Without You by Julie Prestsater Page B

might have been tempted to tell her she was crazy if she thought I was going to spend my evening listening to some ballroom instructor tell me what to do, but it wasn’t like she had been awful to deal with. She had been quite helpful when it came to Maddy, and I was having a great time being back home with her and the rest of my friends. So I didn’t comment. I just showed up as I was told.
    As I made my way into the studio, I thought about the offer to do Dancing with the Stars. If Sam only knew what I was doing right now, he would kill me. He begged me to do that show for his mom, but I couldn’t do it. I had to draw the line somewhere and spray tans and shirtless dancing seemed to be a good place to start.
    “Hey, man,” Luke said when he saw me coming through the door. “Just in time. Go stand over there with Maddy. We’re learning a waltz right now.”
    I couldn’t help rolling my eyes, they had a mind of their own. “Roger that,” I said with a salute.
    “Wow, Mr. James,” Maddy said to me, holding her hands up in a position to dance. I slid into her hold and took control. “You look very nice today.”
    Glancing down at my dressy attire, I smiled. I couldn’t very well dance in my sneakers and jeans. I had to put on shoes that would let me slide across the floor. “Why, thank you. You look very nice, too. That dress may be the death of me before the night is out though.” She sure didn’t look like a middle school teacher. Sheathed in a pastel pink dress, it clung to her every curve, making me want to explore more than just the dance floor with her. I couldn’t resist letting my gaze fall to the length of her smooth legs. They begged my fingers to trace a path from her tone thigh down her flexed calf to her sweet polished toes peeking out the front of her heels. I knew she’d rather be wearing sandals, but damn, she looked good enough to eat, and I wouldn’t have minded taking a bite.
    She was about to say something, but the music changed and we were hushed. We listened to the teacher as we moved around the room on our toes. I felt like a buoy bouncing up and down in the ocean. It was lame. I would have rather dimmed the lights and held Maddy close to my body with her hand over my heart.
    We made our rounds and it finally occurred to me why we were there. Matthew and Steven couldn’t dance. Not one bit. To say they had two left feet would have been a compliment. “Trying to teach them how to waltz is not going to help. Genna knows that, right?”
    Maddy’s eyes widened as she tried not to laugh at the two big guys stomping their feet like ogres. “Be nice.”
    The music changed again, leaving both of us looking at each other with wicked grins. If the guys couldn’t handle a waltz, they sure as heck wouldn’t be able to Salsa.
    “This is a basic Cha Cha Cha,” the instructor said. She cut in on Melissa and danced with her husband. Taking one of his hands and placing it on her hip, she held the other as she swayed her hips back and forth to the rhythm of the music. He tried, but it didn’t work. Melissa, the poor thing, winced as if it was painful for her to watch, which it was.
    “Let’s dance, couples.” The teacher clapped her hands, leaving Melissa to her husband again. “I want to see you move those hips. Bring out the sexy in your partner. Make love on the dance floor.”
    My eyes met Maddy’s as she raised her left brow. “There will be no love making,” she whispered. “Don’t get any ideas.”
    “Sunshine, if you didn’t want me to have those ideas you should’ve worn something else.” My gaze followed the length of her amazing body from her neck to her toes and right back up. “Like some footie pajamas.”
    Our bodies moved closer together with each beat. “No way, that would be hot. I’d have to go commando underneath.”
    “Woman, you’re killing me.” I grabbed her waist and pulled her as close to me as she could get.
    She let out a brief chuckle. “No, I’m