“You look...” He didn’t want to say damn again, but the only adjectives he could think of were sexy, hot, and fuck, which wasn’t an adjective but was also inappropriate. “Stunning,” he finally breathed.
That word didn’t come close to encapsulating her appearance, but it was safer than sexy, hot, and fuck.
Ava glanced down as she ran her hands along the sides of her torso. “I didn’t have anything formal, so I had to borrow it from Viv. She wore it when she was Jessica Rabbit for Halloween.”
That was fitting because right now he felt like a cartoon character whose eyes were popping out of his head as the ahooga sound effect plays.
“Thank you again, for doing this.” He managed to string six words together and that was no small feat.
“Of course!” She smiled wider. “There was no way I could say no to Blake, not when she looked at me with those puppy dog eyes.”
Asher had been so wrapped up in what he was feeling about this arrangement, he hadn’t even stopped to think what Ava might be feeling doing this. That trait had been another on the long lists of reasons Jenna had given him as to why he was a shit husband. And she wasn’t wrong. Which he could add to yet another reason he should keep his distance from the angel in front of him.
“Annnd, that’s time! Group A please clear the dance floor and hang up your dancing shoes!” The DJ played a buzzer sound. “Let’s have a round of applause for Group A!”
Asher and Ava both turned and watched the participants clear the dance floor as they clapped. Dorsey and his wife headed straight toward them, both looking a little bit worse for wear.
“Good luck, hour six is a doozy.” His friend commented as he and his wife headed toward the bleachers where the kids were all gathered.
“Okay, can we have Group B come to the dance floor. Remember, you get one five-minute break at the halfway point. If you stop dancing, break contact with your dance partner, or you leave the dance floor for any reason you are disqualified.”
Ava smiled up at Asher, her eyes brimming with either excitement or nervousness, he couldn’t tell.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Yep.” She nodded.
“Have fun kids!” Viv shouted out as she walked onto the dance floor with the rookie Carter.
“On your mark, get set, dance!” A horn sounded and then music began to play.
Asher placed one hand on Ava’s lower back and lifted her left hand. He began to lead her in a waltz box step. Technically, his hand should be at the base of her shoulder blade to support her arm, but this wasn’t formal ballroom. This was social dancing so his hand placement was lower. At least that’s what he told himself even though he knew the reason he’d done it was because with this frame, their bodies were closer.
“Whoa!” Ava’s eyes widened. “You can actually dance!”
From the sidelines he heard Blake whistling and cheering. His daughter had no idea that he could dance. No one in his life did, not even Jenna. It wasn’t something that came up much in his day to day. In fact, he’d gone to great lengths, including not accepting friend requests on social media with his classmates from the dance school, to bury that part of his past.
“Where did you learn to dance?” Ava asked in wonder.
“Speech therapy wasn’t the only class my mom made me take. The deal was I was only allowed to play football and baseball if I took ballroom.”
Ava’s eyes widened. “Seriously?”
“She wanted me to be well rounded.”
“How old were you when you took the classes?”
“Ten to seventeen.”
“Seven years?!” she exclaimed.
He nodded.
“When’s the last time you danced?”
“When I was seventeen.”
The only time Asher had stepped foot on a dance floor since he stopped taking classes was when he was a bouncer at clubs breaking up fights.
Ava stared up at him as if she was trying to figure him out. She also had that same glint of hero worship that had made him uncomfortable in the past, but now, he had to admit he liked it. Not as much as he liked Ava’s soft curves brushing against his body and the feeling of her bare skin against his palm, but he wasn’t sure he’d ever loved anything as much as he loved dancing with this woman. And from the large countdown clock on the wall, they were only two minutes in. Which meant he had seven hours and fifty-eight minutes left.
He was in trouble. Big trouble.
