Just to be sure, I question, “You want me to dance for you?”
“Yeah.”
“In exchange for you keeping this between us?”
“That’s the idea.”
My mouth falls open. “You’re insane.”
“I’d like to think of myself as someone who sees an opportunity and seizes it.”
“What opportunity?”
“I was bored and then a ballerina fell into my lap. A good one too, from what I’ve heard.” Again, he gives me a once-over. “So I want you to entertain me.”
I ignore the flush of pleasure at his off-handed compliment. Mostly because it’soff-handedand followed by a very presumptuous demand.
And also because, as I said, he’s insane.
“What do you think this is?” I ask, exasperated. “A movie from the fifties or something? Where you’re a cigar-smoking villain and you’re blackmailing me into dancing for you.”
“A cigar-smoking villain.” He’s amused. “I’m known to smoke a cigarette here and there and I usually prefer the term asshole but I like that. It has a certain flair to it.”
“I’m not going to dance for you.”
“Well then, I’m going to enjoy watching Ledger lose his shit in the next game when I tell him how pretty his sister looked, standing before me, begging me to keep her secret.”
I clench my teeth in anger.
Have I said that I hate him?
I really, really do.
“Fine.Fine,” I snap at him. “I’ll dance for you. But just for making me do that, you also have to apologize to my brother.”
“Apologize.”
“Yes. You provoked him on the field today. I don’t know what you said but you’re going to apologize to him when you see him next.”
A flash of irritation tightens his mouth. “Just so you know, I don’t do well with orders.”
I go up on my tiptoes then.
Because he’s so tall and I want to get up in his face, which of course he notices, my feet arched up and my calves strained.
And something in my struggle to appear all strong in front of him turns his gaze even more molten.
“Well, you’re gonna have to start,” I tell him, “because I’m not dancing until you promise me.”
He watches me silently for a few moments before stepping back.
And I think it’s over.
I’ve called his bluff.
But then, he fishes something out of his back pocket, his cell phone, and presses a few buttons on the screen.
Suddenly, the music that was a dull sound in the background flares to life. The air fills with heavy bass and people back at the party cheer.
