by L. P. Rose
Nikoli’s voice commanded everyone’s attention again, and we rose to our feet. I kept my eyes to a spot on the wall behind his head as he spoke. As soon as he ordered us into partners again, I instantly made a beeline towards Jared. “Be my partner?” I almost growled before Nikoli could move from his spot.
As Jared and I moved around the dance floor, I felt something I hadn’t felt for two years, not since the day Max tore shreds out of me at our wedding. I felt alive. As we continued to dance I found myself giggling uncontrollably at nothing at all, spurred on by Jared’s deep bouts of laughter, yet every time my eyes glanced in Nikoli’s direction, his eyes were dark and piercingly drilled directly into me but his face remained unreadable. I heard Nikoli’s voice call time on the class, and he pulled the plug on the speaker system, killing the music.
Two hours is up already?
“See you on Friday?” Jared asked as I pulled on my hoodie. Friday suddenly seemed a long time away and I wasn’t sure I wanted to wait that long to feel alive and free again. “I might see you in Latin,” I replied bending over to get my bag.
“You’d better, Raine. I have a feeling me and you girl, are gonna be like best friends,” called out Mona.
“Raine, can I have a word?” hollered Nikoli, as I went to leave with Jared and Mona. I came to a standstill. I sighed and headed towards him.
“How do you think your lesson went?” He asked taking a seat on the edge of the table.
“I enjoyed it. I felt alive,” I mumbled awkwardly.
“Good. You did well today, Raine. Very well, but I think you’d benefit from extra weekend lessons if you’re up for them?” He asked, raising his eyebrows, and waiting patiently for my answer.
“You’re the professional, if that’s what you think,” I nodded, trying to keep my tone void of excitement.
“Well then, I guess I’ll see you Friday,” he said flatly. He moved and grabbed a pen and piece of paper.
“Actually, I was thinking of maybe trying Latin, too?”
His hand momentarily paused from writing and he glanced at me, “Latin? You do know that it requires you getting up close and personal, so to speak, with your partner?”
I nodded in agreement, but I had no clue what it meant, I’d never been into dance so I couldn’t tell one style from another. I made a mental note to check it out on Google and You Tube.
He licked his lips and stood upright handing me the slip of paper. I took it and looked at the numbers scrawled on it with a frown. “My landline and cell number, you need me anytime, you call me.”
“Do you give these to all your students?” I snapped.
He closed the gap between us, hooked his finger under my chin and raised my head. His eyes silently searched mine before he spoke. “No, Raine, I don’t. You’re the only student to have these numbers.”
My eyes widened with surprise, “But why? Why me?” I whispered.
He smiled. “Because you’re special, Myshka,” he replied then grabbed his bag and walked away from me.
CHAPTER NINE.
I couldn’t stop repeating Nikoli’s words in my head; You’re special, Myshka. No one had ever said that to me before, not even Max, and as much as this compliment from another man, a man who wasn’t my husband, had made my insides explode with joy and fleetingly made me feel devoid of problems in my marriage, I couldn’t help but feel where Nikoli was concerned, I was stepping into dangerous territory.
I knew nothing about him, yet whenever I’m around him I felt unburdened of my life with Max. I am able to see without any filters or restrictions because my spirit is freed from all of that, even if it is only for a couple of hours. The pain seems lessened and further away. Then as I make my way back to Max, I’m counting my heartbeats loudly until I cross over the threshold of our marital home. That’s when the pangs of misery reverberate once again throughout me, and the cage comes down, hemming me in.
“You’re looking good, Raine,” Max said from behind me, startling me from my daydreaming as I danced around the spare room.
I quickly dropped my frame and spun around. “Max,” I gasped, my hand grasping my chest, “I thought you’d already left for court.”
He smirked, moved away from the door jamb, and skulked towards me. “I did, but I forgot some important papers,” he replied lowly. His hands slid around my waist and my body went rigid when he leant towards my ear and kissed my neck.
