Page 26 of Lovers' Dance

I sauntered back to our table and Matt stood up to let me slip past him. He didn’t give me much room and I couldn’t avoid bumping into him. “Food’s ordered and our drinks will be here in a minute.” I took my seat, wondering if it had been deliberate on Matt’s part, not giving me enough space to pass without touching him.

“While we wait, you can tell us about your dance studio,” he said.Persistent, wasn’t he?I figured Matt was the type of man who got what he wanted. He exuded a quiet confidence that came from a lifetime of not having to worry if people took you seriously. I doubted he ever experienced what it was like to not be sure of yourself. Matt acted like the world was his, and that was the way it should be.

The waitress brought us our drinks and I began telling them about the dance company Dante and I had started. By the time our food came, Nathan was warming up to me if his outrageous teasing of my accent was anything to go off. When I mentioned my place of birth, he joked I was a deserter and it was common sense to return to ‘our’ Great Britain.

I got stuck into my burger, cutting it into quarters, before demolishing it. Matt laughed while Nathan observed me in mock horror.

“I didn’t think you could manage a burger of that size,” he said, picking at his salad. “But you’ve proved me wrong.”

“I burn a lot of calories with dancing,” I explained. “Although I don’t usually have burgers.” I grabbed a couple of fries and smeared them through the ketchup. “I tend to eat healthy. This is my weekly pig-out.” The fries got popped into my mouth and I chewed with an unrepentant grin on my face. I’d probably never see these two after today. What did it matter if they thought my eating habits were gross? Matt’s leg brushed mine, and I tried to ignore the heat radiating between us. Would he ask for my number? Should I ask for his? No way. I stomped that idea into the ground. Risk humiliation by asking the handsome white man for his number?Hell, no.It was by chance we had run into each other today. Although we had kissed by his car, I seriously doubted he’d given me a second thought after that night. It was a spectacular kiss though.

“Are you the same age as Matt?” I asked Nathan.

“Older,” Matt jumped in with a devious twinkle in his eyes.

Nathan looked offended. “By a few months.”

Matt sipped his water while I chuckled at Nathan’s affront.

“How old are you, if you don’t mind my asking?” Nathan asked. There was a sudden undercurrent of tension between him and Matt. Or it felt like that from the way Matt abruptly placed his glass of water on the table.

“Twenty-six,” I answered, finishing off the last few fries on my plate. Mmm, that had been good.

“You’ve accomplished quite a lot for a woman of your age.” Nathan was smiling at me. I wasn’t sure if his smile was genuine. Matt cleared his throat in a decidedly threatening manner and my gaze jumped between them.

“Uh, so what do you guys do?” I asked, wanting this weird tension gone. I was enjoying myself in Matt’s company.

“Nathan works for me.” Matt pushed his plate aside. The half-eaten baguette with untouched fries looked pretty sad.

“We work at the same company,” Nathan clarified with a semi-mean glare in Matt’s direction.

I shrugged, deciding to ignore whatever it was going on between them. “Okay, but what do you guys do?”

Matt casually slung his arm over the back of the seat. His fingers grazed my shoulder and a tremor went through my limbs. He turned his head, flashing me that gorgeous smile of his, and my brain went numb. How could anyone be that good looking? He didn’t look like someone past mid-thirty. He stroked my skin lightly and my mouth went dry.

“I’m suddenly beginning to feel like an unwanted third wheel,” Nathan joked. I blinked up at Matt, his gaze fell to my lips and, without conscious thought, I licked them. Matt’s eyes darkened as he shifted in his seat, bringing us closer together.

“It’s almost uncomfortable watching you two eye hump each other,” Nathan drawled as he took a sip of his water. His words dragged me out of the seductive cloud Matt’s look had sucked me into.Eye hump?What the fuck?

“I’m a virgin,” I hissed in outrage, as Nathan suddenly choked on his drink and spluttered water over the table and himself.

I slapped a hand over my mouth, horrified at myself. What in the world was wrong with me?

“I beg your pardon?” Nathan croaked, wiping a stream of water and dribble off his chin.

Matt squeezed my shoulder, eyes laughing at me and I jerked away, mortified and wanting the floor to open up under me. Why did I feel the need to constantly affirm my lack of promiscuity? To freaking strangers. Was it because I had been raised with the understanding white guys always assumed a black woman was loose? Aunt Cleo had been a firm believer in knowing what black people suffered, and still were suffering at the hands of white people. I was more a live and let live kind of gal.

“She does that when she’s embarrassed,” Matt explained, openly chuckling as he handed Nathan a napkin.

I stared at my hands, head bent to avoid looking at anyone. Oh my God. An uncomfortable silence descended over us. Well, not all of us. Matt was still trying to stifle his laughter. He draped an arm over me and pulled me into a hug.

“Ah, poppet, you do make me laugh.”

“I’m glad you find my humiliation a source of hilarity,” I said tartly, while trying to wriggle away. “This is your fault, you know. I only say stupid shit like that around you.”

Matt’s arm slid lower, until it wrapped around my waist. He bent his lips to my ear and whispered out of Nathan’s hearing, “I’ve not stopped thinking about our night together.”

The memory of his hands and mouth on me popped into my head. The air caught in my throat as a surge of desire made my skin tingle.

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