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“That’s what I figured. It’s the only reason I didn’t call the cops. I didn’t guess you’d want New York’s finest bursting in on your make-up time.” He sank into the desk chair and crossed his arms. “So, the plan went well then?”
Sophie swept past him, heading for the front classroom. The first class of the day was due to start in twenty minutes, their professionals class, and she should really stretch before getting into the more complex routines she tried with her working dancers.
“Yes, and no.”
Darren followed her with a put-upon sigh. “Meaning what, Sophie? Did he fall at your feet and pledge his undying love?”
“Yes to the first part, no to the second?” She could barely look at the barre without picturing Henry’s muscled form bending over her, the hot length of his cock pushing inside her. She shook herself and began a series of floor stretches instead. Darren frowned.
“Sophie,” Darren groaned. “Can we get to the part where he didn’t confess his love?” He leaned to the side, stretching an arm over his head.
“I confessed mine,” she replied with a small sigh, avoiding Darren’s gaze. Her friend froze mid-stretch, his eyes going wide.
“You did?”
She forced her gaze up to Darren’s. The worry she saw there made her smile. “I love him, Dar. I wanted him to know. If he’s going to make a decision about whether or not we’re worth fighting for, he needs all the facts.”
Darren’s lips pursed, but he went back to stretching. “Okay. Let’s say I don’t think you’re looney tunes. He didn’t say he loved you back?”
“He said he cared about me.” She bit her lip. It wasn’t the same thing, and the bleak expression on Darren’s face, the thinning of his mouth and the tightening of the skin over his cheeks, said he believed Henry was going to hurt her again. “And as far as non-verbal communications go, he was pretty adamant about his feelings.”
“Sex is not love, Sophie. You know that.” His words were spoken with a gentle inflection, but she still flinched.
“I do know that. But I’m not just talking about the fact that we had sex. I’m talking about how we had sex.”
“I do not need to know your kinky details, Soph.” Darren held up his hands. Sophie slapped at them.
“When he touched me... Dar, he touches me like he loves me.”
Darren face lost some of its tension, but his eyes still roamed hers
with concern. “So, why do you still look like you might possibly cry?”
He knew her too damn well. She bit her lip. “I know he’s holding back. I don’t know what, but there always seems to be something he’s keeping away from me.”
“Not the Nicole thing?”
Sophie shook her head. “No, not the Nicole thing. I don’t know what. Just, things he seems determined to keep close to the chest. He keeps me at arm’s length, emotionally. And I’m not sure he’s willing to bring me closer. Or if he even wants to.”
Wouldn’t he have said he loved her back last night, if he really wanted to? That was the thought that plagued her. She’d said it, and he’d told her he needed to think. But the way he’d made love to her, the intensity with which he’d looked at her each time she said the words. Surely she wasn’t misreading all of that?
Darren hopped to his feet and pulled her to hers as the first couple of students began to stream in. They tossed Sophie and Darren waves and hellos and began to warm up themselves.
“What are you going to do?” Darren asked softly, his hand still on hers. Sophie shrugged, her smile slipping a little.
“Whatever happens, I’m glad I told him. I’m glad he knows someone loves him. If...” She swallowed. “If he doesn’t love me back, then at least I’ll know I didn’t leave anything on the table. I won’t have any regrets.”
She spun away from him and clapped her hands, drawing the class’s attention. “Let’s get started, shall we?”
Darren’s eyes were solemn on her, but as soon as he turned on the music, his teacher persona slid into place. She was the task master, he was the joker. It was a nice balance between the two of them and kept the classes from either degenerating into chaos or becoming boring and stuffy.
Sophie tried to keep her attention focused on the class, on Darren, on the dance steps, and not on Henry. He would meet her half way, or he wouldn’t. She’d done everything that she could think of to convince him they had something worth fighting for. Now, the ball was in his court.
“Make sure your partner’s attention doesn’t wander, class!” Darren’s voice was laced with a sharp edge of irony that yanked Sophie out of her daze as he spun her around. “If your partner’s not focused on you, you could both get hurt. It’s your job to keep them engaged.”
“Sorry,” she mumbled, heat flushing her cheeks.
Darren’s smiled crookedly as they executed a complicated volcado. “Thinking about Henry?”
