Page 27 of Lovers' Dance

Nathan, trying to recover from my outburst, rallied with a polite, “Has your dance company got any upcoming productions, Madi? The last ballet I saw at the Royal Opera House wasThe Sleeping Beauty. Have you perchance had an opportunity to perform at the Opera House?”

I shook my head, images of Matt touching me intimately dancing before my eyes. I shook my head again to clear those images before sending Nathan a rueful smile. “I wish. But one day we will.”

“I would love to see you dance,” Matt said with a serious face.

“Really?” Why did I feel this spurt of girlish glee? Thank goodness Nathan was acting like nothing unusual had happened. He was going to leave the pub thinking black women were crazy. Blanket generalization, here we come. I mentally apologized to all my sisters out there.

“Yes, really,” Matt confirmed. His hand hadn’t left my waist. It felt unbelievably nice.

There was strength in his fingers, I’d seen him beat two guys up, but his hold on me was gentle. What was I doing?What was I doing?

“I need the bathroom,” I squeaked, grabbing my cell as I pushed Matt aside, who gracefully got to his feet to let me pass. Despite his impressive stature, Matt moved like…like a dancer, smooth, almost liquid-like beneath those muscles, a sleek lion confident in the knowledge that he was king of the jungle and none would oppose him. Arriving at that apt description made me think about the phrase ‘jungle fever’.Oh, shit.Had I caught the fever?Me?I hurried to the ladies, clutching my phone tightly and confused out of my mind.

Matt watched her scamper away. That arse of hers was amazing, something he noted those lads on the other table seem to be appreciating.

“She isn’t,” Nathan asked, looking around as if wary of being overheard. “Is she?”

With a hard glare at the other table, Matt faced his friend. “Isn’t what?”

“A virgin,” Nathan murmured harshly. “Because it’s disturbing if she is.”

“Why are you here again?” Matt drawled. “I’m a bit hazy on the details.”

Nathan clenched his hand in exasperation. “Matt, I’ve been your friend for a long time. Sometimes, I think too long. For the love of God, you can’t be—she isn’t—that’s wrong.”

Matt folded his arms, taken aback at Nathan’s apparent anger. “Why is it any of your concern, Nathan? Weren’t you the one advising me to shag her and get it out of my system? If I recall, you wanted me to shag her, then buy her something nice and expensive.”

Nathan’s mouth hung open for a second, before he ran a hand through his blonde hair. He frowned at the table top, then said coolly, “That was before I met her, Matt. She’s charmingly delightful, and the thought of her being subjected to your—” Nathan gave him a weary gaze. “I’m saying this as your friend, but you can be something of a cad with the ladies. She’s lovely, a bit talkative and exuberant, but unlike anything I expected from someone like her.”

Matt bit back the urge to say “you mean black”, instead settling for a dry, “Nathan Walthamstow, do you have a little crush on her?”

“Piss off, you clown,” he replied. “Don’t do it, Matt. Leave the poor thing alone. Why don’t you spend some time with Jacqueline? You always enjoy her company and you know your liaisons are confidential. Hell, she’s getting married next year, yet she insists on seeing you every couple of months.”

“I don’t want Jacqueline, and I am not having this discussion with you anymore.” Matt turned his head towards the window, signalling the end of the conversation. Nathan sighed angrily, fingers drumming on the table. Ten minutes of charged silence passed between them. Nathan spun around, searching the direction she’d went. “What’s taking her so long?” he asked, impatient to be gone from this place.

“I have no idea.” Matt was annoyed with his friend. Nathan’s words had stirred up the guilt Matt felt about his planned pursuit of Madi. He was an arrogant bastard, there was no doubt about that, but he wanted her, fuck’s sake, he wanted her immensely.

“Do you think she’s bulimic?” Nathan asked, eyebrows rising.

“What? Why on earth would you think that?”

Nathan shrugged, looking over his shoulder. “She’s a dancer, they’re like models, anal about their weight. That was an extraordinarily large burger she wolfed down. She ate the whole thing. With chips.”

Matt waved Nathan’s concern away. “She’s perfectly healthy. Her body doesn’t show any—” Matt realised his mistake. The slip of tongue that had Nathan staring open-mouth at him.

“And how do you know that?” he asked sarcastically.

Matt ignored him by looking over at the bar. The pub was surprisingly nice, though the food was appalling.

“Where is she?” Nathan asked.

I had relieved my bladder, was still freaking out over my attraction to Matt, when I realized he hadn’t told me what he did. In fact, most of the conversation centred on me. Was he deliberating avoiding talking about himself? I knew he was well-to-do, but people could earn money from illegal shit. Maybe he was a drug dealer. He had that intense dangerous thing going on.

“I’m going to Google his ass,” I muttered to my reflection. The woman washing her hands next to me moved away, not bothering to dry her hands as she scampered out of the ladies.

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