“I think you’re ready Charlie.”
My daily private lesson had just finished. I was sliding down the pole from the top, cleaning as I went.
“I think so too. I’m nervous, but ready.”
“Maybe taking time off was good for you.”
My feet had just touched the ground and I looked at Dani skeptically. “Maybe. But not so good for my career.”
Taking my hands in hers, she looked me in the eye. “Things happen for a reason, Charlie. Whatever it is you need, you’ll find. It just doesn’t always arrive in the package you expect.”
“That sounds very wise,” I teased her.
She laughed heartily. “I’ve been where you are.”
It suddenly occurred to me that we had been working closely together for a little over two weeks and I didn’t know anything about her.
After the weekend of my so-called engagement party, I started training with Dani every day. The first few days I was so sore, every muscle in my body had ached. I’d thought I was ready for a competition, but she put in so many moves and transitions that I hobbled home every afternoon like an old woman.
Mark worked late almost every day. The only evidence of him being home was his coffee mug in the sink.
Despite all the time with Dani, I was ashamed that I just assumed she’d always been a dancer.
“What do you mean, ‘Where I am?’”
She laughed at my naivete. “I was a financial analyst for the Federal Reserve Bank.”
“Seriously? The one down the street?”
“Yes. I went for a run on the bayou after work one day and ran past the studio. I’d had a bad day, as we all do, and found myself inside, signing up for a class. That was twelve years ago.”
“Maybe I should become an instructor.”
She chuckled under her breath as she packed up her bag. “Maybe you should.”
We cleaned up the studio together. “I’ll see you tomorrow for the exhibition. Thanks for your help cleaning up.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
As I entered the lobby, Erin was busy and stressed, trying to get everyone checked in for the class that was about to start.
“Erin, can I help you?”
I’d had so much free time over the past two weeks, I’d spent most of it here. Erin had been showing me all the programs and classes and information about the company. I almost felt as if I did work there.
With the look of a deer caught in the headlights of a car, she said, “Paxton and Solara are arriving tonight and the studio’s a mess.”
I glanced around. It looked clean to me.
“You really need to stop stressing out when they come to town. They’re just people, just like you and me.”
“I know, but they make me nervous.”
“How can I help?”
She paused, putting one finger to her mouth. Abruptly she jumped off the stool and walked around the desk towards the studio door. “Okay. The exhibition is tomorrow and we need to set up one half of the studio with all the chairs and the table for refreshments.”
“How many people are coming?”
A young lady interrupted us. “Can I check in?”
Erin looked at me in frustration.
I squeezed her hand. “Okay, never mind, I’ll take care of it.” I went back into the studio and closed the partition doors to separate the next class from where I was setting up.
Folding tables were located in the back room. I carried them out into the studio, stumbling along with the weight of them. Maybe I should get some help, I thought to myself.
I unfolded the tables I’d brought out and lined them up against the back wall. The folding metal chairs were stacked up against the wall and I started setting them up in rows.
“Do I need to pay you for this, too?”
The deep, baritone voice startled me. When I turned, I backed into the stack of folding chairs, tripping and clattering to the floor with them.
“Oh, Christ! Are you okay?” He ran to me and knelt down as I rolled myself up to a sitting position.
“For God’s sake, Paxton. Don’t sneak up on people.”
“What happened to ‘Mr. Crown?’” His eyes crinkled at the corners in a small smile.
Before I could respond, I heard the robust, teasing voice of who could only be Solara. “What on Earth?”
Paxton stood, holding out a hand to me. “I startled her.”
Reluctantly I took his hand, and he pulled me up off the floor. The warmth and strength of his hand caused me to inhale sharply, confusion and desire in his eyes, reflecting back at me.
With enthusiasm, Solara crossed the room. “You must be Charlie. I’m Solara. It’s so nice to meet you.”
I reached out my hand to her and she enveloped me in a hug. She was curvy. Her lush body made me think of what it must be like to be smothered by a mother hen. As she pulled back, she held onto my shoulders, her eyes scanning my face.
“She’s not average. She’s gorgeous.” She glanced scornfully at her brother.
“I didn’t say she was average. I said she was ordinary.”
“WOW! Right here!”
Solara took me in another hug. “Apologies for my brother. He’s going through a rough time and doesn’t know how to be normal.”
Paxton started picking up the chairs and stacking them neatly back up against the wall. He didn’t look at me again, only commenting, “I think we need to put her on the payroll.”
Solara piped in with a grin on her face, “Oh yes! Let’s do that.”
“No, really, I have a job. I was just helping Erin get ready for the exhibition tomorrow night.”
Announcing that he was going to the back office to get the schedule ready for the weekend, Paxton disappeared through the door in the back of the studio. I found myself staring after him.
Solara cleared her throat and said, “Soooooo, are you ready for this weekend?”
Snapping out of my haze, I responded. “I am. I’m a little nervous, but excited too.”
“It’s going to be a blast! I never get tired of events. They are long and exhausting, but some of the moves the masters make are just sick!”
She scrunched up her face and I couldn’t help but laugh at her.
She grabbed me by the arm. “C’mon, you don’t need to do this. We have a crew that will come in and do it after the last class.”
“Erin was really worried about having it set up.”
“Paxton makes her nervous. She doesn’t need to worry about this. I’ll talk to her later. Let’s go next door and get a drink.”
Allowing her to pull me along beside her, I grabbed my gym bag and my purse and put both in my car before we walked next door.
