Page 61 of The Dance Deception
‘Let’s just leave it at that for now,’ I say, offering him my hand.
‘Sure,’ he says, shaking it. ‘But for the record, I do feel terrible about it.’
Beth comes running over when she sees the handshake, with Tammy trailing more tentatively behind.
‘Does this mean you guys are friends again?’ Beth asks.
‘We’re working on it,’ I confirm.
‘Oh yay! I hated that everything got so messed up.’
I think we all breathe a sigh of relief as Ros gets us to partner up so she can run through everything we learned yesterday before introducing some new moves.
This time I smile back when Merle shoots me his knowing looks, which I think is me being grown up, but which he seems to interpret as encouragement, because when we finish rehearsing three hours later – having opted to go straight through without a break and finish earlier this time – he corners me in the corridor when I’m on my way to the ladies before leaving the studio.
‘I couldn’t stop thinking about you last night,’ he says, his eyes searching mine.
‘Don’t, Merle,’ I start. But before I can tell him I’m not going to do this dance with him again, he strokes my cheek and adds, ‘I know you’re feeling it too.’
And no matter how much I want to deny it, my resolve wavers yet again. Because when he’s standing there in front of me, my body still yearns for him to kiss me. But I cling on to my last shred of willpower.
‘You should be saying this to Emilia.’ It’s meant to be said with conviction, but my voice sounds far away, and not like my own.
‘She doesn’t make me feel this,’ he says, taking my hand and pushing it against his trousers, so I can feel him growing hard. An image of us having sex pops straightinto my mind, right here in the corridor, my back against the wall, my legs round his waist … but I pull my hand away. This is not happening again.
I don’t do it quickly enough, though.
‘Kate? Merle? What’s going on?’ Emilia’s voice shrills from behind me.
I spin round to face her, my face reddening as her expression tells me she knows exactly what was going on.
‘Nothing,’ I hastily assure her, turning to Merle to back me up. But he just smirks and stays silent.
‘Jesus, Merle,’ I mutter as I push past him and escape into the bathroom. I slam the cubicle door shut behind me and put my head in my hands, furious with him – and with myself. How can my self-control still yo-yo around him, when I don’t even like him any more? It’s maddening. And why the hell did Emilia have to choose that exact moment to come looking for him?
I wonder how the conversation in the corridor is going, but when I emerge from the bathroom Merle and Emilia have gone. My heart sinks when I get back to the reception room and see her talking to Aleksis. I join them apprehensively.
‘Hi, I’m ready when you are.’ I keep my voice light as I touch his arm.
‘Sure, let’s go,’ he replies tersely, avoiding my eye. ‘See you tomorrow, Em,’ he adds, kissing both her cheeks before heading for the door.
‘See you tomorrow, guys,’ I call out to Beth, Tammy and Liam as I follow him out. He strides ahead, leaving me half-jogging to keep up.
‘I guess she told you then?’ I ask, dreading the answer but needing to know.
He stops abruptly and turns to face me.
‘How could you?’ he says, sounding so disappointed it makes me want to cry. ‘After everything we’ve been working towards, how could you risk throwing it all away like that?’
‘But it really wasn’t anything,’ I protest weakly. ‘It was just Merle trying to persuade me to get together with him again, that’s all.’
‘You had your hand down his trousers,’ he snaps.
‘It wasn’t—’ I’m silenced by the anger in his eyes.
‘How do you think Sofiya will feel about this?’
My heart sinks. ‘You’re going to tell her?’
