Dinner is a quiet affair with mostly polite table talks which time and again whirled around and lashed on me. I keep my eyes on the food trying to eat in the most poised way, quite different from how I stuff myself. But by the end of dinner, my entire life from beginning to until now and my family lineage has already been discussed. But before gran could muse on our relationship over dessert, Jace very effectively excuses us to his study room or so he calls it.

"This way please!" he gestures to a set of study wooden doors, with expensive varnish and shining brass doorknobs.

I pause at the door, debating whether to open.

"Ladies first!" he gives a gallant bow!

"Wow, drama king," I tease, but nevertheless push the doors open. They glide away smoothly to reveal a hall with high ceilings.

"Is this your study room?" I blink in awe at the vast space, gorgeous chandeliers like fairy lights and a white marble floor with large floral motifs in pastels. The walls are glittering with strategically cut mirrors in all kind of weird pentagons and triangles, reflecting the light from the chandeliers tenfold over. The place is a picture out of a fairy tale dream sequence.

"Technically my study room isn't the ideal place to dance. We need the mood and the atmosphere. This is my Grandma's ballroom. We throw parties in here. And we means my family minus me." he clears the doubt.

I place my hands on the wall and find pieces of me reflected on the crystal clear glass.

"This place was made by my gramps for my gran when she came to this house as his wedded. She loves dancing and she is the one who taught me as a child. But she hasn't danced since gramps passed away. This room is kept locked unless we have parties."

"And you unlocked it for our stupid dance sessions? How ridiculously insensitive that is!" I exclaim.

He narrows his eyes. "Pat, I saw, the expression in your eyes when you saw, the room. The one at my parent's mansion will be thrice as grand. You need to familiarize with surroundings."

"Great!" I wave my hands dismissively. "As long as your gran doesn't throw me in some hidden dungeon for violating her sacred room, I'm in."

His eyes light up and he immediately comes to the center of the room, lightly pacing the tiles as he does a pirouette on one of the floral tiles. His movements are packed with momentum and grace and I see him hop from stone to stone, with the perfect poise and technique of a skilled dancer.

"Whoa!" I clap, making him stop midway, abruptly.

"Oh shit! I was supposed to teach you. I got carried away," he beckons to me with stretched arms.

"I'm more than happy to stand and watch you!" I say.

"And not learn to dance? No Miss Patties, I won't let you enjoy the show for free." he winks.

"Patties? Really Jason?" I can't keep the irritation from my voice. "That's the fourth name you've called me by."

"Have more up my sleeve, but we totally should dance." he grabs my hands and drags me to the centre of the concentric floral tiles, placing a hand on my waist. I shudder. He draws back, looking alarmed. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, you didn't! You—" I blush fiercely, my eyes bowed down. What shall I say?

"I?" he raises an eyebrow.

"Okay. This is all new. I'll take some time to adjust to your touch without getting overwhelmed," I throw my hands in the air.

"Oh that?" he guffaws. "Don't worry. I'm the trainer now and we'll start with some warm up exercises."

A few minutes later, I'm already breathless with the squats and the pushups. He is balancing on one hand effortlessly, doing his fiftieth pushup while I'm struggling with the planks. His muscled arms look even more delicious gleaming with sweat. I turn my face away, feeling embarrassed. I'm looking at him as if he's my trophy.

"You are hell lotta stiff. Don't you do exercises?" he huffs in between pushups.

"I don't have time with all my overnight shifts and screwed up life," I grimace, giving up and squatting on the floor. "This is tough!"

"For a beginner, yes. Come on. I'll teach you some dance moves now."

He gets up as fast from his planks, offering me his hand. I grab it as he hauls me up, effortlessly.

"What now?" I remark, trying to shake off my tiredness.

"Ball dance befitting a princess." he grins, showing a row of pearly teeth. He gestures me to a tile with a pink lily on it. "That's your home base. That circle has twelve flowers. I want you to step on one at a time and twirl thrice before moving on to the rest. And you have to return to the same flower and not get confused and end up in another circle!" he instructs.

"Huh!"

"Dance is all about coordination and alertness. Relax your body, feel your limbs and let the tunes take you on their own journey. Your feet always know where to go." he presses a remote switch and soft music fills the air.

"Piano?" I ask, trying to twirl as gracefully as possible on my so called home base.

"Yep! Arnie Roth!" he remarks, as I place my feet on the second. I continue onto the third and I feel the soothing powers of the music course through my veins. "It's beautiful," I breathe, moving on to the sixth tile and my feet skid on the surface.

"Watch out!" I hear a scream, bracing myself for the fall, but land on a pair of arms instead.

"Good catch!" I tease.

"Missed it the first time!" he reminds me of our second meeting, which seems like another life now.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️