It Takes Two To Tango

Chapter Nine

Alice and I are watching Jessie and Josh the next day at lunchtime, when Josh drapes one arm around her, casually. The look of delight on Jessie’s face makes us both look at each other with a grin.

‘She’s smitten alright,’ I say.

‘She must be,’ Alice agrees. ‘Do you think they’ll get together?’

‘I really hope they do,’ I reply. ‘They seem perfect for each other.’

‘I don’t think Josh will say anything until he’s very sure though,’ she puts in. ‘He can be so shy when it comes to things like this.’

‘Really?’ Josh isn’t shy at all, but I’ve never seen him in a romantical situation, which I guess can completely change what people are like.

‘Yeah, he is, bless him,’ Alice says, affectionately. ’He gets really worried about rejection- I think he only asked out one person before, and she said no, which worried him.’

‘Aww.’ I watch how comfortable the pair are with each other. Josh steals some crisps out of the bag she’s holding, and she turns to swipe him, accidentally spilling the rest.

They both laugh and kneel down to pick them up and put them in the bin. I notice that their hands keep finding excuses to brush against each other. Jessie must be loving this.

‘Maybe we should have a chat to them both?’ Alice suggests, as we both smile at the smitten pair.

I shrug. ’I think it might just happen naturally, to be honest! If the topic comes up, then definitely. I’ve tried with Jessie, but she’s still in denial.’

‘Ahhh, she’ll come round to it eventually. It’s clear to see that they’re meant to be,’ Oscar adds in. ‘And speaking of lovers, Kyra, Jude is watching you from the other side of the room.’

‘Is he?!’ My head snaps up and I see that he’s right, Jude’s eyes are fixed on our little group. He’s sat with his group of annoying friends, all very similar to him- good looking, but they act as if they’re freaking Greek Gods or something. He’s also sat  with the flirty, giggling girls who completely love him, and spend their lunchtime batting their eyelashes at him.

He catches my eye, and winks.

‘Yep,’ Oscar scratches his jaw thoughtfully. ‘He’s been doing that for most of lunchtime.’

I’m tempted to throw something from across the room, but I restrain myself. It gets harder as Jude continues to look at me, and pats his lap, gesturing that I should sit on it. After that, I don’t look at him anymore.

However, my eyes seem to want to dart over to see if he’s looking at me. I can’t explain this, but it’s rather awkward.

‘Well, someone’s got an admirer!’ Alice tells me.

‘Ooh, who?’ Jessie tears her attention away from Josh and looks over.

‘No one,’ I say, but my cheeks are flushed pink, and so this doesn’t fool the ever cynical Jessie.

‘Who is it?’ she asks Alice, who nods her head in Jude’s direction. ‘Ah, Jude, is it? Watching Kyra?’ She looks at me. ‘I told you there was something going on!’

‘How do you two even know each other?’ Josh asks.

‘He sits next to me in History,’ I say. ‘The teacher put us there,’ I add, quickly. ‘Nothing to do with me.’

‘And?’ Jessie prompts.

‘Well…’ I debate telling them about Jude’s dancing abilities. He did tell us not to tell anyone, but to be honest, what has he done to win confidence from us? ‘Well, Jude is my dance partner too.’

The shock on the faces of my friends makes Jessie and I chuckle.

‘Jude? Jude Callahan?’ Alice splutters. ‘He dances?!’

I nod. Oscar roars with laughter: he’s always had the most bizarre laugh I’ve ever heard.

‘Don’t tell anyone else, it’s meant to be a secret,’ I warn them, and they nod.

‘Imagine if that got out, though,’ Josh laughs. ‘All his reputation as a bad boy would go out of the window.’

‘Is he really good then?’ Alice questions.

I sigh. ‘He’s amazing at dancing. But… he’s just so arrogant.’

‘You must have to spend ages together,’ Oscar says. ‘I feel sorry for you, Kyra!’

‘Yes, every day except Monday and Sunday. It sucks, to be honest,’ I say. I don’t add that it’s getting worse because I’m starting to feel… things about him that I shouldn’t.

