Page 32 of No Such Thing as Serendipity

What the hell? The next song wasn’t in English as the singer chanted, with drums playing behind him.

Soon, more singers joined him in his chanting.

I had no idea what he was saying, but I moved in rhythm with the chants.

God, this was freeing. I closed my eyes and lifted my face to the sun as I danced to the unfamiliar words.

It didn’t matter what the language was since I felt the emotions behind the word.

A Latin beat, which jolted me from my trance, replaced the chanting. Shit. I still hadn’t identified my channel partner. As Hips Don’t Lie heated up, I figured this was my best chance to figure it out. I loved this song. It had so much energy.

Emma danced up to me, laughing. “Go, Shakira,” she said. Obviously, she’d already had the song.

For her amusement, I moved my hips so dramatically I’d make a Flamenco dancer envious. I had no clue what she was listening to as she skipped off. What she lacked in rhythm, she made up for in enthusiasm.

I focused on the rest of the dancers. My gaze landed on Helena, who continued to dance along with everyone, despite her health issues.

She didn’t move as much, but her serene expression made me smile.

Because of her lesser movements, I couldn’t rule her out as my dance partner.

On this round, I’d narrowed my choices to four: Helena, two women I didn’t know, and Robyn.

If I’d counted right, I had three more songs to figure it out.

Disappointment flooded through me when the song switched. My hips were so loose that I didn’t want to stop. A vision of Jennifer Beals replaced my displeasure as What a Feeling ( Flashdance) played.

The music started slowly, and I channeled my childhood dance class.

I’d never been one for ballet moves, but I waved my arms as I spun.

Then the music picked up. I strutted across the clearing, kicking out my leg as I did, dancing with pure joy, just as Jennifer Beals’s character had done in the movie.

I stopped short of dropping to the ground and doing a breakdance move.

When I noticed several women staring, I realized I’d been lost in my own world. My face heated, and I stopped dancing, wanting to find somewhere to hide.

Robyn was dancing five yards in front of me and called out, “Don’t stop, Blake. Don’t lose the spirit of the music.”

Emma moved up beside me and poked me in the side. “You go, girl.”

I smiled at her, but I still felt self-conscious. The music switched, and in Emma fashion, she shook her hips like a demented penguin and broke my embarrassment.

“You’re supposed to be dancing, not having a seizure,” I called.

“Then dance,” she said.

I tuned back to the music playing for me. Damn. How could I not dance to this song? Miley Cyrus’s Flowers filled my ears, and I threw my arms over my head and bounced from side to side with reckless abandon, emulating her moves in her music video.

When I glanced around the circle of dancers, my eyes widened when they fell on Robyn, who was mirroring my dance moves. I met her gaze, knowing I’d found my dance partner. Robyn exaggerated her movements, and I followed suit, letting myself go.

“We’ve got one more song left,” Robyn called out. “If you’ve identified your dance partner, I want you to dance with them for the final song.”

Soon Miley Cyrus gave way to Melissa Etheridge. I swallowed hard as I’m the Only One played. Many times, during my college days, I danced in the clubs to this song. As Robyn moved toward me, I wondered if she’d done the same.

The slow guitar rift filled my ears, followed by Melissa’s sultry voice. I tried to block out the lyrics as I moved toward Robyn. Was there a challenge in her eyes? Not one to back down, I matched my body movements to hers as she closed the distance between us. Our eyes locked as we came together.

As she rolled her hips forward, I did the same, keeping my body in sync with her movements. Only inches from me, she ran her hands down the side of her body. I resisted putting my hands on top of hers. Instead, I put my hands on my stomach and then trailed them down my sides.

The playful smile on Robyn’s face intensified.

I raised my eyebrows and smirked as I moved closer, so our bodies were mere centimeters apart.

As I thrust my hips forward, she pulled hers back, only to thrust them out toward me.

I moved with her and pulled back, so the tiny space between us remained.

We continued to move our hips back and forth, never touching.

When Melissa sang about desire, Robyn kept her eyes focused on mine as she stepped back. Then she glanced at the ground. When she looked back at me, there was a twinkle in her eyes as she bent her knees and rolled her hips as she moved lower toward the ground.

