Wow! Okay! Again, so sorry for taking so long! It's just still been hard to write with work, my house, and other obligations. Though, I have finally done it! I have finally got the latest chapter finished by some miracle and clocking at over 5 pages worth of writing in word processing. So I hope you have a nice beverage and comfy place to settle in. Either way, thank you all for your patience with this fanfic from the bottom of my heart and hope you enjoy the chapter! This chapter will be mostly from Alejandro's POV so I hope I am still able to do him justice to all the hardcore Alejandro fans! :) Hope you enjoy!

(Alejandro's POV)

Well, I suppose saying that I didn't think the current situation couldn't have possibly been any more awkward than the dinner at my parents' anniversary party… I must say that I stand corrected.

Everyone at the table was eating in silence as we were finishing up the final course.

Mainly; however, it was also proving to be difficult considering everyone just kept looking at us only to immediately look away once either of us took notice.

Not that I'm all too concerned about that, though the fact we do have past events working against us probably didn't help the situation either.

However, what I am still frustrated about is that I am still nowhere closer to learning more about Heather. Now I'm going to have to employ other measures to do so.

Luckily we are sharing her room, so hopefully I'll have something figured out later tonight once we return to her parents' house.

And then there's the matter of the peculiar item I found beneath her bed earlier or what I overheard someone relay about me while I was waiting for Heather at her parent's house.

But, those are topics for another time.

Right now… I just need to figure out what is it exactly from her past that she is determined to not let anyone know about?

Of course I also just want her to talk to and include me on things between us, but… that's just Heather.

As frustrating as it is to admit and as much as I know she loves me like I love her and respect her… AGH! She's just insufferably infuriating! Even now that we're together, she drives me absolutely loco with her stubbornness!

All I want her to do is talk to me, but she's always determined to keep digging in her heels and practically fight me to not talk or discuss anything!

AND IT'S BEEN MONTHS SINCE WE STARTED DATING NOW!

Just!... AGH! What is she hiding?!

I knew I was allowing my thoughts to get the best of me and did my best to stomp it down and retain my outward composure as I tried to stomp it down.

We kept eating until I heard, "Shane! How are you? I haven't seen you since last Spring at the showcase!"

I looked behind me to see a fit middle aged woman with a very similar complexion to myself and black hair pulled back in a very concise bun on the back of her head.

She was in a long crimson red evening gown with a black wrap around her shoulders and approached the table with a smile on her face.

Shane looked over his shoulder and said, obviously recognizing and seeming to know her quite well, "Oh, hi Mrs. Perez. I'm fine. How are you?"

I recalled the name from my memory.

Back in the fall when I sought out Shane, I remembered him mentioning this name.

She must be the woman who runs the Junior League Cotillion group at the country club.

Mrs. Perez was smiling ear to ear as she replied cheerfully, "Oh, good, good. But…"

She immediately stopped as she saw Heather was here and looked almost dare I say… fearful. Mrs. Perez tried to straighten up and started, sheepishly and almost nervously stuttering, "O-Oh, He-Hello to you too Heather, dear? How are you?"

It was like you could practically cut the tension with a dull knife as Heather just responded shortly after a moment, "Fine."

After a another beat of tense silence, Mrs. Perez finally sighed as she said, putting her hands in the air as if she was surrendering, "Okay, look, I really need a favor. From both of you actually. I have been trying to inspire my current groups, but none of them are as motivated as I would like with their showcase projects. They just don't seem to have that spark to put much effort into learning a dance and making a concise routine of their own. The only students I have that seem to remotely scrap that surface are your sister Sarah and her partner Gavin, but even they aren't… there. I've never had any other students who were as talented and motivated as you two."

At that moment everyone else at the table was giving Mrs. Perez side eyes and glares at her for basically and completely back handing all of them and I could tell she noticed this since she started, stuttering nervously again at her error, "O-oh but you all did a great job as well! Heh heh…"

"Okay... so? What does all your current classes' mediocrity have anything to do with us?" Heather finally cut in pointedly, crossing her arms and quirking up an eyebrow.

