Page 59 of The Good Girl's Guide to Being Bad

The nerves were new.

Performing in front of people had never been a problem for me. I’d grown up dancing, doing choreography that I’d run a hundred times, getting lost in the music, feeding off the energy of the crowd. It was what I loved. That’s why I’d been doing it for years. Tonight, though, I didn’t know why, but I was feeling nervous.

It could’ve been that crack Tim made about me being “rusty.”

Total crap, of course.

I was at the top of my game. He was the one who’d struggled at first—which was understandable since he’d been gaming more than practicing his closed hold and gauchos. Still, we’d always moved well together and were more than ready for this.

It could’ve been that I hadn’t performed in a few months.

My focus lately had been more on choreography. But again, it was old hat. I knew how to work a crowd, and the Shady Grove residents loved this kind of thing. Twelve of them had shown up to watch us perform. Tim and I were filling in for my parents, who’d arranged the whole thing but had ended up having to miss it because they’d been called up to judge a ballroom competition a few towns away. Betty and Cora, my #1 fans, were catcalling from the front-and-center seats they’d managed to grab.

So, lack of support wasn’t a problem.

Then there was the fact that Kyle and Colton had walked in a minute ago.

I guessed it could’ve been that.

My stomach clenched as they started walking my way, and I thought, yep. The nervous, nauseous feeling twisting my stomach up in knots? Totally because of their presence. I should’ve expected this. Although Kyle was my best friend, he’d never seen me dance live, let alone Colton. I’d kept this part of myself separate from the rest of my life. Dance was like my secret. I could be anyone I wanted during those few minutes. I felt every emotion and lived it on the dance floor. Besides competitions (which were with fellow dancers) and dancing at the studio (which again was with people who took dance), my videos forDancer’s Edgehad been my only effort to put my dancing out there. Ballroom and my real life had been two mutually exclusive entities—until tonight.

My stomach gave another roll, and sensing my unease, Tim turned to me, rested a hand on my back.

“Hey Sadie, you okay?” he asked.

The twins stopped in front of us, then Kyle let out a low whistle.

“Dang Sadie, that sweet-heart neckline and those heels?” he said. “Perfection.”

“Thanks, Kyle,” I said.

“Seriously, the dress is gorgeous. Red was always your color—but why do you look like you’re going to be sick?”

“I’m fine,” I mumbled, but to be honest, my attention was elsewhere.

Colton’s eyes traveled the length of my body, appraising and intense, and I couldn’t help but watch for his reaction. His gaze stopped on Tim’s hand on my back, stayed there a moment, before coming up to meet my eyes.

“No cardigan tonight?” he said.

“It’s not usually what you wear to tango,” I said.

“I noticed that.”

“I noticed you noticing.”

Colton’s lips twitched, but he didn’t deny it.

“If you stared any harder, I thought my dress might catch fire,” I added, having to tease him. He’d been caught staring, and he knew it.

Colton raised an eyebrow. “Are you saying I make you hot?”

“No,” I said, blushing fiercely. How had he managed to flip this on me?

“Because that’s a natural reaction, Sadie. You shouldn’t feel ashamed about it.”

“I’m not ashamed. I just don’t feel anything but annoyance,” I said through gritted teeth.

“Sure, you don’t,” he said.

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