Page 97 of In Step

Absolutely none of it had been in the original choreography, and I glanced at Judah who was still staring at his husband with his tongue lolling on the floor, and I bit back a smile. The partners had clearly taken creative matters into their own hands, and the audience laughed and clapped and wolf-whistled their approval.

Game on.

The lights dimmed just a little and the opening bars of “Tango Santa Maria” by the Gotan Project filled the hall. I straightened my back and stepped toward Kane, nodding my head in invitation once again. This time he nodded in reply and stepped into my arms, and we took those first few important seconds to set the embrace and listen to the music.

I was less of a tango purist than many—I’d had enough of rules in ballet—and was a little more eclectic in my style. To that end, Kane and I had been practising more fluidity in our embrace, sometimes close with his arm draped around my shoulder and sometimes further apart with his hand on my upper arm while still keeping the footwork simple at this stage.

I’d taken to letting Kane determine the starting embrace, as was etiquette, but the tension in his back and shoulders spoke to his nerves, and his eyes, midnight blue in the dim lighting, flicked over my face, anxious and unsure. I put my lips to his ear as I tightened my hold for the first step and whispered, “I am so fucking proud of you. Let’s show them what we can do.”

After the briefest hesitation, he nodded, and his shoulders relaxed, and I drove him into the first step. He fell into the rhythm as easily as he’d been doing all week, and just like that we were off, moving around the room—Kane following my lead and getting smoother by the second with just the occasional whispered reminder if I thought he needed it.

By the time we were one minute into the six-minute song, Kane was out of his head and back into his body, pliant in my embrace, warm and responsive, his blond hair silken at my cheek, his breath hot on my ear as we moved and switched position. He felt so fucking beautiful in my arms, my heart ached.

I managed only fleeting glimpses of the other couples, but everyone seemed to be coping, a misstep here and there, and even Kane got his placement wrong a couple of times. None of it mattered. The audience were enthralled, and two other couples had joined in. They kept to the edge of the dancefloor but clearly knew their stuff.

“Ready?” I whispered in Kane’s ear as the music drew to an end. All of us had practised a small lift and turn to finish the exhibition dance. It hadn’t always gone to plan in the rehearsals, but we’d decided to go ahead with it anyway.

“Ready,” Kane whispered back, turning slightly so his body was a little more side-on while adjusting his hold at the same time.

The music ticked up to the critical bars.

“And... now.”

Kane bent at the hips like he was about to sit, and I took his weight, lifting and turning us both as he extended his leg gracefully and then switched to do the same with the opposite one, ready to retake his position at the end of the turn.And... he was down, and we were coming to the final couple of bars.

“Yes!” Kane hissed under his breath. “Fucking oath.”

I couldn’t hold back the smile. We’d done it.

A sweeping glance reassured me everyone else had managed as well—which meant they’d all been practising—and after a few more steps, the music finished and the dance was done. Rather than break apart immediately, we did as was custom for the dance. We paused, holding the embrace as we took a breath or two before stepping back.

Then we took a bow along with the other couples, and the hall erupted into thunderous applause.

* * *

Two hours later we hobbled from Kane’s car to the foot of the bedsit stairs and then paused to stare up at the star-spangled night sky, while pretending it wasn’t because we were too damn exhausted to go any further without a break. A refreshing salt breeze crested the hill from the bay and cooled our boiling faces, our bodies still hot from dancing.

I reached for Kane’s hand and brought it to my lips. “A perfect night.”

He rested his head on my shoulder. “The best. And the kids were amazing. You and Judah should be proud of yourselves.”

I thought about that. “Yeah, we are.”

“But holy moly, my feet,” he groaned. “Thank God for committees.”

“Oh my god, yes.” I laughed. The hall committee had generously volunteered to cover clean-up duties as long as we returned to gather our gear the next day. I could’ve kissed every cute grey-haired octogenarian one of them, including the men. Even better, Leroy ordered Kane and me to take a miss on even that small duty since Sunday was my last full day in Painted Bay, and I could’ve kissed him too. But I didn’t, because... Leroy.

He and Fox left even before the last dance of the evening, sneaking out the side door like a couple of teenagers intent on making out. And Morgan had whisked a pale Judah home the second the last dance finished with an assurance they’d see us at my farewell lunch the next day and not a minute before. Judah had gone without a single protest, which only spoke to just how exhausted he truly was.

Still clinging to the railing like it was the only thing holding him up, Kane dropped his gaze from the clear night sky and held up the shiny black leather shoes he’d borrowed from May’s husband. “Now it’s me who feels like bloody Cinderella.”

“Well, that would be hella disappointing.” I laughed and pushed him up the stairs, keeping a hand on his lower back or possibly even lower, just for support, of course. “I have plans for us, and none of them include a woman named Cinderella.”

Kane turned in my arms and muscled me back against the door, crushing his lips to mine. After a thorough debauching, he nipped my nose with his teeth. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten what you promised while I was in that closet.” He waggled his brows. “You’re gonna keep that suit on while you fuck me naked over the back of my couch, got it?”

I nodded, pretty sure I’d lost the capacity to form words. I was gonna miss bossy Kane.

He stepped back, grinned, and then straightened my jacket before flicking my fedora. “And you can keep your hat on.”

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