Page 175 of The First Taste
This is it, I think.This is when I finally lose my virginity.
But when I reach for him, he pulls away. He exhales and shakes his head.
“Not tonight,” he says. His expression is all but unreadable as he extricates himself from me. “I’m just going to have Anna send over all this lingerie.”
I stand up, glancing at the mirror. “…okay?”
The way I say it, it sounds like a question. But whatever attention he was paying me before, now his body language is forbidding and closed off. He straightens his cuffs and clears his throat.
“I’ll leave you to it,” he says.
Calum stalks out of the screened area, leaving me to wonder what the hell just happened.
Calum
“No!” I shout. The class full of dancers freezes in place. The piano player falters. “Absolutely not. You are all deeply disappointing. Run that entire piece again.”
My words ring out in the studio. The only sounds are the shuffling of feet as the dancers move back to begin again. The piano player starts the movement again, the music swelling and speeding up.
Bas turns his gaze on me, narrowing it slightly. “After this combination, you are dismissed!” he calls out.
I glare at him. He points to his wrist. I’m not wearing a watch, but I would guess that he’s trying to chide me. I clasp my hands behind my back and prowl the studio.
When I come to Kaia, I force myself not to stare at her. I just move on though I want nothing more than to pretend that there is no one else in this studio but her.
The knowledge that she gave me one of her firsts — her first orgasm from another person — rests heavily on my heart. I feel conflicted about it…
But also, it’s the hottest thing I can imagine. When Kaia closes her eyes and thinks about coming, she can only draw from one experience. Something that I gave her.
I made sure as shit that she had a first time worth remembering. No one should have a terrible memory like I do, in a closet on a pile of coats, with a woman old enough to be my grandmother.
The thought of Anita makes my lips thin.
The combination ends and everybody sags. I purse my lips and glance outside.
“Thank you, everyone,” Basil says, clapping his hands.
The sun is already starting to set. I admit that I may have run roughshod over Bas’s little schedule. My frown deepens.
I turn around and make eye contact with Kaia. Jerking my chin toward the studio door, I grab my water bottle and head out. I walk to the next studio over, which is empty. Making sure that Kaia sees me, I step through into the emptiness.
It’s a couple of minutes before she slips in the door, closing it behind her. Tucking back a loose strand of blonde hair, she raises an eyebrow. “Are you talking to me again, then?”
My eyebrows lower. “If there was a time when I was ignoring you, I’m not aware of it.”
Two spots of pale pink appear in the apples of her cheeks. “You have been acting strangely for the last couple of days, Calum.”
I repress the urge to roll my eyes at her.
“I wasn’t trying to act any particular way.” I wave a hand in front of my face. “That’s not the reason I want to talk to you. I wanted to know if you would accompany me to a charity gala later.”
Her look of surprise is complete. “What? I thought… I mean… you wouldn’t want to be seen with me, would you?”
I flash her a smirk. “Relax, Kaia. It’s an event that I usually don’t attend, with people I normally don’t socialize with. No one will know you.”
She ducks her head. “I was going to spend the night catching up on laundry.”
I reach out and snag her hand, pulling her a step closer. Kaia looks up at me, those hazel depths containing innumerable mysteries. Her gaze sinks to my lips and then to the door behind me.
