Against her better judgement, Ester came back the following evening. She found herself stretching before the lesson and had time to reconsider her decision.
Even though not coming back was never a thought that crossed her mind, she did have a few doubts about tonight. The car ride with Devon was too crazy to not think about it. She just hoped he wouldn't be here tonight and even if, he had to leave her alone.
He didn't seem like the type of person that talked, unless he was spoken to. Last night before the ride, showed her so. But what if she got the wrong impression of him? She shook her head. She'd find out soon enough, seeing as the door opened and a grinning Sierra walked in.
This time, Ester clapped as well when Sierra stopped in the middle of the ballroom. She showed her students the steps to the cha-cha and Ester followed her every move. Maybe it was because she was too focussed on her feet, but she never heard the door open as Devon calmly walked in.
"Nice! Now let's do it with some music." Sierra said and left her spot temporarily, walking off to turn the music on. It was only now that Ester looked up from her shoes and looked at the mirror for a second. She jumped when she saw Devon stand next to her, his body looking as if it were able to swallow hers.
She narrowed her eyes at him through the mirror and turned her head to the other side. What in the world was he even doing here? Next to her as if nothing happened last night. As if they were acquainted. She huffed in annoyance.
"Oh hello, brother. I didn't expect you this early." Ester heard Sierra's bemused voice and looked back at the instructor, only now realizing the music was already on. All eyes were on Devon and Ester took a step away from him, not looking for any attention.
"Would you two come over here and be my dolls for a second, please?" Sierra asked, looking at Ester and Devon. Ester's eyes widened when Devon nodded and walked over to his sister. Since when was he so obedient?
"You too, Ester." Sierra smiled at her but Ester could only muster a forced smile as she stepped forward and stood next to Devon. Oh no, she thought when Sierra stepped away from them.
"Now. Start with the basics. And everybody else, quiet please." She instructed as she intertwined her hands behind her back. Devon cleared his throat and Ester's gaze snapped towards him. She took his outstretched hand and with it, a deep breath.
Ester wondered if he even knew the basics since he wasn't there when they went over it. But her question soon got answered when Devon pulled her closer and started moving. Ester was surprised but didn't let that faze her as she moved with him.
"Nice." Sierra complimented as she clapped once.
"Ester chin up, look at him." She instruced and Ester followed as she met those green orbs. She gulped at his intense stare and forced her mind to just think about something else.
"Devon, do I even have to remind you?" Sierra teased and Ester heard Devon's low growl as he let go of her arm and they did a crossover break, just how Sierra taught Ester merely an hour ago. They came back together and then did a crossover break to the other side.
Ester, along with a lot of others was surprised to discover the fact that Devon could actually dance.
"And under his arm, Ester. Don't forget." She heard Sierra say and felt Devon lift their arms higher as he made room for her to have a little spin under his arm. She came back two seconds later and they finished off with a set of back and forth steps before he swirled her around, much to Ester's surprise.
By now he took total control and so she was even more shocked when he leaned her body back and bent his knee as the final pose. Sierra was ecstatic to see her brother dance like that again as she clapped and the crowd mirrored her actions.
"Splendid!" Sierra praised as Devon pulled Ester back up to stand straight. They were both breathing heavily and Ester thought she saw Devon's flushed cheeks, but quickly dropped her gaze when she noticed him looking back at her.
"Now, everybody! Grab a partner and start dancing!" Came the instructor's next order. Devon and Ester pulled apart and walked away from the center of attention. Ester thought he'd left her alone when she reached her purse, but she could feel his presence behind her when she bent down to get her bottle.
"What do you want?" She asked him without turning around. Devon didn't answer for a while and Ester turned around to see if he actually left. He didn't.
"Can I have a sip?" He pointed at her water bottle and Ester hesitated. She always shared her food and drinks with others, but Devon was another case. He was mean and rude. So she had her answer within a second.
"No."
"No?" He lifted an eyebrow.
"Yes." She nodded proudly.
"Thanks." He said as he grabbed her bottle and started drinking. Ester's jaw almost hit the floor when he didn't stop. First of all, she never even allowed him to drink so she was bewildered by that single action. But now he was drinking it all!
