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“Meet me at Phantom in twenty.”
“Dude, we’re opening in five minutes—”
“I’m not asking,” I growl, beginning to regret this entire idea.
She scoffs. “And I’m not going, goodbye Finn—”
“Wait.” I’d rather get in a full-speed collision than tell her what I need her help for, but somehow I get it out without intentionally crashing.
“Why didn’t you lead with that?” She sounds disgustingly excited. “See you soon.”
I groan, wanting to turn the fuck around. But I remind myself who I’m doing this for, andChrist,is she worth it all and more.
Stella is waiting for me at the bar. The club is completely empty, not opening for another six hours. I see she’s already poured herself a drink and I think I’ll need one too—or three.
“First, if you tell anyone about this—”
“Yeah, yeah, you’ll kill me.” She sucks on the skinny cocktail draw and rolls her eyes.This was a terrible idea.“What’s the second?”
“Pour me a scotch.”
She hops over the bar and slides a glass with two fingers down the slick wood to me. I tip it back and down it in one go. Like a game of shuttle board, I send it back to her. “Another.”
“I’m all for loosening up, but let’s try to get a little work in sober first.”
I sigh. “Fine.”
She walks out from behind the bar and starts playing music from her phone on the club’s stereo system. “I made a playlist that will be good for covering the basics.”
I meet her in the middle of the dance floor and feel like I’m crawling out of my goddamn skin. “Let’s start with the easiest: pop.”
Some boy band crap plays on the speakers, and Stella starts bobbing and weaving her head. “Okay, so just relax and move with the energy of the music.”
I try to mimic her movements, my back rigid and muscles tight.
I’ve skinned a man alive. I’ve been stabbed four times, and I’ve defused a bomb with three seconds on the clock. Yet none of that is even close to how I feel right now. Effie was right, Idokill people for fun, but a little dancing? Fucking terrifying.
“You look like a goddamn chicken, loosen up a bit.” Stella laughs and my jaw clenches, wanting to put my fist through a wall. “Don’t just move your head. Flow organically with the movement, you know? Roll your shoulders a bit, bend your knees, rock side to side.”
I hold out my hand, “Whoa, slow down, that was like ten different things at once.” I shove my fingers into my hair and yell, “Fuck.This is a fucking disaster.”
“Okay, let’s try something else,” she says calmly, using her hands in settling motions as if I’m a wild horse and she’s trying not to get trampled. She changes the music to something slower, almost sensual.
“Come here.” I go over to her, my chest hammering like I’m walking into enemy territory. “Put your hands on my hips.” I reach out hesitantly, and lightly do as she asks, keeping a foot between us. She quickly closes that gap, wrapping her arms over my shoulders and pulling me in until our pelvises are pressed together.
I jump back like I’ve been burned. “Christ, lady, I’mmarried.”
“Boy, please.” She purses her lips. “I love you Foxes, but y’all are batshit crazy, like if someone gave a bunch of toddlers guns instead of a nap. Now, do you want to learn how to dance like a fucking man, or like you’re attending a catholic middle school dance, leaving room for Jesus?”
Stella is the only person outside the family who can put me in my place without getting shot. It annoys the hell out of me, but I respect her for it. And I really need her help, so I swallow my fucking pride and grumble, “Like a man.”
She sets her arms back on my shoulders, and I clutch her by the hips. She smirks and speaks slowly, like when trying to get a child to say thank you. “Sorry for being a dick, Stella.”
I cut her a glare. “Don’t push it.”
Chapter 16
Rocky Balboa
