Never Say Never

Emily emerged from the balcony, her sketch pad in one hand. Camila’s breath caught at the sight of her framed in the moonlight.
She had changed clothes since that morning, into black jeans and a red blouse with a deep V-neck that showed off the sharp lines of her collarbones. And she was more heavily made up than Camila had ever seen her.
She looked gorgeous.
“You look nice,” Camila told her, trying to minimize the impact Emily was having on her. “Have you got plans?”
“I have a date.”
“Oh.” It shouldn’t surprise her—Emily was young and attractive, and of course it made sense for her to date. She certainly had no right to be jealous. “I haven’t made you late, have I?”
“No, not at all. I should be right on time.”
“Good.” Camila smiled through tight lips. “Everything go okay today?”
“No problems to report. We went to the park. He played with a couple of other kids.”
“He did?” That was unusual for Jaime—he usually kept to himself, even on the playground.
“Uh-huh.” Emily glanced at her watch. “I should probably get going.”
Camila waved her off. “Go, have fun. You deserve it. She’s a lucky girl, whoever she is.” Camila wanted to be happy for her, but all she could think about was Emily with another woman while she spent the evening alone.
“Are you okay?” Emily asked.
“I’m fine, just tired. I’ll see you tomorrow. Have a good night.”
The door clicked shut, and Camila sighed heavily before padding down the hall to check on her son.
He was sleeping peacefully, so she made her way to the kitchen and poured herself a scotch, then grabbed the bottle and retired to her study to numb her mind, to chase away thoughts of Emily. Always, always Emily. Camila couldn’t escape thinking of her, couldn’t wish that she wasn’t in her life, that she’d never hired her because she was so damn good at her job.
Drinking didn’t work; it never did. It just left a bitter taste in her mouth, and when she eventually fell asleep, she dreamed of blonde hair and blue, blue eyes.
* * *
Emily was still thinking about the sad look in Camila’s eyes when she stepped out of the subway station.
Megan was already there waiting for her, leaning against the wall, looking at her phone, and Emily stopped to admire her. She wore a floaty blue dress with matching heels, a leather jacket thrown over her shoulders.
Emily tried to clear her mind of Camila as she approached Megan, not wanting to ruin their night together, determined to give them a shot.
“Hey,” Emily called out when she was a few steps away. Megan lifted her eyes from her phone, slipped it into her pocket, and kissed Emily’s cheek. “You look…amazing.”
“You don’t look so bad yourself,” Megan replied, scanning Emily appreciatively. “Good day at work?”
“Yep, and I even finished on time.”
“Lucky for me. Come on.” Megan linked her arm through Emily’s and guided her down the street. “Have you got your dancing shoes on?”
“You should probably know that while I agreed to go to a dance class with you, I have absolutely no sense of rhythm, and I’m probably going to embarrass you.”
“It’s a good thing I’m not easily embarrassed, then, isn’t it?” Megan said as she pulled open the door of the dance studio. “But don’t worry—it’s a mixed class, and you can’t be worse than some of the other beginners.”
“You haven’t seen me yet,” Emily muttered, but she braced herself and stepped inside.
A few people were already milling around, but none of them gave her a second glance as she followed Megan to a corner of the room. She shrugged out of her jacket and draped it behind one the chairs that lined the wall.
“You look like you’re about to pass out,” Megan said, laughing at the apprehension on Emily’s face. “We don’t have to stay—there’s still time to escape if you want to go somewhere else.”
“No, it’s fine.” Now that Emily was there, she was determined to see it through. “I’ve got this.”
“You’ll be fine.”
Megan pulled her into dance position as the instructor stepped to the front of the room. Emily tried to follow the steps, but it felt like she was watching the movements on fast forward, and she was lost after the first five minutes.
Megan didn’t seem to mind, though. Her eyes were twinkling, and she laughed when Emily stepped on her toes for about the tenth time. After a while, Emily relaxed, worrying less about what everyone thought and more about having Megan in her arms.
“Still think I’m not the worst one here?” Emily asked during a break, trying to catch her breath before she drank from her bottle of water.
“Well, I agree you have no sense of rhythm,” she replied, grinning at Emily’s fake outrage, “but you’re not that bad. You’re getting better already—we’ll make a pro out of you in no time.”
“How did you get into this?”
“I used to dance a little in high school, but I stopped after I went to college. When I moved here, I thought it might be a good way to meet people.”
“Pick up women, you mean?”
“I thought that was what the gym was for.”
“Speaking of the gym, I’m pretty sure I’m going to be sore tomorrow. This is working muscles I didn’t know I had.”
“You’ll just have to take it easy. Don’t throw the kid around. Or maybe you could teach him some dance moves.”
“That’s actually not a bad idea.” Jaime would probably love standing on her feet as she whisked him around the room.
She was still thinking about Jaime when the instructor clapped her hands to signal the end of the break. As Emily faced Megan again, placing one hand on her shoulder, her mind wandered to Camila. She wondered what she’d be like as a dance partner, if she’d move with Megan’s easy grace, if her hands would gently correct her form.
“You okay?” Megan asked, bringing her back to the moment. “You look like you’re a million miles away.”
“Sorry.” Emily shook her head,