February Or Forever (23 page)

‘Ouch! Lucky you weren't in heels.'

‘If I was in heels I would have fallen over back there.' She pointed to the direction they'd come from. ‘How those ballroom dancers do it I have no idea.' She broke away from his grasp. ‘Anyway, this isn't exactly yoga now is it? You, Mister, should behave.' She jabbed her finger towards his chest.

‘You were the one who asked if I could dance. And besides, what's wrong with mixing up the classes a little?'

‘So you want to…
dance
with me?'

‘Why not?' He shot her a cheeky grin.

She matched it with one of her own. ‘Then there's only one thing that's missing.' She walked over to the corner table and plucked her phone from her bag. She went to scroll through the iPod playlists but opted for YouTube instead. When she found what she was looking for she placed her iPhone in the speaker dock on the table, pressed play, then turned to look at Drew.

His face lit up in recognition when the music began. The unmistakeable song,
The Time of my Life
, filled the room, its slow, breezy start encouraging her to saunter across the room towards him. Drew eyed her with anticipation, curling his finger to entice her closer, then her body was against his, captivated by a playful eagerness in his eyes. He took hold of her waist and she placed her hands around his back. They swayed and moved together slowly, until the part in the song where the tempo hastens, and in the movie Johnny and Baby begin dancing properly. Drew did some fancy footwork that brought an amused smile to Chrissie's face, and as though at a nightclub they boogied and twisted and danced — apart, and together — teasing and playing with each other as the music ran through their bodies. Drew was no expert, but he sure had rhythm.

When the lyrics mentioned taking each other's hand, he took hers, using it to pull her towards him, the heat coming off his body like the sun's radiation on a summer's day. They moved in time together and Chrissie realised how appropriate the lyrics were to their situation. With adrenalin fuelling her confidence she mouthed them to Drew, telling him through the safety of the song that she couldn't get enough of him. He mirrored her lip-syncing as the song continued, getting to the bit that mentioned the ‘L' word and looking her directly in the eye as he mouthed it.

Could it really be love? Was that even possible?
Or was it just infatuation and lust under the pressure of a time limit?
She didn't have time to think it through, because he twirled her around and wrapped her in his arm, then unwrapped her, her body coiling out away from his, then back in again like dancers do. They sang and danced to the chorus, and an ecstatic sensation came over Chrissie, both for the fact that she hadn't danced for ages and it felt fantastic, and for the fact that she was with someone who made her feel safe, excited, hopeful, happy, and herself, all at the same time. Tingles danced through her muscles and nerves, lifting her energy and planting a permanent smile on her face. She was, literally, having the time of her life.

The chorus merged into the next verse and Drew separated from her, moving about in a teasing way that made her want to pull him back. He sang, ‘Hey baby', and curled his finger at her again. Chrissie mouthed the lyrics of the verse, the
sexy
verse, telling him how much she wanted him, more than he knew, and the glow on his face intensified. He pulled her close during the bit about it being okay to lose control, and he bent her body backwards at the waist and swung her around in a sensual arc, his hand supporting her lower back.

She returned to his level, tingling at the rush from being upside down, and resisted the urge to look away at the next part of the lyrics. Her lips recited the words that suggested ‘staying with her tonight', and deep inside she wished he could.

He swayed with her as one body, their hot skin separated only by a thin barrier of clothing, and as the song built up to the chorus, Drew gave her a questioning look. She knew he wanted to lift her up, like Johnny did to Baby in
Dirty Dancing
. Well, not
exactly.
A feat like that would take some practise, but he wanted to lift her nonetheless.

He gripped under her arms and she nodded, and as the chorus built up to that iconic moment, he bent a little and lifted her off the floor, like a parent lifts a toddler to hold them high in the air. His strength was amazing, making her feel as light as the breeze wafting through the open windows, and she looked down at him, his gaze pinned to hers. He held her there for a few moments, then lowered her back down, sharing smiles between each other. They moved as one, the music a part of their intimate dance, joining their hearts and bodies together.

