Page 44 of What Happens in Paradise

‘Okay.’

She pressed play on her phone and reggae music boomed around the hall via two large speakers.

‘So!’ she shouted as she positioned herself at the front of the hall. ‘Are you ready to bump and whine?’

‘Er…’ I paused. Sounded like we wouldn’t be doing any innocent skanking today.

‘Sí!’ Alejandro said enthusiastically.

‘Nice. So there are lots of different popular dances in Jamaica: the Bogle, the Butterfly, the Dutty Whine. But first we need to start with the basics, so let’s do a little warm up.’

Nadine encouraged us to feel the beat and bob our heads in time to the music, before starting to sway from side to side.

‘When dancing to reggae music, it’s all about moving your hips orwhining, as we call it. Roll your hips in a circle.’ Nadine demonstrated, then came over to me. ‘More!’ she insisted. ‘Nice, Alejandro. You’re a natural!’

I didn’t even want to look and see what he was doing with his hips.

‘Good. Now, Jasmine, I need you to stand in front of Alejandro, push your butt back into him and whine.’

My eyes bulged.

‘I’m sorry, what?’

‘Whine up against Alejandro. That’s how we dance in Jamaica. The woman stands in front of the man. Open your legs a bit, relax your body, put your hands on your hips and roll them in a circle and stick your butt out so it presses against Alejandro. Come on, don’t be shy!’

‘I… I’m not sure if that’s appropriate for us.’ My heart thudded against my chest and my throat went dry.

‘It’s just a dance! I thought you needed to try things out to know what your guests would experience if they took the class? You are going to recommend it, aren’t you? I really need your help.’

Nadine’s face fell with disappointment and my stomach twisted. I didn’t want to let her down. And she was right. It was only a dance. All I had to do was stick it out for one song.

She’d only booked the hall for an hour and we’d spent most of that killing time whilst we waited for the other attendees, so there wasn’t much of the lesson left.

If I did what she asked for a few more minutes, it’d put a smile on her face. It was a small price to pay to make Nadine happy.

‘Okay,’ I said.

The track switched and another heavy reggae beat boomed from the speaker.

I shuffled over to Alejandro, avoiding eye contact, then stood in front of him.

‘Closer!’ Nadine instructed. ‘Legs apart, hands on your thighs, move your hips and push your butt out,’ she repeated the instructions.

I took a deep breath and then did what she said, slowly pushing my arse into Alejandro.

The heat from his body hit me like a truck. Holding his hand was one thing, but the sensation of feeling my bum pressed up against him was off the charts.

Alejandro was winding his hips in time to the beat perfectly and knowing we were dancing in sync felt good. This wasn’t so bad. In fact, I was starting to enjoy it.

‘Nice!’ Nadine beamed. ‘Keep it going!’

I kept winding my hips and as the baseline vibrated around the room and through my veins, I got into it more and started pushing my bum into Alejandro with more enthusiasm. He gripped my hips and grinded harder.

Fuck.

Goosebumps erupted across my skin and I felt tingles between my legs.

I tipped my head back a little, resting it on his firm chest as adrenaline pumped through my veins.

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