Understanding what she was doing, I moved forward and put one foot on the ground between her legs and the other foot outside. I leaned back as I bent my knees and lowered myself toward the forest floor. We never broke eye contact as we moved closer to the ground.

We rocked together, never touching, as our hands brushed the leaves. In an unspoken agreement, we began our slow rise to a standing position, and we continued our seductive dance.

For a moment, I forgot where we were and that anyone other than Robyn existed. Then I realized the music had stopped. I didn’t know how long we’d kept dancing to our own beats, but by the looks on the faces of those surrounding us, I assumed it had been a bit.

My face heated, and I stumbled back. Robyn mirrored my movement, just as she had while we were dancing, complete with bright red cheeks.

After a beat, the rest burst into applause.

“Damn, I’m not even a lesbian, but I think I need a cold shower,” Annie called out.

The others laughed, and I shot Annie a look of gratitude for breaking the awkward tension. It afforded Robyn the time to recover as she hurried to her backpack, tearing her headset off as she did. She shoved it into the bag before she turned her attention back to us.

“Great session,” Robyn said. “Usually, we talk about the experience, but we’ve run out of time. I don’t want to keep you from getting to your next class.”

“We don’t mind,” someone called out.

“Sorry, ladies.” Robyn waved her hand. “I have to get to my staff meeting at the bookstore.” She held up her bag. “I’m going to need you to return your headsets.”

I never looked at Robyn as I dropped mine into the bag.

Emma stepped up next. “Come back tonight.”

I wanted to turn and look. Instead, I kept walking away.

“Um, I...uh,” Robyn stammered.

“Yeah, come back,” Helena said. “That evoked, stirred, so many feelings. I think we’d all like to process them.”

Yeah, a chorus of voices rang out. My voice wasn’t one of them. Did I want to discuss this class with anyone, especially Robyn?

“Uh, well, okay!” There was a definite finality in her tone.

I’d not looked back to see her expression, but I sensed eyes on me. Were they Robyn’s or Emma’s?

The group clapped, and a few cheered. I heard Robyn’s laughter through the chaos. Had she already recovered from the dance while my heartbeat was still in my throat?

I kept walking down the path, ready to be away from the forest, music, and Robyn. If this was what letting go of control meant, I’d pass. I heard footsteps coming up fast behind me, but I kept up my determined stride.

“Hey, wait up,” Emma called.

I slowed but kept moving.

When she stepped up beside me, she said, “Wow. That was intense.”

I grunted but said nothing else.

“Sheesh, slow down. My legs are already rubbery from dancing.”

I kept my stride steady, so she jogged along beside me.

“You can run, but you can’t hide,” she said with a giggle. When I didn’t respond, she said, “Come on, Blake, relax.”

“I’m relaxed,” I said through gritted teeth.

“Right, and that wasn’t a fifteen out of ten on the smoking hot scale.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” I knew, but I wanted to hear her say it.

“You and Robyn. Jesus, I thought you were gonna cause a forest fire.”

“Very funny.” I crinkled my nose and continued walking fast. “I was just participating in the stupid class you signed me up for. Being an obedient puppet.”

“Methinks your anger reveals much.”

“What the hell does that even mean?” I stopped and turned my hostile gaze on Emma.

Emma stared into my fire-filled eyes, but she didn’t look away. “Admit it, there were vibes bouncing off the two of you.”

“The only vibes happening were two competitive people putting on a show.”

Emma smirked. “Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

My nostrils flared. What the hell? Emma was just trying to bait me. “Not to worry, I sleep like a baby.”

Emma took both my hands in hers, and she gazed into my eyes for several seconds, to the point the intensity was making me uncomfortable.

She finally said, “I approve.”

“Approve of what?”

“Robyn.”

I just stared.

“Dana and Noelle are nos. Off limits. But I give the green light with Robyn.” She winked at me before she let go of my hands. Without waiting for my response, she turned and jogged back toward the clearing.

I stared as she went. I didn’t want any fucking green light with Robyn. Did I?