Chapter 15
15
JASMINE
I glanced out of the office window. The rain was still coming down thick and fast.
The weather wasn’t ideal because the activity I’d planned for today couldn’t be done in these conditions.
‘Hey.’ Nadine breezed into the office. ‘How you doing? We haven’t spoken since after you went to Dunn’s River Falls. What you guys been up to?’
‘We went to visit Bob’s favourite restaurant.’
‘Nice!’
‘And yesterday, we tried the rafting and limestone foot massage…’
My voice trailed off as I thought about how amazing Alejandro’s hands felt on my feet and my legs. I swear at one point, I was on the verge of having an orgasm.
Pretty sure that I’d read somewhere that there are nerve-endings in our feet that can set you off, so it wasn’t as crazy as it sounded.
I knew that I probably shouldn’t have agreed to let him massage my feet given how I felt about him, but I couldn’t resist. There was just something about Alejandro that got me going.
I loved his confidence. He hadn’t even hesitated for a second when I’d asked him if he was any good at foot massages. He had no concerns about asking the tour guide if he could take over. And of course the fact that he’d delivered was hot too. The tour guide’s massage was decent, but Alejandro’s hands were blessed.
He knew exactly where to touch and how much pressure to apply. I couldn’t help but wonder what else he could do with his hands…
‘Sounds like you’ve been having a good time!’
‘I have,’ I replied, thinking that although my growing attraction to Alejandro was hard to control, I was still enjoying myself.
‘What’s your plan for today?’
‘Well, I was supposed to go to check out a few other beaches to see if they’d be good for romantic picnic settings for couples who wanted to go outside of the hotel grounds, but the weather isn’t great. Looks like I’ll just have to stay in the office, which isn’t good because I need to keep finding activities to add to the itinerary.’
‘You should come to my class!’ Nadine said enthusiastically.
‘You have a class? What kind?’
‘A reggae dance class. It’s my little side-hustle, but I’m hoping it’ll grow. If you add it to your itinerary, I’ll give the hotel a discount!’
‘That sounds great! I’d love to hear more!’
I loved seeing women striking out on their own, so I’d really like to support Nadine if I could, but I needed to make sure it was suitable for our guests. I couldn’t just add it because I wanted to be nice.
‘The lesson’s around forty-five minutes and I teach students how to do different reggae moves. Jamaica is famous for our music and we love to dance, so it’s the perfect way to learn more about our culture.’
‘That’s true. When people think about Jamaica, they often think about reggae and Bob Marley.’
I smiled as two thoughts popped into my head. First, I remembered that whenever I went to events both as a child with my parents as well as later as an adult and we were the only black people there, when the other guests heard that my parents were born in Jamaica, they’d always use music as a way to connect with us.
‘Ooh! We love a bit of Bob Marley!’ they’d say and I’d always chuckle to myself because it happened on multiple occasions.
That led me to my second thought: when Alejandro asked what other reggae Bob liked. I’d guessed early on that Bob played Bob Marley on repeat because he also knew it appealed to tourists. Especially as Alejandro often hummed along to all the songs.
I loved that Alejandro expressed an interest in expanding his knowledge of reggae music and learning more about the Jamaican culture.
‘Exactly!’ Nadine nodded. ‘It’ll be fun and it’s a great way to bring couples together.’
‘I’d like to check it out. Can I come and watch?’
‘It’s no fun to just watch! You need to feel the music. And the best way to do that is to take part!’
‘But can I still take part and learn the dance moves if I’m on my own?’
‘You can…’
‘Okay. Count me in!’
There was no way I was inviting Alejandro, though. Jamaican dance moves could be very sexy. And although that could be a good thing for our guests, I was not going to start rubbing my arse against Alejandro. That’d just be asking for trouble.
I’d go along to the class, try and learn a few moves. If it was too much, I’d just watch, soak up the atmosphere, then interview some couples to get their thoughts on the classes and whether they’d recommend them.
