Tessa

Charlotte pulled up outside the studio, eager to get to the dance lesson. She'd been thrumming with excitement the whole day over it. Apparently, the instructor is a miracle worker and very hard to book.

She can turn even the worst dancers into swans in just three days- yeah, my brother conveniently forgot to mention that the lessons weren't just for Friday, but Saturday and Sunday as well.

That's three days where I'll be trapped in very close quarters with Levi, the bane of my existence, Daniels for at least two hours at a time. To say the least, I was not thrilled.

My best friend, on the other hand, was practically gushing with gratitude when she told me how happy she was that Levi and I agreed to step in, so she didn't have to drop out of the class. I didn't have the heart to tell her I was now dreading it. Her happiness was worth the hours of fake smiling and dealing with Levi I was about to endure.

When she and I entered the studio, we found most of the other attendees already present. Colin, Micah, Leah, and Landon greeted us with smiles as we joined them at the front of the room.

"I'm so excited! This is going to be so fun," Leah exclaimed as she hugged Charlotte and me.

"I know! I can't wait to get started," Charlotte cooed.

I tried to loosen my tight smile as I nodded along. "So, I heard Levi agreed to take part in this weekend's festivities," Colin whispered beside me.

A low growl rumbled in the back of my throat at the mention of his name. "Yep, he did," I mumbled back.

"Hmmm. This should be interesting," he replied with a teasing tone.

I glowered at him, looking away just as the studio doors opened again, revealing my brother and a very uncomfortable-looking Levi. A satisfied smirk ghosted my lips before I forced a lighter smile as Jason looked my way.

At least he has the decency to look as uncomfortable as he makes me feel. Maybe this won't be so bad after all.

Seconds after the final two attendees made their appearance, an animated woman with billowing curls and two-inch heels breezed into the room. She promptly introduced herself as Miss Josephine and started calling out instructions for us. She had us line up side by side to evaluate our posture as she instructed us to complete a few basic steps.

This continued for about ten minutes before we were told to pair up and prepare to start practicing with a partner. Naturally, Char and Jason paired up, as did Colin and Micah, leaving Landon, Leah, myself, and Levi staring awkwardly at each other. Landon and Leah eyed one another warily while I avoided looking anywhere near Levi.

When Leah met my glance, we seemed to have the same thought. "I'll work with Levi," she said as I cast her a grateful smile, walking over to where Landon was standing.

"Guess that means it's you and me, Tess," Landon mused as he laid his arm over my shoulders.

I couldn't help but laugh. Landon was a flirt, but he was harmless. I knew I'd have a much better time during these lessons if I were partnered with him instead of Levi, so dealing with Landon and his easy charm over Levi's egotistical asshattery was a no-brainer. Plus, I knew there was some weird dynamic between Landon and Leah that would make them both feel awkward, so the current pairings were more than ideal for everyone involved.

It only took thirty minutes into paired practice for me to eat those words. While Charlotte and Jason worked beautifully together and Micah and Colin looked like they'd been doing this for years, Landon and I were a hot mess. He had two left feet, which made my lack of practice look all the more terrible.

Add to my utter humiliation the fact that Leah and Levi looked like pros next to us, and I could feel my irritation mounting. Go freaking figure- Levi's good at everything.

Stupid jerk!

Leah was no surprise. She was on the dance team in college and took lessons as a kid. I knew she would be a natural. It was her stupid partner that shocked me. Just once, I hoped he'd trip or miss a turn, but noooo. He was damn near flawless every step of the way.

I wasn't the only one who noticed either- Miss Josephine was watching everyone like a hawk. Of course, she saw how bad Landon and I were doing; she's a professional. As much as I wanted to work through everything with Landon, our instructor wasn't having it.

She insisted that Landon and I switch with Leah and Levi. Not wanting to cause problems for Charlotte and Jason, I silently obeyed, briefly considering faking an illness to get out of my predicament. Leah gave me a sympathetic look as we crossed paths to join our new partners.

I hated the idea of being so close to Levi- of letting him touch me as he whipped us around the dancefloor, but I had to make sacrifices to help my best friend for her wedding. It was only a couple of days. I could handle that. Couldn't I?

Levi looked as unenthused as me as I planted myself in front of him, trying not to make awkward eye contact. I concentrated on my feet as Miss Josephine told us what she wanted us to practice next. I was going over the steps in my head when I heard the sound of a throat clearing next to me.

When I looked up, our drill sergeant was looking at Levi and me expectantly. "You need to place your arms properly before we can begin," she stated matter-of-factly.

