Finding Justus Read Free Page A

days in a row.
    Krystal nudged her. “Look at him! I hope he’s the teacher, I’d be glad to learn a few things from him.” Justus nodded and raised her left eyebrow at Krystal and began lustily admiring the teacher as well.
    He was about five foot ten, broad shouldered, and black haired. He was wearing a bright red, long-sleeved shirt, and tight, black pants drew her attention to his trim waist, slim hips and taut, rounded bottom. He was speaking quietly with a few women in a corner, demonstrating various dance steps. She strained her ears to hear him. He had a nice voice. It had a sexy hint of a Spanish accent.
    As though sensing their stares , he turned around and started walking toward the center of the room. Justus gasped softly. Out of all of the thousands of people on this damned boat, why in God’s name did she have to keep running into him?
    Krystal misinterpreted her gasp, “I know Jus, I feel the same way. He’s completely gorgeous,” she whispered. Justus said nothing, and continued to stare at their instructor.
    “Good afternoon, ladies, and gentlemen,” he nodded in the vicinity of the handful of tortured men in the class. “My name is Miguel Amores.”
    “Such a sexy name, don’t you think?” Krystal whispered in Justus’ ear, who chose to ignore her friend and pretended she was concentrating on what Miguel was saying.
    “…And we’ll also be learning the tango, meringue, and the samba.” Justus felt betrayed by her stomach and the way it fluttered when he pronounced each dance with his Spanish accent.
    “So what I’d like us to do is pair up into partners, let’s see, how many people we have here?” Miguel said taking a quick head count. “Fifty-three. Somebody will have to dance with me.” Hands shot up all around the room, all but one. “How about you? Come on, come on, don’t be shy.” Justus stared at him blankly when he pointed at her. She couldn’t believe her rotten luck today. She was a terrible dancer. Hadn’t she already embarrassed herself enough for one day?
    “Oh, but I’ve got a friend. I mean, we came together, maybe you should pick someone else who is here alone.” Justus prayed he would leave her alone and pick one of the other girls in the room, who were gesturing frantically and calling to Miguel.
    “Oh don’t be silly, Justus,” Krystal said looking at Justus as though she had suddenly sprouted another head. “I wouldn’t dream of denying you this…opportunity to get an in-depth lesson.” Krystal nudged her toward Miguel. He took that as her way of accepting his proposal and took her hand.
    “Justus, is it? Very pretty name, different.”
    “Thanks,” she said as she let him lead her to the center of the room. Damn Krystal and her big mouth, she wouldn’t know what tact was if it bit her on the butt! Justus turned her head to give Krystal a dirty look, which she in turn, pretended not to notice.
    “Okay, everyone, pair up,” Miguel said as he turned to face the class. “We’re going to start with the tango. It’s just a series of steps, let’s go ahead and get it down before we start any of the other dances. You’ll start in this position,” he demonstrated by taking Justus into his arms, one hand at the small of her back, the other hand clasped hers. It seemed to Justus as though it was taking an extremely long time for everyone in class to get into position.
    She felt her palms start to sweat. She had been avoiding his face up until now, but she wanted to know if he noticed her sweating palms. She stole a peek out of the corner of her eye. He looked completely composed and not at all disgusted by her sweaty hands.
    “The tango is a passionate dance, so everyone please bring your partners in like this,” he said and demonstrated by bringing their bodies together and closing in all the gaps.
    Justus was about to gasp from the feel of his hard body aligned with hers, but then she remembered this was just a part of the lesson, essential to