“Okay,” I murmured and smiled, not sure what to do with my hands. I knew what I wanted to do with them. I wanted to slide them around his sides and pull him into me, sway gently here until I could press a kiss on his lips.
“You’re a special guy, Tom,” Rusty murmured softly. “And I’m glad to be your gay friend. So, I’ll see you tomorrow, right?”
A smile broke across my face as I grinned back at him. The thought already had me excited. It wouldn’t be anything like the dance we’d shared tonight, but I felt like I could get better with his help.
At dancing, at being gay, and maybe at life.
“Tomorrow,” I promised.
“Good. Can’t wait,” Rusty said with so much warmth I believed him. Then he held his breath, his gaze flickering between my eyes for a strange moment before he leaned in.
I froze as his lips brushed my... cheek. They were soft, but the warm, wet touch against the sensitive skin made me prickle with heat. Damnit, that wasn’t where I wanted his lips, but then—he didn’t owe me a kiss, either.
“Bye,” Rusty whispered. He actually fidgeted with his hands like he was suddenly shy as he yanked open the door and trotted down the sidewalk to the dark car waiting outside.
I waited with the door open to make sure he made it safely into the car and then waved one more time.
I just caught a flash of his face and his raised hand before the car pulled away, and I beamed to myself. I lingered in the open doorway as if hoping for him to turn around and come back.
But he didn’t, and at long last when the Uber’s engine had faded into the late-night traffic and silence settled on my little street again, I closed the door and headed to bed.
The first thing I did once I sat on the edge of my bed was download Uber, just in case. But as I installed it, a text message popped up from Rusty.
I really do look forward to seeing you tomorrow, cutie. :)
“He’s saying it to be nice,” I whispered out loud, but my heart was already racing and I was smiling at my phone giddily.
I responded with a shaking hand, tapping out the letters carefully.
Me too, Rusty.
Then I covered my face with my hand and let the excitement carry me away for a few moments.
I had a gay friend. And maybe… maybe something more?
Chapter Four
This doesn’t have to be the end.
Rusty, day 1
“And five, six, spin, and back… very nice!” I clapped as Beth and Tom finished on the beat.
Beth curtseyed as if her sweater-dress were a full wedding dress, and Tom playfully bowed before offering her arm to lead her over.
Her kitten heels clicked on the sprung dance floor as they approached me, both out of breath and grinning. “You did so well, Dad!” Beth said with a clap once I’d turned off the music clip.
“Oh, I’m not the star of the show,” Tom said. He looked like he was sweeping away the praise with one hand.
“She’s right,” I told him, not about to let him diminish himself again. “You picked up the steps fast. It’s not easy to lead,” I told him. “Take some credit.”
“So there,” Beth said, slinging an arm around his neck and grinning at him like this was an ongoing argument.
Tom blushed as he smiled, adjusting his glasses. He shot me a grateful smile. “If you say so.”
We’d been pretending for the last hour that we hadn’t seen each other last night. Which was for the best, since I didn’t want to explain to Beth that I’d nearly gone to Bonetown with her dad.
This was the most fun lesson I’d had all week. The two of them were adorable together, and they clearly thought the world of each other. Watching Tom’s gentle, loyal, fatherly side come out made my heart melt.
“I think you’ve mastered it,” I told them. “Go over it once before the rehearsal dinner and you’ll blow them all away.” It was oddly disappointing that they’d learned the simple routine so quickly.
But I couldn’t bring myself to be selfishly disappointed that I wouldn’t get to teach Tom again. After all, we’d swapped numbers. We hadn’t texted yet today, but we could. This didn’t have to be the end between us.
“Thank you,” Beth told me as she beamed at me. “And I promise I’ll drag Jason back this week for our last lesson, too.”
Ugh, Jason. Couldn’t I just devise some solo vaudeville routine with a bowler hat and a cane for Tom instead? I grinned at the thought. He could so pull it off, probably more than he’d ever imagined.
But it was the most important part of the job. It was nice to have fun with the bridesmaids and groomsmen, and the daddy-daughter dance was sweet, but this was the big moment. The routine I’d devised for Beth and Jason’s first dance was the most romantic. I’d included a few dips and I wanted to go over them again with Jason to make sure he didn’t drop her. It was the moment everyone would want to photograph and videotape.
But the last time he came here, Jason had refused to dance with me playing Beth’s role so I could show him what to do. He wasn’t the first straight guy to get all worked up about it, but usually they gave in when I pointed out that they didn’t want to drop their bride on her back. Beth had rolled her eyes at him, but he hadn’t budged.
Even before then, the two of them hadn’t danced well together. They always seemed to be moving to a different beat, and not in an opposites-attract way. More of a “you never listen to me” way. The tension in the room was not a thrilling prospect.
“Looking forward to it,” I said in my best customer service voice and forced myself to smile. As I did so, I caught a flash of distaste on Tom’s face, which was very interesting.
Maybe he doesn’t like Jason either. I’m getting the feeling nobody does, I thought. I filed away the nugget to ask Tom if I got another chance when he was drunk. I want to know what Beth sees in him.
“And you’re looking so confident, Dad!” Beth patted Tom’s shoulder as she beamed up at him. “You’ll impress all the men this weekend.”
Tom pulled a long face, and I got the impression it was a comical expression he’d given her whole life, because she giggled at it. “If only any of them were eligible,” he said.
She pushed his shoulder lightly. “Daaaad. I keep telling you, bring your own arm candy,” Beth told him with a grin. “We’ve ordered enough food. It’s not a problem.”
I’m free next Saturday, I couldn’t help thinking. But no way would he want to bring his dance instructor to the wedding. I couldn’t talk about taxes and the economy with that crowd. And even if it won me a date with Tom, I would not be caught dead in a sweater vest. Ever.
But he deserved a boyfriend to help steer him through the intricacies of being the cool gay dad.
Wait, I was thinking about dating the guy? Wasn’t it a little bit too soon for that? All we’d done was get horny together on the dance floor, then talk about deep things until midnight. We hadn’t even kissed. Just because we both clearly wanted to was no reason to seriously plan our perfect future together.
I was just getting overexcited because we both wanted more than casual sex. I rarely ran into decent men who wanted the same thing as me.