by Mara Wells
A group text from Sydney gave her reason to disengage, and she took her sweet time replying. Sherry stood and made her way into the kitchen, reaching up to peck Danielle’s dad on the cheek.
Do I have to? She texted Sydney.
Invite them! They’re so cute together was Sydney’s reply, and Carrie jumped in to say Mom will love it!
Fine, Danielle texted back, but I’m finishing my pancakes first.
Chapter 26
The crowd outside the Wynwood hot-spot restaurant made Knox nervous, even if he was related to most of them. When Sydney proposed combining the bachelor and bachelorette parties, Knox’s relief was only outshone by his gratitude for not having to handle any details. The last thing he could imagine was hitting the strip clubs with his grandfather. The horror. But that was what Grandpa William had insisted he wanted, and not even Caleb with his bargaining expertise could sway him. So dinner and a show on a less-crowded Thursday evening was a godsend, honestly, and his only part in planning had been to send Sydney a thumbs-up whenever she’d run details through the group text.
Danielle was in the group text, too, so he knew she was alive at least. He’d taken Sarge to Dr. Morrow’s clinic for a checkup because he was worried about Sarge’s limp, not to see Danielle. Still, he’d been disappointed that she wasn’t there and even more surprised to learn she didn’t work for her dad anymore. How was she spending her time? Because it sure wasn’t with him.
Patty, out on the town in a yellow paisley housedress, and Eliza, wearing Crocs with her dark pantsuit, were making their excuses, saying, “We’ll catch a Lyft back to the Dorothy.” Patty did look tired, and Eliza had been skeptical about the show part of dinner and a show since the first group text. Their imminent departure opened the bailing floodgates, and soon Danielle’s dad and Carrie’s mom, who appeared to be together now, were calling a car, too, claiming to also be too tired to go on. However, their long kiss at the curb indicated they might have other plans tonight. Next to make excuses were Lance and Carrie, claiming they needed to get home because their babysitter had texted them that Oliver wasn’t feeling well.
“I hate to be that party planner”—now Sydney was jumping on the bandwagon, hands flying fast enough to make her bracelets jingle—“but I have to get up early for a photo shoot tomorrow. It’s a last-minute gig, and I couldn’t turn it down. Rent’s due, no matter who’s getting married.” She kissed Riley on the cheek. “I know you will have the best time. Enjoy!” She headed over to the next block to catch a ride on a busier street.
So that left the grooms-to-be, Grandpa William and Caleb, and the brides-to-be, Grams and Riley. And him. And Danielle. Who wouldn’t look at him, not even when he stepped aside so she could enter the rented limo ahead of him.
“Where are we going?” Grams knocked on the glass divider between the driver and the roomy back seat. “I demand to know our destination!”
“Should we tell?” Knox asked Danielle. They were currently the only two people in the back seat who knew the plan. Sydney maintained that given the older couple’s insistence on strippers and the younger couple’s insistence on no strippers, the best course of action was silence. Let them be surprised! she’d texted. They’re going to love it! We just have to get them in the door.
Danielle shook her head and pulled the strap of her purple dress toward her neck to cover the half inch of bra that peeked out. He’d tried not to watch her all night, but his eyes strayed back to her again and again. In the close confines of the limo, he could smell her perfume, a light scent with a hint of vanilla that made him think of candy. And licking.
“Sorry.” He cleared his throat when the word came out gravelly. “Sydney swore us to secrecy.”
“Sydney’s not here,” Riley pointed out.
Caleb pulled her hand into his lap and said, “Let’s all relax and enjoy the experience, shall we? Surprises can be fun.”
Grandpa William harrumphed. Riley turned the conversation to a discussion about two potential buyers she and Caleb met with earlier that day and whether they’d make an offer on one of the newly renovated two-bedroom units at the Dorothy. Danielle stared out the dark window, and Knox stared at her. Covertly, of course. He was trained in stealth after all.
