CHAPTER THREE
STEP UP
Jesse backed away from Ava and threw his hands up in surrender. “You’re going too fast again.”
“The Argentine tango is eight basic steps,” Ava replied in a patient tone that grated on Jesse’s frayed nerves. “You get tangled up when you step on the outside and cross me. Just do it without thinking so much.”
“I’m afraid I’ll trip you.”
“Let’s try again.”
“We’ve tried it a million times over this past week and I’m still messing up. Can’t we do another dance? Something less complicated? Less dramatic?”
“You’ll get the hang of it,” Ava said, but he could still hear the frustration in her voice. “And sorry, but ballroom dancing is full of drama.”
“I need a drink of water.”
“Okay, sure, stay hydrated or you might cramp up.” Ava nodded briskly and pointed to a small fridge at the back of the room. “There’s also Gatorade, if you prefer.”
“Thanks.”
“Don’t be long. I have a class coming soon and we have some serious work to do.”
“Thank you, Captain Obvious.” Jesse waved a hand over his head as he walked across the polished dance floor. He jerked open the small fridge door so hard that everything inside clanged together. He spotted her ultra-healthy organic lunch and his stomach growled. Having skipped breakfast as usual, he was so hungry that even her nonfat yogurt looked enticing. Well . . . almost. He spotted a purple Gatorade and pulled it from the shelf, reaching at the same time for the cell phone he’d set in a small basket on top of the fridge to see if he had any messages.
“And don’t cheat and check your cell phone,” Ava called over to him. “I want you to maintain your concentration.”
Jesse inched his fingers toward the phone, but when she cleared her throat he pulled his hand back and sighed. Realizing it would be rude to flip her off, Jesse merely nodded while he unscrewed the lid off the Gatorade. Maintaining concentration was Jesse’s enemy. Not only did he get easily distracted by, well, basically everything, but Ava’s sexy dance attire and the floral scent of her perfume were driving him nuts, especially since the Argentine tango required him to have her in a close hold. The struggle was real.
Adding to the challenge, Jesse was a visual learner. When Arabella showed him the dance moves for Heartbeat, he could watch and learn. But dancing with Ava as a partner and learning the dance steps in real time was altogether different. Worrying about his posture while trying to remember the steps had him constantly tied in knots. This ballroom dance thing was just damned confusing. And rehearsing at seven o’clock in the morning before her classes began was just sheer torture. How could his brain function with only two cups of coffee? Who in the hell could do the tango this early in the morning?
Jesse chugged the cold Gatorade so fast that he got brain freeze. With a groan, he wondered what he’d gotten himself into and tossed the empty bottle into the recycling bin with more force than necessary. They’d been at it for nearly two hours, and Jesse didn’t feel as if he knew the basic steps much better than he had a week ago. He blew out a sigh, plucked at his sweaty shirt, and then finally walked back over to where Ava stood waiting—calm, cool, and gorgeous as always.
“Okay, then.” Ava lifted her eyebrows and raised her chin. “Ready?”
No, he wasn’t ready. “As I’ll ever be.” Jesse rolled his shoulders, trying to ease the mounting tension. “Aren’t there some instructional videos I could watch, or something?”
Ava tilted her head to the side, making her long, dark ponytail slip over her shoulder. That silky hair of hers kept hitting his shoulder, brushing his cheek . . . basically driving him crazy all morning. “I thought you were a hands-on learner?”
Jesse swallowed hard, thinking he sure as hell wanted to get his hands on . . . her. He shrugged. “I thought so too,” he said glumly, shoving his fingers through his damp hair.
Ava frowned. “Look, as soon as you have the eight basic steps down, I can add some bling.”
“Bling?”
“Some flashy leg moves. All you’ll have to do is hold me steady, but that will come later.” Ava closed the gap between them and gripped Jesse’s shoulders. “Like this,” she said, and performed a few lightning-fast twists and kicks.
“Ah, like pole dancing.”
“Excuse me?” Ava dropped her hands and backed away.
“I’m like the pole, and you’re the dancer,” Jesse said, but she failed to crack a smile. Did she even possess a sense of humor?
“What? It was a joke.”
Ava rolled her eyes.
“Right, okay, the flashy leg moves will come later.” Jesse looked up at the ceiling and drew in a breath. “I just have to stand here and look pretty. Got it.” Jesse closed his eyes and, to his surprise, felt a sharp poke in his chest. “Hey!”