Mrs. Perez drummed her fingers together nervously as she started, "Well… this is why I came over. I wanted to ask if you two would be interested before the dance floor opens tonight to do one of your old routines together for my current classes. Just to inspire them a bit. I just talked to the club President and he said he was fine with it, but I just didn't know if you two would?..."

"Sure, we'll do our grade 8 number." Heather cut in immediately, a smirk on her face, but… I could see in her eyes that she had something else going on in her mind.

Wait… grade 8? I never saw this one.

"Oh, wonderful! I'll get the music ready for you two!" Mrs. Perez exclaimed in almost pure joy as she clapped her hands together and walked off.

When I was looking into Shane and Heather back when they used to be dance partners, there were videos of their performances from ages 8-11 and 15-18.

But again, none from any of the years they were in junior high.

I had no idea what was happening, but I maintained my absolute focus to see what was going on.

Immediately Shane gave her a confused look as he started, "Grade 8 number? In white tie and an evening gown and heels?" Heather immediately gave him a hard glare as she countered, sounding quite 'dead set', "Yes… does it look like I care? I don't care if we're dancing in leotards and ballet shoes, we are doing our grade 8 number."

Eventually Shane sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck as he stood up and said, sounding resigned a bit, "Okay, fine. But, I'm taking off my jacket then."

"Here, I got it." I heard Aga say, who had been pretty quiet like I had been this whole time, as she helped Shane take off his jacket.

Shane looked over his shoulder and smiled at her as he said, "Thanks."

Aga took his jacket and folded it over her arm before giving him a kiss on the cheek and giving him a wink before saying playfully, "Break a leg."

Shane kept smiling and looked like he was about to say something until Heather grabbed him by his arm at the elbow and complained, "C'mon, you can make out later."

I felt as if I was currently trying to process the situation and figure out what she was up to until I heard a deafening ring of a microphone as I heard what sounded like Mrs. Perez recovered, "Oh, sorry! Um, pardon the interruption, ladies and gentlemen. For those of you who don't me, my name is Monica Perez. I am the director and instructor of the Junior League Cotillion program that hosts the yearly Dance Showcase at the Spring Fundraiser dinner. Over the past 15 years, I have been teaching children the art of not only manners and table etiquette; but also dance. An art that is typically largely on the back end as almost an 'extracurricular' in most programs and not seen as 'essential'. Well, I pride myself on keeping dance lessons for my classes at the forefront. Teaching children not only a new skill to get them moving, but also to help boost confidence, have fun, and encourage socialization through healthy competition. And tonight, I am pleased to say we have a treat in store for us! My first year taking over the program, I had the pleasure of taking on my first grade 1 group that included a young man and woman who would end up exemplifying why I feel dance is so important, as the pair went on to be the youngest winners of the showcase and the longest reigning champions in the history of the program. So, without further ado; allow me to introduce our very own 10 time showcase winners and cotillion alumni, Miss Heather Renée Wilson and Mister Shane Matthew Watson!"

"Alright, let's get the showboating overload over with!" I heard Susie comment as she downed the rest of her glass of wine, and it was quite a sizable amount left in her glass.

But, I was hardly paying attention as I saw Heather subtly whispering something to Shane as they walked arm in arm… and I especially took note when I saw Shane go from confusion to actually giving Heather an amused grin and Heather just smirking all the while as she gave him a nod, making me quirk up an eyebrow.

What is she doing?

I made my way to the edge of the ballroom dance floor with everyone else as Shane and Heather walked out onto the floor with some applause. Shane just grinned a little and gave a slight wave to the crowd and Heather was just smirking very confidently and taking it in.

I could tell this was something that Heather seemed to thrive on and this was very important to her. Well, her putting all her show case wins front and center in her room on the wall was an indication of course, but… dancing is something Heather takes very seriously.

Even on our first date I could tell that more than anything. Whether it was the night club, the open ballroom at that dance academy, or at mother and father's party… Heather craved her time to shine on the dance floor.

And I could see that plain as day now.

Heather and Shane eventually separated as both of them seemed to take on a more serious look as I saw Shane un-button and roll up the sleeves on his dress shirt as they both seemed to take their places on the floor to begin.