The last shred of hope I had that the ground would swallow me up to spare me the next hour faded away. I looked at Levi, who was watching me warily, and gave him the tiniest of head nods as I lifted my arms to their proper positions. Josephine made a few adjustments before walking away- namely, moving Levi's hand from my lower ribs to its correct spot closer to my hip.

It was awkward as fuck, but I refused to let that show. This weekend was all about Char and Jason. I could deal with Levi gingerly holding my hip for a few hours if it meant they would get what they wanted for their wedding.

I saw the careful looks our friends were throwing our way and gave them my best fake smile, showing them I wasn't about to bite Levi's head off.

Yet.

It was fine. I was fine. Totally fine.

I could tell by the way his hands barely ghosted me that he was just as messed up about the situation as I was. The whole thing was disconcerting, but we both agreed to this. We both decided to play the game. Now we had to live with the consequences.

Miss Josephine started the music, and everyone started moving. I felt the pressure on my side as Levi held his hand more firmly against me. We started moving along with the music, and I thought things were going well for a few minutes. Levi and I were keeping a good pace. Neither of us had stepped on the other's toes yet. And I didn't feel like a mess as I did dancing with Landon.

I watched my feet as we spun around the room. Levi had no trouble guiding us where we were supposed to go as the soft sound of Michael Bublé wafted through the room. It was kind of fun.

Until Levi opened his big mouth, ruining everything. "You know, this would be much easier if you stopped looking at your feet," he whispered harshly.

Just like that, fun time was over. My head snapped up as my eyes narrowed into a dangerous glare. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did you say something? I don't speak self-righteous prick," I seethed.

The music stopped, and the muscles of Levi's jaw were tense as he clenched his teeth together, staring daggers down at me. Lucky for us, no one else in the room seemed to notice our showdown.

As soon as we could, we dropped our arms, adding as much space as possible between us without being too obvious. Josephine was pleased with what she saw, clapping wildly and shouting words of praise to all in attendance. Levi and I continued our staring contest as the next song started sounding through the speakers.

We got back into position, still fuming silently at one another. The music was faster that time, making it slightly more difficult than the last. I forced myself to keep my eyes forward as I stepped and twirled with Levi around the dancefloor. I wasn't about to give him another chance to take a dig at my skills.

By the next song, he was bound and determined to get a rise out of me. Making quiet comments like, "wow, Tessa, maybe you're not as clumsy as I thought." And, "I knew you had some moves. I just didn't know they existed outside the bedroom."

That last one made me snap. Levi wanted to make me flustered, he tried to make me angry, and the jerk succeeded. I pursed my lips as I steadied my nerves. That son of a bitch!

I refused to lash out. At least, not in the way he expected. I forced my words down, gritting my teeth to keep anything rude from spilling out. I wouldn't let him win, not in front of everyone like this. Not in front of J and Charlotte.

Instead, I waited until the next turn, planning my foot placement as Levi twirled me around. When I set my foot down at the end of the spin, I made a slight adjustment. My foot landed right on top of his- hard.

To say he didn't take that well would have been an understatement. He grimaced, barely holding in his grunt of pain as the hand that was holding mine tightened like a vice grip.

I guess he didn't like my tit-for-tat.

I flashed him a saccharine smile, accompanied by a few words laced with fake concern. "Ooops. You okay, there, big guy? I didn't hurt you too badly, did I?"

Levi's face contorted into a sneer before continuing the dance, pulling me toward him with too much force. I collided with his torso as he stayed in step with the routine, pulling me along with him.

"Of course not, Tessa. How could someone as small as you possibly hurt me?" He bristled.

I ignored his jab, praying for the rest of the night to go quickly. I jerked myself away from him forcefully as the music continued.

Our movements were severe, filled with passionate hatred. He moved, and I followed, snapping into place with every rough push of Levi's muscular arms.

At one point in the night, we were instructed to spin out, letting our partners gently pull us back into their arms before dipping us low toward the floor. As with everything else, Levi wasn't gentle. He pulled me to him hard, making me crash harshly into his chest.

The moment it happened, our eyes met. There was definitely still anger present, but stirring just beneath that was something else. Something unnervingly familiar. Something I hadn't seen from Levi in a long time.

My venom was ebbing away into something different. Things were happening to me that I wished wouldn't. The pressure of his body pressed roughly against me made my own react of its own accord. She was a traitor. She wanted him, and damn it- a small piece of my heart still did too.

A/N:

Double update today since chapter seventeen was pretty short. 

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