The Summer Before

Chapter Eighteen

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.