It was silent as the lights in the rest of the ballroom went dark except for the lights on the dance floor. Both Heather and Shane approached each other, the clicking of her heels echoing off the floor as Shane held out his right hand and took a step back with his left foot, Heather put her right hand in his and put her left foot slightly behind her right.

I was trying to figure out where this could be going since this was a slightly different starting position.

It was quiet until I was intrigued when I heard what sounded like drum sticks hitting each other before the music went into a rapid tempo piano rhythm with bass as Shane immediately pulled Heather through into a twirl and extending her out before bringing her back in and immediately vaulting her over his shoulder. Heather slid down his back in what I could only think was a 'Lindy Flip' before both of them went into a six count step and the crowd responded in applause after that initial move.

Drums and guitar entered into the song as I immediately recognized it as early 50's classic rock n' roll music.

Is this… East Coast Swing?

I had to admit the song choice did surprise me a bit since I know any form of rock music wasn't necessarily Heather's music of choice, and not mine either to be honest.

But, I could definitely see why she likes swing and jive type dance. It's a type of dance that requires a lot of technique, especially on an advanced level, but also gives a lot of opportunity to 'show off'.

Something she usually calls me out on, but I had to give her credit for keeping up with those movements and flips in high heels and an evening gown. Sure, her dress did have a slit in the side but even so… I had to admit I was impressed.

At that moment, Heather and Shane pulled through in a twirl again before separating and my eyes went wide for a moment as Shane went down and did a quick split before sliding right back up to his feet to get right back into a count with Heather and doing a back to back flip with her making everyone erupt into applause.

Well… that was something.

Of course I could do a more proper spilt than Shane, but still… not too bad.

I was almost so zeroed in that I hardly noticed Aga was standing right next to me smiling and clapping along and swaying herself to the music and calling out in approval, "YEAH! Get it Shane!"

But, I was hardly paying attention to her as all my focus just got zeroed in as they did a momentum lift. In the back of my mind, I felt a twinge go through me as I heard in my mind, recalling what Heather mentioned on our first date in Ottawa, "'Sure'… not bad, but Shane was always able lift me higher. Then again he was also taller than you, so… c'est la vie."

At that moment, Shane put Heather into an Angel lift/ariel move and the ending dip variation with a hand low on her hip, looking to be in quite close proximity.

A bit too close for my liking…

I looked just past them to see Heather's grandfather on the opposite side of the floor continuing to sip on a glass of whiskey with an unimpressed look on his face. Clearly showing he'd rather be anywhere else.

I looked back at Heather and Shane and felt my fists unconsciously clenching at my sides.

Hmph… we'll see who you think isn't 'good enough' now, señor...

I straightened out my jacket before immediately cutting in to make my move. I stepped onto the floor and was quick on my timing as I cut in and grabbed Heather's free hand as they extended out from each other pulled her momentum toward me as I immediately brought her into a side car to each hip and then lifting her into a candlestick life before putting her back down and going into a 6 count with her as I looked at Shane and gave him a smirk.

Now, let's see you top that.

Shane was standing there for a moment in confusion until Aga jumped in and was quick to pull Shane into a count with her, flashing a smile at us before she gave Shane a nod as he flipped her over his arm.

But, I was determined too as I brought Heather up to my shoulder level before carrying her over into a no arm dip. We kept going back and forth, but it was like everyone else watching must have just thought it was part of the routine since right when the song ended, the ballroom erupted into applause and cheers.

I looked over Heather's shoulder at her grandfather actually clapping ever so slightly after he set down his whiskey and tilting his head at me, making eye contact with me for a moment.

Let's see you call me 'not good enough' now.

The music rolled over into another song as Heather and I immediately just started going over into a basic 1-step together. I kept giving her grandfather a look until I looked down when I heard, "Jealous much?"

My gaze immediately shot down only to see Heather smirking at me. I scoffed for a second as I countered in confusion, "What could I possibly be jealous of?"

She rolled her eyes to the side as her smirk practically engulfed her entire expression as she remarked off handedly, sounding completely knowing and coy, "Oh, I don't know?... Maybe jealous of Shane?"

I tilted my head as I retorted, "And what gave you that impression?"