“Hey, nothing. Where’s that boy-band swagger?” Ava tilted her head and tapped her foot.
Jesse frowned, suddenly feeling uncharacteristically grumpy. “Apparently, it swaggered out of the building.” He made walking motions with his fingers.
“Bring it back.” Ava made the same motion.
“I didn’t think you were a fan of the ‘boy-band swagger.’ ”
“Well, it’s better than the woe-is-me Jesse standing in front of me right now.”
“I’m not woe-is-me,” Jesse mumbled, sounding pitiful.
“Pffft.” She poked him again.
“For real?” Jesse asked, wondering if there was some paranormal weirdness going on, because apparently, they’d just exchanged personalities. Being annoying was his job. He raised his arms akimbo. “I dare you to poke me again.”
“And just what would you do?” Ava put her hands on her hips and nudged one shoulder forward.
Jesse blinked at her for a moment. “I got nothin’.”
“What’s up with this sudden change in attitude? Come on, Jesse, you said you could follow direction. Memorize routines.”
“I say a lot of things.”
Ava gave him a deadpan look while tapping her foot.
“That tapping-your-foot thing is super annoying.”
“Okay, we’re done here.” She made shooing motions with her fingers.
“Seriously?”
Ava drew a circle around her face. “This is my serious face.”
“You mean your everyday face.”
“Go. Off with you. We can call it early today.”
Jesse glanced in the general direction of the door. He was torn. Leaving early made him look like a total putz. A quitter, a complainer. And yet, even with a week’s worth of lessons under his belt, this was much more difficult than he’d anticipated. He’d watched a few episodes of Dancing with the Stars last night to try to learn some tricks, and he’d seen from a particularly disastrous performance that things could get ugly if you didn’t know the footwork by heart. But he had a bigger problem on his hands than executing the dance steps. He simply couldn’t concentrate on the Argentine tango, because he was continually distracted by Ava and her damned ponytail!
“What?” Ava shook her head, making her ponytail swing back and forth like a metronome. And then a sudden vision of that silky hair sliding over Jesse’s naked chest floated into his brain and headed south. A sudden erection would be super embarrassing. Perhaps a quick exit was his best option.
“Why are you glaring at me?” she asked.
“Because of your damned ponytail,” Jesse sputtered, immediately wishing he could have a filter installed on his mouth—even though, knowing him, he’d probably find a way to get around it.
“Excuse me?” Ava leaned slightly forward and looked at him as if he were one taco short of a combo.
“You’re not excused and neither is your ponytail.”
“Let me put it differently. What in the world does my hair have to do with anything?” Ava took a step closer.
“Whoa there, we’re not dancing. You’re invading my personal space.”
“I wasn’t aware that you had personal space. Seems like your space is up for grabs.”
“Well, since you put it that way . . .”
“Oh, stop! You know what I mean.” Ava stomped her foot.
“Did you seriously just stomp your foot?” Knowing he was getting to her, Jesse felt some of his good humor return.
“Apparently you bring out the worst in me.”
Jesse closed the remaining gap between them. “Or maybe I bring out the fire in you.”
“I’ve got plenty of fire,” she said hotly. “I don’t need you to bring it or anything else out in me.”
Dimly, Jesse heard the bell for classes to begin but he captured Ava’s gaze and stood his ground. “Are you sure about that?”
“Positive,” Ava replied firmly, but the rise and fall of her chest said otherwise. “You should go before the class arrives and starts fawning all over you. It’s annoying.”
“So is your ponytail.”
“For the love of God, what in the hell do you have against my ponytail?” She reached up, grabbed it, and then looked at him with wide, frustrated eyes.
Jesse remained stubbornly silent. But then again, how could he tell her he longed to wrap his hand in her hair, tug her head back, and kiss her senseless? He couldn’t.
“You know what?” she asked.
“Probably . . . not.”
“I don’t think this is going to work out. You just aren’t willing to try hard enough.”
“You want me to fail.” Jesse felt a muscle jump in his jaw.
“I do not! That’s preposterous!”
“Preposterous? Who even says that?”
“If the shoe fits . . .”
“Do I look like Cinderella?”
“You’re sure not Prince Charming.”
Jesse took long strides to retrieve his forbidden phone. He shoved it in his pocket and headed toward the door. “Right. I’m outta here.”
