“Have second dinner?” Kaelee nodded at the Chinese restaurant a few doors away. “Your wish is my command.”
“Observation, Miss Carpenter. You took me for a private dance.” Greta pointed at the dance studio.
“I did.” Kaelee held out a hand and Greta took it.
Inside, the studio was warm. The lights were low, and the music was soft. A woman in a flared dress greeted them. “Kaelee and Greta? How lovely to meet you! I’m Inez.”
“We spoke on the phone,” Kaelee said.
“Yes. Kaelee. Come in. I have water here for you.” Inez motioned to a glass pitcher of ice water. “Or tea if you like.” Two mugs sat waiting.
“How about we just get started?” Kaelee said. Sitting around would make her self-conscious.
The teacher smiled widely and then nodded once. “Have either of you taken any dance?”
“Ballet,” they both said.
Kaelee braced herself against the next admission. “Cheer-related dance, so… I don’t know if that counts. Nothing since I was a teen.”
“Did you look over the options?” Inez directed the question to both of them.
“Rumba,” Kaelee said.
“Good!” Inez took Greta’s hand and led her to the center of the floor. “You stand like this.” She motioned Kaelee over. “Come.”
Kaelee felt foolish standing there as Inez positioned her hands on Greta. “I work better with words.”
“No touching?” Inez frowned. “I can dance with your lady to show you if you prefer.”
The thought of Inez dancing with Greta made an unfamiliar possessiveness surface in Kaelee. “No. Touching is fine, I guess.”
Inez smirked, but she said nothing as she positioned their arms in a basic frame. She paused, squeezing Kaelee’s biceps. “She is strong, Greta. Her arm is strong, and yours rests there on hers as she leads you. Yes?”
“Yes.”
“You hold this hand here in her other hand, lightly, as if you will escape.” Inez smiled. “She will pull you back when you pull away. This is how we dance. She will lead you, and when you flee, she chases. You push, pull, and the seduction will continue this way.
“Now we are in the frame, and we sidestep.” Inez stood beside Kaelee and demonstrated a sidestep. “We build to the box step.”
Then she moved to Greta’s side and demonstrated the same move from her position. “Start with the weight here. Then sidestep to the right, then bring the left foot in.”
Greta stared at her intently, her lip caught in her teeth as she watched and studied the moves.
Then Inez moved again, saying as she did, “We do this asslow, quick, quick, slow, quick, quick.”
They tried to do as she instructed while Inez repeated, “Slow, quick, quick, slow, quick, quick.” Twice they repeated this before Inez frowned at Kaelee. “Hips. Your hips are stuck. We must move these.”
“My hips arewhat?”
“Stiff. Stuck. Notmoving.” Inez demonstrated the moves again. “See how my hipsmove.It’s not just the feet. Hips move. Again.”
Kaelee tried again.
“Better. Think when you step, you bend this knee. See how my hips swish when I bend the knee like this?” Inez paused. “You holdGreta’s hips now. Greta will move hers, and you will feel how you must move. The lead and the follow both sway, like a cobra charmer.”
Inez made a twirl gesture with her finger, and Greta pivoted to put her back to Kaelee. “Grab her there,” Inez ordered. “Hold on.”
Greta looked over her shoulder. “Come on. Grab me,darlin’.”