That’d be a much more productive way to spend my afternoon than just doing research in the office. And it’d be helping Nadine out. Win-win .
‘Great! I’ll be going straight to the dance studio after I finish running a few errands, so I’ll ask Bob to take you. I’ll tell him to meet you by reception around three thirty. Does that work?’
‘Perfect! Do I need to bring anything?’
‘Wear comfortable clothes and bring a bottle of water, a towel, lots of energy and good party vibes!’ Nadine beamed.
‘Will do!’
* * *
A couple of hours after lunch, I shut down my computer, I headed back to my room to change into leggings and a vest top, picked up a towel and some water and headed to meet Bob.
I was actually excited about this class. I used to love dancing. I wasn’t the best in the world, but I could keep to the beat and it was a good way to exercise and stimulate those happy endorphins.
Yes . This was going to be great.
Well, that was what I thought until I stepped out of reception and saw Alejandro laughing and chatting with Bob.
At first, I told myself that it didn’t have to mean anything. Maybe Bob told Alejandro he was stopping by and he came to say hello.
But then I remembered that when Alejandro was working, he always wore his chef’s jacket. And right now, he was dressed in sports shorts and a vest, which of course showed his impressive arms.
‘Miss Jasmine!’ Bob called out enthusiastically when he spotted me.
‘Hi, Bob,’ I said cautiously. ‘Alejandro.’ I nodded in acknowledgment.
‘Yuh ready fi dance?’ Bob said.
‘As ready as I’ll ever be!’
‘The class sounds like it will be fun,’ Alejandro said. ‘I was glad when Nadine invited me.’
‘Wait. You’re coming?’ My eyes widened.
‘ Sí . Is that a problem?’
‘Problem?’ I repeated, stalling for time. I couldn’t exactly say yes, could I? What possible reason could I give for not wanting him to come without either offending him or admitting that I was worried about getting too close to him? None . ‘No!’ My voice went up several octaves. ‘Of course not! Like you said, it’ll be… fun! Yay!’
That was a lie. It would definitely not be fun.
I didn’t know what reggae moves we’d be learning, but something told me it wouldn’t be a dance where there would be much distance between our body parts.
Something told me there’d be booty shaking and so much bumping and grinding, it’d make Dirty Dancing look like a children’s film.
Shit .
Once we were in the car, Bob set off. Whilst he continued his chat with Alejandro about a bad storm they’d had in Jamaica before we’d arrived, my mind raced.
Maybe I’d overreacted. Not all Jamaican dances were X-rated. There was skanking which my dad did, where you kind of marched to the beat whilst sliding your feet from side to side and doing a little kick. We could be learning something like that.
And anyway, if I wasn’t comfortable with anything, I could just watch. Simple .
It didn’t take long to get to the studio. We waved Bob off and walked in to see Nadine stood at the front of the small room. It was pretty basic with white walls, light wooden flooring and a mirrored wall.
‘Hi!’ I said cheerily, then glanced at my watch. The class was due to start, but there was no one else here.
‘Hey,’ Nadine mumbled. She didn’t seem like her normal, bubbly self.
‘Everything okay?’ Alejandro asked, noticing that something was off.
‘Not really,’ she sighed.
‘What’s up?’ My face creased with concern.
‘Six people promised they’d turn up today and no one’s here.’
‘Well, it’s still early. I’m sure they’ll be here any minute. I meant to ask: do you have any photos from your lessons or a website that you use to promote the classes?’ I hoped my questions would distract her and help cheer her up.
‘I have some photos on social media!’ Nadine’s face brightened.
‘Could you show us?’
‘Sure!’ She reached for her phone.
Twenty minutes later, Nadine had talked us through all the photos and told us that she’d set up the class after encouragement from her friends. I’d stalled for as long as I could, but there was still no sign of anyone else.
‘I can’t believe no one’s showed up!’ Nadine sighed. ‘It’s so hard. I really want to make a go of these classes.’
