for a second. “Come on, it isn’t that bad, is it?”
“Oh, it’s going to be bad. My family gets one favor and this is it. I only have to be presentable for a few hours,” she muttered through clenched teeth.
Will laughed. “Well, don’t worry about a thing. I’ll make sure you’re the belle of the ball.”
Right on queue, Melody faltered. “I’ll settle for not falling on my butt.”
“No problem.” He lowered her into a steep dip so that she was barely skimming the floor, then he whisked her up into a graceful turn.
His hands slid inside her T-shirt onto the smooth skin of her back. The song on the stereo had moved on to a pulsing erotic beat. For a brief second their eyes locked.
Melody immediately looked away. “So what’s a nice guy like you doing in a place like this?” she asked when she’d regained her breath.
Will exhaled slowly, taking hold of her hands for less intimate contact.
“I’m a stockbroker. I teach dance part-time. It was one of many odd jobs I used to do, and I still love it.”
“I figured it was a side job. Most people can’t buy designer shoes and diamond watches on a teaching salary.”
“I teach to stay sane. The stock market can be stressful. Dancing relaxes me.”
“Dancing has the opposite effect on me, but I guess that stands to reason since I have two left feet.”
“Nonsense, you’re doing well.” He took her through another pattern. “See that? You’ve just learned two weeks worth of steps in fifteen minutes. Next week, you’ll be way ahead of the class.”
“Great, now I’ve probably forgotten everything I learned from the last two weeks.”
“Not a chance. I’ll show you.” Will changed the music to a romantic melody by Frank Sinatra. He took her into his arms and the two of them immediately fell into fox-trot step.
Will had danced with many women. Old, young, the talented, the uncoordinated and some of the most beautiful, graceful dancers in New York. But there was something he just loved about dancing with Melody.
Dancing with her awakened primitive responses in him he’d never felt before. She would hate to know it but because she was so resistant to being controlled, making her body bend to his will gave him a rush of power.
She had the body of a ballerina, and all the grace of an elephant. But, he was skilled enough to compensate for that. He turned her this way and that, watching her hips and arms move in perfect concert with his. He didn’t want to take his hands off of her.
Will thought she’d been enjoying it, too, until she suddenly jerked out of his arms and pushed him away. She’d moved so quickly he stumbled back a few steps before catching himself.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry—I think I’ve got it now.”
Will stared at her, still stunned by her sudden retreat. “Um, okay…”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to—it’s just that it’s getting late. I think I should go.”
He nodded. “Okay.”
“I mean, thank you—for this. I think it really helped.”
She was chattering a mile a minute. And the truth began to sink into Will’s head. She didn’t know how to handle the attraction between them. He had two choices. He could be professional: slow down, put her at ease and make her feel safe, or…
“I understand. All of this can get overwhelming. Maybe it would help you to get out onto a real dance floor. The Franklin Hotel has cocktails and dancing every Monday night. I could take you after class next week. You’ll have the chance to practice in a less structured environment.”
From the look of pure dread in her eyes, Will was certain Melody would turn him down.
“Next week?” Her voice squeaked slightly.
“Yes.”
Her brow furrowed. “After class?”
“Yes.”
“Just the two of us?”
Will nodded. “That’s right.”
He watched her swallow.
“Okay.”
Melody breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped into the familiar territory of Alchemy that night—on Mondays it was goth night. There was something so comforting about the red neon skull glowing in the window after an evening in that highbrow dance studio.
Stage lights washed the normally stark walls in a hazy red, and a blue spotlight swirled around the three-man band raging on the tiny stage. Off to one side of the cramped room akin to someone’s basement apartment, she found her friends at a table far from the stage.
“There she is. Finished with ballet class?” Bass called to her.
Mel rolled her eyes. “It’s not ballet—it’s ballroom dancing. And it figures you wouldn’t know the difference.” She pulled up a chair.
“Ballet or ballroom…either way, I’ve just got to see this. Aren’t you going to show us what you’ve learned?” asked her friend, Roland.
People at Alchemy didn’t dance so much as let the music vibrate through them into pulsating—almost convulsive—rocking motions.
“Only if you’re my partner. Do you think you’re up for it, Roland?” Mel challenged.
Roland, with his pale skin and thick, black-framed glasses could easily be mistaken for a college professor. He wore slim black pants, and a black V-neck sweater with a white T-shirt. In fact, he’d look better suited for a library than Alchemy if it weren’t for the spiky black hair that jutted in sharp angles from the top of his head…and the red lipstick.
Roland glanced at his girlfriend Samantha, whom they all affectionately referred to as Tha. “How about it, Tha? Do you dare me?”
Tha was a bleached blonde with three inches of black roots. She wore lip and eyebrow piercings and heavy metallic-green eye shadow. She just shrugged without looking up from her beer. “Mel’s going to make you look like a dork. But, if you’re cool with that, then I’m cool with it.”
Roland got up and moved into an empty space at the back of the bar. Mel shook her head as she followed him. Punk music blared from the speakers above her head. Counting quickly, she abandoned any thoughts of a fox-trot.
“Normally, the man leads. But, between the two of us, I think I qualify the most.” She took Roland’s hands and showed him the pattern Will had taught her earlier that evening. “One, two, rock step. Got it?”
Roland looked baffled.
The beat of the music was frantic, but they eventually managed to fall into a crazed, but steady rhythm. They were doing well enough