When the song slowed near the end, he serenaded her, his own voice overtaking the singers. Chrissie felt like she was the star of a movie, a leading lady, adored and cherished and desired. She didn't want this moment to end, but as the music faded so did their energy; their bodies softening and relaxing onto the floor. They spread out flat on their backs, chests rising and falling, hands joined together side by side.

‘That was the most unconventional class I've ever taught,' Chrissie panted.

‘I'm all for unconventional,' he replied. ‘But I'm spent!'

‘Me too! Yoga isn't as full on as dancing. It's still strenuous, but in a calming way. But that — I haven't done anything like that in a long time.'

‘I haven't done anything like that, ever.'

Neither had she. She'd danced and let loose, yes, but relive a moment from one of the best romantic movies ever? It was like a dream, a beautiful, surreal dream she didn't want to wake from.

Her body buzzed even though she was still, the adrenalin still coursing through her body. ‘To satisfy my need for consistency and because I'm pooped and need to lie down, I think we should do
Shavasana
as usual,' she said, removing her hand from his and arranging herself into a more structured position instead of one resembling a person who'd passed out after one too many vodkas.

‘Good plan. I need a few minutes to catch my breath anyway.' He turned his head and gave her a brief smile before looking up at the ceiling.

‘Close your eyes now, breathe deeply, and relax your whole body starting from your toes…' She ran through her usual spiel, shortening it somewhat as right now she didn't feel at all like his teacher and didn't want to sound like one. Soon there was silence as they both relaxed and breathed in complete stillness. Her body gave her that familiar floating sensation, not being able to feel the floor beneath her, like she was lying on a bed of clouds, and the post-exercise bliss engulfed her.

Chrissie didn't know how many minutes had passed, but she guessed it was time to return to the land of the living when the faint sound of a car in the distance pulling out of the parking lot brought her attention back to reality.

‘Ahh, that was nice,' she said. ‘Time to get up now.' She rolled to the side and pushed herself up with her hand, looking at Drew's idle body beside her. His chest slowly rose and fell, his breathing was smooth and even, and his face relaxed, shiny, and oh so beautiful. His eyes were still closed. She held back a chuckle.
Asleep again?
She watched him for a moment, her finger wanting to desperately trace the curves on his face, but she settled for tracing them with her gaze instead. She lowered herself onto her elbow next to him, watching him sleep. Everyone said that sleeping children were gorgeous, but no one ever mentioned sleeping celebrities. Only he wasn't a celebrity to her any more. He was a man. A talented and creative man, and a damn good dancer.

Watching him was like a meditation in itself, centring her mind and calming her breathing. She was about to snuggle up next to him when his eyes snapped open.

‘Gotcha!' he said, a cheeky grin on his face.

Chrissie sat up. ‘You weren't asleep?'

He shook his head.

She whacked him lightly on the chest with the back of her hand. ‘You trickster.'

‘You were watching me, weren't you? I could feel it.' A smug look graced his face.

‘No I wasn't,' she said. ‘I was just…waiting for you to wake up.' She tightened the elastic on her ponytail and looked away.

‘Come here.' Drew pulled her on top of him and whispered, ‘I would have watched you too.'

Chrissie confessed the truth with an honest smile, and her finger finally traced around the side of his face as she took in every perfect detail.

‘Your eyes,' Drew said. ‘You've got
Hungry Eyes
.'

Chrissie smiled, remembering the song of the same name from
Dirty Dancing
.

‘Well then, you better feed them,' she said, lowering her face to his and taking his lips in hers.

A one hour strenuous jog along the scenic walking track did nothing to quash Drew's desire or distract him from thoughts of Chrissie. Neither did a cold shower. Nor the organic gluten-free steak sandwich he'd had the kitchen staff make him for lunch. It was just past one o'clock on Saturday, only twenty-four hours since he'd last seen her and he was already having Chrissie withdrawals.

