Page 31 (1/2)

Chapter One

Nate

The first thing I see when I walk into the exam room is the dancer’s shapely round ass

I’ve walked in on worse

The wo down to her toes to stretch out her ha and lean and lovely She’s dressed in little hts Her pink pointe shoes are off, placed beside her with their ribbons ofcolor rolled up neatly and tucked into inside

I clear et her attention

She doesn’t react

I notice the white wires of her earphones dangling out in front of her, connected to an iPod that looks beat up as hell I can vaguely hear the harsh bass line radiating out, co’s ventilation systees of the device are dented, and the circular track pad has been worn down over time

Is that an original ?

I don’t knohat she’s listening to Whatever it is, it’s loud enough that she still hasn’t noticedon stretching her muscles

“Miss?” I say “Hello?”

She doesn’t respond She just continues to stretch, completely oblivious to my presence

I consider tapping her, but I’ve got no clue where I’m supposed to tap her when she’s folded over like that I can’t exactly give her butt a quick poke, because that’s downright unprofessional

In all fairness, though, it’s a very nice ass

Stop it, Nate

Don’t be a creep

I choose instead to open and re-shut the door, allowing it to slaust of cool air rushing past me from the force A couple of the larams of human anatomy—momentarily lift where the corners haven’t been taped down securely

Still nothing

“Sweet Jesus,” I sigh under my breath

I wonder if she’s listening to death metal, because that’s the only way to explain her total lack of awareness Except she doesn’t exactly strike enre of music

I tread over slowly and carefully placeto startle her My touch is so light and gentle I don’t know if I’ve actually made contact The dancer finally notices me, however, and shoots up from her bent position