Nothing could dampen Angie's spirit over the next few days. Not Kay's protests over the date, because Angie ended up convincing her anyway, not her sleazy biology teacher who she could just ignore, not even an impending test. Because she was flying high above the ground with the stars she was made of.

She wasn't sure why she was this happy, but she didn't care. All she knew was that she couldn't wait to see Tom on Thursday for their first dance practice. Since she had some free time after school, she spent it in the library to finish her latest homework. Then she headed for the studio, changed into workout clothes and waited.

She hugged her knees wondering what Tom would do when he walked in. She kinda regretted telling him she wanted to take things slow, but it made sense. It was safer and they weren't in a hurry anyway. If it was meant to be, it would happen. What's this stupid fairy tale crap about it being meant to be?

But once Tom walked through the door in sweats and a tank top, his backpack slung over one shoulder, it didn't feel like crap anymore. She jumped up to greet him like the silly, pathetic school girl she was. Fortunately, he met her half way and hugged her tightly, as if they hadn't seen each other in ages. She didn't mind. She didn't mind at all.

"Ready for some fun?" he asked, half releasing her.

"Oh, so this is going to be fun?" she teased, loving the way he still had an arm around her waist, how he looked down at her with that mischievous smile.

"Very." He let her go and moved to the corner to deposit his luggage next to hers. "I know I put that damn thing around here." He searched his backpack and finally pulled out a memory stick. He then plugged it into the sound system and turned it on. A pleasant, fast beat filled the room. "I picked out five songs to choose from. Of course, if you have other suggestions, I'm all ears."

Angie nodded and listened to all the songs. She knew all of them. They were or had been pretty popular.  When the last one ended, she spent a few minutes trying to think of a better fitting song. She came up with nothing so she shrugged.

"Work from Home it is."

Tom raised an eyebrow. "That's an interesting choice."

"Why's that?"

He grinned like an imp. "Because I really wanna see your body do the work."

She slapped his shoulder and he just laughed. It was so much fun teasing each other, flirting. But it was distracting and they didn't have much time. So Tom put on the song and asked her to just do her thing.

Feeling a little self-conscious, Angie started off, shaking her hips to the rhythm. Tom just watched her, one hand under his chin, and it made her burn up and try even harder to impress him.

"That's great," he finally said about two thirds in. "But can you actually remember your moves and make a pattern?"

She stopped. "I'm not sure. I could try."

"Perfect. Do that."

The second time around, she focused on her moves and tried to repeat certain swings for certain bits. By the way he kept nodding, she was doing a good job, so she started getting more creative.

"That was awesome," he said the moment the song ended. "Can you do that again?"

"I think so. But how about you?"

The mischievous grin was back. "Don't mind me. I'll be right behind you. "

And once she started again, she realized he meant it literally. He was a breath behind her, mimicking her moves. And the air seemed to burn with his presence. She had to fight herself not to turn around and grab him, dance face to face with him. It felt raw, real, hypnotic...erotic.

The way their bodies moved in sync in the mirror made everything seems sureal. And the more she looked, the more it felt like she was intruding on something private, even if it was herself she was staring at in that mirror.

Angie blushed furiously and stopped. He stopped too, eyebrows raised in question.

"What's up? You were doing so well."

"I don't think I can do this."

"Why not?"

She bit her lip, trying not to look or sound pathetic. "It just feels so... intimate."

"It looks intimate, too," Tom agreed to her surprise. "But that's a good thing. We get judged for chemistry, too. And I'm sure I'd never have this much with someone else."

"Yes, but..." She bit her lip again, trying to find the words to describe what she felt.

"You feel uncomfortable," he said and she wasn't sure if she imagined the disappointment in his voice.

She just nodded because even if uncomfortable wasn't exactly the right word, it was the closest to how she felt.

"Is there anything I can do to stop making you feel uncomfortable? Stay back? Dance on your side instead of behind you?" He hesitated for a moment. "Not dance with you at all?"

"You can't do that! We need to practice."

"I could just watch you and wing it. Or maybe it would be better if you didn't look in the mirror though I think you really should so you can improve."

She turned to face him. "You'd do that just to make me comfortable? Risk the competition?"

