Page 23 of Hot Mic

‘Let me,’ Robin said softly. ‘Stop thinking for two seconds, Sienna. Just let me guide you.’

Elena watched them from the edge of the mirror, nodding approvingly. ‘Yes! Robin, hold that frame steady! Sienna! Find the pulse!’

Robin began to move again, guiding Sienna with the firm, gentle pressure of her hand on her back, swaying into the music.

And suddenly, a ghost of a memory jumped up and yelled ‘boo!’.

Sienna remembered someone’s wedding, a pair of warm hands on her, and a voice murmuring compliments on her rhythm and how she couldn’t wait to get her home for other rhythmic activities.

Was that really the last time she’d danced before today? How could that be? Sienna had danced all the time when she was younger. Why had she stopped?

Well, that was an easy one.

But the memory of the joy, of how fucking good it felt to move, had awoken in her.

Sienna stopped listening to the count.

Eighteen

Robin had been bullshitting her way through step-patterns for twenty minutes, and she knew it. She’d presumed salsa would be easy for her. She was fluid; she lived in her body and didn’t over-analyse every movement like some people.

Except Robin had never actually done Cuban salsa in her life. She’d been leaning heavily on brute momentum and the hope that if she moved her hips with enough enthusiasm, Elena wouldn’t notice she was all over the place. After all, trying to dance with a robot in perfect trousers was bound to make her look good in comparison.

Then Sienna seemed to just… find it.

Robin felt the shift before she saw it. A sudden easing.

Sienna’s hips loosened, her body instinctively moving against the pressure of Robin’s hand on her lower back. She stepped back when Robin pushed forward. She was on beat, and she wasn’t even trying.

Robin could only try to keep up.

Then Robin, testing this new Sienna, led her into a quick spin, fully expecting Sienna to hesitate. Instead, Sienna spun flawlessly, snapping back into position with ease.

Robin blinked, her breath catching in her throat. ‘Where did that come from?’

A charming pink flush crept up Sienna’s neck. ‘If there’s one thing you should know about me by now,’ Sienna murmured, stepping into Robin’s space confidently, ‘I don’t do anything badly.’

Robin had a half-dozen witty retorts ready to go immediately. But looking at Sienna, undeniably graceful and shockingly sexy, she let them die.

‘Guess not,’ Robin breathed.

And then, it got even better.

Robin had been winging the footwork up to now, struggling to keep them centred. But as Sienna unlocked, it gave Robin the anchor she had been missing. Sienna’s skilled movement sharpened Robin’s energy into something intentional.

All of a sudden, they were really dancing. And for the first time since they’d been forced together, it didn’t just create friction. It created heat.

And Robin realised she was in serious trouble.

Nineteen

Zoe Moore leaned into her microphone with a cat-that-got-the-cream grin. ‘Welcome back to Head vs Heart,’ Zoe purred into the broadcast feed, her eyes darting between Sienna and Robin. ‘We’re debriefing Date Two: Salsa dancing. Now, before we drop the results of the listener vote, let’s talk about it.’

Sienna kept her posture straight, but her hands were clasped tightly in her lap. Across the desk, Robin sat slouched in her chair, looking unusually subdued.

‘Robin, how did you find the date?’ Zoe asked her.

‘Umm, well… Yeah. It was fine.’