Rum Spring by Yolanda Wallace Page A

put her left hand on Dylan’s shoulder. Dylan’s right hand rested on Rebecca’s waist. Rebecca responded to Dylan’s cues as Dylan subtly directed her to move left, right, forward, or backward.
    “See,” Dylan said when the song ended. “I knew you could do it.”
    Rebecca couldn’t breathe. All she could see was Dylan. All she could hear was Dylan. All she wanted was Dylan.
    “Teach me more.”
    “You two have at it,” Mr. Mahoney said. “I’m beat.”
    “Me, too,” Mrs. Mahoney said.
    “Party poopers. Let’s go to my room, Rebecca. I’ll teach you everything you need to know.”
    Rebecca followed Dylan upstairs.
    Dylan closed her bedroom door behind them and switched on the lamp next to her bed. Then she turned on the stereo. Music, loud enough to be heard but not loud enough to disturb Mr. or Mrs. Mahoney, drifted out of the speakers.
    “This one’s called the Electric Slide. It’s a group dance, so it’s more fun when you have a lot of people participating.”
    Dylan demonstrated the steps. Rebecca tried to keep up. Halfway through the song, she had the moves down pat.
    “There you go. You got it.”
    The song ended and another one began.
    “Give me your hands.”
    Rebecca allowed her hands to be guided to Dylan’s shoulders. Dylan circled her arms around Rebecca’s waist and taught her how to slow dance.
    “Feel the music. Relax and let your body move to the rhythm. That’s it. Just like that.”
    Rebecca felt her self-consciousness begin to abate as Dylan continued to offer encouragement. She moved forward. Rebecca heard Dylan’s breath catch when Rebecca molded her body against hers.
    Dylan tried to pull away but Rebecca held fast.
    “Don’t. Stay with me.”
    Rebecca could hear someone panting. She realized with a start that the sound was coming from her. She shivered involuntarily when she saw the hungry look in Dylan’s eyes. Why was she shivering when she was so hot? Her body felt as if it were on fire. When Dylan’s lips brushed against her ear, the feather-soft touch made the fire grew hotter.
    “It’s been weeks since you let me kiss you.”
    Rebecca melted in the crucible that was Dylan’s gaze.
    “I told myself I wouldn’t kiss you again until it meant as much to me as it does to you. May I kiss you now?”
    Dylan licked her lips as if her mouth was dry. “Please.”
    Rebecca tentatively lifted her mouth to Dylan’s. Dylan returned the kiss, then took the lead. She backed Rebecca against the wall and slowly parted her lips with her tongue. She slipped one leg between Rebecca’s and pulled her closer.
    Rebecca moved against Dylan’s leg. How had she known to do that? And why did it feel so good? Needing more, she clutched at Dylan’s hips with one hand. She slipped the other under Dylan’s T-shirt and slid her palm over the smooth skin of Dylan’s back. She had never felt anything so soft.
    Dylan stroked Rebecca’s hair, then buried her fingers in it. “I want to feel your hair on my skin,” she said as she nuzzled Rebecca’s neck. “I want to see you.”
    Rebecca remembered the day she had walked out of the bathroom wearing nothing but a towel. She remembered the way Dylan’s eyes had crawled over her body. She longed for them to make the journey once more. She moved her hand from Dylan’s hips to the back of her neck and pulled Dylan’s mouth down to hers. When their lips met, Rebecca felt their souls become one.
    Dylan shuddered and groaned deep in her throat. “We have to stop.”
    “Why?”
    “Because I don’t want to stop.” She crossed the room and turned off the music, then stood with her back to Rebecca. “Do you have any idea how hard this is for me?” she asked without turning around. “To want you as much as I do and not be able to have you?”
    Rebecca put her arms around Dylan and rested her head on the back of Dylan’s shoulder. “Is it always like this?”
    Dylan leaned into Rebecca’s embrace. “I don’t know. I’ve never felt