He walked out onto the dance floor, aware that Jaya was close behind. When he turned to her, her eyes met his with a hint of apprehension, as if she were just as aware as him that this was possibly a very bad idea. But she stepped closer to him anyway.

Grey’s arm snaked around Jaya’s waist, his fingers resting loosely on her bare back. Her skin was like sun-drenched silk, whisper-soft and almost burning with heat. She stepped in closer, her hand reaching high to perch on his shoulder, her small body brushing his. The sky was a cupped hand above them, sprinkling stars that glimmered in Jaya’s thick black hair.

The music tinkled, and she floated in his arms silently. Grey knew he was a good dancer—it came naturally to him—and she let herself be guided along, her feet keeping up with his.

Jaya

Well, it was now or never. If she wanted to move the plan forward, opportunities didn’t get much more perfect than dancing cheek to cheek. “You’re a good dancer,” Jaya said, looking up at him from under her eyelashes. That was sexy and flirtatious, wasn’t it? “Your past girlfriends must’ve really loved that.”

Grey’s fingers increased their pressure just very slightly on her bare back, and goose bumps sprouted on Jaya’s arms and legs. Yes, he has manly hands Yes, his shoulders are really nice and he’s towering over you in a rather sexy way, but, dear brain, can you please focus on the task at hand?

“I don’t have any past girlfriends,” Grey replied.

Jaya didn’t know what to make of that. “You… you don’t have any past girlfriends?” Then understanding dawned. “You mean to say you’ve never dated?”

“Correct.” Looking at some spot over her head and in the distance, he added, “And I’d like to keep it that way. I don’t want to date.”

She stutter-stepped. He just looked at her, impassive as always. “You don’t want to date… this semester?”

He twirled her once, and when she was face-to-face with him again, said, “Ever.”

“Oh.” Jaya frowned. “But… why?”

“I just don’t date.” But the way he said it, his eyes over her head once more, his mouth set in a thin line, made her think he meant he couldn’t date. Her gut told her it had something to do with what he was beginning to say earlier, about not speaking with his family. Intriguing.

“Did you hear that?” he said suddenly, his head cocked.

Taken slightly aback by the change in topic, Jaya shook her head. “Hear what? If you mean the music, I think everyone hears it.”