The limo pulled up in front of a dance studio in a neighborhood on the outskirts of Miami gentrification, and doubts assailed him, doubts that multiplied once he stepped inside. Floor-to-ceiling mirrors covered three walls, and the fourth wall was painted a dark red. Inspirational sayings like Just Get Up and Dance and Enjoy Every Step scrawled across the wall in black, painted in swirls and whorls like the words themselves were dancing.
Who was he to even think about taking a dance class, especially this kind of dance? His leg was still sore from the workout he’d given it earlier today, and he had no desire to make a fool of himself in front of his brother and his fiancée. Or Grandpa William and Grams. Or Danielle, especially not Danielle. She used to love to dance with him, and he hadn’t even tried after the IED exploded his life. At least he had a life, he reminded himself, sending silent apologies to Munoz and Whittier for the millionth time.
“Over here!” Riley snapped him out of his memories and motioned him over to a seat in a row of folding plastic chairs against one of the mirrored walls. He took the last open seat, the one on the end and next to Danielle. One good thing about everyone bailing on them. She couldn’t avoid him, like she’d been doing all night.
The lights dimmed, and a woman emerged from a door camouflaged in the red wall. She was dressed as a flapper—a knee-length number with swinging fringe and gloves all the way up to her elbows. She struck a pose in the doorway, the light behind creating a silhouette. Music blared from overhead speakers.
The song sounded familiar—swinging and heavy on the saxophone. The dancer walked, slinky and smooth, to the center of the studio. She started to dance, an old-fashioned burlesque style, that might have been sexy if he weren’t sitting next to Danielle, hyperaware of her body heat and how if he reached out only a few inches, he could touch her.
When the dancer whipped out two large feather fans and used them to play peekaboo with her body parts as pieces of clothing flew out from behind the fans, Grandpa William let out a long, loud wolf whistle. Grams smacked him on the arm. When he repeated the whistle, Grams grabbed him by the arm and hustled him out the door with a loud “Billy, the only peekaboo you’re getting tonight is from me.”
Certainly more information than Knox was comfortable having about his grandfather’s private life, and now they were down two more people in what was supposed to be a big, fun group outing. The dancer kept up the waving fans, ignoring the older couple’s sudden departure.
When the song ended, the dancer was lying on the floor, fans coyly positioned so it appeared she was completely naked behind them.
The lights brightened, and the dancer popped up from the floor, fans discarded behind her. She wasn’t naked at all, but a nude body suit certainly hinted at it. Her body was strong, with thick thighs and enough flesh on her bones that when she did a body roll as she walked toward them, all the right parts jiggled. She was older, with a few streaks of gray in her dark hair, and she held her arms out to the sides like she was fluffing an imaginary cape.
“What did you think? Burlesque is something else, isn’t it?” She approached their line of chairs, confidence in every line of her body.
“Amazing!” Riley held hands with Caleb. “Will you be doing another dance for us?”
“Not exactly.” The dancer extended her hand to Riley. “I’m Monica. Come with me.”
Riley took the hand with a backward glance at Caleb, and Monica picked up Riley’s chair and plunked it in the center of the dance floor. “Take a seat.”
Riley did, eyes wide with excitement. “Are you going to dance for me?”
“No.” Monica swept her right hand out in a wide sweeping gesture. “Y
ou will dance for us.”
“Oh no, I couldn’t possibly,” Riley protested, but the look in her eyes said well, she might. Then they flickered to where Danielle and Knox sat, and Knox very much felt like a third wheel. He recounted the number of people in the room. Make that fifth wheel. He was about to suggest to Danielle that they make tracks like everyone else and leave Riley and Caleb to a more, um, intimate lesson, but she ignored his attempts to subtly get her attention.
“In fact, if the other lady will bring her chair to the center?” Monica extended her left arm in an exaggerated flourish. “Let’s get your lesson started.”
