“Let’s go,” I said. “I’ll get the car.”
“Shaw…” he warned.
“I want to. I’d be getting one if I were alone, so it’s the same thing. Plus, you supplied lunch the other day.”
“From stuff I had at home.” He stabbed his finger at the elevator button. The doors swiftly pulled open.
“So? You still bought it. Let me be nice. It doesn’t happen very often.” We stepped inside.
“It happens often, actually. That’s why we’re here.”
“Aww, so sweet!” I teased, but really, it made me feel all gooey inside. This man was totally fucking with me.
We chatted about random shit as we waited for the car, then drove to where the dance lessons were. I had a vehicle of my own, but with traffic and parking, it was usually easier to get a ride unless I was working or leaving the area around Midtown.
A few minutes later we were walking into the building, and as soon as the instructor saw us, she beamed at Elijah.
I fake-coughed and mumbled, “Teacher’s pet.”
He elbowed me. “You’re just jealous.”
Elijah told her about his ballet classes, which were starting next week, and asked a few questions about moves we’d learned the week before. I couldn’t remember the names of the steps, or the movements, but of course he did.
Before I knew it, the class was starting. Susanne went over what we learned last week a few times without music. Elijah remembered everything and moved perfectly, and yeah, it was hot.
From there we practiced with music before she turned it off and started working through the next steps with us, walking around the room and giving pointers. I was making a bit of a mess of it, stepped forward when I wasn’t supposed to, right onto Elijah’s foot. “Shit. Sorry.”
“Hey, it’s fine. You’re thinking too hard. You’re worried about being better than me. Let me lead like last time. Look at me.” He tilted my head toward him, his soft hand on my jaw. My body got too hot, like a fever hit me out of the blue. He gave me a small smile, and I knew I was standing there staring at him, but I couldn’t move. Couldn’t think. He blinked, held his eyes closed for a moment, his thick dark lashes fanning against his skin. It was sweet and sexy and I was really fucking falling for this guy. Run, run, run!
“Like this.” Elijah didn’t hold my hands the way we were supposed to for the moves; instead, he placed his on my waist. “Don’t look at your feet. Don’t think. Look at me. Let me lead you.”
“O—” My voice cracked. “Okay.” Elijah began to move, and I moved with him. There were a few missteps, but not as many as earlier.
“Put your hips into it. Yes, there you go,” he said, and we still weren’t holding our hands the right way, or our bodies, for that matter, at least not with every step, but it worked, and I was getting it.
And I was having fun. With him. We laughed and moved, and I stepped on his foot again, but we got it right a lot more too. Every time he touched me, my skin prickled with excitement, with want. Had I heard anyone else say something like that, I would have thought they were crazy, but now I felt it and didn’t know what to do with it.
When the lesson was over, Susanne approached us. “You guys did great. Really, Elijah. You’re a strong teacher.”
His chin dipped, and he grinned cutely. “Thank you.”
“You did great too,” she told me.
“Because of this guy. He’s annoyingly good.”
“Whatever.” Elijah nudged me, leaning in, and I found myself twisting over and kissing the top of his head. I had no damn clue what that was, and he must not have either, because he looked up at me with big, questioning eyes. It was crazy how you could have had someone’s cock in your mouth, yet a sweet kiss on top of the head was more intimate. That was exactly how this felt.
“Well, it looks like something changed between the two of you.” She winked and walked away before I could deny it. The truth was, I didn’t know if I could have denied it.
“Let’s go.”
Elijah nodded.
We were quiet as we rode back to the apartment. When we reached the hallway, I asked, “Do you want to come in? Did you eat? I have some leftover Chinese food.”
“Sure.”
We went inside, and he asked to use the bathroom while I started warming up our dinner. I was curious as fuck about his evening with Danny. He’d told me it went fine but hadn’t offered more information than that. It was killing me that I didn’t know, but I didn’t want to ask. “Do you want wine?” I offered when he came out.
“No, thanks. Water is fine for tonight.”