Taste The Rainbow

Delilah

Delilah

"No, you move back when I move forward after the pivot," Delilah scolds, placing her hand on my hip to show me for the hundredth time today. I huff in exasperation before she scoffs and moves across the dance studio to get a drink from one of the two water bottles.

"You need to relax, you'll never get anything done if you can't relax and feel the music." She states, leaning against the wall. I sigh and get a large drink from my own water before shaking my head.

"Okay, okay, I've got this. Let's go again." I reply. Her milk chocolate eyes meet mine before she rolls them.

"Fine, come here." She orders and I move back to the middle of her empty studio. She meets me, taking my left hand in hers and draping her delicate fingers on my bare waist. When I feel the familiar sparks I briefly regret my decision of wearing my cut off shirt that's exposing my abdomen and back. But when Delilah takes a quick step towards me I banish those thoughts and take a step back. She nods and we continue with the routine until I make the same mistake again.

"No," she scolds in obvious exasperation. I clear my throat, dropping my hands and stepping back as I rub my bare arms.

"I'm trying," I mutter.

"You're missing the same step every time. What are you thinking of before you try it?" she demands. I drop my eyes, running a hand through my short blonde hair.

"I don't know." I lie. Really, before that part in the routine, I can't stop thinking of her. That specific spot, when the dance becomes more intimate, always messes me up. I can't attempt to do something that seems intimate with someone I have a crush on, it would mess everything up.

"I can't help you if you lie to me, Adriana." She growls lifting my chin with her cold fingers. My eyes meet hers and she stares at me expectantly.

"I'm not thinking about anything. I swear." I reply but my voice shakes ever so slightly. Her eyes bore into mine and I bite my lips uncomfortably.

"Again," she snaps impatiently, dropping my chin and moving into position again. We move in sync, performing the dance with ease until we get to that same part.

Though this time when I instinctively go to pull away, she pulls me flush against her body tightly. She takes a step back with me in her arms and only lets me go to twirl away from her body. When I move back to her body-forcibly because Delilah still holds my hand and pulls me back-her lips crash into mine.

I push myself away from her quickly, my tongue flicking out to lick the saliva from my lips as I stare at her wide-eyed. She simply arcs an unfazed brow, staring at me expectantly.

"What was that?" I demand. My entire body is shaking, both from surprise and excitement, I should know better than to feel. She runs her fingers through her long black hair, pulling it into a sloppy ponytail.

"That called me helping you. We managed to finish the routine, didn't we? Now we just have to do that all over again a few more times and then you'll be ready for the competition." She replies honestly but I shake my head quickly, taking another step back.

"No, I'm not... we're not... you can't do that!" I cry in desperation. It's clear that didn't mean anything to Delilah, and there is no way I can let her kiss me over and over for the sake of learning some routine. That would be far too painful.

"Why?" she asks calmly and I gape at her.

"You can't just kiss me!" I snap, trying to summon my anger so she won't suspect anything.

"It's just a kiss, Adriana." She replies.

"No it's not," I state but she still looks questioning.

"Why not?"

"I… it's just… it's..." I swallow hard and run a hand through my hair.

"It's what?" I bite the inside of my cheek before I shake my head and stomp across the empty space until I'm standing in front of Delilah.

I stare at her, trying to summon my anger at how oblivious she is but I can't do it. I sigh in frustration, looking away from her.

"I can't do this routine, it's too intimate and I can't handle that. I like you, okay? And I don't want to be forced to do that because it would be too painful." I reply, my voice even despite the trembling of my body that reveals my fear.

"Wait, what?" she asks in confusion.

"I like you," I repeat.

"I know." She replies, her voice still one of confusion. I look back to her to see she tilted her head to the side slightly to portray her obvious confusion.

"What?"I demand.

"Well, it was obvious. But I have a girlfriend." She replies and my lips part but no words come out.

"Oh, " I state, a lump forming in my throat that I attempt to clear by swallowing. She opens her mouth to reply but I wave my hands to quiet her.

"I, um, I need to go. I'll be back next week. Um, I'm going to find a new routine," I add, my voice staying even while I grab my things in a hurry.

As I leave the room, the door closing behind me, I distantly hear Delilah calling out. "But the contest is on Sunday!"

I ignore that though as I slip out of the building altogether, getting on my bike after dropping my stuff in the basket. I clear my throat, running a hand through my short hair and blinking.

Well, it's going to be hell of awkward now that everything's out in the open. I groan and run my hand through my hair before riding away from the studio, hoping everything will be okay.