Jealous

“Ow!” Helen squeaked as her toes suffered another blow from Steve’s clunky steps. Bucky’s subsequent groan was well and truly audible over the venue’s music.

“You can do better than this, Steve,” he insisted right before Steve crushed Helen’s toes again. Steve pulled away, letting go of Helen’s hand and upper back in shame.

“That’s the thing, I can’t,” Steve exhaled with frustration at himself. “I’m so sorry, Helen.”

“It’s okay,” she breathed with a shrug. Helen didn’t feel too bad about his failure, especially since she had tread on Steve’s feet plenty of times. Because they were at a venue for dancing, the educated couples often stopped to stare at the lesson, a few of them snickering before quietly heading to the bar thanks to stern stares from Bucky. He knew it was already making the pair itchy to be in a public place, and he didn’t want further discouragement from the other dancers.

“What are you struggling with, exactly?” Bucky asked his best friend before taking another sip of his whiskey.

“Placing my feet? I feel like maybe I’m reflecting Helen and that’s why we’re stepping on each other,” Steve attempted to explain, feeling like an utter loser because he couldn’t even learn such a simple task.

“You’ve got to be a man about it,” Bucky said while stepping forwards. He held out his glass to Steve and he immediately took it, allowing Bucky to offer his hand to Helen. “May I?”

“I guess,” she mumbled, mentally kicking herself afterwards for how pathetic she had sounded. She glanced over at Steve who gave her a feeble smile before Bucky demanded her attention by sweeping one of her hands in his and placing his other hand on her mid back. Helen felt her heart quicken and she awkwardly fumbled her hand onto Bucky’s shoulder, which was significantly higher than Steve’s and felt much firmer too. Bucky shifted slowly, stepping to his left and using his hands to guide Helen’s own direction without her realising it. He kept his gaze focused on her face, but always remained aware of her feet below so he wouldn’t step on her. Helen felt her cheeks burning up under Bucky’s sultry stare, uncertain if it was intentional or just the way he danced with every other girl, so she tried to focus on her footwork instead.

“You see… it’s all about taking the lead… and showing your beautiful partner… that she can trust you,” Bucky described to Steve, pausing for a second each time he turned with Helen. “I can make her come closer.“ Bucky stepped backwards and applied pressure to Helen’s back, coaxing her forwards. “And I can push my doll away.” Bucky shifted forwards, expertly avoiding her toes, and his body came an inch away from pressing up against hers. Helen’s cheeks were flushing and she knew it, but she was unable to prevent herself from being astonished by how well Bucky could dance. Just when Helen thought she couldn’t possibly stand feeling so flustered from Bucky’s charm, the music stopped to change songs and Bucky let go of her waist, giving her a short bow before releasing her hand.

“I am never going to be able to do that,” Steve said in pure amazement. Bucky chuckled and took back his glass.

“You can do it, pal. Find the confidence to take control of the situation and then she’ll be following your moves,” Bucky encouraged. Steve reluctantly approached Helen and they reconnected, Helen taking note of how much higher Steve insisted on placing his hand on her back. Not wanting to complain, she kept quiet and tried again to dance with Steve.

“Ow, no, that’s not right,” Helen soon found herself saying, feeling incredibly awkward in Steve’s arms now that she had experienced Bucky’s smooth touch.

“Guide her to the left too, don’t just go there by yourself,” Bucky commented and Steve tried again but his hand slipped to the side on Helen’s back.

“I’m sorry,” Steve apologised for the thousandth time that night. Helen gave her thousandth understanding smile to him.

“Hand on her waist, come on, you know where that is, don’t you?” Bucky said with a hint of exasperation at his friend. A wave of panic flooded Steve’s face but Helen gave him a nod to show that she was fine with the change, and Steve trailed his hand down Helen’s navy blue dress to her waist. Suddenly his reserved touch became relaxing and Helen eased into their routine a bit more. Now in the proper position, Steve found it easier to guide Helen, like Bucky had been harping on about. They made it to a record of thirty seconds before Steve stubbed his toe on Helen’s heels again.

“Darn, we were doing so well!” Helen exclaimed with a giggle, and Steve started to laugh along with her. Helen then caught a glimpse of the large clock on the wall. “Oh shoot, I should really head home.”

“The night’s still young,” Bucky remarked and Helen hung her head a little.

“I rent a room in a boarding house for women. There’s a bunch of rules, and one of them is a curfew,” she explained. Bucky nodded and then looked expectantly at Steve, but he only received a blank stare back.

“We’ll walk you home,” Bucky stated on behalf of both of them before finishing his drink.

“Oh, it’s okay, I can-” Helen began to protest.

“I wasn’t offering,” Bucky insisted and then gestured towards the door.