Building the Life (The Dancing Wolf Book 3)

by Amy DeMeritt

  She leads us back to the lounge that she had offered us to sit in while we discussed the competition. The room is painted a deep espresso and has sconces on the walls to give a relaxing glow to the room that’s not too bright, but bright enough that I can see well enough to read if I need to. The walls have framed photographs of dancers and there’s a few couches and cushioned chairs. My girls and I fit easily on a couch together and Jaime sits in a chair next to us.

  “So, if you really want me as your dance partner, I’ll be able to do it, but if you have someone better in mind, I won’t be upset if you trade up.”

  Jaime smiles and takes a sip of her water while holding my eyes before responding.

  “Ok, if any other star dancers with more natural talent than you walk through my door, I’ll let you know. I won first prize last year. I’d pull out of the competition before I showed up with a partner that I don’t think could help me keep the title. So, I wouldn’t have asked you if I didn’t think you are the right partner to show up with.”

  “Damn, I hope I can match up to the confidence you have in me.” She smiles and holds my eyes again. “You will. Are you able to start tomorrow?”

  “It would have to be early morning or in the evening. I’m doing a rehearsal with my group tomorrow afternoon.”

  She breaks eye contact for the first time and turns her tablet on. With it propped on her thigh, she scrolls through a daily planner with one finger while slowly taking a sip of water again. The way she holds herself and the calm confident demeanor she has is intriguing.

  “Evening would actually be best for me. My last class is over at five o’clock. Is seven ok with you?” I look at my girls and they nod. “Yeah, seven works.” Jaime smiles and looks between all of us for a moment before looking back in my eyes again. “Good. So, what do we need to go over for the choreography class? My students are very excited to meet The Dancing Wolf.”

  I laugh a little and rub the back of my neck nervously. The way she’s smiling at me feels like she’s trying to read something in my eyes, as if she’s seeing into my soul. It sends a weird shiver down my spine and makes my heart race a little.

  “I’m starting to regret that name.” Jaime smiles in an amused way. “Why? You need to have a brand and your brand should be who you are. That’s who you are.”

  I look at her confused and she just continues to smile at me. I shake my head and look down and open my bookbag.

  “Ok, I know its lame, but my lawyer says I need to have anyone participating in the event read and sign these papers. They basically say that I retain the rights to any choreography I create and teach and that I’m not responsible if someone hurts themselves taking the class.”

  I hand her a folder with the forms and she opens it and scans over the two different documents. She nods and closes the folder with a smile.

  “Looks like the standard release forms. Don’t feel weird about asking for these. Every one of my students have these on file for me as well. We’ll also have to sign similar forms for the ballroom competition. Ok, what else?”

  “Do you know how many students will be participating and are they of the same or similar skill level?”

  “I have almost two hundred students with a wide range of skill levels. It might be easier if you tell me what skill level you want to work with and how many students you feel comfortable having in your class.”

  “Damn, that’s a lot. How do you own your own school already?” She smiles and shrugs a shoulder. “I worked hard for it. Really hard. I started working dance projects in college and landed some really big gigs shortly after graduating.”

  “Did you go to college here?” She shakes her head and takes a sip of water. “No, I went to the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.”

  “If you’re from Delaware, and you went to college in Philly, how did you end up here?” She smiles wider and tilts her head some to appraise me. “I never told you I’m from Delaware. Did you look me up?” I laugh and blush a little bit as I shake my head. “No, my partner did. My dance partner in the squad I mean. She kind of interjected when I was talking to my sister about the rehearsal schedule.”

  “Symone?” She smiles and laughs a little when my jaw drops. “I recognized her on TV when you did the competition in New York. Rehearsals must be very interesting with her.” She looks in my eyes with an amused grin and I shake my head and laugh. “Interesting is not the word. She remembers you too. Did the two of you ever…? She shakes her head before I can finish. “No, I couldn’t stand Symone. She was way too cocky and acted like a forty-year-old male virgin with raging hormones in a strip club.” All of us laugh really hard and I fall forward clutching my stomach. “Oh shit! That’s hilarious. God, she’d probably actually love that description. She’s still the same.”

  “Does she still call herself a trophy hunter?” I laugh again and nod. “I’m guessing you’re on her list and that’s why she wanted to know who you’re dancing with?”

  “Unfortunately, but it’s actually gotten better. We kind of had a small blowout about a week ago, when we were back home, and she told me she would chill out.”

  “Good luck with that. From what I remember, she wasn’t one to back down and she’s never not caught her mark.”

  “I’ve heard. Anyway, how did you end up here?”

  “I burned out. I was driving across country with a group to try out for a movie role in Las Vegas. We stopped here to eat and sleep and I stayed while they continued to Las Vegas. I had just finished consecutive projects with no breaks for five months, working twelve to eighteen hour days, and I just couldn’t face another project like that yet. I slept for almost three full days before I left the hotel and explored the area. I found this place with a for sale sign in the window and it was love at first sight. I’ve been here for almost two years now and I’ve never regretted it.”

  “Damn, that was really brave. You didn’t know anyone here and didn’t know anything about the area and just decided to stay here just like that.” She smiles and her cheeks blush, which is a beautiful effect on her. “Thank you. So, what do you want to do about the class?”

