15. Chapter 15
Jake
I was starting to realize I might’ve oversold my own ability to pull off this social media stunt without looking like a complete fool.
“Why are we line dancing?” Nate asked, deadpan, his arms folded. This man was my Everest, but I was determined to get him involved.
“Because,” I said, clapping once as I turned to face them all, forcing a confidence I didn’t entirely feel, “this is social media gold. We’ve got a brand-new facility for Connor’s Legacy Line program, we’ve got both teams in one place, and we need something that people are going to stop scrolling for. ”
Connor had set up a foundation as a professional pathway into rugby, just for girls, at the end of last season. We were all so fucking proud of him, so getting clickbait to help him was the least I could do.
Nate’s eyes narrowed. “And line dancing rugby players is the answer?”
“Yes!” Evie was already grinning, bouncing slightly on the balls of her feet. “Oh, I’m so in. What’s the song?”
“Please don’t say country,” Bobby muttered from somewhere behind her.
Micah laughed. “I love country music.”
“It’s country,” I said without remorse.
“Absolutely not,” Teddy cut in at the edge of the group. Her arms were folded tight across her chest too, her expression set in a scowl so sharp it could’ve sliced straight through glass. “I refuse to participate in whatever this is.”
“You’re participating,” I said. “For your boyfriend if nothing else.”
“I’m not.”
“You are. Captain’s orders,” I added, gesturing to her other half next to her.
Her eyebrow lifted. “I am the captain.”
Connor slid behind her, placing his hands around her waist, head resting on her shoulder. “So am I, sunshine, and I’d actually pay to see you line dance.”
“You couldn’t afford it,” she shot back, not even sparing him a full glance.
Seren stood off to the side near the glass window, her mouth curved like she was trying not to laugh.
The sight of her smiling sent me right back to the other day on the bus with Cai.
I stored up so many smiles from that day, and I was greedy for more, but Evie stepped in front of me, blocking my view.
“Where do you want the camera?”
“Dead center,” I said, pointing to the middle of the foyer where the sign hung proudly. “We want the Legacy Line logo in the background.”
She nodded, already moving to set it up, calling something over her shoulder to Nate. I turned back to the group, trying to gather what little authority I had left with them. “Positions. Let’s see how it looks and who’s in frame.”
There was a shuffle of movement, grumbling, laughter, and a few half-hearted protests that didn’t go anywhere as people fell into place. The Valkyries slid into one line, the Knights into the other, the mix of jerseys and training gear exactly what I’d been hoping for. It looked good.
Micah and Evie darted over and grabbed Teddy’s wrists. “Come on, it’ll be fun.”
“It won’t,” Teddy said, not even attempting to act enthused, but she let herself be dragged anyway, her sneakers scraping against the floor.
Seren placed her hand on one hip, something cute and amused marring her expression that made my chest feel like it was doing something it had no business doing in the middle of a work thing.
I was eager for more time with her, but training, and now this, had meant I hadn’t seen much of her since I’d walked them back to her apartment after the bus date.
Our schedules, annoyingly, were just not syncing up.
“This isn’t my time to shine. I’d bet Evie is amazing at this, though.” Seren laughed.
“I do love dancing.” Evie wiggled her shoulders, showing her shirt that read ‘self-aware, but delusional for fun.’
“Right.” I clapped to get everyone’s attention again. “Watch me first.”
“Oh, this’ll be good,” Bobby muttered.
I ignored him, turning so they could see my feet. “Right, left, step, kick—turn—back, back, step, tap. That’s it. That’s literally it.”
There was a beat of silence.
“You’ve lost your mind,” Nate said.
“It’s a handful of moves,” I shot back. “You can remember that.”
“Is it too late to back out?”
“Confidence,” Evie chirped, hyping everyone up. “We thrive on it, gang.”
“Thank you,” I said, pointing at her like she was my only ally in this mess. “Everyone ready?”
A chorus of reluctant agreement came back at me.
“I’m not ready,” Teddy muttered.
“Camera’s up,” Connor called. “Get that arse shaking.”
“You wanna watch my ass, Cap?” Nate joked, lifting his shirt and turning to Connor to show him the goods.
“Dude, get the fuck outta here with that booty. I lift all of your arses too much on the pitch as it is.”
Laughing, I rolled my shoulders, stepping into place at the front. It wasn’t a match, it wasn’t training, but it was still a kind of pressure, a kind of performance, and my body knew what to do with that.
“Alright,” I said, checking the camera view, then looking back at them. “We go on the beat. Don’t overthink it. Just follow me.”
“Following you is what got us here,” Bobby said with a groan.
“Do we think we’re gonna pull this off?” Micah asked.
Evie answered her with a resounding “hell yes!” and went over the steps again as I exhaled slowly, grounding myself in the rhythm already building in the background.
“Five, six, seven, eight.”
The music hit, filling the foyer, and I stepped into it, counting under my breath as my feet found the pattern without hesitation.
Right, left, step, kick—turn.
There was a collision somewhere to my left, a muttered curse that definitely came from Nate, and a burst of laughter that could only have been Evie, already half a step ahead of everyone else and enjoying it far too much.
“For fuck’s sake—” Nate snapped.
“Come on, you could do better than that. Remember my Miley Cyrus era? You helped me—”
“Seren, please, I beg you,” Nate pleaded, and everyone laughed louder than the music.
