A/N: Wow! It feels like it's been forever, but I think it's only been about five days or something, huh? Sorry it took so long, like I said, my family is in the process of moving and it sucks. We have Pop-Tarts in our fridge and everything is in a box. Anyway, enough about me, I wanted to THANK ALL OF YOU for reviewing, you guys make my world. Keep 'em coming, I love to hear what you have to say! Oh, and, as far as the story is concerned… Please bear in mind that I don't have a plan nor do I have any idea what I'm doing. I just think of things as they come and I hope you like it!

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This was a very bad decision.

Two days after Javier had just walked right back into her life she was still reeling from their moment on the deck of El Ritmo. How wonderful it felt to be touched by him again, how her stomach threw itself around and around and how she hadn't felt this way since she was in Cuba.

But it was the right decision.

It was funny how the tables had turned, Katey mused to herself as she ran the round bristle brush through her hair. Now she was the one with dancing in her life always and Javier did not. She knew it was simply because of her good fortune, but still she could not seem to wrap her mind around it. What was Javier to her without dance? She wondered what he had meant by it. "I don't dance anymore." The words rang out clearly in her head. Had he stopped once she had left Havana? Or maybe there just wasn't the time?

That was a silly question. He had hardly had the time when she was in Cuba, and after the revolution, when things really did seem to get bad, it would be even less likely that he had time to move his feet. Besides, she thought at once, why would I want him dancing with someone else, anyway?

She immediately regretted thinking it. Javier was not hers to dance with, or do anything else with for that matter. She had Frank now, and Frank was good to her. Certainly at times he could be inappropriate, and he had never understood her love for dancing or music, but he was unquestioningly supportive and she could thank him for that. He came to the show every Tuesday night without fail, and Katey knew in her heart of hearts that he did love her in his own way. He just had trouble expressing it directly to her.

That didn't exactly bug you for the past six months, did it? She snarled at her own hypocrisy. It was absolutely not right for her to get caught up in the emotions of something that was over, that would remain over, and that she had absolutely no intention of continuing. Joyous though she was at Javier's arrival, she could not start a relationship while still under the terms of another.

"We go on in eight minutes, Katey," Marc said through the door.

"I'm coming."

"Frank isn't here today," he said, his grin practically visible through the door.

"Only Tuesdays, Marc, it's Thursday." Katey sighed.

"He comes every week, I'm used to it. When's the big day?"

"Oh…" Katey's voice got lost somewhere in her throat. "Well, Frank hasn't proposed yet."

"Really?" The hitch in Marc's voice was evident. "So technically, he's still available?"

"Marc…" Katey smiled with her admonishing tone. "He's straight."

"I know, I know. I like your bartender friend better, anyway. Is he-?"

"No," Katey said, suddenly stern. "What happened to Gregory?" She opened the door, a very questioning look on her face.

Marc threw up his hands. "They come and go."

"He went?" She gasped. The way Marc had gone on and on about Gregory, Katey had never imagined he would leave.

"No. He came. Trust me Katey, he came."

She slapped him playfully on the arm. "Let's go."

The show went well. She did her double turn and slid into a dip without any problems (lately she'd fallen into the habit of moving her right foot too fast, and as a result, slipping), and Marc seemed unusually energetic. It was, all in all, one of their better nights, and Katey could only thank God what with the anniversary party approaching on Saturday. They had finally fallen into the swing of their old routine, and at last she wasn't thinking about counting and head turns and dips and kicks. Instead she was beginning to lose herself to the music, an escape which she relished.

However, one thing she could not escape was a pair of eyes watching her very intently from the bar.

She could practically feel him breathing the beat, moving his toes, his eyes gazing impatiently to see if Marc was as good as he could be. She could tell he was disappointed, though she had only looked at him once throughout the show. Katey wasn't sure with what, though. Could he have been disappointed in her?

She brushed these thoughts aside for the final bow and made her way to the dressing room.

"He doesn't dip you as low as you want him to."

A voice thick laden with an accent startled her. "Excuse me?"

"He doesn't dip you as low as you want him to," Javier repeated. "And you're not moving as fast as you can either."

"Well, the next time I want your advice I'll ask for it, thanks."

"I thought we were friends now?"

"We are," she said haughtily.

"Why so hostile, if we are?"

She knew he was ready to one-up her. "I'm not being hostile." Great comeback.

"I don't know…" he murmured, trailing off into a look of mock anxiety. "That sounded pretty hostile to me."

"I wasn't being hostile Javier, I promise."

"Prove it to me."

"What?" This was taking it too far.

"You heard me. Prove it to me. If you're not being hostile, show me just how friendly you are."

She raised her eyebrows. "Javier-"

"I'm not asking for anything major, Katey," he said mischievously, "although if you really want to work something out-"

"Javier!"

He grinned. "Prove it. Let me walk you home."

