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They swung out and then came back together in a quick step, and a smile spread across his face. She could be hard on herself sometimes, but she was doing an excellent job.
Next came a breakdown in the middle of the song, where Tayler had them doing Charleston-esque quickstep footwork. By the time the wedding was over, he would be ready for a national dance competition, and as eager as he’d been to see Giorgio do the routine, even if he’d had to watch it with his last breath, Mike had paired up with Mo.
After the breakdown, they had a series of twirls. The twirls were supposed to end with him lifting Ayesha into his arms, but his phone was hooked up to the speaker system. Because his phone was hooked up, the music paused to announce, “Sydney is calling.”
Hearing Sydney’s name broke his focus.
Ayesha, waiting for the support, leaped.
The next thing he knew, he was hovering above her, balancing on one palm. His other hand cradled the back of her head, which was so close to the floor, one of his knuckles grazed the vinyl surface. Sweat dripped from his soaked hair strands onto her exposed collarbone, blended with the beaded moisture on her skin, and trickled down her chest, disappearing beneath the black spandex.
“You okay?” He quickly scanned the parts of her body not covered by his. “Shit, you didn’t hit anything, did you?”
She stared up into his face, her chest rapidly rising and falling.
“Ayesha?”
“No.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again. “Well, technically, I hit everything else, but my head’s fine.”
He stood, pulling her up with him. Still flustered, he yanked too hard, and she crashed into him, but then she immediately stepped back as though his midsection was covered in spikes.
“Sydney is calling.”
“You should probably get that.” Ayesha pointed at his pants pocket. “Wouldn’t be surprised if it’s everyone trying to figure out what’s taking us so long.”
He removed his phone, accepted the call, and turned away as he brought the phone to his ear.
“Hey, Syd.”
“Hey, babe. What’s taking you guys so long? Gage already has the burgers on the grill.”
“We had a hiccup, but we’ll be there soon.”
“What hiccup?” Sydney asked. “Is Eesh okay? Because she wasn’t feeling that well this morning. I’m surprised she went at all.”
He and Sydney still talked.
In actuality, they did more than talk.
The divorce papers might have said they were no longer together, but at night, their bodies disregarded the memo. At night, their bodies fit together the same way they always had, like fingers sliding inside a pair of gloves.
Tayler had paired him and Ayesha together because they were technically single, but Sydney still spent time with the family. Sydney had been his—lover, wife, and confidante—once upon a time. She also had dance experience, which her father had signed her up for to help with her footwork in the boxing ring. They would have knocked this routine out in no time.
He swiped his hand over his head, scattering sweat all around him. “I don’t know. She seems like something’s bothering her, but I didn’t ask.”
Sydney responded to someone in the background before returning to their conversation. “Josiah wants to know when you’ll be back.”
“Hey, Ayesha?” he called. “Ready to head out? Josiah’s asking for you.”
Ayesha nodded. “Yeah. I’m done.”
“It’s you he’s asking for,” Sydney clarified. “But I’ll let everyone know you two are on your way back. See you soon.”
“Okay. Love y—”
She hung up.
Shaking off a wave of uneasiness, he went to grab his things, trying not to leave a puddle in his wake. Many other times since the split, she’d ended the conversation with “Love you.” It was how he knew that her hanging up had nothing to do with no longer loving him. She would have returned the sentiment if she’d heard it.
