Sparks Fly

Chapter Seven

Natalie

Natalie stretched on the auditorium stage as she waited for Luke. They had gotten as far as they could with choreographing without him following through on his offer to teach her the tango and waltz. He was supposed to meet her here five minutes ago, but she was still waiting.

He finally ran in. "Sorry, I was trying to convince Lucy to help."

"No luck?"

"No. I forgot how competitive she can get."

"Lucy?" She asked incredulously.

"I know, she seems too nice for that, but she gets super competitive." He said. "More so than me, and that's saying something."

Natalie stood up and rolled her shoulders back. "Do you need to stretch or warm-up?"

"Yeah, I probably should. Give me five minutes?"

"Sure." She stayed on stage while he hopped onto it next to her. "You know, you still haven't told me why you were in juvie."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously." She confirmed. "You found out about my time in a treatment center. Your turn."

"It's not the same-" he started, then sighed. "Fine. But you can't tell anyone. Deal?"

"Deal." She agreed.

"The short answer is assault." He stretched as he spoke. "Last August, this guy, Shawn, threw an end of summer party that Lucy and I went to. My dad's a total hardass, but he let us go and agreed to a midnight curfew." He paused as he switched stretches, then continued. "People were drinking- not me, for the record- and tensions got a little high. I got in a fight with Shawn, and he and his parents ended up filing charges."

"You ended up in juvie over a fight at a party?"

"Well, my hardass dad is also a hardass lawyer- prosecutor- and he was pretty embarrassed by the whole scandal, and then was concerned about being accused of favouritism, so he asked around to make sure that I got jail time. Or juvie time, since I was fifteen and it was just a fight at a party and it didn't cause any real damage."

"What?" She exclaimed. "Your dad sent you to juvie?"

"Not officially. He wouldn't touch the case- favouritism, remember?"

"Still," she pressed. "What kind of parent would make sure that their kid gets locked up over something like that?"

"Don't bother getting worked up." Despite his harsh words, Luke's tone was resigned. "He did what he thought was best. Nothing will change his mind about that. I'm over it."

"Your dad made sure that you went to juvie over a fight... and you're okay with it? Bullshit."

"He thinks he did the right thing- who knows, maybe he did. It's really not that different from how your dad made you quit dance."

"He didn't make me." She protested weakly.

He shrugged. "Close enough. Can we move on now? What dance do you want to start with?"

"Waltz." She decided. "I already know a little, so it'll be quicker."

He started the music and extended his hand to her. She accepted it warily. "If you try a dip or anything, you had better not drop me."

"I wouldn't dream of it." He replied dryly.

She couldn't hide her smile at that. When they started dancing, it was clear that Luke was a strong lead- that was a pleasant surprise- and it only took the one song to refresh her memory. As the music faded out, she released his hand. "Okay. Tango time?"

"Yeah, if you're ready." He said. "Before we start, there's a couple of things you should know. The tango- well, the Argentine Tango, anyway- isn't like ballet or waltzing. It's not really about control or elegance. It's more dramatic and intense."

She held back her impatience. "I know. I may not have danced it before, but I have watched it. I get it."

"If you say so," Luke said. "Try to mirror me first, then we'll try it together, okay?"

When she nodded, he started a different song. She didn't jump in immediately- instead, she listened to get used to the beat and watched Luke. If he had been good at waltzing, he was fantastic at this. Even dancing without a partner and his frown in concentration didn't take away from his moves. He was graceful, and powerful, and... sexy. As soon as the word crossed her mind, her cheeks burned. No. He wasn't sexy- the dance was. The tango was supposed to be passionate and sensual, right?

"You okay?" He asked. He stopped dancing. "Do you need me to slow down?"

Her pride rankled at that. She had been awarded her studio's best all-around dancer award two years in a row. She could easily keep up with him, as long as she didn't get distracted again. "No, I'm fine. Just getting a feel for the music first."

"Feel free to join in anytime so that I can feel like less of a loser for dancing alone."

"But it's so much fun to watch." She smiled.

He groaned. "Come on. Please?"

"Well, since you asked so nicely." She said and tried to mimic his steps from earlier.

Luke grinned and fell back into step with her. "Good job. You picked that up quick."

After another minute of the song, he moved closer to her and wrapped an arm around her to rest on her upper back. She automatically moved her left hand to his shoulder, but he moved it down to his bicep, then took her free hand and pulled her in closer.

She looked up at his face. He was half-smiling and looked almost in awe. They were so close, that if she stretched up just the tiniest bit, she could kiss him right on that almost-smile.

The door creaked open, and they jumped apart.

Scott glanced between them. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No- no." Natalie stammered.

"Of course not," Luke confirmed. "Just working on the talent show dance."

"Good," Scott said. "But, for the record, I'm technically not here. Counselors aren't supposed to help with this more than what's necessary. And Kate is definitely not here."

"Kate?" Luke asked.

A girl wearing a Junior Camp Great Oaks Counselor shirt stepped into sight next to Scott. "Hey."

"Why, exactly, are you two not here?" Luke asked.

"Do you want to add swing dancing into your routine?" Scott asked. "Kate taught me a couple of years ago. Aside from the lifts, it's pretty easy, but it looks impressive."

"Definitely!" Natalie blurted out. "Would you mind teaching us the lifts, too? I love lifts."

Scott and Luke both looked at her as though she had lost her mind, but Kate grinned and nodded. "Right? Lifts are so much fun."

Scott hesitated. "We'll teach you two, since you have experience and can theoretically handle it, but if you try teaching everyone else, someone will end up getting hurt, and that's the last thing we want.

"Okay," she replied easily, then realized that Luke hadn't said a word about it. She glanced over at him. "Is that okay with you? Can you lift me?"

He scoffed slightly. "Yes, I can lift you."

She didn't reply, and he rolled his eyes, and lifted her by the waist. "I can lift you." He repeated in an exaggeratedly patient tone.

"You can put me down anytime." She said. "So that we can get started on learning this."

"Right."

Luke

As humiliating as it was to have Scott shoot knowing looks at him all afternoon, Luke was grateful that he had interrupted when he did. He had been dangerously close to kissing Natalie. Even now, twenty minutes after they had ended practice for the day and split up, his heart sped up just thinking about it.

Not that he wanted to think it. The more he thought about it, the harder it was to forget about it. And he really needed to forget it. Otherwise, it would mean something, and that was the absolute last thing he wanted or needed. After all, this was Wilson- the annoying, frustrating, perfectionist priss. And, if that wasn't enough, she was Josh's stepsister. That alone should be enough to shut down whatever feelings he might have been having immediately. It was enough. He decided. Aside from working on the talent show, he'd cut off any contact with her that he could, especially physical contact. He could do this. He had to have enough self-control to stop this shit here.