Once again, she was walking on a cloud. A very hot, very steamy cloud.

She wasn’t sure where she even was for a minute. It had been a long time since he’d done that to her, and she still wasn’t sure if he fully understood the power he had over her. She wasn’t sure if he knew that she would do absolutely anything for him, no matter the cost, no matter what. She would give him the heart out of her chest if he asked.

“He’s given me no choice! It’s either this, or knock him out, or tie him up. He’s too emotionally involved, on so many levels. He’s being unprofessional, and so I have to as well. If you guys were thinking clearly, and really cared about him, you’d also want to make sure that he doesn’t get hurt, or hurt someone else, or mess things up for the entire program.”

And he played “The Story” by Sarah Ramirez. Dre joined in, and then the girls tried to sing it as well. Soon, the little monsters were able to sing, “I was made for you,” almost on time and in tune.

She couldn’t contain the question. It was out of her before she could stop it, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to, even if she could. If Ben was serious, she needed to know.

Here was the woman whose daughter he’d hurt. The woman who, today, might have been his mother-in-law, if things had been different. What would it have been like to be part of the Anderson family?

Impulsively, Ben reached out his arms and hugged him. It felt strange, to cross this barrier between rivals and friendship. At that moment, Jake was not the man that Lanie had chosen first. He was simply a man, like Ben, trying his best and hoping to leave his mark.

She looked up the ceiling. Why this, again? At this point, she should just tell him, but she’d been lying about it so long that it was habit.

He’s under forty. Women want his attention everywhere he goes. He has a lot going for him. And now, he’s found a place he loves, after years of wandering and wondering whether his life was adding anything to the world.

With each step toward the bunkhouse, she ached to go back, and stay with him for ever in the world of their dance. She felt unsure of her next move on this treacherous terrain that she’d been walking for so long.

Part of him wants to turn away, to cover himself. But for once, he feels no shame around her.

He sighed, hating the way his mood tried to plummet. But he wouldn’t let it.