a pony. End of story."

"A stallion, then?" she deadpanned to the audience. The class erupted in squeals and screams. I turned the music up to drown them out.

When the partners came to pick up, I made sure not to dance with the class. The girls had dropped the issue, but I felt everyone scrutinizing Caleb and me.

"Did they assault you tonight?" he asked as we dropped into the car.

"Yes! They were pushing me to come onto you hard ."

"Little do they know I've been coming in you for weeks."

I gave him a look that threatened to cut off that privilege.

"Or that I fucked you in there." His gaze dropped down my body and I reacted immediately, my body conditioned to recognize that look in his eyes. The predatory gleam, hungry and waiting.

"You're such an ass," I played off my attraction, knowing it would get me exactly what I wanted. He liked that, when I pretended I didn't want him as badly as he wanted me.

"You have a great ass." He squeezed my thigh. "Kelsey's at that sleepover party, so I have all night to admire it."

"Do you?"

"Don't I?"

"Shut up and drive. They're watching."