Danielle stood slowly, gaze darting from her chair to Riley and back again. Finally, she sighed and moved her chair, a vote for not using subtlety with her. Noted. She blinked too fast, a sure sign she was nervous. Knox understood how she felt. He wouldn’t want to be out there, either, even if it was just a lesson. She was a good sport to go along with Sydney’s plan—a classy nod to Grams’ and Grandpa William’s respective requests for strippers. Danielle really had nothing to worry about. She’d always been a good dancer—not in any kind of trained way, but what she lacked in knowledge, she’d always made up for in enthusiasm. And Knox had to admit, he was really looking forward to watching Danielle strut her stuff.
“Now, ladies, please stand behind your chairs. Gentlemen, you will come here.” Monica pointed to the seats.
Knox and Caleb exchanged a look. It appeared it wasn’t a lesson only for the ladies. Monica shuffled across the floor and grabbed Caleb’s and Knox’s hands, dragging them to their feet. “Burlesque is for everyone, my friends. And the chair dance is very easy. You will see. No problem for the leg.” She grinned at him charmingly, but Knox still felt shame ripple through him. She thought he was afraid because of his leg.
Danielle patted the back of her chair. “Looks like it’s me and you, friend.”
Ouch. Her first words said directly to him all night, and they were boundary setters. He still was unsure exactly why she’d ended it with him. Up until they’d slept together, she’d seemed to forgive him his idiotic decisions in the past. But now he was unforgiven. Unforgiven was a whole lot of no fun. Still, the least he could do was sit his ass in Danielle’s chair and give this burlesque thing a shot.
“You got it, friend.” He planted his butt and stretched out his braced leg. “Although, in my experience, friends don’t ignore each other’s texts.”
Danielle mumbled something about puppies and job hunting, and Knox nodded like he believed her reasons why in the past weeks, he’d been unable to get her to respond to anything other than pictures of Sarge. Even then, all he got were thumbs-up responses.
The chairs were placed a few feet apart, and the first thing Monica did was teach the women how to walk around the chair. Eight steps around. It shouldn’t be sexy, simply walking, but watching Danielle concentrate, lower lip caught in her teeth as she emulated Monica’s moves, was definitely doing it for him.
This lesson wouldn’t be so bad if his role was to sit in the chair and appreciate Danielle. In fact, he owed Sydney a huge thank-you for this opportunity. He and Danielle needed to talk, really talk. He didn’t know what he’d say, exactly, that would make up for leaving all those years ago, for buying into his mom’s worldview instead of building his own. He just knew he had to try. But he couldn’t try if they weren’t in the same room, and now they were. If he could get her to agree to talk to him, any embarrassment he was about to suffer during the dance lesson would be worth it.
Danielle walked around him again, and this time, Monica added a body roll at the end. It happened behind his left shoulder, but he could see Danielle in the mirror. Her roll wasn’t as smooth as Monica’s, but those magnificent breasts of hers made it more dramatic. Monica instructed the women to repeat the move, eight steps, body roll. Riley was copying Monica, too, but he couldn’t take his eyes off Danielle. With each repetition, she gained a bit more confidence, a bit more attitude. She was into it, and that made him into it, too.
“Guys, sit up straight.” Monica grabbed another chair and set it across from them. Knox scooted his butt back and lifted his chin, hoping that whatever came next involved touching Danielle.
“This is the man’s part.” Monica demonstrated—stick one leg out, bend over it, look up. Knox’s braced leg was already stretched in front of him, and the move seemed easy enough. Except it wasn’t. Man, his hamstrings were tight. He gritted his teeth and met his own gaze in the mirror. If Danielle could body roll, he could handle bending over and looking up. Monica had the guys repeat the move three times.
Next, she showed them how to straighten the spine, hand on knees, and then flash the mirror. Not really flash, but it felt like it. Feet on the ground, hip width apart, splay the knees. Then snap the knees together.
“Just a sneaky-peeky!” Monica demonstrated one more time, then had Knox and Caleb repeat it three times.
“Together now!” Monica snapped her fingers, pointed Danielle and Riley into position behind the chairs, and the music came on. “Listen to the beat. Ladies, you start.” Etta James crooned something bluesy about wanting to make love, and Danielle stepped around him.