When he finally finished, Devon placed the lid back onto the bottle and handed it back to Ester.
"Thank you, Ester." At least he got her name right this time, she thought.
"Asshole." She murmured and put the empty bottle back into her purse.
"Did you say something?" His challenging tone reached her ears. What was he on about tonight?
Ester simply ignored him and- well, what much could she do now? Without a partner, cha-cha wasn't really danceable. And there was no way she'd dance with Devon. He was planning something, she thought. He had to be, he was probably still mad because she kicked him.
"Wanna dance?" She heard him ask and despite her current opinion about him, Ester blinked twice. She would've never thought he'd make the first step, but she had to keep in mind that she only met him last night.
"Not with you." She turned to glare at him. Devon glared back at her as he shoved his hands in his pockets.
"Who else then? We're the only ones without a partner." He had a point, but Ester didn't want to have a repeat of last night. When he stomped on her foot.
"I'd rather never dance again than dance with you one more time." She snapped, making Devon narrow his eyes at her.
"Fuck you, then. I only wanted to step on your foot anyway." He growled as he pulled his hands out of his pockets, clenched his fists and walked past her, bumping against her shoulder in the process. Ester stumbled backwards.
The doors opened and closed loudly as Devon walked out, causing people to look at the doors and even some glanced at Ester in wonder. She lowered her head and watched Sierra storm towards her.
"What happened?" Her instructor asked confused.
"I- I don't know." Ester found it hard to tell Sierra. She didn't want to lie again, but so many people were looking at her and she didn't want them to think bad about her.
"Did he tell you why he was leaving? Did he get a message or something?" Sierra asked. Ester shrugged and avoided looking into Sierra's eyes. That must've given it away.
"Okay, okay." Sierra turned around and told the crowd to continue dancing. Then she turned back towards Ester.
"Mind walking outside with me for a second?"
It didn't sound much like a question, especially when Sierra immediately turned to walk towards the door. Ester sighed and followed her instructor. When they eventually reached the hallway, Sierra closed the doors before talking.
"What really happened?" She asked Ester again.
"He's- he's so- ugh!" Ester exploded and her instructor chuckled. But she shook her head afterwards and put on an annoyed face.
"He was rude again, wasn't he?" She asked and Ester nodded.
"He's a pain in the-" She caught herself. That was his sister, Ester sighed.
"In the ass, tell me about it. I'm guessing you told him off and he walked away angrily?" Ester nodded at that.
"That's my brother to you. Again, I feel the need to apologize. And also for my little lie yesterday." Ester frowned in confusion and Sierra chuckled before continuing.
"I told you you wouldn't have to dance with him anymore. But obviously you did."
"Oh, I actually forgot about that. But it's okay. I doubt he'll want to dance with me after tonight." Ester shrugged again.
"Didn't he drive you home last night? How did that go?" Sierra asked.
"I better not tell you." They both laughed at that.
"You're funny, I like you. Normally when my girlfriends get to see my brother for the first time, they just overlook his bad behaviour and swoon over him. They wouldn't even dream of disobeying him. I can't say I've ever even met any female, except myself and my mother, that confronted him and told him no." Sierra admitted.
"Well, I'm sorry if it caused issues. But I'm not somebody to just step back and let people treat them like some scapegoat." Ester told her. Her instructor looked impressed when she learned that little fact about her student.
"I don't think you've ever told me your surname." Ester was surprised. That was quite random.
"Uh, Celeste. Ester Celeste." She said. Sierra placed her finger on her chin, deep in thoughts.
"Nope, never heard of that. Where do you work?"
"I'm an intern at Steinfurt's. I'm an aspiring secretary." Ester answered and her teacher nodded.
"Well, I'm Sierra Stone. Nice to officially meet you. I have a feeling we'll become great friends." They shook hands like business colleagues.
"But for now, let's get back inside. And afterwards, we could go out for a late dinner? I know this great restaurant just around the corner." Sierra said as she hooked her arm through her new friend's elbow and walked back inside the ballroom.
"Sure." Ester said, looking forward to it.