Kick, Punch, Dance?

Chapter 11- Marvin Gaye

~Declan~

"Please Grace!" I pleaded with the red head currently holding a $2,000 camera. Grace herself was bombshell. Any guy could see that. She was small, fiery, and never still. The girl had the body of gymnasts, yet I knew she couldn't pull off any sport to save her life.

Even though she looked athletic, she was the most uncoordinated person I'eve ever met, and she didn't hide it either. 

"Declan, hun, you really need to get out of here. I was her friend long before you came around and she will have my ass if she sees you here with me. And I love her more than your life, so skedaddle good lookin'." she said, again turning away from me. 

We were sitting on the bleachers outside school and Grace was taking pictures of the lacrosse team currently on the field. It was about four weeks after the incident, and I was going crazy. Tess had still refused to talk to me. I've learned to live with her acting like she didn't know me, but about a week ago she started acting like I didn't even exist. And that hurt. 

I knew I should be happy that I couldn't endanger her anymore, but I also know that I have this gut wrenching feeling in my stomach, that just seems to get harder to live with the longer I go with out her. Sappy I know, but I really felt a connection. 

"Grace, come on. I just need you to tell me where she's going to be after school. Is she working, at dance, or some where else? Trust me if I could do this on my own I would, but for the last week I have ended up at the wrong place. Please Grace?" I asked one more time. 

Grace turned back to look at me, her green eyes narrowing, like she was trying to look into my soul, to tell if my intentions were good. 

"What are you going to say to her, if I tell you where she is? Because I don't need my best friend coming to my house in the middle of the night, either crying or in a fury, because of something you said  or did. I love her, I do, but I don't think I can do many more 1 in the morning cry sessions over you." she said, eyes still narrowed and calculating.  Somehow i felt guilty and overly excited that Tess was that upset about not being with me. 

"I was planning on getting her to talk to me first. Then probably telling a condensed version of what she wants to hear." I replied. i watched as Grace's eyes flashed.

"Not good enough. You tell her everything, or not a peep from me." Grace leveled. 

I sighed knowing this was going to happen. Grace was Tess's loyal attack dog. If it wasn't good enough for Grace, it sure as hell wasn't up to Tess standards. 

"Good boy. She's rehearsing after school today. She'll be there till 7 tonight.  Now leave me be. Oh and tell Tatum that I left my jacket in his car and I want it back. " she dismissed me. 

I shook my head at her. That girl had my best friend wrapped around her little pinky finger and she didn't even know it. Yet. 

"Thank you Grace. I owe you." I said and ran off the bleachers. 

"Hurry up. It's 6:28!" was all she said

~Tess~

I was in a mood. Not really sure what that mood was, but I was in it. I was currently laying in the middle of the dance room, just staring into space. The music was playing, but I couldn't register what song it was, or what I was supposed to be doing. 

I was thinking about Declan. I had been thinking about him a lot lately, and how I used to feel safe with him. And even though he wasn't being honest with me I still felt like I could trust him and after Hunter, having a gut feeling of trust, that was a good thing to have with a person. And when I thought about Declan, I felt safe, but not only that, I felt trust. 

And that sucked. 

Because I didn't want to trust him, I didn't want to feel safe with him, I didn't want to like him, but I did. 

I sighed, and got up off the floor. I smoothed out the black v-neck flannel shirt that adorned my body, and readjusted the elastic on my red spankies.  

I turned to my iPod and was scrolling through the songs until one caught my attention. I had been dancing the same routine fro about three hours now, and I needed a break. 

I finally found one that caught my attention. Let's Get it On by Marvin Gaye.

I had made up a routine for this song when I was about sixteen. It was seductive and sexy and nothing like how I really felt back then. But when I dance to this song, I pretend I am and it always seems to make me feel better. 

The first notes started to play and I got into position. Five, six, seven, eight. 

~Declan~

I showed up at the studio just in time to hear Marvin Gaye blasting out of room 9. I followed the noise and stopped just when I was able to see Tess. Who made my heart race. She was walking like she was on a cat walk, her hands in her long, curly, golden hair. 

I couldn't tell if this was choreographed or just something she was doing on the spot. But whatever it was it was stopping me still. 

I watched as she dropped to her knees, arched her back, and continued to do floor work. 

This wasn't like the time she danced to Comatose. In that dance she was serious, even sad at times. But this one she seemed on fire. She seemed like s temptress, and believed it. She brought a knew meaning to the word "hot". 

"Holy shit." I breathed under my breath, as I watched her in the mirror. She was pulling on the hem of her sleeves, pulling the "innocent" act and biting on her lip. I about died.  Then she did a spin and  kicked out her leg and I had to stop watching or this was not going to go well. After not seeing her for about a week and then walking in on this was an overload. My system was crashing, or burning or doing something that I was not in control of. 

I turned away from watching and had by back to the door. my breathing was less than what i would call satisfactory.  I tried to control my breathing but I was still to close. 

I'll jut wait outside. I thought. I pushed off the door, just as the door opened. And that's when I realized I didn't hear music anymore. 

"Declan?" I hear her voice from behind me. My back was still turned towards her and maybe that was a good thing...

"Declan. What are you doing here?" she ask, her voice a little out of breath. Well considering my breathing was a little erotic after just watching that. i turned to face her, and practically passed out right in front oh her.

"Um, yeah. Hi? What am I doing here? What a I doing here." I stuttered. the fuck was happening? i never had trouble with words, but in the presence of this one girl, I was a hot mess in more than just my head...

She just raised her eyebrow at me. Damn, even that was sexy. She was standing in the doorway of the dance room, one hand resting on the frame, the other holding the dance bag strap at her shoulder. Her face was slightly pink, and her shirt was raised slightly from her reach on the door, exposing a small strip of  the tan, toned skin under the black flannel material.

So the fact that she was in a skimpy little shorts, raising her eyebrow at me in a challenging gesture, and that it was just Tess in general, I did the most stupid, impulsive thing i could think of, and wanted to do ever since I had done it at the club. 

I took the two steps needed to make it in front of her, tangled my right hand in her hair, my left on her waist and I put my lips on hers. All the while thinking Tess was not just going to kill me, but she was going to decapitate me and hang my head on her wall as a trophy.