  “Oh, right, sorry. Do you have an advanced group that would be able to help teach the choreography?”

  “I have a class of twenty in my advanced group, but I could probably single out six as the strongest.”

  “Ok, what I’d like to do, if you’re ok with it, is come in and teach that group the choreography just before we start. They’ll be dispersed throughout the class to help the others and you and I will be up front. My girls will also be here to help if we need them to. Even if we have to split them in four to five groups, I’d like to do a class with all of the students who are interested, so no one feels left out. Oh, and I’d like to have Trudy in that front row with us for at least one of the classes since this is her dance.”

  “I’m fine with that. It will probably be an all-day event though. Are you sure you want to dedicate an entire day to this with everything else you have going on?”

  “Yes. This is kind of a test run for us to see if this is something we want to do on a regular basis. So, I need to see how it would work out and what it would require.”

  “Well, my students are going to be thrilled, so feel free to experiment as much as you want. You’ve made a huge difference in Trudy’s confidence and you haven’t even instructed a class yet. Trudy used to be shy and timid in her dancing, but since she met you, she’s been so carefree and excited to perform in class. It’s been an amazing transformation. Her parents weren’t sure if they were going to keep her in dance because they couldn’t get Trudy to just relax in class. Two night ago, they signed a yearlong contract a month before her contract was set to expire.”

  “I really didn’t do anything except talk to her, but I’m really glad that she’s doing better in class.” Jaime laughs a little and shakes her head. “That’s all she needed. These kids idolize you. To have you actually acknowledge their existence, is more than enough to boo
st their confidence.”

  I blush and look at my girls. They’re all watching me with affectionate smiles, but they look a little amused too. They know I feel very weird about the “fame” aspect of dancing. The others in my group loved that part of it in New York, but I couldn’t stand it. We had to do a few interviews during the competition and one at a news station after we won. I felt very awkward and they were hard to get through.

  “Damn, I hope I don’t disappoint them when we finally meet and I have the opposite effect on them.” Jaime smiles and licks her lips before taking a drink of water. As she swallows, she shakes her head. “You are too modest and charming to be able to disappointment them. They’ll love you. Do you need anything else from me?”

  “Are you ok with us recording the classes and posting a compilation video to my channel?”

  “Yes. I think my students would burn me at the stake if I objected. They are very excited about that.”

  “Ok, I guess that’s all we need to go over right now unless you have questions for me.”

  She looks in my eyes, not blinking, with a small smile. I get that feeling again that she’s trying to read something in my eyes and see inside me. My spine tingles and I feel blush creep into my cheeks. Her smile widens and she shakes her head.

  “I can’t think of anything at the moment.”

  She stands up and takes a couple steps towards the door and waits for us to get up. We quickly stand up and follow her out of the room and across the dancefloor. When we reach the front of the studio, Jaime turns to face me with a smile and holds her hand out for me to shake.

  “It was a pleasure meeting you. Thank you for doing the classes with my students and for being my partner for the competition.”

  I take her hand and she only slightly grips it and allows her thumb to brush across the top of my hand, which sends shivers down my spine again.

  “You’re welcome. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow night.” She nods and slowly releases my hand. “See you tomorrow.” She starts to open the door for us, but stops and turns to look at me nervously. “One thing about the competition. A full lift with your arms fully extended is required for both dances.” I smile and nod once. “I can lift you.” She turns back to the dancefloor and grabs my hand, pulling me with her. “Show me.”

  She turns to me and pulls her oversized tee shirt off so she’s standing in front of me in just her legging and a sports bra. Her abs are very similar to Awenasa’s in terms of definition with just a line down the center and a slight curve on the inside of her ribcage.

  I take one of her hands and she places the other on my shoulder. I grip her hip and start to guide her in a dance. We get into a good rhythm and I spin her so her back is against my chest. I tug up on her hands, making her lift up on her toes, pull back so she starts to fall into me, and then I release her hands and glide up her back to press into her ribs. I push up with my knees, and in a fluid burst, I lift her above my head. Her body is arched and one knee is pointed forward. I do a full three-hundred and sixty degree turn and then slowly lower her.

  She turns to face me and smiles really big. She starts walking backwards while holding my eyes. When she’s about ten paces away, she stops and grins. She starts dancing and leaping towards me, and when she’s about three feet in front of me, she leaps forward with her arms to the sides. I quickly bend my knees, grab her ribs and lift her above my head.

  When I lower her, her body slowly slides down mine and she lands with her face within inches of mine. She smiles and slightly inhales as her eyes scan my face. She looks at my lips for a moment and then pulls back.

  “Ok, you can lift me.” She picks up her shirt and quickly puts it back on. “Thanks for humoring me. I just needed to see how well you could lift me so I knew what we need to focus on the most.”

  “No problem. Anything else you want to test me on?” She smiles and shakes her head. “No. We’ll get to work tomorrow. Thanks again for coming in.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  She stays on the dancefloor while I walk back to the front where my girls are waiting for me. I wave and then open the door for my girls. When we get outside, Awenasa takes my hand and squeezes it. She’s grinning at me and looks like she’s trying not to laugh.

