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“May I have the next dance?” I ask, smiling at her.

“Of course, Charlie,” she responds, her face flushed.

I turn toward the senator and hold out my hand. “Hello, Senator Ross. Nice to see you again, sir.”

“Hi, Charlie. Thanks for sharing Tess with me. You picked a good one here.” He gives Tess a kiss on the cheek and whispers something in her ear. She giggles and nods her head and he heads off in the direction of the bar.

We begin to sway to the song, loosely holding each other’s hands. “What did he say to you?’ I ask.

“He asked me to save him a dance for later,” she responds, laughing. “He’s quite the flirt. It’s surprising…he’s always appeared stiff and business-like to me. Like he wouldn’t be much fun to talk to.”

I’m guessing he’s stiff alright, I think to myself. But not in the way Tess is talking about.

“He obviously is taken with you…can’t blame him. You look gorgeous today, Cello.” As soon as I say the words I want to take them back. She’s Jane’s best friend. She’s practically family. She’s going to think I’m flirting with her. Genuinely flirting…not just fake flirting.

“You don’t look so bad yourself, Mr. Coffee.” She smirks at me and begins to follow my lead.

So far, the day has gone well as far as our pretend relationship is concerned. Mom and Dad were thrilled to see Tess and spent some time earlier catching up with her.

Dad is still annoyed that we haven’t been by the house for dinner yet but I explained to him that we’ve both been very busy and we’ll definitely do it soon.

Dad had patted me on the back before they moved on to socializing with some other guests. “This is a good decision, Charlie. An excellent decision actually,” he’d said and gave me a pleased smile. A smile like that is a rare thing from my usually very stern dad. I felt a lump in my throat thinking about our eventual “breakup” and how disappointed my parents will be.

The jazzy tune playing ends and a slower song follows it. I take Tess in my arms and pull her close to me. She smells amazing, like some kind of floral concoction but with a bit of spice.

Because of her height, our bodies fit perfectly together. I’m guessing her heels make her close to six feet tall. I’m not having to stoop over like I usually do while dancing with a woman.

“Having fun?” I ask.

She tips her head back and quirks her lips up. “I am actually. Much more fun than I thought I’d be having.”

“I told you it wouldn’t be so bad.”

I continue to guide her on the floor, trying out a few new steps and she follows me effortlessly.

“You’re a great dancer.”

She laughs. “All those years at Linda’s Dance School are finally paying off, I guess.”

“I remember you and Jane in your recital costumes. All those sequins and feathers.”

“Oh my gosh…did your parents make you go to our recitals? You must have hated that!”

“No, I never went to any of them, thank God. But didn’t you used to come to the house beforehand…to get ready or whatever?”

“Oh, of course. Yes. Jane always did a much better job with my makeup than I could do myself.”

I look closely at her perfectly made-up face now. “Looks like you figured it out.”

Her lips curve upward. “Took me a while but I finally got it.”

I hold her close again and she melts into me. We remain that way, swaying to the beat.

After a minute I hear her voice in my ear. “So, at the end of this song, I think we should kiss. Get it over with, you know?”

I look down at her in surprise. Is she fucking with me again? I didn’t know Tess was such a jokester, but she definitely showed me that side of her the night we met at Gonza.

She’s giving me a matter-of-fact look as if she just suggested we go grab another drink rather than press our lips together. She really wants me to kiss her? I feel myself becoming aroused at the thought of it.