She looked downward, unsure. "Marc and I usually go together…" Please let him believe her. Please let him believe…

"I think he has alternate plans tonight."

"And just why do you say that?"

"I saw him leaving with some blonde guy," Javier said pointedly, moving his arm in a very feminine way to toss his hair.

Gregory. Katey cursed inside her head, but laughed despite herself.

"Come on, Katey," he said, his voice just a little lower. "Prove it."

"Okay, okay, fine!" She threw her hands up.

"You don't have to do me any favors, you know."

"No," Katey said at last. "It's fine. Let's… Let's walk together."

"Okay, sounds good to me." He grinned.

Ten thousand retorts burned on her tongue, but settling for opening her mouth several times, she turned around with an, "I just have to grab my stuff," only to hear him softly chuckling behind her.

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"Why won't you look at me?"

"Huh?"

The night was warm, and he was awfully close to her. These conditions did not leave much thinking space for Katey. "What do you mean?"

"You…" He shook his head. "The entire night. You wouldn't look at me. While you were dancing, I mean."

"Did you really mean what you said about the piece?"

"Yeah…" He gave a little laugh. "It's okay. You're just not suited as partners."

"We're okay," she said finally. "It's taken a lot of work, but it could be worse. And he's become a good friend."

"That's always good."

"Mmm."

"So?"

"So what?"

"So why didn't you look at me?" He turned to face her. "I thought we were friends."

"We are friends, Javier."

"I miss the way you look at me.

"Javier-"

"Okay, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have." He shrugged. "Your Frank… he seems like a nice guy anyway."

"You mean it?"

He swallowed. "Yeah. I mean it."

Katey laughed and looked at him again skeptically. "You're lying through your teeth. You hardly met him."

"Okay, I'm lying a little bit." He smiled.

"How are you and Rafael holding up?"

"I found a baby sitter just yesterday. You know. For when I'm at work. And the rent isn't that bad, so maybe… I don't know."

"You can stay with my family any time you need, you know that, don't you?" She seemed to say it all in one breath, as though she was letting it out one at a time.

He sucked in his breath. He knew that Katey was just saying this to be nice, but all the same. He didn't appreciate being spoken to as though he couldn't handle himself.

"I didn't mean-"

"I know," he said finally, trying to cool himself. "It's fine."

There was a bit of silence.

He looked upward before starting to say what he knew he had to. "Can I come to your practice tomorrow?"

She looked hesitant.

"Hey, technically I don't have to ask," he pointed out, waving his key to the door in front of her. "But I want to be polite, Miss Dancer, before intruding on your work sessions. I know how you get about that."

"Oh, come on, I wasn't that uptight!" She raised her eyebrows at him.

"Oh, no, not at all. Maybe just about as uptight as a metal rod."

She let her jaw hang in amused shock. "Well, for your information, Mister Dancer," she said, poking him in the chest (a bit of contact he could, thankfully, laugh at without jittering all over the place), "I'm not nearly as rigid about rules. You saw how much I changed."

"Yeah, yeah you get a little credit. So can I come?" He looked at her hopefully, like a puppy dog.

"What for?" she asked warily, studying his face, as though seeing if it was marred with bad intentions.

"I just want to help you guys out. You said this anniversary dinner Saturday was very important?"

"It is very important." She sighed, sounding stressed. "The routine is just starting to work, you know? We're feeling it again. But…"

"It needs something more?" Javier looked down, pausing in front of her. "Let me help you."

"Help us? How can you help us?"

"If you're forgetting, I think I taught you most of what you're doing in that routine," he said smugly.

"And the Modesty Award of the Month goes to…."

"I mean it. You need the help. Marc's a nice guy. And," he added, dropping his voice lower and moving his face to hers, "I won't try anything. I promise."

She looked at him with steady eyes, eyes, he couldn't help but notice, that seemed to be fluttering with the sudden closeness of his face.

"Okay?"

"Okay," she sighed, sounding distracted.

He did something then, giving into temptation the way he had just promised not to, the way she had literally begged him days ago to stop. He let his hand slide gently along the smooth curve of her face, stroking her cheekbone with his thumb, leaning in and closing his eyes. He felt her breath slide against his lips, ready and waiting, just as his hand slid to her waist.

He stepped away from her suddenly.

"Promise is a promise."

Javier walked away without looking back, incredibly proud of himself.

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A/N: Hahahah! Sorry I kept you guys waiting, and I just had to throw in that last doozy. I know a lot of you are concerned about whether or not I will finish this fic, and I promise you I always finish what I start. I update anywhere from once a day to once every two weeks (this fic seems to be going on a once a week cycle). But you will all have your answers! This is just some good fluff, and at last I have some direction (after writing this chapter, I know just where the story is going), so trust me, keep reading and above all, keep REVIEWING!