Goals Off Court | SatoSere

Chapter 45 - Unexpected Growth

The problem with realizing his feelings for Serena meant Ash had to be around her and paying attention to her while trying his best not to just scoop her up and kiss her.

He paced outside of the studio door. He should've felt better about going in to see her, especially after his first lesson with Drew. Still, he hated having to go back, but he knew he was going to need all the dumb help he could get. Instead, his stomach kept flip-flopping and his cheeks felt hot.

"Dammit," Ash cursed to himself. This was dumb. He should be able to go in there no problem and yet—

He ran in his hand through his hair, trying his best not to imagine how good she probably looked in there. He could imagine the leotard hugging her body, tightly woven around her skin. The small skirt — which flowed around her legs — would sweep across her as she twirled from side to side. Her cheeks were probably pink and glowing in the light of the dance studio and if he kissed her, they'd be even pinker.

"Dammit," Ash said again and a second later, the door opened.

"Ash?" Serena's blue eyes blinked up at him, her honey blonde hair pulled up into a messy bun. "What... are you doing?"

"What do you mean 'what am I doing?' I'm coming to practice." Ash said too quickly, brushing past her. The last thing he needed was for her to see his cheeks looking flushed.

"No." Serena sighed, looking at him. "I meant why were you just standing outside the door instead of actually coming in?"

He tensed up, walking into the room. "I couldn't... find something in my bag."

Ash could practically feel the skepticism radiating off of her while she spoke. "Did you remember your shoes?"

"Of course I remembered my shoes," he muttered, plopping down onto the ground to put them on.

"Okay, then?" Serena said, her confusion present. Even with such bewilderment on her face, Ash couldn't help but admire how beautiful her features were. Her blue eyes always seemed to shine with excitement and her lips the perfect shade of pink, fitting to her pearly white smile.

Fuck, she was gorgeous. He always noticed before, but now it pulled at his heart like congestion he couldn't cough out. A disgusting analogy, similar to his disgusting feelings for her.

She probably felt the same — or did — back before he was an absolute jerk. She probably still felt the same, but he couldn't ask her out. Not until he earned her forgiveness. Not until he knew he fulfilled his promise to her.

"Lets get a move on, teach," Ash muttered, standing back up. He tapped his feet against the ground, adjusting the way the shoes hugged his feet. He stood in the middle of the room, and got into position, standing tight and poised for the dance to begin.

"Ash."

Serena began to giggle. He heard her feet patter against the ground, coming up from behind him. She ducked her head under his arm and stared up at him. She hummed, narrowing her eyes as she looked over at his chest, and he fought against his body's desire to hold her there.

"What's wrong?" He asked, frowning. "Are we gonna dance or not?"

She curled her fingers around his wrist and moved his arm around her waist. "I just thought your posture looked exceptionally good today." She giggled, her smile hitting Ash in the face like a giant ray of sunshine. Then she pouted at him playfully. "Have you been practicing without me?"

"No, not at all," Ash retorted quickly, not wanting her to discover his secret. He would never live it down if anyone knew he was getting extra lessons from Drew.