Obsession

Chapter 10

I've skipped out on practicing with Leo for two days in a row now, so I know I'll have to face him tonight. Especially since tomorrow is Friday and I still haven't cancelled our date. I'm sure he suspects something's amiss considering I've barely talked to him. I know I'm doing him wrong, but it's so hard to tell someone so great that you only want to be friends.

I'm also worried about how my relationship with Kai will affect my duet with Leo. We had so much chemistry between us before. I'm sure that's gonna change now. I guess it has to.

The door swings open and abruptly pulls me out of my thoughts. Leo walks into the room wearing black shorts and a tight black shirt, showcasing his toned arms. He looks so good. Damn him.

The unfamiliar feeling of guilt slaps me back into reality. I have a boyfriend now. It's not cool to shamelessly check Leo out anymore.

"Long time no see," he says, dropping his gym bag on the floor next to me. "I was starting to think you quit on me."

"No! I just...I was..."

"It's okay, Anna told me everything."

I clam up, not sure how to react. Leo doesn't look angry or even upset. I'm not sure how much Anna told him, but I'm grateful that he at least knows something. That's just less explaining I have to do.

"So, is having a boyfriend going to interfere with our duet? Because it's not cool that you've been blowing me off like you have," he says, sitting down on the floor next to me.

Despite the fact that Kai and I are finally together, Leo still makes my stomach twist into knots. I don't want my relationship to interfere with our duet or the competition, but I can't let my friendship with Leo ruin my relationship with Kai either. I can't imagine how he'd feel knowing that I spend hours with someone as hot as Leo, who I kind of had a thing with right up until the night Kai confessed his feelings for me.

"Mara?"

"Huh?"

He watches me expectantly, so I backtrack to remind myself what we were talking about. "Oh, uh...no. I'm sorry. I want to do the duet, I was just afraid of facing you in person after...you know..."

"Hey, it's no big deal. Anna said you've liked this guy for a long time."

Feeling relieved, I lean back against the wall and blow out the breath I'd been holding. "Yeah, like seven years."

"So why is he just now making a move? I knew you for a couple of weeks and I was ready," he says, though I can tell he regrets it the second the words leave his mouth. He chuckles nervously, before shaking his head and looking down. "Anyways, I'm happy for you. I hope this guy knows what he's got."

I look up at him, but he quickly stands up and starts stretching.

We avoid the relationship topic for the rest of our time together and instead, focus on our duet. It's coming together quite nicely. Even though the choreography is difficult, I'm starting to catch on.

After a couple of hours, I've finally mastered the first half of our song and I don't even look so bad doing it. As a matter of fact, I've kinda surprised myself.

"I can't believe how fast you're catching on," Leo says, watching me go over the last few moves he taught me. "There's just one thing..."

He steps behind me so that his body is pressed up against my back. His closeness sends my heart into overdrive, but I try to pay attention to what he's saying.

"On that last body roll, you really have to punch your chest out, like this..."

I watch his reflection in the mirror in front of us. He rolls his body into mine sending a heat wave from my head to my toes. The way his muscles flex, the way he bites his bottom lip, everything about the way he moves causes a weird feeling to pool in the pit of my stomach.