Chapter 37: Too Close To Dance

Roxanne walked into the cafeteria with Isla, hoping everyone had already forgotten about yesterday’s Founders’ Festival dance pairing. They hadn’t. Liam spotted her first, glancing between her and Kai with far too much delight for so early in the morning.

"Good morning, dance partners."

"Don’t."

"I haven’t even said anything."

"Your face said enough."

Roshan slid her favorite snack across the table without a word, and when she asked how he kept noticing everything, he only shrugged. Kai sat beside Liam, eating calmly like none of this concerned him in the slightest, and Isla leaned toward her with a smirk.

"So. Your first rehearsal with Kai."

"It’s a dance, Isla."

Liam cut in immediately, insisting that was exactly what all couples said right before falling in love. Roxanne nearly choked on her drink, insisting they weren’t a couple, and Kai finally looked up from his plate.

"He’s annoying."

"You’re supposed to defend me. I’m your brother."

"I’m also her dance partner."

Something about that answer sent an unwelcome flutter through her stomach, which she ignored completely as the bell rang and Liam called after them not to step on each other’s feet. She called back that she was only worried about stepping on his, and Kai glanced at her sideways.

"Try it."

That earned a genuine laugh from her all the way down the hallway.

At the dance hall, Isla suddenly remembered another club meeting and left before Roxanne could argue, abandoning her with Kai standing near the mirrors in plain training clothes, looking far more comfortable in this setting than she expected.

"You can dance?"

"Apparently."

"That’s irritating."

"Why?"

"Because you’re already good at everything else."

That earned a small, real laugh out of him, and the instructor arrived shortly after to explain that the Founders’ Festival routine would be a graceful partner performance, nothing overtly romantic, though the final section did involve a close turn with a handhold and waist placement. Roxanne immediately regretted ever signing up for this club.

The instructor demonstrated the steps first, and Roxanne followed along reasonably well until she had to actually dance with Kai. He took her hand, and she froze for half a second before recovering, and he asked simply if she was ready. She said yes and tried to remember every part of the sequence at once, left, turn, step, hand, and inevitably missed something. Kai caught her before she stumbled.

"You’re thinking too much."

"I’m trying not to embarrass myself."

"You’re not."

"Easy for you to say."

The instructor called for another attempt, and this time Kai’s hand settled lightly at her waist, and suddenly she was aware of everything, his hand, his chest, his scent, the fact that he was standing far closer than any training session had ever required. She missed another step, and he stopped completely.

"Roxanne."

"What?"

"Look at me."

She did, finding his expression calm and steady. "Stop trying to anticipate what I’m going to do."

"Then what am I supposed to do?"

"Trust me."

The words hit somewhere deeper than she expected, since trust wasn’t something she handed out easily anymore, not after Dorian, not after Arabella, not after everything that had followed. But Kai wasn’t asking her to trust him with anything as heavy as her heart. Just a dance. She nodded and told him to go again.

This time, she stopped fighting every movement and let him guide her instead. Step, turn, his hand shifting slightly against her waist as she followed without resistance, and when he spun her, her body moved with his naturally, easily, in a way that finally felt effortless. She almost smiled, right up until he pulled her into the final turn and her balance slipped.

He caught her, one arm wrapping around her waist, her hand landing flat against his chest, their faces close enough that the rest of the room seemed to fall away entirely. She looked up. He was already looking down at her. Neither of them moved, and for once his usual intensity didn’t feel like something to brace against. It felt strangely calming instead.

She realized, uncomfortably, that she felt safe in his arms.

The instructor’s voice cut through before she could think about that any further, calling out that they’d found the right position and should hold it. Roxanne stepped back fast, her cheeks burning, while Kai simply reset his posture without teasing her at all. The faint curve at the corner of his mouth told her he’d noticed everything anyway.

During the break, she went for water and found Joanna nearby with another student, her eyes flicking toward Kai before landing back on Roxanne.

"That didn’t take long."

"What didn’t?"

"You getting comfortable with another Moonstone."

Roxanne refused to give her the satisfaction of a reaction. "We’re rehearsing."

"Of course." Joanna’s gaze slid back toward Kai. "Just remember that being chosen for a dance doesn’t mean you’re one of them."

Before Roxanne could respond, Kai was already walking over, having clearly heard enough. "She doesn’t need to be one of us."

"I wasn’t talking to you."

"You were talking about her."

The silence that followed said everything, Kai standing beside her without raising his voice or issuing any kind of threat, simply present until Joanna finally walked away.

"You didn’t have to do that," Roxanne said.

"I know."

"Then why did you?"

He looked at her for a moment before answering. "Because I wanted to."

That answer stayed with her far longer than she expected as they returned to position for the rest of rehearsal.

Later, leaving the dance hall, Dorian happened to be passing by and saw Kai carrying Roxanne’s dance shoes because she’d complained her feet were hurting, saw her laughing at something he’d said, an entirely ordinary moment between them. That was what bothered him most, the complete absence of performance in it, the way she looked genuinely comfortable and happy without any effort at all. He remembered how she used to laugh like that around him, and then he noticed something else entirely.

She didn’t look at him once.

Arabella arrived beside him and noticed exactly where his attention had gone. "You’re staring."

"I’m not."

She watched Roxanne disappear around the corner without another word, though her expression darkened considerably, and Dorian’s jealousy had become something he could no longer pretend didn’t exist.

Back in the dorm that evening, Isla was already waiting, grinning the second Roxanne walked in. "How was rehearsal?"

"Fine."

"That’s not a fine face."

Roxanne threw a pillow at her, and Isla caught it easily, asking if he’d stepped on her feet. She said no. Asked if she’d stepped on his. Also no. Then Isla asked if he’d caught her, and Roxanne hesitated just long enough for Isla’s eyes to widen.

"He caught you."

"I almost fell."

"And?"

"And he caught me."

Isla smiled like she already knew exactly where this was headed. "That’s how it starts."

"Nothing is starting."

Roxanne changed and tried to let the conversation drop, but once she was lying in bed, her mind refused to cooperate, replaying Kai’s hand at her waist, his voice telling her to trust him, and the strange, unfamiliar comfort of not wanting to pull away.

She’d spent weeks convincing herself the four Moonstones were simply people who’d entered her life at the right moment. Friends. Teammates. Annoying classmates, nothing more complicated than that.

But tonight, thinking ahead to tomorrow’s rehearsal, she caught herself smiling into the dark, and that realization alone was enough to make her deeply uncomfortable.

She’d spent weeks trying to convince herself Kai was just another Moonstone.

She was starting to suspect she’d been lying to herself the whole time.