Page 56 of Theoretically Straight

The song hits the chorus, and I scramble to pause it.

“Okay, watch me and mirror what I do. Got it?”

Theo nods, shaking out his arms. “I’ll do my best.”

I shift my weight to one side, swinging my hips back and forth in a slowed-down version of the move so he can get a feel for the motions. His eyes watch me, lingering with each sway and causing a scorching heat to build beneath my skin. After a few demonstrations, he tries to match my movements, and it’s all I can do not to laugh.

“How’s that?” he asks, his voice thick with doubt.

“A little stiff, but it’s fine. Here’s the next part.”

Stepping back on one foot, I raise my arms over my head, pulling them in one at a time, then switching sides and doing it again.

Theo’s better at this one because it doesn’t involve him moving his hips.

“There you go!”

“Was that good?” he asks, eyes bright with excitement.

He’s never had bigger puppy dog energy.

“Yeah! Okay, for the next part, my right hand takes your right, and then my left takes your left, and we spin around over our heads till we’re back-to-back.”

Theo doesn’t hesitate, closing the distance between us in a single step and taking my hands in his. They’re warm and bigger than mine are, I notice for the first time, which I find amusing given our height difference. His skin touching mine is like dropping a match in a puddle of gasoline–instant ignition.

“How does this work?” he asks, his voice softer now that we’re so close.

“It’s easy; we turn this way and lift our hands over our heads, and we’ll be back-to-back but still holding on. Ready to try?”

He nods, licking his lips.

And maybe that’s what distracts me, or maybe Theo gets a bit overzealous with his turn, but our feet get tangled together, and before I realize what’s happening, we’re tumbling to the floor. Theo holds tight to me, and somehow, I end up on top of him, our hands still intertwined against his chest and our chins nearly touching.

My breath freezes in my lungs, my eyes trained on Theo’s lips. How badly I want to let myself fall into them, to bridge the tiny gap between our bodies, and finally glean a clear answer as to whether or not we feel the same way.

Theo doesn’t move, his body rigid under me. When my gaze meets his, it’s impossible to miss the panic behind his eyes.

I let go of his hands, bracing myself against the floor and getting myself back into an upright position. “Sorry,” I mutter, my lung function improving the further I get from Theo. “I’m not really sure what happened there.”

Theo sits up, reeling in the panic and plastering a half-hearted smile onto his face. “It’s okay. But, um, I think I’ll probably just stick to the spooky content. Unless you think the outtakes of me trying to dance would kill because then I might consider it.”

We both laugh, and it’s like the entire room exhales around us. Reaching up, I grab my phone from the bed checking the time.

“I think we’d better get on the road,” Theo says, hopping up and grabbing his keys from the bedside table. He offers his hand to help me off the floor.

I stare at it for a moment, quickly making note of the lines that run along his palm before I take it.

“Okay, okay. But only because I don’t think we’d survive another dance.”

That makes him laugh.

* * *

The roads between Theo’s neighborhood and mine are empty this time of night. I spend the entire ride thinking of a way I can ask him about this thing between us, but the closer we get to my house, the harder it is to resist reaching across the armrest and taking his hand in mine.

You’d think I would be getting used to the sensation of touching Theo, seeing as we’ve been using any excuse to do so over the last week, but it only gets more intense each time, leaving me wanting more.

Before I know it, Theo pulls into my driveway, and I’m out of time. He shifts the car into park, switching off his headlights so the only illumination comes from his dashboard and the dim street lamp behind us. He turns towards me in his seat, a slight smile on his lips, obviously in no rush for me to leave.

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