‘How long have you been doing them?’ I said.
‘About two months.’
‘Things will pick up.’ I patted her shoulder gently to reassure her. I wished I could tell her that we’d add it to our itinerary, but I couldn’t without seeing for myself what it was like.
‘I hope so. But I have to pay to hire the studio, so when people don’t turn up, I lose money.’
‘We will pay for the lessons,’ Alejandro reached in his pocket and pulled out his wallet. ‘Tell me what we owe you.’
‘I can’t take your money. I invited you as guests.’ She looked at her watch. ‘We should get started.’
‘Are you sure you’re okay?’ I asked. I considered suggesting we do the class another time, but she already seemed deflated so cancelling it altogether was a hard no.
That also meant I couldn’t back out of taking part. It seemed like Nadine’s confidence was low, so I needed to throw myself into this and show lots of enthusiasm to make her feel better.
‘Once I feel the beat, I’ll be fine.’ She nodded.
‘Okay.’
She pressed play on her phone and reggae music boomed around the hall via two large speakers.
‘So!’ she shouted as she positioned herself at the front of the hall. ‘Are you ready to bump and whine?’
‘Er…’ I paused. Sounded like we wouldn’t be doing any innocent skanking today.
‘ Sí! ’ Alejandro said enthusiastically.
‘Nice. So there are lots of different popular dances in Jamaica: the Bogle, the Butterfly, the Dutty Whine. But first we need to start with the basics, so let’s do a little warm up.’
Nadine encouraged us to feel the beat and bob our heads in time to the music, before starting to sway from side to side.
‘When dancing to reggae music, it’s all about moving your hips or whining , as we call it. Roll your hips in a circle.’ Nadine demonstrated, then came over to me. ‘More!’ she insisted. ‘Nice, Alejandro. You’re a natural!’
I didn’t even want to look and see what he was doing with his hips.
‘Good. Now, Jasmine, I need you to stand in front of Alejandro, push your butt back into him and whine.’
My eyes bulged.
‘I’m sorry, what?’
‘Whine up against Alejandro. That’s how we dance in Jamaica. The woman stands in front of the man. Open your legs a bit, relax your body, put your hands on your hips and roll them in a circle and stick your butt out so it presses against Alejandro. Come on, don’t be shy!’
‘I… I’m not sure if that’s appropriate for us.’ My heart thudded against my chest and my throat went dry.
‘It’s just a dance! I thought you needed to try things out to know what your guests would experience if they took the class? You are going to recommend it, aren’t you? I really need your help.’
Nadine’s face fell with disappointment and my stomach twisted. I didn’t want to let her down. And she was right. It was only a dance. All I had to do was stick it out for one song.
She’d only booked the hall for an hour and we’d spent most of that killing time whilst we waited for the other attendees, so there wasn’t much of the lesson left.
If I did what she asked for a few more minutes, it’d put a smile on her face. It was a small price to pay to make Nadine happy.
‘Okay,’ I said.
The track switched and another heavy reggae beat boomed from the speaker.
I shuffled over to Alejandro, avoiding eye contact, then stood in front of him.
‘Closer!’ Nadine instructed. ‘Legs apart, hands on your thighs, move your hips and push your butt out,’ she repeated the instructions.
I took a deep breath and then did what she said, slowly pushing my arse into Alejandro.
The heat from his body hit me like a truck. Holding his hand was one thing, but the sensation of feeling my bum pressed up against him was off the charts.
Alejandro was winding his hips in time to the beat perfectly and knowing we were dancing in sync felt good. This wasn’t so bad. In fact, I was starting to enjoy it.
‘Nice!’ Nadine beamed. ‘Keep it going!’
I kept winding my hips and as the baseline vibrated around the room and through my veins, I got into it more and started pushing my bum into Alejandro with more enthusiasm. He gripped my hips and grinded harder.
Fuck.
Goosebumps erupted across my skin and I felt tingles between my legs.