"Um, let's see… I don't know? Maybe because he told me the whole reason you tracked him down was because you thought he was my ex?" She remarked knowingly.

Honestly, I was surprised Heather and I were still able to keep in step as I felt my muscles clench for a moment and my eyes go wide… and she was just giving me a deviously satisfied look, knowing she was completely correct and just relishing in it.

But, I was quick to regain my composure as I countered, trying to be as even toned as possible despite being caught out, "And so what if I was?"

Heather shrugged still smirking winningly at me as she replied, "I'm just saying. For the guy who incessantly teases me about being jealous? You have to admit… even to me it's hilarious that out of all the guys to get jealous of, you get jealous of boring, 'goodie-two shoes' Shane? Ha!"

I straightened up as I defended, not enjoying this, "Well, in my defense, how was I supposed to know he wasn't? Considering all the pictures in your room, the fact he seemed like 'your type' from said pictures, and especially the 'prom circumstance'; I'd say my guess was pretty educated."

Meanwhile she was still clearly enjoying this as she continued to smirk, "Hey, like I said, just saying. Had I known, I would have tried to get Shane in on season 3 to make you jealous when you were putting your stupid hands all over… ugh, Courtney."

Immediately I noticed my 'opening' to turn the tables, as I smirked as said, "Well, clearly you're still jealous of that as well."

She scoffed in disgust as she said, "More like 'vomit induced' by the memory of it. Ugh! She was so annoying. But just! UGH! SERIOUSLY?! Why is it that Shane got to you, but every time I hit on Duncan to get back at you, you hardly seemed to even care?!"

I grinned and shrugged, liking how things were now going in my favor as I replied matter of factly with a knowing grin, "Well, frankly, other than obviously seeing through it after your first few 'attempts', Duncan wasn't a threat to me as far as you were concerned. Considering Duncan isn't really 'your type'... Maybe a 'one time fling' at most; however, considering what 'both of us know', I think we can rule out any sort of 'fling' between you and him wouldn't you say?"

I could see her internally squirming at my bringing up that I was technically 'her first'. She gave me a hard glare as I continued to smirk knowingly and proudly at the fact.

What more can I say? I still can't help myself.

But again, Heather always misconstrues it. Because I really am proud of the fact that she allowed me to be her first after she rejected so many others.

Although… it's also still fun to tease her a bit over it, I must admit.

Immediately she rolled her eyes and scoffed before shortly retorting, "Ugh, whatever..."

Seeing an opportunity, I used this as a segway to turn the tables again, "Well, anyway, never mind all of that. Let's get to something both of us can agree on. After what happened earlier, we need to focus on what José and your sister are plotting and we need to strategize to make sure we get them before they get us."

I was actually slightly caught off guard when I saw her smirk in almost devious satisfaction as she started, "Way ahead of you… By the way, what time is it?"

I quirked up an eyebrow and looked at my watch that Uncle Julio gave me for Christmas as I started, "Almost 8 at night, why?"

"Take a look at the bar." She alluded ominously as her grin continued to get bigger and progressively more twisted as both Kelsey and José slightly doubled over holding their stomachs until both of them immediately started almost sprinting out of the ballroom and into the hall.

I quirked up an eyebrow again, trying to figure out what that was about.

Well, until Heather elaborated, her tone oozing with winning satisfaction, "It's funny how glasses of wine are even easier to tamper with than baked goods. Luckily dad still had some fast acting, tasteless liquid laxative left from his last colonoscopy."

Once I processed exactly what happened, or more accurately that she just admitted to somehow spiking Kelsey and José's drinks earlier in the day without either of them noticing.

I slowly looked back at her with a smirk to still see her looking extremely pleased with herself as I expressed, reflecting that same feeling, "Have I ever mentioned how much I love you?"

She just responded with a satisfied smirk as we kept dancing.

Meanwhile out in the main hall of the Country Club outside the restrooms

({No POV})

After about 15 minutes, both Kelsey and José both emerged from the bathrooms as Kelsey immediately started fuming, "UGH! That little bitch is SO dead!"

"Qué?" José got out in confusion, wondering what Kelsey was complaining about for a moment.

