"I'm so glad that we decided to take in the lunchtime lectures," Sara said as she and Nick exited the dance studio to board the shuttle van for the return trip to the hotel, "Because I haven't felt like doing anything at the end of the day but lying in a hot bath so far this week."

"I know what you mean," Nick said, rubbing his calf muscle in an attempt to relieve and ache, "And there are four more days of hell this week, not to mention all the time we'll spend next week practicing our routine." He sighed and shook his head. "I've got half a mind to check into a cheap motel with a hot tub that I can use."

"That's a pretty good idea," Sara exclaimed, grabbing Nick's arm, "I'll go in halfsies! I even have my swimsuit in my room! We can meet in the lobby at around nine and decide which motel to use."

"Whoa, Sara. I only said that I have a half a mind to do that. It doesn't mean that I actually would. I doubt we're even allowed to do that."

"Listen to you: 'allowed.' Nick, we're grown people. I'm sure we're 'allowed' to do whatever we want in our free time. The others have probably been hitting the casinos or taking in floor shows. We're townies, so we shouldn't be expected to be interested in those activities. We should be able to do something else."

Nick did want a little time alone with Sara so that they could relax and get to know one another outside of a work setting. So far in the conference, they had been either too busy or too tired to spend any free time together. Though he felt a little uncomfortable with the sexuality that is associated with hot tubs, he had to admit to himself that hot tubs do create a great environment for candid conversations. Since the erotic dreams had made him acknowledge the existence of his romantic feelings, he had wanted to find out more about the enigmatic Sara Sidle.

"Okay, Sara," he said as Sara excitedly clapped her hands, "We can see about finding a room. I'll do all the grunt work and call the different motels and find out about their rates."

Sara smiled smugly. "I knew that you'd break down," she said, "I knew that your legs had to be crying at least as loudly as mine."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sara felt as excited as a teenaged girl getting ready for the prom. She felt excited about wearing a bikini in front of Nick.

She had found Nick attractive when they had first met and she had flirted with him quite unabashedly in the years between that time and the present, but she had never felt that anything would actually come of it. She had never felt any hints of interest emanating from Nick.

Since the conference began, she had felt different vibes from Nick. He seemed nervous to be around her and he was more touchy-feely when he talked to her. He had held her hand at the opening reception and he threw his arm around her waist when they approached the shuttle van for their first lesson of the morning. While on the van, he would touch her knee or her arm as he spoke.

Something was certainly going on in the development of their relationship and Sara was just as excited as she could be.

She felt as though she had maybe jumped-the-gun a bit when she had leapt at the present opportunity to get alone with Nick. But, she thought to herself, how could I expect another opportunity to arise before the end of the conference?

She turned on the water in the shower and brushed her hair as she waited for it to warm. When the temperature felt right, she removed her sweaty dance clothes and threw them into the far corner before entering the shower.

The water was blessedly warm as it ran its course over her fatigued muscles. She had remembered that ballet was a challenge, but she did not remember ever being this sore after her lessons. To her credit, of course, she had never taken three hours of ballet lessons every day for three days in a row.

The memory of her ballet lessons felt pleasant and was welcome. Her mind's eye could see Roberta James standing in front of the row of mirrors, demonstrating proper technique. She wished that she could have lived with Roberta for a longer time so that she could have learned more. He older body felt clumsy and it tired easily. Perhaps with a stronger background she would have been able to remember more and endure more--but "what-ifs" only waste time and make one feel sad.

Sara refused to feel sad that night. She saw for herself an opportunity to at least render Nick speechless with her good looks if not determine the direction of their relationship.

As she dried herself and donned her swimsuit, she thought about how Nick would look at her. She admitted that her breasts were not the largest, nor were they the perkiest. However, she had been focusing on her abs and legs when she went to the gym and they were just to die for (at least she thought so).

She pulled her hair back into a french twist and allowed some of the short layer in the front to fall on each side of her face to frame it. She lightly dusted on some powder foundation and brushed on a small amount of blush to enhance her glow.

She threw on a button-up shirt and tied it at the bottom to show a little of her midriff above her faded blue jeans.

She knew she'd knock Nick's socks off when he saw her and that made her smile as she approached the elevator doors.