The Storm Before the Calm (11 page)

How was I ever supposed to be just friends with him? My head and my heart agreed on one thing, and that was how much I wanted to be with him. The niggling in the back of my brain was still there, but it was eclipsed by the growing feelings I had for him.

By the time the credits rolled, my mind was made up. I was going to do this. I had no idea what I was getting myself into or what the outcome would be. Hell, I didn’t even know how to
be
with a guy. But one thing was certain, and that was that I was going to try.

My mom called me that night, and guilt racked me as I pressed the ignore button on my cell phone. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to talk to her. I did. But she knew me better than anyone, and she would know something was wrong. It was one thing to fool Aunt Ginny, but my mom? She had a nose for trouble like a drug-sniffing dog at the border. I couldn’t risk it. I told myself I would call her back the next day, once I had everything put together more clearly in my head. I felt like I had made this monumental life choice, and even though the choice had been clear, the reasons and implications were a mass of brambles in my mind.

I
MET
Max at the studio the next morning, the same time as the day before. He was there again, coffees in hand for the both of us. We climbed the stairs to the second floor, and Max set the drinks down on the floor next to the stereo.

“Max?” I said, my voice cracking as my nerves took hold of me.

“Yeah?” he asked, turning toward me, his handsome face questioning and kind.

“I thought about it… about what we talked about yesterday, I mean.”

I stepped closer to him, the movement unconscious. He raised his eyebrows but didn’t speak, waiting for me to get out what I had to say.

“I think, if you still want to, that I’d like to try….”

“Oh, thank fuck,” he said, and before I realized what was happening, I was swept into his arms and his mouth was crashing down on mine. I hesitated a moment and then gave myself over to him, wrapping my arms around him and holding him to me as he kissed me stupid in the middle of the studio floor.

I was out of breath by the time we were finished. He laughed when he pulled away, his cheeks pink and his expression happy.

“I’m so glad, Charlie. I thought you were going to back out, and I really,
really
didn’t want you to.”

I still couldn’t quite believe this man, this confident, graceful, intelligent, sexy-as-all-get-out man, wanted me. But who was I to question his sanity when the thought of it made me so damn happy? “I considered it. But I’d like to know. I want to know what it’s like to be who I am for a change.”

“I’m gonna do my very best to show you how good it can be. We’ll take things at your pace, though. You’re in charge. I’m not going to push you at all. You are driving this train, okay?”

I nodded, grateful he understood. “Can we… maybe, can we keep it between us for now?”

“Of course, Charlie. I’m not into outing people. You do what you’re comfortable with, and I’ll be along for the ride.”

“You know… I think I’d be comfortable maybe kissing a little more.”

“You got it, Sparky. Whatever you want.”

I blushed at the pet name and reached up, experimentally carding my fingers through his hair. It was so soft, tangled around my fingers.

“You drive me crazy,” Max said, and he kissed me again.

Chapter Twelve

M
AX
AND
I spent all day Sunday together dancing and kissing and touching. Well, mostly kissing and touching. The dancing inevitably led to more kissing and touching, so by the end of the day, my lips were a little swollen. Not that I was complaining. I hated to leave, but he said he had to get to work, a part-time thing at a club somewhere across town. We’d waved good-bye and gone our separate ways, but it wasn’t three minutes before my phone was buzzing with a message from him.

Max: You taste so good.

I blushed hard and typed back.

Charlie: So do you.

Max: When do I get to see you again?

Charlie: Tomorrow?

Not soon enough, but it’ll have to do. Text me later?

Charlie: Definitely.

M
ONDAY
ROLLED
around, and I was more exhausted than ever. Exhausted and exhilarated. After I’d left Max, I’d gone home and made myself dinner, propped my feet up, and relaxed as I ate my tomato soup and grilled cheese. It was nice to be home alone, especially after the day I’d had. It gave me time to replay everything over again in my head. It had been wonderful the first time and just as good when I relived it. I was happier than I ever remembered being. I arrived at the studio, missing the weekend already yet pumped up to be at Free Rein. I’d spent most of the weekend dancing, but even an evening off and I began to feel restless. The prospect of seeing Max again didn’t hurt either.

