Page 73 of Take the Lead
“Of course you can.” Tash grabbed his hips and counted out the beat.
“Nail the bounce, and you’ll nail the samba,” Gina said.
Tash pointed a finger at her. “Along with threesome samba rolls.”
Stone groaned and Gina shook her head. “Again, that doesn’t mean what you think it means.”
Tash winked. “Again, maybe it does.”
They ended early after spending most of the day teaching Stone the basic samba steps. On top of the trio samba, Gina and Stone were paired with Lauren and Kevin for a team dance—and they didn’t have much time to choreograph or practice.
Once Tash was unmic’d, she pulled Gina out to the tiny kitchenette while Stone made a trip to the restroom.
Tash grabbed Gina’s mic cord and unplugged it.
“Hey, what’re you—”
Tash pressed a finger to her lips and gestured for Gina to come closer. Gina put her head next to her roommate’s, sneaking a glance at the doorway.
“What is it?” she whispered.
“How long have you been fucking him?” Natasha hissed.
Gina reared back, her heart pounding.Damnit. “Um…”
Natasha wagged a finger at her. “Don’t even try to deny it.”
“Fine. I won’t.” Even though she’d just checked, Gina glanced around again. No point asking how Tash knew. They’d been friends since they were fourteen. “Don’t tell anyone.”
“Pssh. I can keep a secret. Can you?” With her eyebrows raised to dangerous heights, Tash sailed out of the room with a flippant “Ciao!”
Gina met up with Stone in the hallway. He was seconds away from turning his lav mic back on. She grabbed his hand to stop him.
“Natasha knows,” she said in a low voice.
He just shrugged, which did nothing to ease her anxiety. “So? Isn’t she your friend?”
“Of course. She won’t tell anyone.”
He smiled and lifted his hands to frame her face. She took a step back and he frowned. “So, what’s the problem?”
“The problem is that we’re somehow being indiscreet.”
He shrugged again. “Maybe Natasha just knows you really well.”
“Maybe.” Gina wasn’t convinced. “Let’s go. Lauren and Kevin are waiting for us.”
When they entered the other rehearsal room to meet their teammates, the first words out of Lauren’s mouth were, “Ooh, I get to dance withhim?”
Kevin let out a bark of laughter. “I guess we could choreograph a partner switch?”
Gina tensed, her skin heating.Over my dead body.
“We’ll see how it goes,” she said, proud at how friendly she managed to sound, and not at all like she wanted to claw Lauren’s pretty blue eyes out.
Gina assessed their group. She was no slouch, but Lauren, with her broad shoulders and muscular ice skater’s legs, looked like she could haul lumber in the wilderness right alongside Stone and his brothers. They’d make little blond babies with sky blue eyes and do outdoorsy shit like hunting and logging.
Whoa, hold up. She didn’t care about shit like that—babiesorlogging. Where did this line of thinking come from?