“I’m so happy to meet you. You sounded so nice on the phone, and when Paxton told me you were going to call me, I was excited to see who had him all twisted up.”
I slowed my walk. “I think you have it wrong. He was actually quite rude to me.”
“Yeah, he said that too. His ex-wife was a bit of a tramp, so he doesn’t think too highly of dancers right now.”
“She was a dancer?”
Solara smiled knowingly at me. “I’ll let him tell you.”
“Solara, I’m engaged to be married. I don’t know if you knew that or not, but I’m not interested in Paxton.”
She stopped at the front door of the Irish bar and smiled at me, her hand on the door handle. “Well, then you and I will be friends.”
Her nonchalance made me laugh, and I followed her into the bar. It was already crowded with people arriving after work. Music blared from the speakers in the corners, and we wiggled our way further inside.
Leaning up against the bar, she flagged down the bartender and ordered two Guinnesses. A man on the barstool next to us stood to leave and I sat down in his place.
The bartender placed the mugs on the bar with a smile. Solara handed him a twenty-dollar bill. “Keep it.”
He smiled at her. A sexy grin spread across her face – that looked like a, ‘Sure, I’ll go home with you later,’ smile.
Making small talk, I asked her, “You live in Arizona?”
“Phoenix. It’s where we have our flagship studio. I love coming to Houston though. The humidity is so good for my skin. It’s so dry in Arizona that I feel like my skin is cracking.”
“I understand. I grew up in Scottsdale.”
“No way!” She practically jumped out of her skin.
“Yes. I went to ASU and then my fiancé got a job offer here after graduation. I came out a few months later. It’s home.”
Paxton and a couple of the instructors came through the front door. The girls waved down Solara and she shouted, “I’ll be right over.”
Paxton leaned on the bar behind Solara, waved at the bartender, and circled his finger above us for another round.
“Here, take my seat, Paxton. I’m going to talk with the girls. I’ll be right back.”
She jumped up off the stool and headed over to a table. My eyes shifted and my heart raced. I didn’t want to be alone with him. I glanced around the bar looking for an escape. When my eyes settled back on him, he was watching me with a knowing grin on his face.
“I won’t bite.”
“You sure about that?” I snapped a little too quickly.
“Is that an invitation?”
I stood to leave and he placed a hand on my arm. “Sit down. I’m just playing.”
I huffed out a breath and relaxed on my stool.
“Let’s start over.”
Eyeing him warily, I introduced myself. “I’m Charlotte Chase.”
“Paxton Crown.”
“It’s nice to meet you.”
“You as well.”
The smile on my face grew.
He leaned into me. “Do you come here often?”
“Oh my God! Is that your pickup line?”
He laughed heartily, and winked. “No, I can do better than that.”
I took a sip of my beer and side-eyed him.
His feet were resting on my barstool, caging me in, and he’d turned to face me.
Leaning towards him a bit, I said, “I think you owe me an apology.”
He whispered back, “I thought we were starting over.”
I raised my brows at him.
Sighing heavily, he said sarcastically, “Charlotte, please forgive my behavior when last we met. I found you extremely attractive and was overcome with a carnal need to kiss you.”
“That’s an apology?”
He smiled over the top of his glass. “The best I can give.” And he took a drink.
“I forgive you.”
“Mighty kind.”
His eyes crinkled at the corners. His mouth turned up slightly in a grin. We sat in charged silence a moment longer. I felt his stare on me and turned to find him scanning my body, pointedly looking at my engagement ring. His eyes met mine and he smiled.
“Do you want to go join your sister?”
“No.”
For lack of much to talk about, I asked him, “How are you enjoying Houston?”
“When are you getting married?”
“I, uhm, well, we haven’t set a date yet.” I wanted to ask about his wife, but then I didn’t want Erin to get in trouble.
“What does he think of you doing a competition?”
His eyes were boring into mine.
“Why do I feel like you already know the answer to that question?”
He shrugged.
Looking down into my beer I ran my thumb and forefinger up and down on the glass, removing the condensation.
“Actually, he’s not very happy about it.”
Softly, almost understandingly, he asked, “How come?”
His questions were making me uncomfortable, and I shifted on my barstool to leave. “I think I might go join Solara.”
He nodded knowingly at me, slowly removed his feet from the rungs, and stood to allow me room to get past him. I had to squeeze by. I could feel the warmth coming off his chest and it was all I could do not to push myself up against him. My breath came short and shallow. I looked up just in time to see him glance down at my mouth.
When I had a safe distance between us, I turned and thanked him for the beer.
He nodded. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I nodded back and weaved my way through the tables over to the girls.
Paxton didn’t leave the barstool, and I tried not to glance his way. It was so difficult. He was so brooding, and sexy, and raw.
Solara and the girls kept me entertained with their silly, sexy innuendoes about the guys in the bar, and misconceptions about dancers. I sipped more slowly on my drink, knowing I had to drive home soon.
At one point, I gave a sideways glance back at the bar and noticed Paxton was no longer where I had left him. My heart sank, and I realized that I, too, no longer wanted to be there.
Excusing myself from the table, I told Solara I would see her tomorrow and snuck out the side door into the parking lot.
The humid night air enveloped me. When I reached my car, I looked to the upper outside deck of the bar and saw Paxton leaning up against the railing, a chesty blonde pushed up close against him. Apparently, he hadn’t left.
He saw me as I stepped into my car. When he caught my eyes, he turned back to the blond, running his hands down her back and grinning broadly down into her face.
Asshole.