I hadn’t been there more than five minutes when Andy bounded up to me, her ponytail swinging as she moved. “Charlie!” she exclaimed as she threw her arms around me. It was like we were being reunited after years apart. I smiled and hugged her back.

“Hey, Andy. How was your weekend?”

“Totally boring. Mom made me help her reorganize our family photos. What did you do?”

I thought about telling her the truth. It would be nice to have someone to confide in, someone to share my secrets with, but the look she’d given me the week before when I stayed behind to talk to Max made me wary of divulging too much too soon. Instead, I edited the truth.

“Not much. I spent the weekend hanging out with my aunt. We ordered in then watched a movie. Kinda dull.”

“That sucks. Maybe this weekend we can get together and do something more exciting,” she suggested.

“Maybe,” I said noncommittally. I didn’t want her to know about Max and me, and I was hoping against hope I’d be spending the weekend with him again. I didn’t want to make concrete plans with her in case he was free.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out and clicked on the screen to read the message.

Max: I got competition?

I looked up to see him watching Andy and me from across the room, an amused look on his face. Clearly he’d heard everything we’d said.

I texted back.

Charlie: Not even a little.

Max: Good.

I laughed as I tucked my phone back into my pocket.

“What?” Andy asked.

“Nothing. I’m gonna go get changed. See you upstairs?”

“Sure,” she chirped.

I ducked into the changeroom, excited to see Max again. I hadn’t made it more than two steps inside before I was tugged sideways and pressed against the wall, Max’s body pinning me in place.

“Missed you,” he said before his lips descended on mine. The kiss was brief but intense, and when Max pulled away, I had a hard time refocusing my eyes.

“Missed you too.” I spoke against his lips before I kissed him again, just a soft press. “We probably shouldn’t do this here when there are other people in the building.”

“Probably not,” Max agreed. “But I don’t know how I’m going to be able to keep my hands to myself all fucking day.”

“I’m sure you’ll find a way,” I said.

“Maybe….”

His voice was cryptic, but I knew Max wasn’t stupid. He knew keeping us a secret meant a lot to me, and I trusted him not to jeopardize that.

We dressed quickly, grabbing our stuff, and then I followed him up the stairs to the class. Andy was waiting for us, ready to go.

We only had a few minutes before class started, and we filled it with mindless chitchat. I had a hard time concentrating on the conversation. I found myself staring at Max, noticing the way his Adam’s apple moved when he spoke and the way his eyes crinkled at the corners when he laughed.

Class started, and it did little to sway my attention back to the here and now. Max was teaching, and I was grateful to have a legitimate reason to look at him. We’d split up into two groups, running through the choreography Sophie had designed for us. As I waited my turn, Max breezed by me.

He stopped briefly and bent forward, his lips inches from my ear, and whispered, “Check out the mirror.”

I looked, and right there in the corner were three handprints, two facing down and one right side up, head height, just where our hands had been the first time Max had kissed me. I felt the heat flooding my face. It terrified me and turned me on, all at the same time. Evidence of our secret was right there for everyone to see.

I grinned at him, and he returned the smile, one eyebrow cocked as he made his way to the other side of the room.

“What was that?” Andy whispered, leaning into me. Suddenly her presence annoyed me. I didn’t want her to know, and she was crowding in on me. I wanted it to be Max and me and no one else.

“Nothing,” I whispered back. She gave me a glare, but there was no venom behind it.

T
HE
REST
of the week progressed in much the same way, Max and I stealing a brief moment every morning to kiss one another breathless before climbing the stairs to class. During class he did his best to drive me insane. Acro was the worst. He’d touch me a moment longer than he needed to when he was spotting me, and he stood a little too close during our other classes. He drove me nuts.