“Good!”
“Fine!” Jesse scoffed, but just as he reached for the door handle, Nancy Parsons, director of the center, entered the room with her usual pizzazz. Bedazzled reading glasses hung around her neck from a gold chain, and she wore a flowing, gauzy dress of many colors. Her usual chin-length gray hair had been dyed an unnatural shade of bright red. Jesse had to wonder if the color was what she’d expected to achieve. “Hello, Ms. Parsons.”
“Jesse, darling!” Nancy gushed in a slightly British accent. Her accent varied depending upon what local play she was currently involved in. “I’m so glad I caught you and had the chance to personally thank you for volunteering to do the event.” She stepped forward and gave him a kiss on each cheek before turning to Ava. “Oh, and Ava, darling, I want to thank you as well. The two of you taking time out of your busy schedules so early in the morning shows such dedication.” She smiled broadly and inclined her head. “I am ever so grateful.”
“Oh . . . no need . . .” Ava began with a brief glance in Jesse’s direction, but Nancy Parsons was on a roll.
“Ava, darling, I don’t know if you’re aware of how much the Heart family has supported the Sea Breeze Performing Arts Center over the years.”
“Um, I’m afraid not,” Ava said.
“Ah, yes, you’re still fairly new to the community.” Nancy smiled warmly. “Well, the Heart family has always been generous through the years, donating musical instruments to the high school band. Jesse and his brother Jimmy give music lessons to local children unable to pay.”
“Ms. Parsons,” Jesse began.
“Now, Jesse.” Nancy shushed Jesse’s protest with a wave of her hand. “This building would have surely crumbled to the ground if the Heart family hadn’t graciously—”
“Really,” Jesse said again. “We don’t need—” But she shushed him with another dramatic sweep of her hand through the air.
“Always so modest,” Nancy continued with a slow shake of her head. “Anyway, I wanted to let you two know that we’ve set up a photo shoot for a poster advertising the dance competition.”
“Oh, um,” Ava began, but Jesse cut her off.
“Great. When and where?” Jesse asked.
Ava shot him a pointed we’re-not-doing-this-together look, but Jesse ignored her.
“Tomorrow, early evening, if that’s okay? The photographer is providing her services for free, so we had to jump on the offer right away. And the weather should cooperate.”
“The weather?” Jesse asked.
Ava remained stubbornly quiet.
“Well . . .” Nancy clasped her hands together. “Jane Plummer does most of her photographs on the beach, so she requested a beach setting rather than the dance floor. I know it’s a little bit different than what we might have come up with, but I couldn’t turn down a free photo shoot, now could I?”
“Of course not,” Jesse said. “So where would she like to do it?”
Nancy cast him a hopeful glance. “Well . . . I was ever so hoping we could do the shoot on the beach behind your house. It’s private there. We don’t want to have to deal with fans, now do we? And I’ll get the pleasure of seeing what new treasures are in your house! So, are we on?” She squeezed her eyes shut as if in prayer.
“Of course,” Jesse said. “What are we supposed to wear?”
“Um,” Ava began, but Jesse didn’t even look her way.
“Jane requested a white theme. For you, Jesse, that means khaki pants and a white dress shirt. Ava will wear a dress—a sundress, maybe? It should be white too, to match your ensemble. She does most of her photos that way. I hope you both have something in your closet that will work?”
Jesse nodded but Ava frowned.
“Ava?” Nancy asked. “I could try to round up something.”
“I . . . um.” Ava hesitated as if trying to find a reason to back out, but then nodded. “I’m sure I’ve got something suitable.”
Nancy expelled what appeared to be a breath she’d been holding. “Excellent! I’ll see you both tomorrow at six thirtyish?”
Jesse nodded, avoiding eye contact with Ava until Nancy left the room. Footsteps in the hallway indicated that students would be filing in any moment, but she still took the time to shoot him a glare.
“What?” Jesse raised his hands, palms up.
“I’m having a hard time figuring you out.”
“I get that a lot.”
Ava shook her head. “I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. You’re impossible . . . and I bet you get that a lot too. I mean, first you’re ready to bolt and then you dig in your heels. Now you’re all excited to do a photo shoot. What am I supposed to make of you?”
“Just keeping you on your toes.” Jesse grinned. While she failed to grin back, the glare was gone from her eyes, and if he wasn’t mistaken, there was a little glimmer of hope there as well.