I tipped my head back a little, resting it on his firm chest as adrenaline pumped through my veins.
This was so hot.
Earlier, I’d been reluctant to dance with Alejandro, but now I was, I didn’t want it to end.
I rubbed myself up against him and this time, when I did, I felt something hard press against me.
I say ‘something’, but you didn’t have to be a genius to know what it was. Even though it’d been years since I’d slept with a man, I knew an erection when I felt one. And the more I moved, the harder Alejandro got.
Right now, I should pull away. I should be horrified to know that I was dancing with a colleague who had an erection, but I liked it.
I wanted more.
I wanted to feel more of him.
I wanted Alejandro to move his hands from my waist and put them between my legs.
I wanted him to bend me over and bury what felt like a very large dick inside me.
I wanted him to…
‘You guys were excellent!’ Nadine shouted as she turned off the music. ‘You must’ve danced to reggae music before. Or maybe I’m just an excellent teacher!’ She laughed.
Coming back to my senses, I quickly pulled away from Alejandro and stepped forward, putting several feet of distance between us.
‘You’re…’ I could feel myself panting. I was out of breath. Partly from the dancing, but mainly because thinking about what I wanted Alejandro to do to me had got me all worked up. ‘You’re a great teacher, thank you.’
‘Thanks!’ Nadine beamed. ‘What about you, Alejandro? Did you enjoy it?’
‘Very much.’ I felt his eyes boring into me.
‘Yay! Well, that’s the class done. Sorry it was so short, but I appreciate you coming along to support me. I hope you’ll come again next week if you can? In the meantime, remember to practise! I’ve gotta run!’ She grabbed her stuff. ‘There’s another class next door, so the owner will lock up. Likkle more !’
She raced out of the room, leaving me and Alejandro alone.
My first instinct was to run out of the studio with her. I needed some air. To clear my head and remove all of the illicit feelings and thoughts that were still racing through it.
But Alejandro clearly had other ideas. He stood in front of me.
‘You did not tell Nadine whether you enjoyed it,’ he said.
‘Didn’t I?’ My eyes flicked to the floor. ‘It was… nice.’
‘There’s that word again. Nice . Nice is boring. That dance was more than nice .’
‘I suppose it was,’ I said more decisively.
‘Like I said, I enjoyed it a lot, as I am sure you could feel. I am sorry if it made you uncomfortable, but I would be lying if I said that it was not a true reflection of how I was feeling.’
Whoa .
I wasn’t expecting him to say that .
If most guys got an inconvenient boner, they wouldn’t mention it at all. They’d make excuses or a quick exit because they’d be embarrassed. But Alejandro was totally owning it.
‘It’s fine.’ I waved my hand dismissively. ‘These things happen.’
‘They do not,’ Alejandro lifted my chin. ‘If anyone else rubbed their butt against my cock, it would not. But when it is your butt, everything is different. I did not intend to get hard. I have been trying to ignore my feelings, but the truth is, having you pressed against me felt fucking amazing.’
My eyebrows flew up into my hairline.
‘Did you just…?’ I couldn’t believe that not only had Alejandro just admitted getting hard whilst I was dancing against him, he’d also just basically confessed that he liked me. ‘I don’t think you realise what you just said.’ I shook my head, my eyes still wide.
‘I know exactly what I said.’ He lifted my chin. ‘One thing you will discover about me is that I am honest. I believe in speaking my mind and saying how I feel. My eldest sister, Lola, always taught me to do that. If telling you the truth makes you uncomfortable and you prefer not to be alone with me again, I will understand. My only intention when I came here was to give you my opinion on whether you should add this class to the itinerary.’
‘And?’ I asked, although I was pretty sure I already knew the answer.
‘And I say definitely . Because if a couple having their bodies pressed together whilst they gyrate and dance to reggae music does not help to bring them closer, I do not know what will, because it worked for me.’
And with that, Alejandro turned and walked out of the studio, whilst my entire body burned with desire.