"You're not doing too badly," she consoled him.
He snorted. "You don't need to spare my feelings."
"Look around you," she encouraged. "See how much fun everyone else is having? You don't have to be a good dancer to enjoy dancing. You just need to be less self-conscious."
"There is still no way in the world I'm going to dance solo with everyone staring at me."
"That's why you have to help me win this bet, you see? Come on, it'll be fun!"
"You sure know how to motivate your students, don't you?" he grumbled.
"So we have a deal?" she asked in an almost-squeal.
Oh, hell. How could he say no to that excited face? Plus, the idea of spending more time with Kris appealed to him—even if they weren't going to sleep together. "Okay, we have a deal," he said a tad cautiously.
"Yay!"
"I do have one big condition, if I'm going to participate in this very scary bet," he said.
"What's that?"
"Don't tell anyone you're teaching me how to dance. My friends would undoubtedly want to watch me trip over my own feet, and that would be mortifying."
"Okay. But how are we going to keep this from them?"
They were both silent as they thought of a good enough excuse. Suddenly, Kris said, "I know. We can tell them you're taking me to all these different clubs so I can find a decent man to have a short fling with. My cousin Sam wouldn't want to tag along if that's the reason we give her."
He laughed. "Okay, for some reason, I can actually see them believing that. Little would they know you're trying to convert one of my left feet to a right one."
"Now that I think about it, it would be great if you could take me to places where I could have my choice of hunks to play with. Maybe after our lessons we could go out and do that?"
What? He stared at her in disbelief.
"I'm not kidding, Trey. I still intend to fulfil this little fantasy of mine. Take me to your favourite pick-up places. Pretty please?"
"Sure," he replied, feeling bothered. He found himself hoping that Kris was simply way too tipsy to mean what she'd just said.
CHAPTER TWO
"I wonder who that could be?" Kris mused as the doorbell rang loud enough to be heard from the expansive outdoor deck of Kane and Jasmine's house.
"Maybe it's a late wedding present delivery for the newlyweds," her cousin Samantha guessed from her relaxed floating position in the swimming pool.
Kris wrapped a towel around her bikini-clad body and went to answer the door. It was Ari.
"Hey, darl," Kris cried as she gave Ari a hug and a kiss. "We weren't expecting to see you today."
"Dylan has some urgent work to finish for tomorrow, so I thought I'd spend the day with you guys," Ari replied. "I tried to call but you weren't answering your phones. I figured you must still be in bed, while Sam must have her hands full whipping something up in the kitchen."
"Oh, sorry. We've been sunbathing and having a dip in the pool. We didn't take our phones outside. Did you bring your swimsuit?"
"Already wearing it underneath my clothes," Ari grinned.
"Great! It's a pity Jasmine's not with us," Kris replied as they headed out the back to join Sam. "She's probably not even thinking about us. She could even be in the throes of passion right now as her hunk of a husband makes love to her."
"Kris!" Ari gasped, laughter bubbling out of her.
Kris covered her face in embarrassment. "Oh, my God, Ari. What the hell is wrong with me?" she lamented.
"Like you said, hon, you just need to get laid," Ari replied, putting an arm around her shoulders.
"Hey, Ari," Sam cried. "It's great that you're here. Is Dylan joining us later?"
"Not until dinnertime. He fell behind with his work because of his groomsman duties for his brother. But are you girls free to have dinner with us tonight? We want to take you to our favourite restaurant near his place."
"Sure. Sounds good," Sam replied.
"Just us three and Dylan?" Kris asked.
"That's the plan," Ari answered. "Were you wanting other people to join us?"
Kris could see the curiosity in Ari's face and could imagine what her friend was thinking. "It would be good if Trey could be there, too," she said with an enigmatic smile. She was looking forward to seeing Trey again. She still couldn't believe he'd agreed to that bet she'd suggested while under the influence. He must have been just as inebriated as she had been to even consider it.
Ari's eyes widened. "So you're going ahead with it with him?"
"Going ahead with what with whom?" Sam asked suspiciously.