Page 13 of Slow Burn
She lifted her shoulders and let them drop. "I don't know yet. There are a few flavor combinations I still want to try out."
"I have no issues being your taste tester." I polished off the rest of my lunch and grinned just as my phone dinged from inside my pocket, reminding me that my lunch break was almost over.
Wrinkling my nose, I huffed, "I gotta get back. Am I seeing you at class tonight?"
"Of course." Frankie walked me to the door and hugged me. "Maybe we can stop by Oven and Vineafterward? Grab a pizza and a few drinks. Or a warm, willing body?"
I threw my head back and laughed. "You're impossible."
"That wasn't a no."
For whatever reason, a night out didn't sound nearly as exciting as it should have. "It's been a crazy week, Frankie. Maybe this weekend?"
My best friend eyed me carefully. "I'm holding you to it. You and me, we're going out even if I have to drag you there with my bare hands."
Grinning, I turned and started walking. "I wasn't expecting anything less."
***
I was the first to arrive for our dance/aerobics class. Lucetta had started doing these three times a week when the moms of her students begged her to do something fitness-related for the adults too. The gym in Clearwater Bay wasn't the most impressive and didn't offer a lot of variety. In fact, the only cardio training you could do there was running on a treadmill or pedaling on a stationary bike.
I shouldered the door but came to an abrupt halt when I saw Lucetta speaking on the phone. Her brows were dipped low and hands furiously waving through the air. Knowing I'd interrupted, I tried to back away slowly, but her head snapped up. "I'll call you back," she said into the phone before tossing it onto her desk. "Maddie. Hi.Come in." With her frown still in place, she motioned for me to come closer. "I didn't even realize it was time for class already."
Feeling like I had intruded on something, which I probably had, I dragged my palms over my thighs. "I'm early, but I can come back later. Or just wait outside."
"Don't do that." She waved me off with a sigh and leaned back against her chair. Tipping her head back, she just stared at the ceiling. I wasn't exactly sure what to do. It was obvious that something was weighing on her, but I didn't want to overstep by asking.
Luckily, she put me out of my misery when she looked my way again. "My mom fell and broke her hip, and because she's as stubborn as they come, she's refusing to go to a care facility until it heals."
"She's living alone?" I guessed.
"Yeah." Lucetta blew out a breath. "And now my brother expects me to put everything on hold to drive down to Oakridge and take care of her." We hadn't had a ton of heart to hearts, but I knew that she and her mother hadn't always had the best relationship because of her dancing.
Kind of like me and my parents. Though, that particular can of worms didn't need opening at all. "I take it he can't do it?"
She looked completely defeated. "No, he's going back to London tomorrow." Leaning forward, she rested her elbows on her desk. "Don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't want to go to my mom. I actually think it'll begood for us to spend time together. I just can't leave the studio—"
The rest of her words never made it out as she lifted her head and trained her narrowed eyes at me. "You know, it would be a lot easier if there was someone who could take over the classes for me while I'm gone."
"Yeah, but you're the only dance teacher in Clearwater Bay." She cocked her brow. It took me another moment to grasp what the stare meant. "Oh, no." I shook my head vehemently. "I couldn't. Besides, I work at the hardware store during the day. I don't have the time." The words tumbled out of my mouth in a jumbled mess.
Lucetta's expression softened. Rising from her seat, she walked to where I was standing and placed her hands on my shoulders. "Maddie, don't take this the wrong way, but you can't possibly be happy there. You were born to dance."
"I already tried that," I reminded her bitterly.
Her palms were warm when she pressed them against my cheeks. "Oh, sweetie, that doesn't mean you have to stop dancing. Teaching others can be just as fulfilling."
I swallowed hard. "I don't know, Lucetta."
Her hands dropped to my shoulders again. Squeezing them, she said, "Take a day or two and think about it, okay? Whatever your dad is paying you at the store, I'll match it."
There was a very, very big part of me that wanted to scream yes at the top of my lungs. The mere thought of spending my entire day surrounded by people who understood this crazy passion was exciting.
But then there was the other part. The one that knew the taste of failure and what it felt like to have the people you love look at you with disappointment shining in their eyes.
It was that part that had me leaving the studio with a grumbled promise to think over her offer. And it was that same part that reminded me why I needed to say no.
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