He seemed a little startled by her sudden desire to talk to the real him instead of mirror Tom, but pulled himself together and shrugged. "It's just a silly competition. It comes and goes. You, on the other hand..." He stopped, his face scrunched in concentration as though trying to remember where he was going with this.

Angie's body shivered. He really did care about her. Enough to risk money he obviously needed. But she needed it too and wasn't about to ruin things for him.

"Maybe it's the lack of familiarity that makes me feel weird." She took his face in her hands. The warmth of his skin sent another pleasant tingle through her. "I'm not used to having someone so close. So maybe if I... get used to the feel of you, it will be better."

"Okay..." he whispered. "Do whatever it takes."

She nodded and focused on his face. She liked it. How his hair fell over his forehead, how he didn't have that Nazi haircut everyone else had, how his nose was the right shape and size, the way his lips curved the tiniest bit at the edges as if he was supposed to always smile... She ran her fingers on the line of his jaw. It was a little prickly. His lower lip was a little fuller than his upper one.

She reached her hands up again, stopping on his sunglasses. He took in a sharp breath, but didn't pull away. He'd let her take them off if she wanted. He'd let her see his eyes. And oh, how she wanted to see them. But she stopped. She wouldn't. He'd said it was an issue of trust. He'd take them off on his own, when he was ready. They didn't even bother her anymore because she was already used to reading him with them on.

Her hands trailed down his face again, down his neck, over his shoulders. She loved the heat of his skin. It felt strangely familiar. And even if he was thin, she liked it, because she could feel his muscles. In his arms, on his chest, his abs. When she ran her hands over his ribs, he twitched a little. So he was ticklish. Good to know.

His palms were rough and calloused.  She liked it. It meant he wasn't afraid to work.

Once she reached his hips, she started going back up, focusing on his back this time, on the way his muscles contracted, on his quickened breathing. She was torturing him and she strangely liked it. Not the position of power, but the effect she had on him and especially that he was letting her have her way.

Her hands finally rested on his face again and he let out a small breath of relief. She really felt like kissing him, but she had a feeling their dancing would go to hell if she did. So she pulled back instead and smiled.

"Thanks. I think I'm ready now."

He nodded, though his lips were pursed. "In a moment." He walked toward his backpack, sat next to it and pulled out a bottle of water.

Angie watched amused as he had his drink, seemingly carelessly. She got to him. He liked her. He obviously wanted her, but was controlling himself. And that meant more than anything.

♬♫♬

Kay had stood Jimmy up. Just like that. No explanation except that it had been a bad idea. And Angie was starting to understand why. Because after everything that happened, her friend and Kyle had never broken up. They were just separated.

And Kay's request to find a mystery band intrigued her, especially because Tom had never heard of them. So Angie ended up at the club with Tom on Saturday night, trying to find what this Uncaged was and why it interested Kay.

"You search online and I'll check my database," Tom said, dropping on his roller chair and pointing her to an ancient looking computer in the corner.

"I'm really sorry Kay stood Jimmy up," she said, typing the name in the Google search bar.
"I think he's actually happy she did," Tom mumbled, pulling out a long list. "I'm bummed though."

"Sorry. Though I kind of get her. She and this Kyle guy never officially broke up. Maybe it felt like cheating." Damn, there was more than one band called Uncaged and the images were mostly grainy concert shots.

"Her parents are wacko. In moments like this I'm glad I don't have any."

Angie's hand froze on the mouse. "Don't have any what?"

"Wacko parents. I'd probably run away from home." Tom shrugged and returned to his list.

Oh. Yes, Tom's parents were the cool ones who never grounded him. Who would want Kay's crazies anyway? Though for a moment it had sounded like... She shook her head and returned from image search to Web search. She clicked on the first Wikipedia page she found. There were no pictures of the band and they were apparently some high school band.  She was about to close the tab when something caught her eye.

"Huh, a high schools band that toured Asia. Impressive."

"It is," he said, picking up more papers. "Being a high school band would also explain why I can't find them."

Angie continued reading the article and things started making sense. Texas based. She scanned the names of the band members and every fell into place. Kyle Grant, lead guitar, vocals.

"Found them."

Tom came up behind her and read over her shoulder. "Interesting."

"What?" she asked looking up at him.