“Gentlemen, do your thing.” Monica kicked out her leg, and the men followed suit. Danielle was forced to step over his leg, and Knox started to understand how the dance would come together. He saw his own fierce grin in the mirror when he looked up. By the time Danielle was doing her body roll, he was on to the knee move.
“Good, good. One more time.” Monica counted out the beat, and they put all the moves together again. This time, Knox was free to watch Danielle, her face a mask of concentration. She stepped over his leg, and he looked up fast so he wouldn’t miss the body roll.
Monica took Caleb’s hand and tugged him up and over to her chair. She used a hand in the center of his chest to push him into a seated position.
“Hey, that’s my man!” Riley laughed, no real alarm in her tone. “You can’t take him.”
“For the demo only. You can still marry him.” Monica tapped Caleb on the shoulder, taking her place behind him. “You remember your moves?”
Caleb nodded and grinned at Riley the whole time Monica circled him. After the body roll, she stepped to the side and slid backward into Caleb’s lap, kicking out one leg. “This is next! Now, gentlemen, you have to catch your ladies.”
“I’m not sure how this is going to work.” Danielle raised her hand like she was in elementary school, but she didn’t wait for the teacher to call on her. “It’s some kind of trust fall, isn’t it?”
Monica held up a finger. “Let me show the hold.” She placed Caleb’s hands on her waist and said, “Now push, like so,” and she was back to standing. “See, very trustworthy. Now, go to your bride and show her how it’s done.”
“Whatever you say.” Caleb returned to his own chair, and Riley placed her hand on the back of his neck. She was always doing that, touching him in some small way whenever they were near each other. Knox envied them that, their physical ease with one another. They didn’t have to wait for the strangest bachelor party ever for an excuse to touch each other.
Monica clapped her hands together. “Let’s try the new move. One, two, three.”
Riley collapsed onto Caleb’s lap, and he pushed her up with a laugh.
Danielle didn’t fall. Instead, she eyed Knox’s lap suspiciously. “I liked the walking part better. You sure you can hold my weight?”
He bristled, hairs on the back of his neck standing on end like Sarge when a squirrel dared to invade his backyard. “I’m not incapacitated.” Not yet whispered in his mind but he pushed away the depressing thought. “I can certainly sit in a chair without hurting you or me.”
“I didn’t—” Danielle brushed her bangs behind her ear. “I meant I’m not as light as I used to be. You know, in high school.”
Knox remembered the morn
ings when he’d find Danielle at her locker, how his whole day felt brighter because she was there, and how he’d scoop her up from behind and swing her around. She’d always beat at his arms and demanded to be put down, and he’d always said, “The ransom for release is one kiss,” and she’d always paid. Happily, as he recalled.
His gaze ran over her, comparing the Danielle in his memory to the woman standing before him. “Believe me, it’s in all the right places.”
She blushed. One moment, she was normal-Danielle color, the next flushed like they’d been dancing for hours instead of a sedate twenty minutes of walking around a chair a few times. He raised his arm and brushed his knuckle against her heated cheek. “Let’s practice.”
She visibly swallowed and turned her back to him. “I’m coming now.”
“You don’t usually announce it.” He chuckled at his own joke. She turned her head to glare at him.
“Fine, no more warnings.” She bent her knees and fell.
It was only a few inches, but to Knox, it seemed to happen in slow motion. Her body moving closer and closer to his until finally she was on his lap, her world-class ass on his thighs. He put his hands around her waist, and his fingers tightened like they didn’t want to let her go.
She scrambled off his lap and spun around. “You’re supposed to push me back up, not take advantage of the situation.”
“Sorry.” He hung his head, not sorry at all. “You’re just so soft.”
“I told you I was too heavy.” Danielle crossed her arms over her stomach.
“That is not what I said.” He grabbed her hand and tugged her back onto his lap. “You can stay here all day if you like. All night.” His breath hit her neck, and he saw the goose bumps that rose on her skin. She might not think they could have a future, but they could certainly have a now. And wasn’t today the beginning of tomorrow anyway?
She tipped her head back so their eyes met. “Knox, we can’t.”