“Yeah, out on the dance floor.”
Her eyes widened in surprise. She knew that he had been staring at her out there, but he hadn’t made it seem like he was waiting for her. He had just looked…inviting.
God! She needed to stop thinking about him like that. Who cares if he looks inviting? She was dating someone, and this was exactly what she had been worried about with Neal going to The Kiln. Well, she had been more concerned that an orgy would break out in the club, and he’d somehow be a part of it, but a hot British guy talking to her wasn’t that far off.
“Well, you didn’t gesture,” she said offhand. She looked away from his eyes and the welcoming tilt of his head.
He had his hat back on, but it was effortlessly tipped up. She didn’t know what to make of him.
“I’m gesturing now,” he said. He swept his arm back and motioned for her to take the floor with him.
When Trihn glanced over at Maya for support, her eyes were as big as saucers.
“What’s it going to hurt?” Maya asked.
Trihn couldn’t answer that because he was really hot. And the way her stomach was fluttering at his bold statements wasn’t helping anything.
She shrugged her shoulders and looked back at Damon. “You looked good out there,” she deflected.
“I know,” he said.
Her jaw nearly dropped to the floor at that statement, but laughter bubbled up before she could show her surprise. “Cheeky.”
“But you’re good, too,” he said easily.
His gaze locked with hers, and she tried not to beam at his compliment.
“I know you are. I was watching you from up there.” He pointed at the DJ booth. “You don’t just know how to move. You dance, right?”
She nodded. “Yeah, I do.”
“I could tell.”
“Thanks.”
Maya nudged her, but Trihn didn’t dare look at her. Trihn knew that Maya was going to try to get her to say more, to encourage her to do things she knew she shouldn’t.
“Show me,” he told her.
“I don’t even know who you are,” she shot back.
“Does it matter?”
“I…”
No, it didn’t.
Who cares who this guy is? It was just dancing, something she had done her entire life. She’d come from a renowned dance studio in New York City. Dancing at a club for some guy she’d just met shouldn’t even matter.
“I don’t have space,” she told him.
He shot her a devil-may-care grin and then started backing up with his hands spread wide to either side. “I’ll make space.”
The look he was giving her said, Bring it.
How can I back down from the challenge?
She could dimly hear Maya’s exclamations behind her, but the knowledge of what she was about to do deafened her to everything else going on around her.
Damon kept backing up until he had formed a circle big enough for her to dance in.
She stared in awe for a minute. How is this happening to me?
Then, her mind whirred to life. Ball change, prepare, double pirouette, floor drop, roll, tilt kick, prepare…
And on it went.
Choreography filled her vision like a fight in a Sherlock Holmes movie. It was euphoric. Adrenaline kicked into overdrive. All that existed was the here and now and the drive to not make a fool of herself in front of a large group of people…in front of him.
Damon stopped moving, crossed his arms, and just looked at her. That was her cue.
Taking a deep breath, she moved into the space with as much grace as she could muster from her years of training. Then, the dance took over. She executed the choreography in her head with her eyes glued on Damon’s face. Her friends back home would have called it sex eyes—picking one person out in the audience and making love to them with your eyes while you were onstage. She hadn’t believed it would enhance her dancing…until that moment.
She dropped to the ground to crazy screams from the surrounding crowd. Then, she rolled forward and got up in Damon’s face. The challenge was there. She might as well act on it. At this point, it was too late to back down.
He gave her a heart-stopping broad smile. He was nodding his head as he slowly clapped his hands. “That’s right,” he murmured. “That’s what I thought.”
She twirled in place, avoiding that sexy gaze. It felt good to be acknowledged for something she loved. He’d picked her out in the middle of a crowded club—not for her looks or anything else, but for her own ability. It was refreshing.
One of his friends had moved to the center of the circle, and the attention deviated from her as he started showing off his breaker moves again. Her body was still moving though. She was too energized now not to keep going. Her heart was pounding, and her head felt light. It was as if she had sparks under her skin, igniting her flesh and keeping her in motion.