Hi there! I just wanted to take a quick moment to thank everyone for their kind messages (reviews?) on my last post. I read each review that comes through, even the ones that require a translator, and it warms my heart each time someone says something positive about my story, but last week you were all so understanding of my situation and so kind, I truly don't deserve such wonderful readers. I appreciate more than you could possibly know, and so I just wanted to say a quick thank you for all of your support and interest in my little story. To be honest, I wasn't sure that it would do well but you've all blown me away with your continued interest, even when we all know some things could be done better. So, without further ado, this week's chapter!
"Hey, I heard you were a wild one," Kagome smiles up at me, her cheeks flushing at the song she had chosen for her class.
"Sure you wanna do this?" Her quiet voice floats up to my ears and, with the smallest of smirks, I take her into my arms, startling a laugh out of her.
"If I took you home, it'd be a home run." Pressing her close, she wraps her leg around my knee as I dip her, sweeping her across the floor before pulling her even closer than previously. Her cheeks stain red instantly. "Show me how you do. I wanna shut down the club with you." I spin her out and quickly back in, grazing the back of my hand across her cheek. Her breath hitches momentarily before she releases a shaky sigh. "Hey, I heard you like the wild ones, ooh!" I smile before replicating some of the tango moves we had practiced just the week before, gliding her across the floor as the song picks up tempo. Unlike in practice, when she is so focused on choreography and perfecting each minute detail, I am able to witness another side of her that I had not been privy to before. It is undoubtable that she loves dancing, but as she allows me to lead, truly lead, with her none the wiser of what move will come next, just feeling the music, reading my own body movements, she is having more fun than I had seen her have in all my years of knowing her, not that I had been particularly perceptive of her in school.
I watch in slight amazement as she drops, sensing my next move seconds before I throw her into the air, catching her just before she touches the ground, and throwing her around my back in a very swinger move. Her smile doesn't leave her face the entire time. There was no hesitation, no doubt, she trusts that I will catch her and be ready when she reaches the ground again, even without her instructing me to do so. Our every step is in perfect synch with the other, each hand movement paralleled, as though our very thoughts were synchronised with each other's. For a moment, I find myself wondering where her body begins and mine ends as our limbs entangle themselves in a series of more complicated steps. Never before had I felt such a sense of completeness, as though a part of myself had finally been returned to its rightful place within me, something I had not been aware was missing until I looked into her eyes that very first night.
"I am a wild one, break me in." I wait, hand outstretched as she takes slow steps towards me. "Saddle me up and let's begin." Her hand rests gently in mine, letting me slowly spin her into me until her back rests against my chest, our arms around her middle. She glances over her shoulder and I find myself unwilling to look away from her gaze. "I am a wild one tame me now, running with wolves, I'm on the prowl." At the last second, I spin her out and pull her back in quickly, forcing her hands to rest on my chest just as the song ends. I stop myself just short of resting my hand on her cheek, remembering we are not alone as the other students suddenly erupt with applause. Kagome shakes her head slightly before smiling at them and stepping away from me.
"Keep dancing like that and the student will become the teacher," she praises, softly. I nod my head, ignoring the others in the room.
"One can only be as good as their teacher." She blushes at my response before the next song comes on, a heavier rock song in a waltz timing. "Ready for round two?" She smiles again, excitement coming off of her in waves as she takes my hand once more. Every step is a bit looser, less controlled without losing any of her elegance, as she is freed from the need to remember what step goes when or having to keep count of the beats to time her movements. I find that I rather enjoy her letting me take the reins from her in this area. Her choreography is certainly interesting, pleasing to the eye, but it is hard to feel as though I am fulfilling my job of leading when she is the one calling the shots at every turn. This feels… right. The rest of the class goes by in a blur and, when it ends, I find myself unwilling to leave.
"Oh, hey, what time are you guys planning on going to the park on Friday?" She asks, packing up her things after the last of her patrons leave.
"What time are you finished with work?" She chuckles, shaking her head.
"Uh uh, I have a full day scheduled, I'll meet you two there." I pick up her bag for her, ignoring the roll of her eyes as she leads the way out of the studio. "One of the buses down the street can take me to the shuttle." A groan manages to force its way from my lips before I am able to stop it. "Sesshomaru, I'm a big girl, the buses don't scare me," she reminds me, the teasing tone in her voice not unnoticed.
"They are unsafe." She shrugs, glancing at the stop down the road.
"Well, yeah, only a little. I've been taking them for years and I'm fine." When she turns around, I am already putting her bag in the backseat of my car. "Hey! I just said the bus was fine!"
"You already take it too much, I will take you home." She opens her mouth, ready to argue, as I open her door. "Rin is fine, Jaken has assured me she is already in bed." Seeing no other way to argue her way out of it, she slides into the passenger seat with only a slight humph in response. "I will be taking you home Friday evening as well," I promise as I buckle my own seat belt. Before she can attempt to change my mind, I raise my hand and put the car into reverse. "You insist on taking public transportation there, they do not run all night, the ones in your vicinity anyway. You will not be walking late at night." Sensing no room for argument, she nods her head quietly. I am almost concerned I have overstepped our boundaries until I see the smallest of smiles on her lips from the corner of my eye.
"If you're sure." I nod my head in response. The rest of the ride is spent in comfortable silence until I pull up in front of her complex. She waits for me to open her door, as she has long since become accustomed to the action, and lets me carry her bag to her front door without fuss. She can be taught it would seem, I almost smirk at the thought. "Thank you for the ride, Sesshomaru."
"It was my pleasure," I assure her, hesitantly passing her bag back to her. She smiles up at me before wordlessly wrapping her arms around my neck, resting her head on my chest. I pull her a bit closer, breathing in the scent of her shampoo, a smile tugging at the corner of my lips. "Be sure to lock your door." She chuckles, pulling away, and nods her head.
"Yes sir," she teases, opening the door. "See you tomorrow, Sesshy." I groan internally at the nickname, but something in my face must have given me away because she laughs almost immediately after.
"Until then." I wait on her doorstep until I hear the click of her lock before walking back to my car.