Page 42 of Take the Lead

W hen I wake up the next morning, we’re nose to nose on the pillows. Feeling me move, Aleksis opens his eyes.

‘? au .’ He grins.

‘ ? au to you.’ I smile back.

‘That was quite a night,’ he says.

‘Yes it was,’ I agree, my smile widening.

‘No regrets?’

‘Absolutely none.’ And I roll on top of him and kiss him to prove my point.

I’d like to say I manage to exhibit the same level of patience he showed the night before, but he’s already erect and I can’t wait to feel him back inside me, so I hoist myself up till I’m sitting on him, then I guide him in, enjoying the satisfied groan it draws out of him.

He grips my hips as I rock backwards and forwards, never taking his eyes off me.

Then he raises himself to a sitting position too, so we can kiss while I ride him.

He groans again when I lean back and arch myself into him, pushing him deeper.

‘Oh, Kate, I’m going to come,’ he breathes, and this time he doesn’t hold back. He crushes me against him as he orgasms and I can feel him pulsing inside me.

Afterwards he rolls me onto my back and runs his tongue from my buttocks to my clit in long, luscious licks until it tickles so much it almost hurts.

But just when I think I can’t take any more, he pushes his fingers inside me and I finally climax, his name escaping from my lips in a gasp, a Cheshire cat grin breaking out on my face as the dizzying tremors subside.

‘Do we have to go to the studio today?’ I ask, trailing my fingers idly across his chest.

‘We probably do, if we want to get through on Saturday night,’ he says, smiling.

‘I could happily stay here all day.’

‘It’s very tempting,’ he agrees. ‘But sadly, we’ve got a big day ahead of us.’

On top of our rehearsal, Channel 6 has arranged for all the remaining couples in the competition to attend a movie premiere in the evening to build up some buzz for the show – filling our only free night of the week, but saving us from having to think of our own way to generate more press coverage.

‘To be continued?’ Aleksis asks hopefully.

‘Hell yeah,’ I laugh, already looking forward to round three.

At the studio, I work harder than ever on refining my steps and by the end of the day we agree there’s nothing more we can improve.

I finally look like a bona fide dancer, just like Aleksis said I would.

I give myself a silent pat on the back – what a momentous achievement.

It makes me think we’ve got a really good chance of getting through to the final tomorrow.

I try not to dwell on that fact that if we do go through, with the salsa, bachata, kizomba and cha-cha already ticked off, there’s a one in three chance we might land the dreaded Argentine tango for our last dance.

The merengue would be less alarming, but it’s not a style I’ve really warmed to.

The rumba’s the one I most want to perform.

It might be as challenging as the tango technically, but I feel more of a connection to it for some reason.

Back at the flat after rehearsals, I get straight to work on my hair and make-up, ready for the premiere. I want to look my best.

Earlier, when I told Aleksis I wasn’t sure I had anything appropriate to wear, he offered to ask Sofiya if I could borrow something of hers, explaining that her wardrobe is full of red-carpet outfits that she never wears. ‘She’ll be delighted to see one of them getting some use,’ he said.

Initially I was reluctant, but I didn’t want to cut our rehearsal short so I could run out and panic buy something, so I agreed to let her help me out.

And when she drops by with a suitcase of dresses for me to try on, I’m so thankful I did. Among the selection is a silk skater-style dress with a teal and navy animal print that fits me like a glove. I feel unbelievably sexy in it.

Aleksis tells me I look gorgeous. And he looks so hot in his midnight blue suit with a plain white T-shirt underneath that it takes my breath away. I don’t know how I didn’t see how attractive he is when Lucy first pointed it out.

It doesn’t take Sofiya long to notice something has changed between the two of us. Probably because neither of us can wipe the smiles off our faces. Within minutes of being in the flat, she correctly concludes, ‘You’re not faking this any more, are you?’

My heart pounds while I wonder if she’s going to be okay with it.

‘I’m not even going to ask what gave it away, but you’re right,’ Aleksis confesses. ‘We’ve decided to do this properly.’

‘That’s fantastic,’ she exclaims, and I could cry with relief. ‘To be honest, I’m surprised it took you so long. You’re so well suited.’

Yet again her magnanimity amazes me.

‘We know that now,’ Aleksis says with a radiant smile that makes me glow inside.

His phone pings to let him know our car from Channel 6 has arrived.

It will take us to a meeting point near the cinema where we’ll join up with the other contestants, so we can travel to the venue in a convoy and arrive all together.

Shane thinks this is the best way to guarantee us some column inches in the newspapers.

The plan is to synchronise our exits from the cars and stand together on the red carpet to give us more pulling power. Then once we’re inside, we’ve been told we can do what we like.

I text Lucy while we’re in the car. The last couple of days have been such a whirlwind I haven’t even had a chance to fill her in on the developments with Aleksis. She’s going to go nuts.

‘ Sorry I’ve been quiet. It’s been crazy trying to fit everything in. Good crazy though. Something exciting may have happened … ’

‘ With Aleksis? ’ she guesses immediately.

‘ Yes, with Aleksis. ’ I can’t help smiling. ‘ We may have slept together last night. ’

‘ Shriek! Is he your boyfriend now? ’

‘ No! It’s way too soon to put a label on it. ’ Not that I’d mind. ‘ We’ve literally hooked up once. Well, twice if you count this morning too. It was really good though and I really like him .’