"Billy's last name is Grant. And he mentioned one of his cousins was in a band."

"You think Kyle could be Billy's cousin?"

He shook his head. "I don't think so. Grant is a pretty common name and Billy's cousins are up in Chicago. He doesn't have family in Texas." He shrugged and went back to searching through his music.

Angie glanced at Kyle's name. It was odd. It sort of made him real. She went back to the search results, determined to search for him by name, when another search result caught her eye. A high school newspaper article. 

She clicked on it and she caught her first glimpse of the band. The title Uncaged performs at senior prom, caught her eye. The picture was good quality, but small. All she could make out was that Kyle was really tall, well built and had black hair. And a really good posture.

The article seemed pretty boring, a basic description of prom, so Angie scrolled through it, looking for Kyle's name. Her breath caught in her throat as another picture popped up. One of Kyle and Kay.

Holy shit. Kyle really was every bit as hot as Kay claimed. But it wasn't that which made her heart thump unevenly. The photo showed the two from the waist up. Kyle's arms were around Kay's waist, while her arms were around his neck. Kay also had a prom queen crown on her head.

The caption read Kyle Grant and Kay Dickens. The King and the real Queen?

The way they were looking at each other... It was obvious from that one photo that he adored her. Of course she didn't want to let him go. If Angie had anyone looking at her like that, she'd fight tooth and nail to stay together. And her heart broke for Kay all over again.

The more she looked at that photo,  the more she started noticing little things. Like how their smiles matched, how adoringly Kay looked back at him, how that crown was much too big for her... and as she finally read the article, Angie found out why. It was his crown. He'd been prom king, but gave it to her because...

Oh, God, I can't show Kay this. It would tear her down, make her miss him even more. And Angie couldn't do that to Kay. So with one last look at the photo that said more than a thousand words, she closed the browser and pulled away from the computer.

"What's up?" Tom asked, bringing her back to Tucson and the club where no fairy tale romance was taking place.

"I found him. And a picture of him and Kay. But I can't show her that. It would just make things harder for her."

"I think you should ask her."

Kay had wanted photos. But that photo? Angie could already hear her crying over it for weeks. Kay had cried enough.

"How about some music?"

"I can only find them on YouTube. I have to actually figure out how to get a song without going yo ho ho and a bottle of rum."

She giggled and dropped back on the chair in front of the computer. "It doesn't have to be tonight, you know."

He raised an eyebrow. "Have other plans for  tonight, mylady?"

That sounded so naughty. And if she were completely honest, she had other plans. Like climbing in his lap and making out. But it scared her. This wasn't her. She wasn't the type to want to jump on a guy. She wasn't the type who ran her hands all over one either, but it was exactly what she'd done.

It made no sense. She was guarded,  careful, focused. Except, since she'd decided to let Tom into her life, school had taken a back seat and now she was all about finding reasons to touch him, to be with him.

What had he done to her? She was much happier, more relaxed... but was she forfeiting her dreams? Losing her focus?

"Angie?"

"Huh?" She refocused on him. This was scary. She'd given him too much power. She had a ton of homework, yet here she was, looking for any excuse not to leave, to stay with him a little longer. "I think I should get home. I have a lot of homework."

He frowned and little, as if he could tell there was something more. "Okay, sure. See you Monday for lunch?"

"I'll try." She smiled, but it was forced, because she was suddenly panicking.

She picked up her backpack and headed for the door. He grabbed her arm as she passed him and pulled her against him.

"Homework is fine. Just don't close up to me again," he whispered. "You're okay. We're going to be okay."

She nodded, though she wasn't so sure. When he kissed her cheek gently and let her go, so was sure everything was going to fall apart. Because school suddenly seemed to most unimportant part of her life.

🔱🔱🔱

Yay, we have a chapter. A severely unedited one, unfortunately. Plus, my new app is a bitch so you might find extra words or stuff that simply doesn't make sense. But I wanted to get this out there.

So... what did you think about the dancing scene? How about Angie's decision not to give Kay the photo?

Hope you're still enjoying the story. There are nine chapters left to go. Woohoo!

Don't forget to vote and please leave me a comment with your thoughts. Also... any predictions about what will happen?

Thanks so much for reading!