I scrunched my eyes shut tight and silently willed him to move away from me. His hands slid down towards my rear, where he forcefully pinched my backside and pushed my groin into his, “Watching you dance without a care in the world, has made me fucking horny,” he growled and nipped at my ear with his teeth.
“Too bad you must be in court,” I forced myself to say with a smile.
“True, I hadn’t better start something I don’t have the time to finish. I’ll be home late tonight, but will you wait up for me?” He asked.
I swallowed hard and nodded my head silently. His piercing blue eyes roamed like a predator over my braless breasts, visible through the satin camisole I was wearing.
“Show me what you’ve got,” he said, before crushing his lips against mine, his tongue forced its way passed my lips and into my mouth to explore.
“Show you?” I whispered nervously, moving my mouth quickly from his, unsure of what he meant. I’d learnt over the years where Max was concerned, what he says and what he means are two very different things.
He laughed, the deep rumbling laugh that not long ago I used to love, but now it sounded like teeth grinding against teeth. “Dance with me, what else would I mean?” He stepped back and motioned me to hold up my frame.
Slowly I raised my arms and waited. He stepped into me and grasped my hand roughly causing me to wince. Then he pulled me closer and his hand slid under my other arm to my shoulder blade. It didn’t feel anything like Nikoli’s hold, Max’s was possessive and harsh.
As we started to step slide step, I felt myself tense up, I didn’t feel safe. My smooth footwork that I had been practicing so hard, came out like stomps, clumsy and with no elegance. I tried to concentrate, to pretend I was really dancing in Nikoli’s arms and not Max’s, but it was to no avail.
I could feel my breathing change and it became ragged, the sweat began to gather between the valley of my breasts at the annoyance radiating from Max’s face. It was pinched tight; his blue eyes were narrowed and his nostrils flared. I stumbled when he tried to turn me and I headed towards the floor, but instead of Max holding my frame to prevent me falling like Nikoli did, he let me go. My body connected to the oak flooring with a deep thud and a sharp gasp of pain flew from my mouth.
“Jesus, Raine, what are you playing at?” He snapped, grabbing my upper arm with one hand and yanking me back to my feet.
“I’m so sorry, I lost my concentration,” I cried.
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. I waited for his explosion to pierce through the air, but it didn’t happen. He leant forward and kissed my forehead, “Keep practicing. If you must take up more lessons, you have my permission,” he said. I watched the anger in his eyes fade away leaving me completely stunned at his sudden change in temperament.
I felt my jaw gape slightly and my eyes widened as I stared at him unable to comprehend what had just happened. “Pardon?” I finally whispered.
“I know you’re working hard on this dancing for my sake, I’ve been coming by and watching you over the weekend. I need you to have this in the bag by the 21st, so—”
He was cut off when the land-line phone on the landing, shrilled through the house. Wordlessly, he turned from me and headed to the phone. I could hear his deep voice, then a laugh, then he poked his head back into the room, “It’s for you. It’s Niki,” he boomed.
Panic completely consumed me at this news. I stood statuesque and unable to move. “Who?” I whispered. My throat was closing rapidly leaving my tongue feeling thick and heavy, then I felt the room begin to spin.
“Niki, your dance instructor. What the hell is wrong with you this morning?” He snapped loudly.
Why is Nikoli calling me at home? Why isn’t Max spitting feathers?
“For God’s sakes, Raine take the damned call, she’s waiting. I’ll see you tonight. I love you!” Then he was gone.
She? She’s waiting?
Quickly bringing myself back into the room and trying to gain some composure, I forced my jelly legs to move towards the phone. With my entire body shaking like a leaf, I picked up the handset.
“Hello?” I whispered.
“Raine? It’s Petra, Niki’s sister, is it safe to talk? Just answer yes or no.”
“Yes,” I whispered. Upon hearing the front door slam and then the engine of Max’s car start, my legs finally gave way and I sunk to the floor. I let out a deep grunt of relief at finding Petra on the line and not Nikoli.
