Page 26 of Serenade Me

“HEY!” I cry out, offended. I’m missing that warm welcome they gave me last night.

“It’s okay, honey. You just take your time.” Cadence says supportively, then adds, “It’s not like I have a plane to catch in 12 hours or anything.” Traitor.

“Ok, look, you’re just not holding the ball right,” Marius says, pressing up closer behind me. His hand suddenly reaches around, pressing his hands against mine, gently guiding my fingers into position. “See? You’ve got the wrong fingers in the wrong holes.”

“Oi, we have a kid here! Keep it PG, people!” Brad yells out and Sebastian snorts so hard he chokes on his drink.

“Shut it! That’s my sister.” Jez hisses.

“Ignore them.” Marius’s voice is low, and it’s like he’s inside my brain whispering to me. I squirm a bit, not sure how to feel about him being so close. My body’s burning hot and there’s nothing I can do about that.

He seems oblivious to my dilemma and just keeps guiding me. “Yup, that’s right. You’ve got to move your stance as well. Take bigger steps and then kind of drop your knee down and with that momentum swing your arm back and let go of the ball. You don’t really need to use too much energy.” As he talks, his hands move around. First, they slide down my arms and then they’re on my hips, his legs pushing mine to separate a bit. And then they’re on my waist again as he guides my body motions.

But his voice, his lips, are always right there against my ear, his breath on my neck.

I swallow hard. I can barely make out the words that he’s saying, but I’m trying to concentrate on them… and not on him.

“Ahem,” I clear my throat when I realize he’s stopped talking for a moment, and waiting for me to reply. “Yeah, um, thanks. Okay. I’ll give that a try.”

“Okay, go on, I’ll help,” he nods, encouragingly.

He doesn’t step back, and I realize he’s going to move with me.

I take a step forward.

“Yup, you got it, wider steps,” he directs.

I feel myself lunging forward, almost losing my balance, and I feel his hands steady me at the waist.

“Whoa, I said a bit, not do the splits.” He chuckles a little and then I hear him clear his throat as well.

“Okay, one more step. Sing your hand back and… let go.”

I drop my knee and swing. He’s so close I swear I feel his chest and his groin graze against my back as I move. The ball falls onto the lane with a dull, heavy thud, but it gains speed and rolls down the lane. Everyone is silent as we watch it slowly hit the pins and they fall. All of them. Every single one.

“Oh my god!” I jump up and spin around, and he hasn’t moved. He’s still right there. I’m so excited I wrap my arms around his neck and press a kiss to his cheek.

His eyebrows jump up but his arms slide around me, pulling me tight against him. The conflicted look in his eyes, though, instantly makes me let go and I almost step on his foot on my way down.

“Um, sorry.” I mumble, looking away, letting my hair fall in front of my face.

“It’s okay. Your feet aren’t that big.”

“No! I meant about the… um. Nevermind. Thank you.”

“Congratulations! Your first strike. Virgin no more,” he gives me a wink and then goes to sit back down with the others.

I tuck my hair behind my ear and brush my cool palm over my face, my burning hot face. I follow him back to the group and sit down with my cheering team.

From across the benches, Jez gives me a look and I turn away. He moves to sit down next to me, nudging me with his elbow.

“What was that?” he asks, his voice tense.

“What was what?”

“That!”

“Jez, I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I turn away so he can’t see the heat continuing to build in my cheeks.