Wanting and Having

Twelve: Pulling Focus

~Charlotte POV~

I was soaring. My heart rate and the endorphins pumping through my system gave my vision a soft haze as I began packing up my gear to drop in at my office, just off the foyer of the Lodge. I genuinely needed to check in on my team after spending the day resting and finding distraction in the band of merry men who I found myself in orbit with since last night.

I was in a good mood after our floorwork session today. Any time I'm dancing is my favorite time of day. The intriguing bonus being I wasn't expecting that my invitation to Hoseok-ssi would prove to include more than one surprisingly skillful dancer in their midst. The collective musicality of the boys was a thrill to me. I'll have to take them to the Dome before the road crews dug out the village - I mused while pulling my bag over my shoulder.

As I turned to leave the coatroom, I came within inches of Jimin's face, smiling at me with a sly feline grin. His cologne had mixed with his sweat, hitting my senses all at once with amber, jasmine, and musk. I stifled a surprised squeak with my hand, my eyes wide with surprise at how close he had gotten in silence while I had been replaying his lithe movements in my mind.

Jimin took a step back and steadied me with gentle hands on my shoulders as he breathed a deep chuckle at my reaction. "I must have snuck up on you Charlotte! I'm sorry!" He said apologetically, his chin dipping to meet my gaze directly while the playful amusement never fully left his eyes. "I was hoping to tag along with you for a bit while everyone else wrapped up?" He nodded over his shoulder indicating the rest of the class still going through individual cooldowns.

"I'm just going by my office for a bit, to see how my team has been handling my day off. After that, I'd love the company." I offered, noticing his hands still rested distractingly on my shoulders even as I was clearly composed after being startled and at no risk of bolting.

"Good," Jimin's focus dipped as he looked up at me from his downcast face with a satisfied smirk before slowly letting his hands fall down the length of my arms. "I was hoping I would get away from the boys, and your company would be the sweetest escape." With those words, he took my hand in his as it fell away from my arm, and turned leading me out in a few strides.

He had his outdoor gear already stuffed into a gym bag over his other shoulder, his free hand pulling his hair back away from his stunning face. We made our way out of the room, Jimin moving fast, so I barely had a chance to turn back toward the group finishing up the session at the far end of the room. I passingly wondered why he was in such a hurry until Namjoon's face fell catching us as we vanished from view. Was this about jealousy?

Once we got out into the hallway, I cleared my throat and released my hand from Jimin's gentle grip. He reluctantly surrendered my hand from our entwined fingers, raising his eyebrows in inquiry. I glanced down at my hand, now feeling empty, and stepped a fraction closer in the reassurance that I wasn't going to retreat from him.

"Gimme a second, I need to pull my hair up, it's probably a little wild at the moment..." I chuckled as I grabbed my hair elastic from my wrist and scooped my mass of waves into a bun on top of my head. A few strands escaped, forming a soft fringe around my face. As my hands fell back to my sides, Jimin reached up and pulled on one of the tendrils playfully.

"This suits you, a few curls framing your face. It's effortless. I like it." As he lowered his hand he turned, sliding his hand down to the small of my back, reducing the distance between us as he gestured for me to lead on. With his hand settled on my waist, any illusion that I was actually leading was lost, but I moved us toward my office anyway.

"How long have you been dancing?" He asked warmly, drawing an encouraging circle with his thumb. "You have a hypnotic sense of musicality."

I looked over and for a beat, I could swear his eyes twinkled with mischief. "Well, the short answer is I've been doing this for 9 years."