‘ Full details when I see you after the show tomorrow please! Is Aleksis coming to the pub too? ’

I promise her we’ll both be there, then look over at him to check he’s still real. He smiles back in a way that makes my heart do a little dance.

Our simultaneous arrival at the cinema does get the attention of the paparazzi, as Shane had hoped, and the cameras flash as we converge on the red carpet.

I don’t know if he does it on purpose, but Merle positions himself next to me, putting his arm round my waist below Aleksis’s arm round my shoulders as we pose for photos.

It makes me uncomfortable, but I can hardly shake him off with so many eyes on us.

When one of the actresses from the film arrives, our little group is moved along and guided inside to the cinema’s bar area, where we’re offered champagne cocktails.

I spot Kimberley Ross in a smart white trouser suit and recognise several other famous faces from TV shows.

Everyone looks impossibly glamorous, which makes me even more grateful for Sofiya’s dress.

It’s hard to ignore Merle as he air-kisses his way round the room like a pro, so I’m relieved when the screening finally starts and I can lose myself in the film for a couple of hours.

Thankfully, it’s much easier to stay out of his way at the after-party, because it’s in the cavernous lobby of the hotel next door.

There are hundreds of guests, waiters wandering through the crowd with magnums of champagne, and acrobats dangling from the ceiling.

Several bars line the perimeter and there’s an impressive selection of canapés on offer, but the highlight for me is a chocolate fountain the size of a swimming pool.

My five-year-old self would have been beside herself.

It’s attracted quite a crowd, but I squeeze in with Aleksis and we help ourselves to a skewer of juicy strawberries.

He pulls out his phone so he can take a picture of us dunking our fruit for Instagram.

But while he’s trying to get the shot, chocolate drips off his skewer, leaving a long, sticky trail across his T-shirt.

I can’t help laughing. ‘I’m surprised that wasn’t me, for once.’

He tries to wipe it off with his finger, but the smear gets even longer. ‘I’d better find the loos,’ he says, rolling his eyes.

And it’s while I’m waiting outside for him that I scroll through the latest headlines on my phone and see the love triangle stories that have started popping up online analysing our body language in the red carpet pictures of me sandwiched between Alexis and Merle.

‘You’ve got to be kidding me,’ I mutter as I click on some of the links.

One has even gone so far as to suggest I’m still in love with Merle and just pretending to be with Aleksis to gain popularity on the show.

If that were still true, it would have had me analysing every move we’ve made to see what gave us away.

‘What’s up?’ Aleksis asks when he emerges from the gents and clocks the look on my face. I hand him my phone and his reaction is much the same as mine when he spots Merle’s arm round me in the photos.

‘What the hell is he playing at?’ He sounds exasperated. ‘He must have known how that would look.’

‘It did feel deliberate,’ I agree.

‘He’s such a tosser.’

And I agree with that too.

We both look out at the hubbub surrounding us, perhaps subconsciously checking to see if Merle is in the midst of it, but if he is I can’t see him. I’m not sure I feel like rejoining the party, though.

‘How do you feel about getting out of here?’ I ask. ‘It’s getting late and I don’t want to give the make-up girls too much work to do tomorrow, trying to cover up the bags under my eyes.’

‘Good idea,’ he agrees, then points at the giant wet patch on his T-shirt. ‘I’m kind of soggy anyway.’

‘Then we need to get you out of those clothes as soon as possible.’

He grins back at my flirty smile. ‘I’ll get us a taxi.’

His T-shirt has almost dried by the time we get home, but it’s still discarded within seconds of us walking through the door.

This time when he scoops me up onto the work surface so we can kiss more comfortably, we don’t end up in the bedroom.

He pushes my skirt above my waist right there on the counter.

I lean back so he can help me wriggle free of my underwear and he nudges my legs wider and finds my clit with his thumb, bringing on that blissful feeling that I’ll never get tired of, intensifying it with his fingers just when I think it can’t get any better.

I want to kiss him, touch him, take my dress off, run my fingers through his hair, but my arms are behind me, supporting me.

And before I have a chance to push myself upright, he bends forward and hooks my legs up onto his shoulders, bringing his head down between my thighs.

I collapse back onto my elbows, drop my head back and close my eyes.

The way his tongue makes me feel, it’s like it was made just for me.

I don’t push myself back up until he draws himself up to standing and eases my legs down from his shoulders. I reach for him as he steps in to kiss me, tugging at his belt buckle as he trails his fingers along my thighs.

When he breaks away to free himself from his trousers, I unzip my dress and pull it up over my head. I watch him step out of his boxers and kick them away, then he moves back in front of me, tugging lightly at my hair as his tongue finds mine again.

He slides my hips closer to the edge of the counter, angling himself towards me, and I gasp as he grasps my hips and enters me.

I reach up and cling on to his back as he starts pumping against me, my breasts squashed against him as I kiss his neck and nibble his ear, moaning as my orgasm creeps ever closer.

I can feel his breath on my skin, hot and heavy as our bodies crash against each other and I can see the concentration on his face. He’s so close, too.

When he pushes his hand between us and finds my clit with his thumb again, I’m completely lost. It feels like my whole body has turned to jelly and I can barely hold on to him as I come. He buries his face in my hair and climaxes moments later, gasping and juddering as he lets himself go.

We stay there for some time afterwards, locked together and regaining our composure.

‘I think I might need to lie down now,’ he eventually says with a grin.

‘We do have a big day tomorrow,’ I laugh.

He lifts me down to the floor and kisses me one last time. ‘Then let’s make sure we’re ready for it.’