Dancing in the Dark: A Novella (4 page)

No hair dryer. Get ready for frizz, she thought. Another great look.

Then she realized she had nothing dry to wear. She'd come here last night expecting to find Matt already here. Her plan had been to ask him for help, then leave.

Great, how enticing could she be in Matt
's borrowed T-shirt?

Using the comb she
'd left in the bathroom the night before, she combed out the tangles of her shoulder length hair. Maybe she had something to tie it back with in her purse. Heaven knew she kept everything else in there. Maybe some lipstick would help, she thought, studying herself in the mirror. And mascara.

She stepped out into the hall, a little disappointed that Matt wasn
't right there. She heard him in the kitchen, and headed for the bedroom. Shirt, mascara, lipstick. In that order. She'd wow him with her plainness.

Then she realized the rain had stopped. She listened hard for a few moments. Yep, no rain. If she didn
't do something fast, she'd lose this chance with Matt.

She pulled on the T-shirt, found soft grey boxers that would have to serve since her panties were wet from her dash outside, did what little she could to her face, and walked down the hallway to the kitchen, repeating: I think I can, I think I can.

Matt was standing at the sink, staring out the window, wearing jeans and the dress shirt, still untucked. One look at him stretching, at the inherently graceful masculinity of the move, and she knew.

She could and she would.

Chapter
Five

Matt had placed a hurricane lamp on the kitchen counter and another on the living room coffee table to ward off the increasing darkness of the stormy afternoon. He turned when he heard Janey walk into the kitchen.

She wore his T-shirt again, her hair, still wet, framed her face and made wet spots on her shoulders.
Were those his old, too-small boxers under the T-shirt?

Long legs, bare feet.
Enticing body.

The desire he
'd managed to subdue when he'd been in the bathroom with her came roaring back to life.

He was enticed. He was turned on.

She was Janey, the girl who'd asked him to prom, but had to settle for Ty. Yes, they'd danced earlier, but it hadn't been enough. He wanted to give her what they'd missed.

And he knew how.

"My mother has a couple of fancy evening gowns," he said.

She blinked at him.
"What?"

"
There's music," he pointed to the radio which he could see in the living room. "My mom's got a couple of gowns. You can choose. I'll put on my tux."

"
You have a tux?"

"
Yeah, crazy, huh? Had to buy one a few years ago. Don't need it any more, but Mom said she'd keep it here. Looks like she did good."

"
I'd love to see you in a tux."

He smiled.
"Here's your chance." Did she think he was crazy?

"
Are you serious?"

"
Yeah." He shrugged. "If you're game, we're going to prom."

"
I'd love to go to prom with you, Matt."

Something hitched in his chest. He
'd never expected such simple and innocent words would make his heart ache.

He showed her the closet with the garment bags, unzipping the first two half way down so she could see.

"I'm a little bigger than your mom."

"
Not much. If you need help with a zipper, let me know. I'll go get dressed."

Ten minutes later, as he struggled with a bow tie that wouldn
't cooperate, he cursed himself for a sentimental fool. After a fifth try with the damn thing, he let it go. He'd better find the shoes.

Five minutes later he gave up. No shoes. What the hell? He couldn
't wear the shoes he'd worn home, or running shoes or the boots he kept here. Or flip flops. Yeah, flip flops would be great.

A knock sounded on his bedroom door.

"Matt?" Janey called. "I need help with the zipper."

What the hell. Who needed shoes?

He opened the door.

In the dim light of the hallway, she glowed. She
'd chosen a red dress and held the front pressed to her chest, the straps falling to her elbows.

He dragged in a long breath, afraid he
'd wake up and discover he was dreaming.

She turned, her back toward him.

Of course she couldn't reach the zipper and hold up the front. The back was low. Made him wonder about the front. And about his mother.

And hell, no bra. She didn
't have a bra on. That was going to play hell with any good intentions he had left.

"
I think it's stuck," she said.

He hesitated. All that bare skin.

"Can you see it?"

"
Yeah." He could, and over her shoulder, he could see the top slopes of her breasts. He reached out, determined to do this. "Give me a second." The material slipped and slithered. By the time he got the dress zipped, he felt like an incompetent idiot.

"
Thank you," she said, and turned to face him.

"
Wow, you look fantastic."

She blushed.
"You look pretty fantastic yourself."

"
Can't tie the tie and can't find the shoes."

"
Who needs shoes?" she laughed, echoing his earlier thoughts. "I don't have any either." She hiked up the dress and held out one foot, wiggling her toes. Gaze back on him, she added, "You look nice with the tie undone."

Her voice sent sparklers of heat down his back.

"Ready to dance?" The last word came out like a croak.

She hooked her right arm around his left and they walked down the hallway.

Like a bride and groom, he thought. And nearly stumbled.

The lamp he
'd left on the coffee table sent a white glow around the room.

"
I…ah…can't picture my mom in red," Matt said.

"
Oh, I don't think this is hers. There was a note pinned to it. It said ‘for Esther.'"

"
Oh, yeah, one of her friends. I've heard Mom talk about her. There's a niece or a granddaughter. Someone."

He couldn
't think of anything else to say, so he stood there, staring. Janey took his breath away.

"
Music?" she asked.

"
Oh, yeah," he said and crossed the living room to the bookshelf to turn up the radio.

"
The historic section of the town of Walton Springs is still cut off by flood waters from the Lakni River. Transportation officials indicate it will be early tomorrow before they can evaluate the safety of the bridges. Meanwhile, power is being restored to other parts of town. Residents are encouraged to stay off the roads unless there's an emergency. Low-lying areas are still underwater, and more rain is predicted overnight."

