Gift of Fortune by Ilsa Mayr

inductees and their parents, she went into the gym.
    The junior class had decorated the gym with paper flowers, streamers, and balloons. They had even swathed the
bright ceiling lights with white gauze, bathing the huge
room in a gentle, diffused light.
    The DJ's music made conversation difficult. Quint bent
down to ask Aileen, "Can we dance?"
    She shook her head. She cupped her hand around her
mouth and spoke into his ear. "Not yet. We are chaperones
for the first hour." Aileen hadn't noticed how shapely his
ear was. She felt the crazy desire to nibble on his earlobe.
And then trail kisses along his throat-
    "What exactly are we looking for as chaperones?" he
asked.
    "Somebody spiking the punch. Incipient arguments.
Couples smooching in the shadowy corners."
    "Seems a shame to interfere with young love."
    "Might be more a case of raging hormones," she replied.
    Quint could identify with those. It took considerable
willpower not to drag Aileen into one of those shadowy
corners and steal a few kisses. Ever since he'd seen the
undisguised admiration in her eyes when she'd come down
the stairs, he'd had to concentrate hard on not staring at
her with eyes that revealed his attraction.
    "Let's circulate," she said.
    Quint stayed by her side as they moved around the gym
for the next hour.
    When they were relieved by the gym teacher and his wife, Quint made a quick grab for Aileen's hand and led
her onto the dance floor. Even if she had wanted to pull
away, she doubted that Quint would have let her. And she
did want to dance with him.

    The first two dances were fast. Aileen felt as if her pulse
echoed the throbbing thump of the drums. Her senses
hummed, her body felt light-almost liquid-as she moved
to the seductive cadence of the music. They didn't touch
each other except with their eyes.
    The third number was a slow, soft ballad of yearning and
love. Even though Aileen knew it would be prudent to
leave the dance floor, she hesitated, and, hesitating, she
found herself promptly wrapped in Quint's arms. She had
noticed earlier how tightly the couples held each other during the slow dances. Almost as if their bodies were fused
together.
    "Quint," she said. "Quint? Don't you think you're holding me too close?"
    "No. This is the perfect music for slow dancing, and you
can't dance to this beat if you're a foot apart."
    "I wasn't talking about a foot, but how about a couple
of inches? I am a teacher, and I don't think-"
    "You think too much. I believe I've mentioned that before? Relax, Aileen. Listen to the rhythm of the music and
go with it. Enjoy it."
    If anything, Quint held her even tighter. Aileen knew she
couldn't win this argument short of making a scene. She
didn't want to make a scene. Actually, if he'd given her
the space she asked for, she probably would have been a
little disappointed. And she was enjoying herself.
    She'd never known that something as simple as dancing
could be so pleasurable, so sensuous. Except dancing
wasn't really simple. Hadn't she read somewhere that it
was originally a part of the mating ritual? Best not to think about that. Aileen closed her eyes, but that only made her
other senses more receptive. She felt Quint's breath feather
against her temple. She inhaled his scent, which wove itself
around her like a magic circle.

    When the music stopped, she murmured an excuse and
hastened to the ladies' room. She needed to douse her face
with cold water.
    The two girls drying their hands apparently hadn't noticed Aileen's entrance.
    "I had no idea Ms. Bolton could dance like that," the
brunette said. "So sexy!"
    "Speaking of sexy. Did you get a good look at her date?"
the redhead asked.
    "Oh yeah. Isn't he to die for? I could hardly keep my
eyes off him," the brunette said, her expression dreamy.
"Especially when they were dancing."
    "He looks a little like Antonio Banderas, only even more
handsome. Where did she find him? Think we could ask
Ms. Bolton if he