Kelsey immediately gave him an irritated and infuriated glare as she spat in rage, "What do you think, dipshit?! SHE did this! What?! Did you think we just both spontaneously started shitting at the same time for no reason?!"

Immediately afterward, Kelsey kicked over an end table nearby in an attempt to try but ultimately fail to release her rage and frustration.

José paused for a moment as he took in the information that Heather spiked somethin both he and Kelsey ate or drank somehow with a laxative to cause the literal 'crap parade' that just happened to both of them.

But, rather than continue to feed into the situation, he looked like he was trying retain some form of composure as he started thinking.

José kept thinking until it appeared a thought crossed his mind as he grinned mischievously as he started, "Well bombón, the night's not over yet… Perhaps when we get back to the house we can do a little rearranging in your room to 'keep the party going' into the night on the other side of the wall."

After a few moments, Kelsey thought through it and seemed to get the gist of 'José's meaning'.

She smirked slyly before responding in a flirtatious, seductive, yet almost vengeful manner, "Who says we need to rearrange anything?"

Kelsey and José shared deviously twisted and knowing grins and laughs between them at their current plan hatching to get to Alejandro and Heather by any and every means necessary.

And Heather's back at it again on all fronts! Haha. XD Ever since the inception of me writing this series, I really wanted to contrive a situation where Alejandro would realistically get jealous and almost seem at least threatened by Heather with a guy at some capacity. And this was where Shane came into the picture! ;) When I created Shane, and thank you all for saying how much you enjoy Shane's character and the angle I chose for his character, I wanted to make something that for both Alejandro and Heather would seem realistic. Mainly that despite Heather and Shane never being romantically involved, I could see Alejandro still not being able to let go of his jealousy at seeing Heather with Shane and feel the need to not be comfortable seeing Heather and Shane even doing something like dancing together. After all, watching them do their tango seemed to even get Alejandro pretty 'riled up' back in "Propositions and Conniptions" before he talked to Shane. Haha. ;) Then Heather relishing in it after Shane revealed the fact to her and her wanting to exploit and use it like the opportunistic Queen Bee she still is. Also, hope you liked the reference to her flirting with Duncan back in TDWT to make Alejandro jealous when Alejandro was using Courtney for almost the same reason… in addition to eliminate Courtney by throwing her off her game. But, really quick, to me the moments of Heather flirting with Duncan for this reason back in "Sweden Sour" were SO damn funny and underrated! XD For Example…

Heather: (Sees Alejandro embracing Courtney and immediately latches onto Duncan): "Mind helping me stay warm?"

Duncan: (Looking repulsed and trying to pry Heather off him) "I kinda do! Yeah!"

Between that and Heather trying to get Alejandro's attention by saying she 'sat in gum' still has me dying of laughter to this day every time I watch that episode. God, 'Jealous Heather' is hilariously awesome. Lol. XD Anyway, I also hope you enjoyed Heather getting some 'subtly savage' revenge on Kelsey and José by spiking their glasses of wine back at her parents' house with laxatives. After all, as we saw back in TDI, Heather is not above doing things like that since she put laxatives into that muffin for Gwen to sabotage her during the season 1 finale… well before Owen ate it of course and then Heather ended up getting locked in the confessional with 'Owen's aftermath smell'. Ugh! I still love this show so much! And okay, can I just say it? I like Owen, but I think Gwen deserved to win more in TDI. She had to deal with SO much crap that entire season and I always found her character extremely endearing. Especially since she said she wanted to use the money to pay for her education and give a majority of it to her mom to help ease her burden as a single working mother and all Owen wanted to do was blow it all on a party? I mean… I love Gwen and I feel like all the writers did as the series progressed was just do her dirty and ruin her character with bad development and involving her in that messy-ass love triangle. Gwen deserves better! :) Okay, I'm done complaining now! Haha. But, it looks like Kelsey and José aren't done just yet. Stay tuned to see what happens next. ;) As I've said time and time again, thank you all so much for reading and constructive reviews are always appreciated. Have a lovely rest of your week and hope to get another update in again soon! :)

Take care and stay classy all!

Dexter1995