Wrong Impression

17. Work from Home

Nothing could dampen Angie's spirit over the next few days. Not Kay's protests over the date, because Angie ended up convincing her anyway, not her sleazy biology teacher who she could just ignore, not even an impending test. Because she was flying high above the ground with the stars she was made of.

She wasn't sure why she was this happy, but she didn't care. All she knew was that she couldn't wait to see Tom on Thursday for their first dance practice. Since she had some free time after school, she spent it in the library to finish her latest homework. Then she headed for the studio, changed into workout clothes and waited.

She hugged her knees wondering what Tom would do when he walked in. She kinda regretted telling him she wanted to take things slow, but it made sense. It was safer and they weren't in a hurry anyway. If it was meant to be, it would happen. What's this stupid fairy tale crap about it being meant to be?

But once Tom walked through the door in sweats and a tank top, his backpack slung over one shoulder, it didn't feel like crap anymore. She jumped up to greet him like the silly, pathetic school girl she was. Fortunately, he met her half way and hugged her tightly, as if they hadn't seen each other in ages. She didn't mind. She didn't mind at all.

"Ready for some fun?" he asked, half releasing her.

"Oh, so this is going to be fun?" she teased, loving the way he still had an arm around her waist, how he looked down at her with that mischievous smile.

"Very." He let her go and moved to the corner to deposit his luggage next to hers. "I know I put that damn thing around here." He searched his backpack and finally pulled out a memory stick. He then plugged it into the sound system and turned it on. A pleasant, fast beat filled the room. "I picked out five songs to choose from. Of course, if you have other suggestions, I'm all ears."

Angie nodded and listened to all the songs. She knew all of them. They were or had been pretty popular.  When the last one ended, she spent a few minutes trying to think of a better fitting song. She came up with nothing so she shrugged.

"Work from Home it is."

Tom raised an eyebrow. "That's an interesting choice."

"Why's that?"

He grinned like an imp. "Because I really wanna see your body do the work."

She slapped his shoulder and he just laughed. It was so much fun teasing each other, flirting. But it was distracting and they didn't have much time. So Tom put on the song and asked her to just do her thing.

Feeling a little self-conscious, Angie started off, shaking her hips to the rhythm. Tom just watched her, one hand under his chin, and it made her burn up and try even harder to impress him.

"That's great," he finally said about two thirds in. "But can you actually remember your moves and make a pattern?"

She stopped. "I'm not sure. I could try."

"Perfect. Do that."

The second time around, she focused on her moves and tried to repeat certain swings for certain bits. By the way he kept nodding, she was doing a good job, so she started getting more creative.

"That was awesome," he said the moment the song ended. "Can you do that again?"

"I think so. But how about you?"

The mischievous grin was back. "Don't mind me. I'll be right behind you. "

And once she started again, she realized he meant it literally. He was a breath behind her, mimicking her moves. And the air seemed to burn with his presence. She had to fight herself not to turn around and grab him, dance face to face with him. It felt raw, real, hypnotic...erotic.