If anyone else noticed, no one said anything, but every time he was close to me, my body responded. It was very nearly embarrassing more than once.

By Friday I was itching for the weekend, impatient as hell to be alone with him. We’d made plans for a repeat of the weekend before, meeting at ten Saturday morning. I hoped for a repeat of more than our schedule.

M
AX
WAS
waiting for me when I arrived at the studio, almost an hour before we were scheduled to meet. I’d taken a chance he’d be there. Judging by the text that had come through a little before eight o’clock, I knew he’d gotten up early too. I crossed the room, suddenly feeling a little shy and unsure of myself. Being alone with him again was all I wanted, and yet it felt overwhelming at the same time.

But then I was in his arms and his mouth was on mine and everything clicked into place like a frame suddenly coming into focus. The feeling of his tongue sliding against mine had me sighing into him and closing my eyes to focus more completely on the feeling of him.

There was nothing better in the world than kissing Max. The way he smelled and the way he tasted swirled together. It was delicious.

“Feeling a little eager today, Sparky?” Max asked, his eyes shining.

I blushed. “Maybe a little.”

“That’s fine by me. I like eager.” He nuzzled at my skin beside my ear. “You ready to get started?”

“Mmm-hmm,” I hummed, not ready at all. I wanted him to stay where he was, to keep his hands where they were, sliding slow and easy beneath my T-shirt, his fingers tickling the small of my back.

“Let’s run through what we have so far, but first, just gimme one sec.”

He jogged across the room to the shelf that held the stereo and placed his phone next to it, propping it up. Then he started the music and walked back over to me. I closed my eyes and let the song and the feeling of Max behind me pull me under. The steps flowed together, part choreography, part pure sensation.

It was organic and easy, much like the way our kisses had become, each person anticipating the other’s moves. He wrapped his arms around me, turning me toward him, dipping me to the side. My body extended naturally, fingers to toes in the proper lines. I lifted him, slid him down beneath me as I followed him in an arabesque. He lay beside me, our backs arching in perfect synchronization as we moved through the floor. He rolled on top of me, and I placed my hands solidly against his ribs, pushing him back up. His hands wrapped around my wrists, and he pulled me with him. He lifted me, placed me down, and we set up, pushed off, and performed perfect fouettés in time to the beat.

I felt like I was flying, and Max was right there beside me the whole time. Dance had never been like this. I’d never felt it gripping my soul like this. I was free, and Max had given me that freedom. We both spun out of our turns and stopped, the song far from over but the choreography finished for now.

“Awesome,” Max said, obviously pleased with how we’d done. He retrieved his phone, turning the music off in the process, and had me sit down next to him.

“I want to show you something,” he said, holding it out in front of us. He hit a button, and I saw myself standing in the center of the room. I saw him walk over to me as the music started, and I watched as we danced our way through the first half of our routine.

I held my breath as the images on the screen flashed by.

“See?” Max asked.

I nodded. I had no words. We were striking together. I’d never seen anything like it. I’d certainly never seen myself dance like that. I was lost in it. It was like I was watching a completely different person.

“You’re beautiful,” Max breathed.

I still couldn’t believe that was us. Max, I got. I’d thought he was gorgeous and strong and graceful from the moment I’d laid eyes on him, but I still had a hard time wrapping my head around seeing myself with him.

“I love the way we look together. Light and dark. Like we go together.”

“Made for each other,” I whispered and then immediately realized what I’d said. My eyes widened, and I hoped he hadn’t heard. I was such a fucking idiot. This relationship, or whatever it was we were doing, was barely a week old, and here I was talking soul mates. I was mortified. Why couldn’t I keep my fat mouth shut?

I felt Max’s hand slide against my cheek, bringing me to look at him. He met my gaze. No one had ever looked at me like that before. I felt as though he could see inside me. It was a strange and wonderful feeling. He kissed me then, a soft press of his lips against mine, and I relaxed against him. His kiss told me everything I needed to know. Even though I said stupid things, he wasn’t going anywhere.