The Last Dance Novels & Stories

Just because I talk to a male classmate a few times, my parents decide I'm dating too young and send me to a correctional boot camp for winter break. I spend 14 days there. They don't come to pick me up until New Year's Eve. Dad reaches for my backpack, but I panic and instinctively drop to my knees. I blurt, "Dad, I'm sorry. I'll carry my own things. I won't let a member of the opposite sex touch me!" Dad looks displeased. "I told you to be wary of men outside, not to be wary of your own father." I keep my head lowered and say nothing. It's because even responding to a member of the opposite sex is considered wrong. On the way home, Mom sees me sitting perfectly upright and motionles

She could hear laughter on the other side—bright and light and full of joy. "I can give her that," she said. "I can give her the dance. But I can't promise she won't see through me." "She won't." Dante opened the door. "Because you're going to be the best dance instructor she has ever had. And for one month, you're going to pretend you're just a woman who loves to dance." He stepped aside, and Zara walked through the door. --- Amara Nwosu was even more beautiful than her photograph.

I thought of the twisted rules they had beaten into me, and the terror of the opposite sex that had been branded into my body. I thought of that holiday night, the fireworks filling the sky, and the moment I stepped off the rooftop, the relief and the lightness of it. I thought of Talia's guilt, the apology she had never been able to say out loud, and the note she had left behind. I thought of Mom and Dad's regret, the way they had wept, and the empty house they would live in for the rest of their lives. All of it was behind me now. All of it was over.

"Where's Nathan? I'm calling the police for Caleb. He needs to suffer a little before he'll learn!" The moment the group heard "police," they panicked and started calling for Caleb. "We don't want to go to jail over three hundred dollars. Mr. Quinn, when you hired us, didn't you say there'd be no police?" Vivian's face went blank. Then her phone rang several times. She unlocked the screen and saw my message. You used up all one hundred chances, Vivian Blake. It's time for our divorce.

The news that Ryland Webster was putting on a fireworks show for New Year's Eve had taken the entire city of Kingsley by storm. I was the last person to hear about it. Everyone in Kingsley knew he was a notorious playboy. He'd even divorced me nine times over one girlfriend after another. But a grand, public declaration of love like this? That was a first. I stared at the mockup one of the event staff had sent over. The words RYLAND ♥ JASMINE spelled out across the fireworks display. The sight stung my eyes.

For the event, or for how I looked in the dress, I couldn’t tell. I turned away first. The night moved forward in a blur of smiles, last-minute fixes, and congratulations from grateful clients. The bride was radiant. The groom couldn’t stop staring at her. Everything ran like clockwork. Until the first dance. The lights dimmed. The band began playing a slow, sultry version of “At Last.” Guests moved toward the dance floor. I was standing near the edge, checking my phone for any vendor emergencies, when a familiar deep voice spoke behind me.

Tears brim his eyes and the last question comes out in a shaky breath. My tears stream down my face for the millionth time today. The round diamond sparkles spectacularly like the stars in the night sky. It's absolutely stunning. All the pain and suffering have led us to this moment. This moment in time where we can finally accept that nothing will stand in our way and nothing will ever tear us apart. We are it for each other forever. "Yes," I whisper. The End

Miya said with a frown on her face before sitting next to me. "Shut up. You're trying your hard in pretending that you're demure, but it's obvious from your face that you're not. It's a bar, so I'm probably going to dance. And no one should care whether I'm on the beat or not." Tamia took a sip of the vodka she was holding. I just shook my head, a small smile on my lips is clear.

"If you wish to stoke a flame into a raging fire, you cannot give it all the fuel it wants at once. You must make it work a little, yes?" "Well?" Charles curled his fingers in invitation, his gray eyes sparkling. Suddenly Lily had a stroke of genius, though it required a touch of lying. "I'm afraid only my very last dance is free, but it seems none of these ladies have partners. If you wish to dance with me for the final waltz, then you will do me a kindness and dance with my new friends." The wallflowers chittered like a flock of cream-colored songbirds. Charles's eyes narrowed, as if trying to understand her game, and then he gave a slow nod.

he replies. “I can have the pack attorney draw up the contract if you’d like Bjarki. We will send them to you once it’s complete and we’ve signed it,” I say. “That would be most beneficial Derek.” “And now please turn your attention to the dance floor for the bride and grooms first dance,” announces the DJ. Gabriel takes Accalia and I lead my wife to the dance floor. The song At Last by Etta James begins playing and I smile down at Davina. “This is a perfect song love,” I whisper to her. I give her a kiss and she rests her head on my shoulder as we slow dance around the dance floor.