His head told him he shouldn't be getting involved with anyone, especially considering the fact he'd be out of here in just over a week's time, but he couldn't stop thinking about her, wanting to be with her. She was such a contrast from the women he often met in L.A. She was honest, charming, funny, and stronger than she knew. His attraction to her was beyond physical. Sure, desire had flickered within the first time he'd seen her, only intensifying the more time he spent with her; but she was a beautiful woman, he wouldn't be a red-blooded man if he hadn't felt at least some attraction initially. But something else about her had taken hold, something deeper, something that affected him emotionally, mentally, and spiritually, as well as physically. It was surreal he'd only known her for three weeks.

He reached for his guitar to keep his hands occupied, but placed it back down and grabbed his phone instead.

He pressed contacts and then Chrissie, and his finger hovered over the screen. Kai would be with her this weekend, he didn't want to interrupt their mother and son time. But he ached for some contact with her, even if only via text. He typed in a message:

Hope your weekend is off to A Good Start (hehe). Last week was the best.

He hesitated for a moment then added:

Thinking about you - D.

He hit send and took a deep breath, then opened his email and scrolled through the messages, deleting some along the way. He was in the middle of replying to a message from his manager when Chrissie's text came in:

Yes it's off to A Good Start (that pun's getting really old btw). Kai & I are Fired Up (hehe) for an afternoon of sorting stuff and painting the rooms upstairs.

Thinking about you too - C. xx

The addition of two kisses brought a smile to his face. He loved how women often did things like that. Sarah was always adding smiley faces to her texts and emails, and Gemma used plenty of LOLs and exclamation marks to make everything look super exciting.

He typed back:

Maybe I'm all out of pun ideas. I might have passed the skill onto you. Good luck painting. :)

He smiled as he added the smiley face, hit send, then had a thought. Should he? No, probably not a good idea. But…

Before he could stop himself, he typed:

Do you need an extra set of hands?

Sent. Too late now.

A few minutes passed without a reply. Crap. Maybe he crossed a line. What was he doing, offering to help her paint? And with her son around too. He should have just —

His phone beeped:

I thought you didn't want to risk your visit being public knowledge. My son's not the town gossip or anything, but you know kids, they can be unpredictable.

Damn. He should have thought more about it before hitting send. Now he's put her on the spot.

Beep. Another message:

But if you're okay with it, I'd love nothing more than to have your extra set of hands. ;)

Drew grinned. What a relief. And was the mention of his hands a subtle attempt at flirtation? He liked it. The wise thing to do would be to stay put and continue with his relaxing time off, but he needed to keep busy, and Chrissie had a lot on her plate. If he could help her in any way, it would make him feel good. Plus, he loved hanging out with kids, and he wanted to meet the famous Kai.

My hands can be there in ten. Can the rest of me come too? Looking forward to meeting Kai.

Chrissie replied:

Please bring all of you. I won't tell Kai exactly who you are, just in case. I'll say you're a friend helping out with the painting.

He typed back:

Fine with me. I'm on my way :)

She replied with a simple smiley face, and Drew assessed his clothing for painting suitability. Nup. He pulled his white top over his head and zipped off his jeans, exchanging them for a casual pair of cargo shorts and a dark grey t-shirt. He gave his underarms a quick spray of deodorant and grabbed his phone and room key. There was one week left in Tarrin's Bay, and he didn't want to waste a single minute.

* * *

Chrissie checked her reflection in the hallway mirror, smoothing her hair and tightening the ponytail that had come loose. She glanced down at her painting outfit. Denim capri's with a couple of frayed holes in them, and an oversized lemon-coloured t-shirt with a picture of palm tree on it. Oh dear. She shrugged.
Oh well, who cares.
He's seen me at my worst.
She picked up the two storage boxes she'd bought and approached Kai in the living room.

‘Kai, here are the boxes. I've laid everything out upstairs, and I want you to put all the things made of paper in one box, and everything else in the other, okay?' He nodded. ‘Good man.'