“I’m sorry to call you at home but Nikoli wanted to talk to you,” she said quietly. I couldn’t respond, my body felt like it had just been though a wringer with the surge of emotions that had just engulfed me, one after the other without pause.
“Raine, I’m sorry to call you at home—” came Nikoli’s voice. I felt my body consume one emotion I had yet to experience, anger.
“What in hell do you think you’re playing at, calling me here?” I snarled over the top of him, duping him into silence.
“I was careful Raine, I got Petra to call. I needed to speak with you but I didn’t want to cause any trouble for you with your husband.”
Alarm bells suddenly rang loudly in my head. How does he know it would cause trouble for me?
“Trouble? What do you mean by that statement?” I growled.
“I just meant …that …you’re a woman, who’s married. Most men would …be annoyed, angry even if another man called to speak to their wife, that’s all,” he replied, “I didn’t want to cause a row for you with him.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose and blew out a long uneven breath to calm myself down. No harm was done. Petra had called me, not Nikoli and Max seemed none of the wiser that my instructor, my sexy, hot instructor was a man and not a woman.
“Okay, what do you want?” I asked, cautiously. I raked my fingers through my tangled mane of hair attempting to de-tangle it.
He cleared his throat in my ear before he spoke. “Were you serious last night, about wanting to try Latin?”
I thought for a few seconds. Was I serious? I hadn’t had the time to check it out on Google yet so I was still unsure what had fallen from my mouth in my moment of madness. “Yes,” I whispered. Anything to keep me away from this prison.
His low chuckle filtered into my ear. “You don’t sound very convinced, Myshka. I’ll ask you again, are you serious?”
“Yes!” I replied again, this time with conviction behind my answer.
He inhaled sharply and I swear I could sense his cocky, lopsided grin down the phone. “I’m glad to hear that. Are you free for a few hours today?”
No. No I’m not!
My heart began to beat like a drum, loud and wild in my chest and excitement danced through me as my anger towards him calling me, ebbed away.
Don’t do this Raine. Say No.
“Max is in court today he said he’d be late home. So yes, yes I’m free.” I heard my mouth say as it blatantly betrayed my subconscious thoughts.
“Excellent. I’ll meet you at the end of your road in half an hour?”
“How do you know where I live?” I asked like a moron. I slapped my palm to my forehead and shook my head at my stupidity.
“The enrollment form,” he whispered like it was a big secret. He laughed again causing my lips to curl in, to smile.
“Are we going to the studio?” I asked, mentally trying to remember to make sure I took everything I’d need.
“No, Raine. Let’s just say this will be a more hands-on learning experience for you,” he said cryptically, which only left me with more questions forming on my tongue.
“I suggest you wear something loose and flowing. Something that’s not going to restrict you,” he said before I could interject with another question.
I let out a small burst of breath. “Where are we going?” I asked meekly. I pushed my back up against the wall and sighed.
“It’s a surprise, but I will tell you this,” he started, then paused dramatically for several seconds leaving me hanging with baited breath for him to finish. “Make sure you take a Valium before you leave, you are definitely going to need it,” he finished.
I felt my body ignite in a ball of heat, just like molten lava. I tried to process his words and the meaning behind them, as my pulse rate soared. I felt like I was on the slippery slope to a heart attack while my blood swirled loudly in my ears. Before I could ask him what he meant, I caught the disconnection tone in my ear.
I pulled the phone from my ear and stared at it, as I tried to calm down my heart rate.
“This is dangerous, I can’t do it,” I muttered. I returned the handset back to its cradle. I’m a married woman, I’m not single. I shouldn’t be excited at the prospect of spending time with another man. With Nikoli. The dangerous dancer.
Closing my eyes, I took a deep inhalation of breath through my nostrils and blew it out through puckered lips, repeatedly. When I felt my body temperature cool down, and my heart slowed to a more even pace, I opened my eyes.
“Fuck it!” I muttered and raced towards my wardrobe to find something that may or may not fit in with Nikoli’s breadcrumb of a description.
