“Is this your way of avoiding Rupert?”
She tapped my nose. “That too.”
I popped out my contacts and slipped my black-rimmed glasses on, given her intent on barricading us inside for the rest of the day. If only my eyes could sigh in relief. I changed into a pair of lounge shorts and a spaghetti strap tank top, devoid of a bra. The beach view from the veranda and the wind whipping through the trees sent a wave of calm over me.
We’d been channel surfing for the past hour, nothing jumping out at us. Trays littered with dirtied plates and glasses rested on the table in front of us. There was a knock at the door. Considering we’d ordered another round of drinks, and I was in a drowsy stupor, I didn’t think to look through the peephole before opening the door.
“Am I interrupting something?” Hades asked, pressing his forearm against the doorframe above my head.
I froze. “What are you doing here?”
“I haven’t seen you all day. Figured I’d stop by to see if you wanted to practice this dance,” his eyes dropped to my chest.
The A/C mixed with the sight of him casually standing there in the hallway had my nipples at full salute. I slapped an arm over my chest with a nervous bout of chuckles. “Practice? Right now?”
“All we’ve done is the lift. The contest is tomorrow night. You need to teach me the rest of it.”
“Oh, of course. Pfft.” I adjusted my glasses. “What was I thinking?”
“Have you always worn those?” He tapped my glasses with a twinkle in his eye.
I gave a sheepish smile and slid them off. “During the day I usually wear contacts.”
“Don’t take them off on my account, darlin’. I like ‘em.” He lifted my hand toward my face, urging me to put them back on.
Sara brushed past me. “Feel free to practice in our room. I was going to hang out by the pool anyway.” She smiled at me, despite my unspoken pleas for her not to leave me braless.
After she left, I stepped aside to let him in. When I shut the door, the clicking noise it made sounded more ominous than usual. I contemplated bringing up the Rupert situation right out the gate. Chances were, he’d whisk off to give Rupert a piece of his mind, and we’d get no practice.
“Let me change first,” I said, power walking past him.
“If you insist,” he said, wickedness lacing his tone.
I ducked into the bathroom and changed into a bra, shirt and, shorts. When I walked back into the room, he sat on the armrest of the couch, watching Dirty Dancing. My heart raced at the mere sight of it.
“What are you doing?” I asked, marching over to him like he’d done something wrong.
He arched a brow and turned the volume up. “This is the movie, correct? I figured it’d be easier if I just watched it.”
“Are you like Neo and kung fu? You spend five minutes watching something, and inexplicably know it?”
He folded his arms and furrowed his brow. “I’m a fast learner.”
Of course, he was. The all too familiar music blared from the TV speakers as Swayze walked on stage, beckoning Jennifer Grey with his finger. I couldn’t watch him, watching my favorite movie of all time. Why was this making me so nervous? I bit my thumbnail and started to pace the room’s length, occasionally glancing over at the TV and gauging his expression. As always, the man’s face was stone cold the entire time even when Swayze did his slow-motion leap off the stage.
Once the scene finished, he turned the TV off and stood up, crossing the room with three powerful strides.
“Before we get into this, you owe me.” I held my hands in front of me like their presence would stop him.
“Owe you?”
“Relay your conversation with Swayze.”
He squinted. “Alright. He arrived in the Underworld, and it took me only a moment to know he led his best life. I asked him what he felt he gave most to society.”
I clasped my hands under my chin. “And what’d he say?”
“He said, entertainment, but mostly acting, and forever givin’ the world the line, ‘Nobody puts Baby in a corner.’”
“He seriously said that?”
He held up a finger, signaling for me to be quiet. “He quickly followed up with that last bit being a joke, and I didn’t need to ask any more questions. I was more than prepared to guide him to the Fields.”
I didn’t say anything for a beat, staring at him wide-eyed before motioning with my hand to continue.
“That was it,” he said, shifting his eyes.
“What do you mean, that was it? I’d hardly consider that a conversation.”
“I’m not sure what you think it’s like in the Underworld, but normally the last thing most of the newly departed feel like doing is chattin’.”
To say my curiosity piqued at seeing the Underworld would’ve been a gross understatement. I imagined it would be breath-taking or downright terrifying. Probably both. “Fair enough. Well, thank you. I’m glad to know his sense of humor continued despite his untimely demise.”
His eyes morphed into that sexy, narrowed thing he often did. He didn’t say a word, closed the space between us, and slid his arms around my waist. I tensed. He took my right hand into his left and, without warning, dipped me. I backpedaled away, pushing my glasses further up my nose.
“We don’t need to practice that whole beginning part. Maybe we should concentrate on the trickier coordinated pieces.”
He retook my hand, leading me to him until he was behind me. “Dancing is like a symphony.” He lifted my arm to drape it over the back of his neck. “One melody flows into the other with intricate moving parts. If you were to rearrange them or only play one part, it ruins the entire composition.” He dragged his fingertips down the underside of my arm.
I tried to suppress a shiver. It didn’t work.
I crossed an arm over my stomach, slipping my hand into his. He gripped my hip with his other hand but failed to perform one of the smallest of gestures. In the movie, Swayze kissed her on the nose before going into the first move. It was subtle but adorable. Oh, well. He spun me, and we delved into the dance I’ve known since I was a kid. He didn’t miss a beat even with the absence of music, but I could hear the instruments and lyrics in my head. I started to mouth the lyrics.
We performed every step without error until he spun me several times in a row. I forgot to spot something in the room to focus on and got dizzy. My feet tripped over each other, and he gripped my hand to keep me from falling. I stared up at him.
“How are you so normal?” I asked.
“Normal? Not sure anyone’s called me that before.” He lifted my arms above my head, moving his hands to my ribcage, and I swayed from side to side.
“You rule a kingdom of ash and bone, and yet here you are rehearsing dance moves with a mortal woman who annoys you.”
We shimmied to and fro, our elbows parallel to one another. “First of all, you’ve never annoyed me. Perplexed me, maybe but never annoyed.”
I glared up at him, my lips curling into a sly grin. I draped an arm behind his neck as he spun us in circles.
“Second of all, rehearsing dance moves as if I wasn’t the god of the Underworld is exactly what I need.” He pulled away from me, our fingers interlaced until he slid his hand away. “I get to pretend I don’t have the responsibilities.” He walked backward. “Pretend as if I’m simply a mortal man spending time with a mortal woman.”