Read Dancing in the Dark: A Novella for Free Online

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?"
    " What day is it for you, Matt?"
    He stopped and looked down at her face, shadowed by the dim light. "What do you mean?"
    " You