The sight in front of me made me exhale and laugh, resting my forehead against the door frame— fucking kids. Well, not kids. Teenagers would be a more accurate word. Two boys and two girls, shifting nervously on their feet, eyes darting from me to Sky.

"Who are you?" I asked, fixing my gaze on the guy who looked slightly older than the rest, probably the leader of the gang of little creeps.

"I'm Gaspar. He's Raphael," he pointed at a tall, lanky guy with his hair in dreadlocks, "and the girls are Fleur and Clara."

I studied the group for a silence-filled moment. Fleur was tiny and blond. Her friend, Clara, the opposite- dark-haired and as tall as Raphael. They all looked different, and I still didn't get what they were doing in the dance school and how they got inside.

"Okay, so we need to know what you are doing here, and how many times you came here to watch us. This whole thing is creepy. You're lucky we didn't get the police involved," I said.

"No, man, no police is needed. We're minors so that you know," said Raphael.

"That explains it." I rolled my eyes.

Sky giggled softly and drew an arm around my waist. "I'm Sky," she said to the kids, "and he's Liam. So, can you answer Liam's questions?"

Gaspar exchanged a glance with the other boy and said, "We've been dancing here since we were six, all of us. We're sixteen now. And well, we saw the two of you dance once, through the window from the street. So, we sneaked inside and have been watching you for some time. Okay, for quite a long time."

"How did you get inside?" I asked.

This time, Raphael was the one to answer, "Well, we might have taken Brigitte's key and made a copy. She's so absent-minded she wouldn't notice."

"I've searched everywhere, and I didn't see you. How so?"

One of the girls, Clara, smiled and replied, "We've been hiding in the closet in the storage room. Brigitte keeps costumes and stuff in it, but it's huge. You never opened it cause it's built-in, and it doesn't even look like a closet."

I groaned. "You scared the crap out of us! Couldn't you just approach us? If you wanted to watch, you could've asked us, not that there's anything special to watch."

The tiny girl, Fleur, snorted. "Nothing special? It's like watching Dancing With The Stars, except you choose better music and you have all that chemistry. Are you a couple?"

"Thank you," I heard Sky say. "And yeah, we're together."

I pecked Sky's cheek and refocused on the group. "So, why have you been doing it? Just to watch?"

Gaspar bit his bottom lip and swept his gaze over his friends. "No. We...I don't know how to say it...Well, we wanted to ask you for something; we just didn't know how to do it."

I felt sorry for the guy who looked anxious. "Ask away."

Gaspar nodded. "Right. This school has been here for a long time, but after Anna, the previous owner, died, it all went to shit. We lost our teacher because she left, and the one who is teaching us now is as clueless as Brigitte. Don't get me wrong, Brigitte is cool. The problem is, she doesn't care. She doesn't know how things work. When her sister was alive, there were lots of people here. The level was high, and we learned a lot. Now we just come here once a week to hang out, but we aren't learning anything."

Clara looked at Gaspar, nodding. Then, she said, "And we overheard Brigitte the other day. She's thinking about selling the building. It's her right, but if she does it, we will lose the place where we all met and spent lots of time together since we were little. We're all from different schools. In less than two years, we will graduate and go to college. We don't want this school to disappear while we're still here."

"What does it have to do with Sky and me?"

Caspar took over again. "There's a showcase in summer, a competition between dance schools. They organize it every year and even broadcast it on one of the local channels. We were thinking about participating. Maybe if we do it well, people will want to dance here, and Brigitte won't close the school. If she has money and hires teachers, perhaps she will change her mind. So yeah, we want to participate, but we need someone to help us. Your level is incredible, man, so we wanted to ask the two of you."

I sighed. "You realize we're not teachers, don't you? We have our stuff and a job—"

Fleur and Clara turned to look at Sky. "Can you think about it? Please? It won't take you lots of time. We just need someone to teach us, someone who knows what they are doing and dances to modern songs as well."

Sky opened her mouth, but I was faster. "Can you give us a moment to talk in private? When I say in private, I mean alone without you listening in."

Gaspar shrugged. "Okay. We'll be at the reception."

They left, and I leaned against the wall and faced Sky. I saw just what I feared — the excitement in her baby blues that shone brighter than ever. She was chewing on her bottom lip and looking at me with pleading eyes.

"Fuck, baby." I groaned.

Sky pouted. "Please? They are cute  and sixteen."

"Sweetheart, we hardly have time for that."

"We did find some time to dance."

"It's different. A televised showcase is no joke. We have to train them so that they wouldn't look ridiculous. It's not the same as dancing together because we enjoy it."

"Maybe they are good, and we wouldn't even have to teach them so much."

"Both of us have too much on our plate already."

"What do I have to do to convince you?" asked Sky, hugging me and kissing my neck. "I can be a bad girl for you, just say yes."

I chuckled. "You did not use that card. It's cheating."

"Please, baby. Let's at least watch them dance. If they have no idea about it, we can always be honest with them and say it wouldn't work."

Sighing, I kissed Sky's lips. "Okay, just promise me you won't get all excited ahead of time."

Sky patted my chest and darted out of the hall to look for the kids. I didn't want to be a grumpy ass. Training someone was, indeed, exciting. What I warred with was the idea of getting even more involved in the world of dancing after staying out of it for more than five years.

