The Price of Mason (Forbidden Men 10)

I glanced over her shoulder and pointed. “Looks like the guy was supposed to step forward.” I was smugly happy to notice the first mistake hadn’t been mine after all. Thank God.

“Yeah, about that…” Nia winced up at me before asking, “Do you mind if I lead?”

I lifted a brow, not saying anything. And she kept talking.

“The thing is, I’m learning this dance for my mom, so I should rightly be filling in my dad’s place, meaning…” She let the words die off before she continued, “And since all you need to learn is how to keep your balance and coordination, it doesn’t matter so much whose role you fill, so… This would be a win-win for both of us. Right?”

I nodded once, but all I could seem to say was, “You want me to be the girl?”

On a regretful cringe, she bobbed her head enthusiastically. “Yes. Would you? Please.”

Why not? I wanted to mutter while throwing my hands up in defeat. I was already being subjected to dance, which was not my thing because I was so bad at it. We might as well make my humiliation complete by taking away my guy part, too. Sure.

Nia just kept waiting for me to give in, so I mumbled, “I guess. That’s fine.”

“Great!” A smile bloomed across her face. “Thank you so much for agreeing to this. You have no idea how much it means to me.”

I nodded, unable to say anything because I was still a little put out, even though I liked her smile, and I really liked being the one to put it on her face. Then she moved closer as she started the video again, and that was even nicer. She smelled good, like warm honey and vanilla, which made me more agreeable when she suggested we try again after watching the first five steps about three more times.

“Yeah. I think I got it this time.”

Reaching for her hip, I sucked in air, letting my chest swell as I nodded to let her know I was ready.

On our second attempt, we made it through the first step, her shifting forward as I moved back. And then we followed it smoothly with the second step. Then I fucked it up on the third, and she followed me by going in the wrong direction on the fourth.

We laughed together and started over.

The third try didn’t go any easier than the second. But we made it through the first eight steps without a problem on the fourth attempt.

High-fiving, we cheered and congratulated each other, only to mess up on the first step of our fifth try.

“Why do I have a feeling this is going to be a long hour?” Nia asked, setting her hands on her thighs and bending at the waist to blow out a breath when we parted for a quick break.

“I’m just glad you really do suck as much as I do.” This would’ve been so much more painful otherwise.

Realizing that could be taken wrong, my eyes widened as I lifted a hand. “No offense.”

Laughing, she waved my concerns aside. “None taken. Trust me.”

She watched as I ran through the steps by myself. “Are you supposed to watch your feet when you do that?”

I shrugged. “Probably not.” So I tried to grin up at her as I zipped through them again, only to trip myself up, stumble to the side, and nearly fall on my ass.

Nia burst out laughing. Clutching her stomach, she shook her head. “Oh my God, that was classic.”

“And that’s what I do every day in practice too.”

Before she could answer, Skylar rushed forward, interrupting us. “I know what you need,” she announced as if having just figured out the biggest secret in the universe. “Some footwork drills.”

“Gee, you think,” I muttered dryly. “But every time we do ladders in football practice, I just trip and mess everyone else up.”

“That’s because you’re rushing to keep up with them,” my sister said, rolling her eyes as she spread a jump rope she’d grabbed from somewhere out on the floor. “You need to go at your own pace until you’re ready to pick things up a little. It’s not that you can’t do it or that it’s impossible to catch up with the others; it’s just that you’re trying to start out way too advanced than you should. Here. We’ll turn them into dance drills. Face each other.”

She nudged Nia and me over to stand next to one side of the rope, and then she manually put my hands back on Nia’s hips. “Now, you’ll jump from one side of the rope to the other with Nia jumping forward and Julian going backward. Go as slowly as you need to at first. And the more secure you feel with that speed, then pick it up and go a little faster the next time.”

And then she was gone again, returning to the world of jetés and pliés.

Nia and I looked at each other. “She’s kind of like a whirlwind, isn’t she?”