  “That girl likes you.” I laugh and shake my head. “No, it’s only because I have a group of insanely sexy and beautiful women with me. It’s like the ugly overweight bald guy with the hot wife. Because he has that hot woman on his arm, other women are unexplainably attracted to him.”

  They laugh hard and push me playfully. Sam wraps her arms around me from behind and bites my shoulder firmly, but not hard enough to pierce my skin.

  “You are a very sexy and beautiful bald guy.”

  We laugh and she turns my face to pull me into a kiss. We stop walking, and while Sam holds me from behind, she gives me a kiss so intense that arousal floods my veins. Her hand creeps up my tank top and her fingers dig into my abs, making me moan. I try to turn to face her, but she holds me firmly, not allowing me to turn. Her hand slides down my stomach and down between my legs on the outside of my shorts. She grips me firmly, making Madison and Awenasa gasp, and I moan a little into her mouth. She smiles and slowly pulls back. I swallow hard and clear my throat. She giggles and pats my ass as she moves around the side of me where Madison is standing.

  “What were we doing?”

  They laugh and we start walking in the direction of Oliver Street to get lunch.

  Chapter Twelve

  I’m in the living room working on the choreography for the class at Jaime’s school while Sam, Madison, and Awenasa are in the spare bedroom working on editing some videos to post to the channel. Shannon should be home soon and then we’ll be going out for a family date night.

  I’ve been working on the choreography for about a week, and I think I have it pretty much where I want it to be. I’m just having an issue with the ending. The song just ends with no slow down or final hard beats or anything that signals the end. The music stops for a moment as my phone vibrates with a new text.

  Symone: Hey, baby. How’s it going?

  Me: Hey, stalker. Working on the dance choreography for the class at Jaime’s studio. Having an issue with the end.

  Symone: Let me see it.

  I close out of the text and send her the video chat request. She smiles really big when we connect.

  “Hey, baby. Ok, let me see what you have so far.”

  “Ok, hang on.” I move to set the phone on the TV stand and move back. “Can you see me?” She smiles and licks her lips. “Very clearly.” I shake my head and restart the song from my wireless speaker. When I get to the end, she nods. “That’s really good, but I see where your problem is. Here, try this.”

  She sets her phone down, and as she steps back, I nearly choke. She’s only in a tight tank top and a pair of panties.

  “Where the hell are your clothes?” She smirks and shrugs a shoulder. “I was just pole training and this is how I prefer to dress when I’m alone with my pole.”

  My jaw drops and I actually do choke and have to bend over and clear my throat. When I straighten back up, she has a very proud happy smile on her face. She licks her lips in a seductive way that sends a shiver down my spine.

  “Jesus Christ.” Symone smiles really big and nods her head towards me. “Push play, baby.” I shake my head. “Put some clothes on.”

  She slowly shakes her head and puts her thumbs in the waist of her panties, and slowly starts to tug them off her hips. I grip my throat, looking for a collar of the shirt I’m not wearing to loosen it from my throat. Symone releases a giggle and stops her teasing.

  “Push play. Start it about twenty seconds before the end.”

  I rewind the song and then push play. She does a quick sequence that ends with her side to me, does a body roll, a hip pop, and her arms point out towards me. I’m frozen just looking at her. I really need her to put clothes on. Her panties only cover half of her cheek and she looks
so good. I shake my head and look away. I can’t believe I just thought that. I rub my neck and pace for a moment, trying to clear my head.

  Symone has been texting me daily since I met Jaime. Till today, it’s just been very friendly chit chat about what’s going on with the other or we talk about the Giz Anderson dance. I hear a throat clear and slowly turn to see Symone’s face on my phone and not her full body. She has a smile on her face that says she knows exactly what she’s doing to me and she loves it.

  “So, does that help you at all?” I look at her confused and shake my head. “How does that help me?” She smirks and licks her lips. “So, you want to work out a different ending?” My jaw drops and I stutter, “Oh, that. Uh, no. It was good. I think that flows better than what I had.”

  “What did you think I was talking about, baby?”

  I groan and put my face in my hands and look away. God, why is she doing this to me? She promised she would just be my friend. I grab my bottle of water and gulp down about half of it before I look back at her. She has moved back in the screen again and her screen angle has changed so she’s now standing in front of a pole. My face instantly gets hot and my chest tightens.

  “What are you doing?” She smiles and licks her lips. “I helped you. Now, you can help me. I need to know how this looks.” I shake my head. “I can’t watch that.”

  Without another word, she taps her toe on a speaker and music fills the air. She slowly and seductively walks around the pole and then quickly lifts herself up on the pole in a mind-numbing spin.

  “Shit.”

  She smiles and really gets into it. My whole body is buzzing and I have my hand firmly over my mouth, taking deep breaths through my nose. Of all the pole dance scenes that I’ve seen in music videos and movies, none of them compare to this. She’s amazing and sexy as hell.

  “What are you doing, baby?” Madison wraps her arms around me and leans over my shoulder to look at my screen. My heart nearly stops and I get very light headed. “Is that Symone? Damn, she’s amazing.”