Page 51 of Fake Out Hearts

She gazes up at me with a pleading expression on her delicate features, and my heart thuds against my ribs.

Fuck. I don’t think she knows this, but I doubt there’s a single thing I could deny her when she looks at me like that.

“Okay.” I sigh, chuckling under my breath. “I’ll try. But whatever happens in this room stays in this room. You promise?”

She motions like she’s zipping her lips closed. “Your secrets are safe with me,” she vows, then wiggles her outstretched hand at me, so I take it. “Have you ever danced before?”

“I mean, sure, when I’m out at a bar and feeling the music, but I wouldn’t exactly call it professional dancing. Not like what you do.”

Her musical laugh fills the air. “No way, dancing in bars still counts.Allkinds of dance are still dance. For today though, we’ll start off slow with a step tap.”

“A what step?”

“Here, I’ll show you.”

She drops my hand and stands in front of the mirror with her feet close together but not touching. She counts down, then moves her left foot to the side, following it with her right, which she taps on the floor gently. She repeats the motion in the opposite direction. It’s a simple movement, but somehow, she makes even that look elegant as hell.

“See?” she asks, looking at me expectantly. “Simple. Now you try.”

“Fine, but I can’t watch myself do this,” I say and turn slightly so I won’t have to see my reflection in the mirror. Becca laughs while I put my heels together and picture her movements in my mind.

Come on, Camden. You’re a professional hockey player, for fuck’s sake. You can do this.

I take a deep breath and step to the left, then try to bring my right foot over fluidly, but even without the mirror I can tell I’m moving as stiffly as a piece of wood. Becca steps around behind me and puts her hands on my hips, catching me off guard.

“It’s all in the hips. You’ve gotta loosen them up. Bounce with it a little bit, you know? Otherwise, you look like a tree.”

“Ouch.”

“Too harsh?”

“I’m a big boy, I can handle it,” I say, and glance over my shoulder to find her smiling at me.

“Good. Give it another try, but remember, keep it loose.”

I try again, and I can tell from the ease of the motion that I’m doing better this time, but I still feel like an idiot. I can only imagine how awkward I must look. So when Becca snorts after a few seconds, I give up and spin around with my hands thrown up in the air, admitting defeat.

“See, I told you I’m bad at this.”

“Yeah, no offense, but I can see why you’re a hockey player,” she teases, and I burst out laughing.

“Does that mean I’m off the hook?”

Becca pauses to think for a few moments, then shakes her head. “So maybe the dancing itself isn’t your thing, but I have another idea.”

I groan. “What now?”

“Be my dance partner. The routine I was working on I usually do with a guy. It’s a duo thing, but I obviously can’t practice those parts by myself.”

“After what you just saw, are you sure that’s a good idea?”

Becca laughs. “Don’t worry, you don’t really need to dance for this part. I just need your strength.”

“For what?”

“There’s a part where I’ll come running to you and jump. You catch me in your arms, then lift me up and spin me around, like this,” she says, demonstrating with her hands in the air while she spins. “Think you can handle that?”

I shrug. “One way to find out, I guess.”

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