Sky was back with the four dancers in a couple of minutes. I had to admit it; their enthusiasm was contagious. I knew that feeling all too well.

"Okay," I said. "I believe you're each other's dance partners, right?"

Gaspar nodded. "Yeah. I dance with Clara, and Fleur with Raphael."

"Okay. I'm gonna play a random song, and I want you to show us what you can do. Then, you can choose one dance you already know how to perform. Okay?"

"Okay," the girls said.

I chose a slow song because I was curious to see how the dance partners' arrangement worked for the four of them.

The melody began to play. I pressed Sky to my side, and we stood in the far corner of the room to watch the dance and comment on it without being heard.

The problem became apparent almost straight away. "Doesn't it feel off?" I asked Sky.

"Yeah, but I don't get why."

I smiled and kissed her cheek. "I do."
Then, I paused the song, making everyone stop and stare at me.

"You aren't bad," I said. "But we're gonna try something different. Clara will dance with Raphael, and Gaspar with Fleur."

Sky giggled softly next to me. Clara and Raphael were a much better fit, and not only because of the similar height. It was clear they liked each other, judging by the furtive glances they exchanged.

I was right. This time, the dance was much better. People often underestimated the importance of having chemistry with your dance partner, but it was crucial for seamless performance, even if you had to fake it and play a role as actors did.

"What do you think?" asked Gaspar.

"I think the new arrangement works better. We can work with that."

"Does that mean that you...oh, damn. For real? Do you agree to help us?"

Sky smiled. "Yeah. Now, show us something else."

The second dance was more than decent. I saw potential, maybe even an opportunity to win. The dancers were young and eager to learn. It was a recipe for success.

"We'll see you tomorrow," I addressed the group but looked at Gaspar. "Please, use the front door. Otherwise, we might change our minds."

The kids laughed and said their goodbyes and thanks before leaving the studio.

Sky squealed and launched herself at me. "Thank you for doing it. You have no idea how much it means to me. I'm so excited. Imagine seeing them dance on TV and knowing that we were the ones to help them get there. They looked so hopeful."

"It's okay, sweetheart," I said, kissing her. "Now, let's go home. It's our night without Tim. We can have some wine, and—"

Sky bit her lip. "Make love a little?"

"Maybe. If you promise to be my bad girl."

Sky laughed, putting on her coat. "Count on it."

***

The events of the day took their toll on both of us. Luckily, Dar only needed me to reply to some emails and check the report we were going to send to the customer first thing in the morning. I worked while Sky took a long shower. When she was done, I closed my laptop and got ready in the bathroom as well.

When I was back in the bedroom, I smiled at the lit candles, and the bottle of wine Sky brought.

I got under the comforter and leaned against the headboard, pressing my girl to my side and giving her a glass of wine.

"I love these evenings with you," I told her.

Sky kissed my jaw. "Me too. I always felt a bit jealous when Ellie told me how she and Aiden loved having dinner and a glass of wine together. It feels normal. Domestic, you know? Something you can do with the person you trust."

"Yeah," I whispered, kissing the top of Sky's head. "You're the first girl I'm doing it with as well. It feels good. Now when I head here after work, I really feel I'm going home. I know you're waiting for me, and it makes everything so much better. And speaking of relationships, how do you want to break the news to our friends?"

Sky stilled for a moment. "About that...what if we wait for now?"

I laughed. "What? Why?"

"They've been through too much. Ellie will be back in a couple of days, and she says Aiden isn't himself. I don't want to be selfish and show off my happiness when our friends have problems."

I groaned. "Fuck, baby; they will be happy for us. They've been playing matchmakers from the start."

Sky put her head in the crook of my neck and kissed the skin there. "I know they will be, but please let me do it this way. I'm Ellie's maid of honor. I want to focus on her and her wedding. After that, it will be my time."

I loathed the absurd idea, but knowing how stubborn Sky was, I was sure she would insist on it. "It's lying, Sky. We are together and I love you. What's the problem if everyone knows? Do you really want us to sneak around until their wedding in fucking July?"

"Please..."

I cupped Sky's cheeks with my hands. "Are you sure you wanna be with me?"

"I've wanted it for so long, Liam. Now that we are together, it feels too good to be true. I just want to give us time, to enjoy being together and see where it goes. I don't want to go through another heartbreak."

"I'm not gonna break your heart, sweetheart," I whispered, sighing. "And I'm agreeing to this absurdity only because I love you. But if Aiden asks me about it directly, I'm gonna tell him the truth."

Sky smiled. "It seems fair, but I'm sure he's too busy with his current drama to pay attention to ours. Let's give ourselves some time. Then, we will tell whoever you want."

I made Sky straddle my legs and lifted her nightie, cupping her lace-covered bum and pulling her to me so that our bodies touched everywhere. "You're mine, baby. I might keep quiet, but they have to be blind not to see how I feel about you."

Sky didn't say anything. She kissed me. Her tongue played with mine and she devoured my lips with such passion I struggled not to bare her to me and make love to her right then.

However, we had all night for that, and I decided to take it slow, especially because in a while, Sky said, "I made a decision, though. It's time I told my parents I moved to Paris."