"I don't think I did."
Trinity couldn't help but give a short laugh at the absurdity of his claim. "Everyone makes mistakes when they're first starting out! Are you telling me you've perfected the moves already, and I'm the one tripping you up?"
"There was a skip in the music," he said stubbornly. "It's to be expected when you use an old stereo like that." He tried to nod over her shoulder, and his forehead collided with hers.
"Ow, Sam!" Trinity broke from him and took a staggered step back, clutching her forehead. "Did you actually just head butt me?"
r /> "Everything all right over there?" The instructor called from the sidelines. "Do you need assistance?"
"No!" they both chorused back. The instructor put up his hands and backed off.
Trinity cut Sam a quick look of disapproval. "Why is it so hard for you to just admit when you need help?" she demanded.
His grip on her waist tightened. "I could ask you the same question."
"Don't try and turn this around on me. I'm the one with the relevant experience here! Just because you aren't perfect right out of the gate doesn't mean you can't listen and accept outside assistance to improve."
"I can listen, Trinity," Sam stressed. "I can accept." He yanked her close, but didn't resume dancing. It was like he was suddenly petrified of making the wrong move.
"Then prove it," she said softly. "Follow my lead. Imitate the steps I'm taking. See?" She began swaying her body in time to the music, and Sam's body soon mirrored her rhythm. When she took a step back, she urged Sam to take a step forward to keep their hips aligned. It took several more tries before he seemed to get the hang of it. "I want you to know I'm a safe person to screw up in front of, Sam. Maybe I never made it clear before." They turned together, and Trinity laid her head against his shoulder. "I'm not going to judge you, or think less of you, just because you're not always perfect at everything right out of the gate. That sounds exhausting, if you ask me."
The hand that held hers tightened a little. She reciprocated.
"One person may have to take the lead, but you can't sustain a real partnership without accepting input from your partner," she said. "Here now: I'll follow you."
They revolved together slowly in silence in the aftermath of her claim. Sam's steps were still halting, but Trinity thought she felt him finally loosening his stranglehold on their positioning. He stared past her shoulder at the far wall; she wondered if he was listening to her words on mental replay, over and over, trying to dissect their meaning and apply them to every argument they had ever had in the past. Trinity dropped her head against his shoulder.
God, he smelled good. Even after his interrupted jog, he still smelled like the same body wash she had always known him to wear: slightly astringent with a kick of cinnamon. Trinity inhaled again.
They swayed more gracefully together with each turn around the dance floor. She didn't have to glance around at the other couples to know they were making up the steps, but she didn't care; they had finally fallen into a rhythm that enabled them to work in unison without literally stepping on each other's toes. What's more, she found herself starting to enjoy just how closely they were dancing together.
Sam dropped his head and breathed against her neck. Trinity closed her mouth over a startled moan; when she attempted to straighten in his arms, Sam's hand pressed against the small of her back and pulled her closer. She could feel the swell of his erection steadily growing against her inner thigh.
"Sam…"
"Is there a bathroom around here?" he rumbled in her ear. Trinity shivered at the seemingly innocuous question; there was nothing innocent about his tone of voice.
"Down the hallway and to the right."
"Show me."
She took his hand and pulled him obediently after her. She didn't stop to question what she was doing, or what awaited her once they were out of view of the others. All she could think about was Sam's hand constricting around hers, and the little encouraging pulse it gave when he sensed her momentary hesitation by the door.
They didn't make it down the hallway and to the right. They made it five steps and to the left, where Sam discovered a storage closet; he shoved the door handle down, and when it gave, pulled her after him. She came all too willingly, her skirt only narrowly avoiding getting caught in the door as it swung shut behind them.
Sam didn't need a light to see by. His hot mouth found her in the darkness before she could get a word out, and Trinity was completely content to leave what they were about to do unvoiced. She kicked off her heels as Sam forced her back into the recesses of the closet. She hopped once, twice, and her legs came up to wrap themselves around his waist as his powerful arms cemented her against him. The maneuver was effortless, their choreography off the dance floor more than memorized by now. The instructions were written into their bloodstreams.
"Sam!" His name burst from her lips as her back connected with a low shelf. She arched herself into him and winced, and Sam grunted. He pulled her away from the shelf in a shower of falling cleaning supplies and pressed her back into the bare wall.
"I need you," he panted into her neck. His voice was ragged, his eyes downcast and hidden by his mussed hair. Trinity shuddered. She had never known him to give over so recklessly to his own desire before. She didn't doubt his need. How could she? She could feel his erection through the massive tent he had pitched in his shorts.
And her need was equal to his.
She stripped his shorts from him as best she could manage, but he kept dragging her up to plant wet, fervent kisses all along her lips and face and neck. By the time she managed to get them both halfway undressed, she was out of her mind with need. She only barely remembered the condom in time. Almost as soon as she'd rolled it over Sam's jutting need, he had her pinned back beneath him against the wall.
"Hike your leg up," he whispered. Taking the lead as always, but Trinity didn't need his instruction to know what to do now with her body. She lifted her left leg and hooked it around his hip as he kissed her senseless. She had already shed her underwear and tights; there were no more obstacles between them.
"Is this really what you want?" His quiet question ghosted against the curve of her neck.