“Keep up,” I called out, not turning, because if I started watching them now, I’d lose the thread. “Go again.”
When I eventually glanced across the way, Seren was hitting every step with a huge smile on her face. God, she was pretty. It was hard to look away.
The timing started to align, feet landing closer together instead of against each other, the movement smoothing out as people stopped overthinking and just let themselves fall into the rhythm.
“And turn—” Pivoting, I looked at everyone laughing behind me, and it lit something up inside me too.
A laugh broke free to my left, and I knew that sound. My body did too, apparently, because every part of me seemed to know that Seren had moved closer. The hairs on my arms stood upright as the scent of her shampoo, sweet and delicious, drifted over me.
My fingers could’ve brushed against hers, and I wanted them too so badly, just to feel her there.
Then, right at the end of the song, she bumped hips with me playfully and so freaking cute, she had no idea that I’d be thinking about that forever.
I found myself wishing the song had another chorus, an encore, anything to prolong being near her again.
The final notes of the music faded, and our recording stopped. I rushed to save the video and set it up again.
“Again!” Evie called out.
“Absolutely not,” Teddy said immediately, even as she stepped back into position.
Connor’s voice followed from behind the camera. “We need a clean take.”
“People love chaos,” Micah said, pulling at her ponytail.
Teddy exhaled slowly beside her. “I cannot believe this is my life.”
“You’re doing great, Captain.” Connor winked at her.
“I hate you,” she called back without missing a beat.
“You love me,” Connor replied with confidence.
“You two are funny,” Seren said, laughing.
“This is nothing. You should’ve seen them last season. Connor would mope around the stadium with puppy dog eyes after her, and she was so mean.” Bobby snorted.
Connor scoffed. “That’s not how it went.”
Everyone responded in unison. “That’s exactly how it went.”
“You’re all on burpees for the rest of the season,” he threatened, but Teddy just kissed his cheek, and that same dopey expression came over him.
“Get a room,” Evie added, though she was smiling as she said it.
I shook my head, dragging my attention back to the phone in my hand, checking the video to make sure we actually had something usable before we embarrassed ourselves further for nothing.
The footage played back with a kind of messy charm that probably worked better than anything polished would’ve, bodies slightly out of sync, laughter bleeding through the music.
“You’re surprisingly bossy when you’re not on the pitch,” Seren said, creeping up beside me, her tone light, but there was something underneath it that didn’t feel like a throwaway comment.
I huffed, slipping my phone into the stand for one more round. “That a complaint?”
One shoulder lifted as she nibbled her bottom lip. “No.”
“Good,” I replied, my attention staying exactly where it was… on her. “Wanna stand next to me for this take?”
“So you can watch my ass instead of Nate’s?
” she mused. I felt Nate’s attention again before I saw it, that familiar pressure sitting between my shoulder blades.
When I looked over, he wasn’t glaring like I’d expected, wasn’t gearing up to shut this down—he was watching me, checking for something beyond the usual bullshit.
Nodding once, he gave me his version of something over a scowl.
“Abso-fucking-lutely.”
Her giggle was light and free as she moved, stepping in beside me without hesitation, her shoulder brushing mine like it was nothing and somehow not nothing at all.
I counted us in again, the beat kicking up under our feet, and this time when we stepped, we stepped together—right, left, step, kick—our timing lining up.
When we turned, she was right there, facing me, her grin breaking loose, and I didn’t even try to pretend I wasn’t watching her now, wasn’t adjusting half a step just to stay in sync with her instead of the rest of them.
Behind us, it was still chaos—shoes knocking, someone swearing.
On the next turn, my hand caught hers without thinking, and she didn’t pull away. Her fingers curled into mine naturally, and I spun her into my chest, making up the routine just to keep her close.
“That’s definitely not part of the dance.” She laughed.
“Neither is whatever Nate’s doing back there.”
We both glanced over. He was facing the wrong direction while Connor attempted to steer him back into the back line. “Left,” Connor barked.
“I am going left.”
Seren hid her face into my shoulder, shaking with more laughter.
The music carried us, our bodies pressed together, my hand around her waist and the other clasped with hers. Her hair caught the drifting sunlight, and when I spun her out and back again, she was smiling so hard her cheeks were pink.
The rest of the world was existing around us, but it felt good in this little space we’d carved out together.
“Does anyone know what they’re doing anymore?” she asked, breathless.
I scoffed. “I’m actually the most skilled dancer here.”
“No doubt.” She smiled, looking up at me, biting her lip.
“Seren, please, don’t doubt my natural talent.”
A smirk tugged at her mouth. “I would never.”
Charged energy swirled around us, the same that I felt the other night after I walked her and Cai home. I wanted to kiss her then, but I didn’t want her to feel like I’d taken her out just to do that. I wanted to kiss her now too, but I wasn’t going to betray the friendship I’d promised her.
Rising onto her tiptoes, she brought her mouth to my ear and wrapped her hand around the back of my neck. “Don’t tell anyone,” she whispered, as warmth spread through my entire body, “but you’re the only one I wanna dance with.”
Maybe it shouldn’t have meant so much to me. Maybe it was just dancing. But no one had ever really chosen me before. I swallowed hard, slowing my movements as I looked down into her sparkling eyes.
“Good,” I said quietly. “Because I wasn’t planning on sharing.”