Perfect Strangers

“Right ladies and gents, today we are here to learn the Waltz and the Salsa, is everybody here?” Fabio questioned pointing a slender finger at Grace.

With that the door swung open and in walked Grace’s fiancé, Jack. He was dressed in sweats and a t-shirt with a sweat band around his head. His bleach blond hair was drenched with perspiration and he stood wobbling from left to right as he tried to gain his balance. Myla winced when she watched Grace break from the line and launch herself at Jack, he picked her up and she wrapped her legs around him. Myla shuddered at the thought of all that sweat transferring to her sister.

“Who’s that?” Kai whispered taking a step closer to her, he wrapped an arm protectively around her.

“That’s Jack, Grace’s fiancé.”

Dropping his arm as quickly as he had placed it there, she heard him sigh in relief, “I thought for a minute it was Casper.”

“He’s not coming today, so there’s no need to be too over friendly.” She winked and graced him with a coy smile.

“Right! And everybody ready? These are the steps we will start with,” sang Fabio as he started to shimmy across the hardwood floor.

Half an hour later Kai was losing the will to live, when Myla, for the hundredth time, stomped on his foot. “Hold your frame, Myla,” he ordered and harshly pulled up her arm again, “lock it,” he snapped. Forcefully taking her hand in his, he locked her fingers over his hand.

“I’m sorry, I’m not as good as you. Where did you learn to dance anyway?”

“My mother. She danced Latin and Ballroom when she was younger, I get my sick moves from her,” he replied with a laugh. He pulled her frame in closer to him and rested a hand on her lower back. “Chin up,” he mused with a raised eyebrow. Myla raised her chin sharply.

“And 1,2,3 and 1,2,3,” counted Fabio as he began circulating them. She felt hard hands clamp down on her shoulders from behind, Fabio, not so elegantly, brought her shoulders back, forcing her bosom to brush firmly against Kai’s chest. Myla went to take a step forward with her left foot as Kai took a step with his right, her foot connected harshly with his shin and she watched his placid features turn a deep shade of crimson as he dropped his hold on her and jumped around on the spot. “Fuck sake,” he roared, bringing the entire room to silence.

Myla glanced sideways at her family, who were stood gawking in their direction, sweat began trickling down her neck, and she looked at Kai’s crumpled body on the floor. Shrugging her shoulders, she pulled her bottom lip into her mouth and dropped to her knees. “I’m sorry, Kai, are you okay?” she whispered.

“God damn …it …woman, you have no …sense of …rhythm,” he gasped. “You have two left feet and the grace of an elephant.”

“Do you want me to kiss it better?” She smirked.

Glancing behind her to see her family still looking their way, he shook his head. “Not right now, Juliet. You can pay me back later.” He smiled and stood to his feet.

“Okay everybody, and 1,2,3,” clapped Fabio loudly.

“I lead, Juliet, me.” He growled. He roughly grabbed her arms and brought them up to frame, clasping his hold on her, he pulled her in tight to his chest. Her breath caught loudly in her throat when her chest collided with his, she raised her head confidently to him and they instantly locked eyes. His face held sternly in a steady gaze, it had an air of authority that was palpable, and the pulse in his jaw began to pound. His mouth was pulled into a thin line but his eyes swirled silently with something she hadn’t seen before, something that made goosebumps break out and dance the length of her spine, something that made her knees slightly w

eaken and something that ignited the flames, deep, low down in her gut. In that moment, as she held his gaze, everything else around her became a blur. His look was sinful as he drew her even closer to him skillfully, and slightly tilted his head. She couldn’t breathe. If he kissed me now, in this moment, would I stop him? Yes, I’d stop him. No. I wouldn’t stop him. I’d kiss him back. Slightly raising herself up on to tip toes, she waited expectantly for his lips to meet hers. Slowly he inched his face closer, his eyes never leaving hers.

Do it Kai, kiss her. No! Don’t kiss her, she will slap you. Kiss her, you pussy.

“Oh, my God, Myla? Is that you?” She heard a deep raspy voice ask, jolting her back into the dance studio.

Quickly she ripped her eyes from Kai’s and looked towards the raucous laugh bellowing from his mouth, causing Kai’s lips to miss her mouth and land on the side of her head. Her entire body turned to jelly and a deep uneven hiss spewed from her mouth when she finally, after all this time, came face to face with her past.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Immobilized and rendered speechless, Myla stood with a piercing glare burrowed his way. Her body began to tremble at the sudden sight of him standing before her.

She wasn’t ready for this. All the feelings of betrayal, humiliation and anger she had so carefully buried over the years rumbled like an earthquake through her entire core. She felt Kai’s hold on her intensify and became vaguely aware of his head now resting against the side of hers. He whispered into her ear, “I’m here for you, Myla. Do you want to go?” She wanted to speak, she also wanted to run but above all, she wanted to physically beat the shit out of Casper, right here, right now, but she couldn’t do anything, she felt like her whole body had suffered a sudden stroke.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost, Myla,” Casper said, his jovial look quickly vanished and was replaced with an all too familiar look of guilt.

Kai moved his hand from her lower back and brushed the back of it down over her heated cheek, her skin was on fire. “Juliet, do you want to go?” He repeated.

She felt herself dig her fingers into Kai’s arm causing him to rear his head back and look at her side profile. Her face looked demonic. It was bright right red with rage and her eyes, now mere slits, were bore in Casper’s direction. Her bottom lip trembled and her nostrils flared, but she stayed eerily silent.

Kai felt his chest constrict as he looked at her. The man had been in her presence less than three minutes and this was what she had already been reduced to? A trembling mute? Gently pinching his fingers on her chin, he slowly pulled her face away to meet his. Raising it, his eyes fluttered over her lips, her nose and then finally came to rest upon her eyes. “Talk to me, just ignore him,” he breathed with a flicker of a smile. She opened her mouth, but all she could force was a pinched gurgle. Closing her eyes, she shook her head apologetically.

“I think you should go,” Kai snapped, turning his head towards Casper.

Casper snorted and ran a hand over his dark brown hair. Rolling his shoulders back he licked his lips and cocked his head. “And you are?”