"
I guess we're stuck," Janey said.

"
Telephone and cell phone service is slowly being restored," the announcer continued.

Matt picked up the phone and listened.
"Nothing," he said. "Check your cell. I'll check mine."

She nodded.
"It's in my purse in the bedroom. Be right back."

He grabbed his cell from the coffee table, hoping he had a signal so he could check in with his contact at the Agency. Nothing.

Maybe it was a blessing.

Janey came back.
"No. Nothing. Yours?"

"
No. We'll try again later."

"
Would your friend know anything yet?"

"
I doubt it. Like I said, days, probably."

The radio switched to national news, then switched back to the weather.

"I guess we really are stuck, aren't we?"

Did she sound sorry? Matt wanted her to forget her missing brother, even if for just a little while. She looked so pretty in the red dress. The front, a little too tight, pushed her breasts up, and was probably not the most comfortable thing in the world, but damn, did she look good.

"Let's light things up a bit more, okay?" he said and went to get the candles from the kitchen cabinet. Candles were romantic, right? Janey should have romantic.

When he got back to the living room, she
'd scooted the coffee table to one side. "This'll give us a little more room. The dress kept catching on it."

"
The dress," he said, his baser instinct thinking the dress had to go. But he had more sense than to say that, so he told her the truth. "You look fantastic."

"
Thank you, again," she said with smile. "So do you."

"
You told me already."

"
It bears repeating."

Finally, the news went off and the elevator music started again. Only rather than a slow dance, it was an instrumental bouncy, rendition of
"Rhythm of Love
.
"

Love?

***

Matt was looking at her as if she
'd grown another head. Great. Just great. She knew the dress was too tight in the bust. She probably looked like an over-ripe tomato, about to burst.

She had to show some courage, grab what she wanted. Matt had initiated this. Matt, devastating in his tux, tie undone, bare feet.

He smiled. "So do we dance?"

She felt herself nod.

He held out both hands and she took them. Quickly, he led her into the swing, matching the tempo of the music.

"
You dance!" she said, surprise in her voice.

"
You think I'd ask you to the prom if I couldn't dance?"

He swung around, always holding both of her hands, except when he led her through a twirl.

"Who taught you?"

"
I was the only male. With two big sisters and no father, guess who was forced to dance?"

She laughed.

"Mom's bossy. She made me dance with those two, even when they were taller."

"
I can't imagine you shorter than Kay and Amanda."

Still dancing, caught in the rhythm of the song, he swung her close, then out again.

"Oh, fancy moves, huh?" she laughed.

"
You haven't seen my fancy moves yet," he replied

The music stopped, so they paused, holding hands. Looking up at Matt, Janey wondered if he
'd literally meant dance moves or—

Then the music started again. Something slow. It took Janey a second to recognize the tune.
"Unchained Melody." She drummed up her flagging courage and stepped closer. This called for a slow dance.

It felt comfortable, being like this with him. It felt charged, like she
'd missed a lot.

"
I wish I could have gone to prom with you," he said.

"
Me, too," she replied and let Matt tuck her hand under his chin.

But her eighteen-year-old self wouldn
't have known what to do with Matt Kincaid.

Did she now? Could she do this, be with him, for a day, two at the most?

She didn't know, but she did know one thing.

She would not live with the regret of missing that day or two, so she pulled her hand from his and twined both arms around his neck.

They swayed to the music, the borrowed red dress swishing around their legs, their toes bumping. It was such an intimate touch that she gave in to something she'd wanted to do again for so long. She rose on tiptoes to brush her lips along his throat, tasting, just above the white tux shirt collar. Matt stood still for a single moment, a moment that made her think she'd pushed too far. Then felt his hands, low on her back as he pulled her tighter against him.

He was aroused. The knowledge was heady. Plain Jane, the girl who almost didn
't go to senior prom, for heaven's sake, could do this to a man like Matt Kincaid. She smiled to herself, even as she placed another light kiss on his neck.

"
Slow down, Janey," he said in a rumble. "We have all night, and I want prom with you. Before anything else."

***

Before… He said that? To Janey?

Yeah, he did. Because she was the woman he burned for. Because she was strong and soft and… The One.

Had always been.

Hell.

This changed things. Way changed things.

This made it matter more than anything else. He wanted to know her, know more.
"I never asked you if you still play the piano."

"
You remember that?"

"
I remember wishing I could sit down with you and Amanda and play chop sticks."
Holy crap, admit something else stupid. She'll run away so fast your head'll spin.

"
I would have taught you."

"
I wouldn't have accepted the offer."

"
Why not, if you wished you could?"

"I was a boy." He shrugged. "Because it was one other thing I had to do a girl. You have no idea what it's like to have only sisters."

"
I'm lucky, I know. But when I was ten and JP was nine, he was a nightmare. Cassie was still a baby, so at that early age, it was the same for me."

He had to get her mind off her brother.
"What's Cassie up to now?"

"
She's at UF. She thinks she wants to go to pharmacy school."

"
That's a tough school. That's what Amanda did. She claims all she did was study, but I don't think she minded."

"
Matt?"

"
Hmm?" The sound rumbled from his chest.

"
Why are we talking about our siblings?"

He stopped dancing for a moment, and then resumed.
"Because if we don't talk about something, I'm going to kiss you."

"
That would be bad because?"

"
Because I probably—no, that's not right. I
know
I won't stop with a kiss. You know what my life's like, are you sure you want that?"