CHAPTER TEN.
I walked gingerly down the road not knowing what the next few hours with Nikoli was going to bring, but despite the nagging doubts pecking away at the back of my brain, reminding me this wasn’t a good idea, a part of me was excited to find out what lay ahead.
A black car up ahead swung open its driver’s door and Nikoli’s gorgeous face poked out. “You came then?” He flashed me that lopsided grin, the one that I was finding harder not to reciprocate with a smile of my own.
“I can’t stay out long, a couple of hours, then I have to go home,” I made a point of telling him as I climbed in the seat next to him.
“Don’t worry, Cinders, I’ll make sure you’re home before he gets back,” he replied. He started up the car and pulled away.
The notes of sandalwood and citrus hit my nostrils from the scent of his cologne and I felt myself slowly relax as it wrapped itself around me in a comforting way. “Where are you taking me?” I asked, quietly gazing out of the window at the world passing me by.
“You’ll find out soon, patience is a virtue, Myshka,” he replied.
I snorted and turned to look at him. “You know, I’m not a little mouse so you can quit with the Myshka name,” I said sternly.
He briefly glanced at me and cocked an eyebrow, “You’re not? Could have fooled me,” he replied with a shrug. “The first time I met you, you were trying to scurry away from the studio, like a little mouse. You’re nervous over everything, like a little mouse, and when you’re embarrassed your voice squeaks like a little mouse,” he replied.
I playfully slapped his arm, “I do not squeak!”
He laughed and nodded his head, a few of his dark threads of hair fell forward and I had to curl my hand into a balled fist to prevent myself from reaching out and pushing them back. “Oh, Raine. Yes, you do squeak.”
“Whatever.” I pouted as I folded my arms across my chest. “So, you’re Russian then? You know, your name, the term Myshka?” I asked trying to deflect my embarrassment via interrogation tactics.
He nodded. “Petra and I originate from the city Nizhny Novgorod, it’s roughly 400 kilometers from Moscow. It’s a beautiful place and these days it is the main center of river tourism in Russia. We left there ten years ago to come here,” he said.
“Really? Why?” I asked intrigued.
I watched him pull and flick his bottom lip between his teeth several times as if to ponder his words before he
spoke, “We came to Manhattan for a better life away from our father,” he said quietly.
“And your mother?” I automatically asked, then regretted it when I noticed his shoulders tense and his jaw go stiff.
“She passed away,” he grunted, before he let out a deep sigh.
My hand flew to my mouth to stifle the loud gasp that was forcing itself to break free. “I’m so sorry, Nikoli.”
He signaled and turned left, then parked the car. “Don’t be,” he smiled and gently pulled my hand away from my face. His hand lingered on top of mine for longer than necessary before he pulled it away.
“Are you ready for the experience of your life?” His smile was wide, his eyebrows wiggled up and down playfully, but I didn’t fail to miss the brooding look swirling like a storm in his eyes.
I tore my eyes away from him and opened the door. As I disembarked from the car, my eyes took in where we were, down an alley with cars parked on either side. Two double doors were in the brick work opposite with a large red canopy over it with the word Havana’s on it in white writing. Two burly men in black suits stood to either side of it and I narrowed my gaze towards Nikoli when he came to a standstill in front of me.
“A Latino club?” I quivered, as I became vividly aware of the anxiousness coiling its way through my very core.
“You said you wanted to try Latin. This is the best way to see if you really understand what that entails. No dance class can teach this type of Latin,” he announced, backing away from me towards the club.
My breath came in short, sharp pants and my nails dug into my palms. This was why he insisted I took a Valium before coming along.
I watched him getting closer to the club and further away from me and his words floated in my head, taunting me; Myshka, little mouse, scared of everything.
“Wait!” I suddenly screeched when he made it to the door. My legs broke from their rooted spot, and before I could blink, I was stood right next to him. He didn’t say a word, he just cast a skeptical eye in my direction and nodded, then entwined his fingers with mine and pulled me inside the club.