She doesn’t have to answer; she’s already smiling and nodding to the beat. “You’re lucky,” she says.
“Okay, I wanna learn,” Kate says.
“Me too!” Dylan lines up next to Kate.
In the corner of the patio there is a small area where the unused propane heaters are kept, the whole team, even me, line up side by side. We could not look dorkier as she starts to teach us slowly, patiently, one step at a time.
Kate and Dylan are pretty good. Febin is hopeless, but at least he makes me look slightly less awkward. I’m too tall and my old hip injury makes it hard to have any sort of natural rhythm.
The longer the music goes on, the more she seems to lose herself. Until eventually we all stop trying and just watch her. She snaps and rocks a little side to side. Lost in the music, her eyes closed, feet moving.
As the chorus talks about buying a drink, her feet start to move in unexpected ways. They cross and swirl. Her body rocks and spins. Her movements are smooth and … modern. If she were wearing her tap shoes, they would be clicking nonstop. I guess I had images of her tapping effortlessly like Fred Astaire or Shirley Temple, especially with her curls. But this? This is anything but adorable.
As she goes on, the smile starts to melt off my face. Despite her loose dress clothes, the strength in her toned figure is revealed as she spins and runs hands over herself. Her confidence as her body moves is startling. She is made for this. The way she manages to intuit the song and blend it into her own moves, knowing how to rock and sway to the cheesy music. This should not be so sexy but when she drops forward and snaps herself up, back arched, I run a hand over my face. I look around to make sure nobody sees my reaction, but they’re all just as caught up.
“Damn, she can really dance,” Dylan says with appreciation.
“Yeah,” Jared says. His eyes move over her in a way that is no longer brotherly.
She laughs and twirls again with flourish. She’s fully in the moment, no shame, just the pride that comes with years of training. Then she puts her arms out and crosses them at the wrists as her shoulders alternate in circles. She leans back … and back … and further yet until she seems to be defining gravity. Her legs are strong, her waist is trim. She’s very bendy. I swallow.
Her gaze flicks to me. She catches me staring at her again. Our gazes clash a moment too long. I clear my throat, embarrassingly aware of the heat flushing up my neck.
Suddenly, her eyes widen when they see something just over our shoulders. In a rush, she stumbles to stand before the song is over. She’s frozen, her face unreadable, but her gaze moves behind us and back again. I turn around and see Ken.
“Oh, hey Ken,” I say lightly.
“I see the birthday celebration is going well,” he says.
I had included him on the email invite but never thought he’d come. His expression is cool as it drifts over each member of the team. It’s not like we’ve done anything wrong. But based on Julia’s reaction, I worry she’s feeling embarrassed. I shouldn’t have pushed her to dance. What the hell is wrong with me lately? I have to be better. I have to stop staring at her all the time and flirting.
“Ken, thanks for joining us. Have you had a chance to meet our newest team member yet?”
“I don’t believe I have,” Ken says dryly.
“Julia, this is the liaison for the labs. He’s helped Shemesh-Tek big time,” I explain.
“Nice to meet you,” he says and extends a hand.
The color that had returned to her cheeks during her dance drains away.