‘Well, it all makes sense now,’ Alice says, with a glance at where Jude is sat, still looking in my direction. ‘Jude a dancer? I’d never have guessed!’

*
But Jude is a dancer. Unfortunately. So I’m in the dance studio, warming up, waiting for him to turn up. To be fair, he’s only two or three minutes late, but it seems that anything he does even slightly wrong is enough to annoy me. 

‘Ready to roll, Foxy?’ he asks, as he pulls off that jacket of his, going over to sort out the music.

The only thing I roll is my eyes.

We get going, practicing the same routine we tried out yesterday. Jude is still insisting upon doing the move which involves me sprawled seductively on the floor, with his knees pinning me down.

‘It’s too sexual; it’s not appropriate,’ I tell him, whilst in the position, and not feeling impressed at all.

‘As a one off move, maybe not,’ he says, hovering over me, still arching my chest to his. ‘But as part of the dance, it just feels natural, don’t you think?’

‘Only for you,’ I say. ‘I don’t think rolling around on the floor is that tango-ish at all.’

‘Well, it is.’ Jude sounds kind of annoyed now. ‘There are moves more sexual that this, Kyra.’

‘You’ve just got a dirty mind to think these up, actually,’ I retort, struggling in his arms. He doesn’t let me go, just holds me tighter. The music is still playing in the background, reaching the prelude to the climax of the song.

‘Stop being annoying,’ he tells me. ‘This isn’t too sexual at all, I looked it up on Youtube.’

‘I’m annoying?!’ I yell back, unable to keep my temper under control, as he‘s currently trapping me in his arms. ‘I’m the one who’s doing all the work here, and all you can do is be a pervy little-’

He cuts me off by pressing his lips to mine, and I suddenly find myself kissing Jude. And I can’t pull away.

The kiss is urgent, probing; I feel enveloped and overwhelmed by all the amazing feelings that are washing through me. His tongue pushes at my bottom lip as I cling to the front of his shirt, his arms strong around my back.

One of my arms is snaking up to reach his hair, tangling my fingers in it as we kiss, the music continuing to play in the background. He pulls me closer, our tongues touching as his explores my mouth.

His strong arms hold me tightly to him, much nicer than the tree like sensation of Dan’s arms. Dan.

It suddenly hits me, what I’m doing, and I shake myself out of the spell I’ve tumbled in to, and tear myself away, shoving his arms off of me, standing up. I almost miss the feeling of being with him like that. My traitor of a body seemed to have enjoyed the kiss... how did he know how to get this sort of reaction from me?

‘You freak!’ I shout. ‘What do you think you were doing?’

‘Kissing you,’ he replies, with an adorable smile. It turns into a frown as he looks at my expression. He rakes one hand through his hair. ‘Oh, don’t look at me like that, Kyra! You were enjoying it!’

‘You’re so infuriating,’ I say in disgust, and he steps closer to me- so close that I wonder if he’s going to kiss me again. And I want him to. Before I can make a fool of myself again, I glare at him, then turn on my heel and stalk off, muttering under my breath.

My stalking off doesn’t go too well, as he grabs the hood of my hoodie, stopping me, and then pulling me gently backwards.

‘Where are you going?’ he asks, turning me around.

‘Away,’ I tell him.

‘Don’t you want another kiss?’

‘Of course I don’t.’ But I do. ‘That was a mistake: it won’t be happening again.’

‘Aw, Foxy, you break my heart,’ Jude teases. ‘But seriously, Ky, that was one hell of a kiss. Don’t you think we should, well, talk about it?’

‘I don’t want to talk to you ever again.’

‘Kissing doesn’t involve talking, does it?’

‘Okay, so I’m really going to go now,’ I tell him, frustrated.

‘You talked to me!’ Jude points out, with an immature grin. ‘I win!’

I actually walk out this time, irritated, but more worried. Why should I still feel goose bumps at the back of my neck from that kiss? I don’t even want to know what future practices are going to be like, but all I know is that it’s going to be hard to make sure that his lips don’t touch mine again. Because I don’t think I can control myself if it happens too often.