Pas de Deux?

“Ok class, we gonna cha cha now,” came Anya’s thick Russian accent.

“Cha cha is fun and sexy so get to know your partner b/c you gonna being touching a lot!”

Violet couldn’t argue with that. Apparently neither could Kris who, at some unknown point in time, had wrapped his left arm around Violet’s waist while the other held her small hand in his.

“Um, I think you’re supposed to put your other hand on my shoulder,” he said looking at her to make sure it was alright that they were touching.

“Oh ya. Sorry,” Violet replied sensing that Kris seemed content to have her so close to him.

“Ok! We gonna start with the hips. Be sexy ya?” Anya stated.

She calmly grabbed the closest man to her, which happened to be a terrified looking Geno, and began to sway her hips back and forth while angling her torso. Unsure, Kris looked around at his teammates. Every last one of them stood there looking like a deer in the headlights. Well, except for Max.

Violet let out the breath she had been holding and looked up at a very distraught looking Kris Letang.

“Ihavetotellyousomethingican’tdance,” he blurted at Violet, who only blinked.

“Sorry, I didn’t quite catch that Kris,” she said kindly, but she figured she knew where this was going.

“I can’t dance like that,” he repeated apprehensively, sure that Violet was going to burst out laughing.

“Your cute,” she replied, smiling at first then turning an unthinkable shade of red when she realized what had just come out of her mouth.

“Uh…maybe we should work on our steps” she tried to recover. “You know, before Anya comes over here and tries to make an example out of us.”

Having previously witnesses the hips rolls that Geno was forced to demonstrate earlier in the session, when he refused to move his hips along with Anya, a smirking Kris agreed and quickly, since Anya seemed to be coming their way.

By three o’clock, Anya had strung together a sequence of steps and a dance was starting to take shape. Violet picked up the steps easily and was starting to feel like a more relaxed version of herself, even if she had spent the last two hours in the arms of Kristopher Letang. That was the thing about dance. It could make you forget every care in the world, even your nerves. Her change in demeanor hadn’t gone unnoticed by Kris either. He could tell she was having fun by the way she kept smiling and he was happy that it was with him. Maybe they had something?

“Ouch, your other left Kris,” she giggled as Kris stepped on her toes for what felt like the millionth time.

“I’m really sorry Vi…can I can you Vi?” he answered. “I promise I’ll have it by next class.”

She could just picture Kris in the basement of his home, furniture pushed to the perimeters of the room, secretly practicing away at the wrong steps. She burst out laughing as he bumped her head with his own.

“What?”

“It’s nothing…I just thought you’d be a little more coordinated is all, what with the stick handling and everything,” she replied. Kris could only shrug, flashing Violet the very smile that made her weak in the knees. She smiled back, thinking to herself that the afternoon hadn’t been quite the disaster she was expecting. She was enjoying her time with Kris who, unlike some of his teammates, tried to be respectful of where he put his hands.

Over her shoulder Violet heard Kitty teasing her partner, “Max, can you please be a man and lead for a change?"

“I’ll lead you alright!” he teased back ,puffing out his chest as he grabbed onto Kitty.

He picked her up bridal style and started to spin at top speed. He set her down, and began to freestyle to the music. When the boys behind Violet began making cat calls at their teammate, she turned around to see what was going on. Evidently, Max was still dizzy because he lost his balance in the middle of a pivot turn and sailed, arms flailing, towards Violet.