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"No, no!" Arthur cried in exasperation. "It's left, right, left, kick-up, kick-down, kick!" He demonstrated the steps again, twirling through the tango moves so quickly Alfred felt dizzy just watching. "Now I'm going to play the song again and we'll start from the top."
"Okay." Alfred sighed and tried not to slouch his shoulders. He had been pretty decent at the start of the dance competition, but he felt like he was getting progressively worse because of his I'm-in-love-with-my-dance-instructor-who-thinks-I'm-a-clumsy-idiot problem.
Thankfully, for once they were actually alone in the practice room, so Arthur was the only one who would see his embarrassing missteps. The film crew had moved on to some of the other contestants. From the way the guys with the mics were chuckling, Alfred worried about the footage they would show of him and Arthur. He tried, he really did. It was just hard to focus on his feet when Arthur was staring at him with those enchanting eyes or standing close to him with that beautiful body or holding him in a dancing pose or breathing heavily at the end of practice. Honestly, Arthur's existence was enough to get him hot and bothered some days.
Steadfastly thinking of cold showers, Alfred walked back to the center of the room and waited for the music to start again. It was a nice room with wood floors and mirrors on every wall. The mirrors meant that no matter where he was standing in the room, he could see Arthur's firm ass and long legs. No! He couldn't look! It was bad enough being a klutz, he couldn't pitch a tent in the middle of their dance practice.
He shook his head and tried to focus on the tango. The first part of their routine was relatively simple. Alfred and Arthur strode towards each other with a sexy walk, spun around until they were pressed back to back, tossed off their hats, and spun around again to start doing their steps together. They had excellent outfits to match the routine. Alfred wore a cream button-up with black slacks, which contrasted nicely against Arthur's dark shirt and cream slacks. Unfortunately, Alfred couldn't coordinate his moves as well as they could coordinate their outfits. His trouble started as soon as Arthur took his hand and straddled his thigh. Arthur did his fast kicks, sending his leg up one side of Alfred's leg and down the other. It was so fast and so beautiful that Alfred just wanted to stand and gape. But he couldn't! He had to do well or they were going to get kicked out of the competition. They were the first same-sex pair to compete on Strictly Come Dancing and he didn't want to let down Team Rainbow. His publicist thought it was a good way for Alfred to deal with some of the fallout from his accidental outing, but he wasn't thinking about the good publicity. At this point, he just wanted to see that small smile that softened Arthur's face whenever they performed a dancing particularly well. If they lost, it would be Alfred's fault for dragging Arthur down with him.
Speaking of dragging down... Alfred tried to duplicate the kicks. He managed to snag one leg on Arthur's thigh, and ended up flailing and tumbling onto his ass with Arthur landing between his legs, his face level with Alfred's crotch.
"Oof," Alfred said with a wince, expecting to get chewed out by Arthur once again for his lack of coordination. Apologizing profusely, he helped Arthur back up to his feet and was surprised when his dance instructor waved off the apologies with a silent, contemplative look.
"Hmm." Arthur brushed the dust off of Alfred's slacks, sending a shiver down his spine. "I think I see your problem."
"Yeah?" Alfred asked, his voice higher and squeakier than normal. Oh god, had Arthur finally noticed all of the lingering glances and heart-felt sighs?
"Yes. It's hard to dance when your body's so stiff."
"Oh... yeah." Alfred breathed a sigh of relief. "I just... I really don't want us to lose."
"Nor do I." Arthur eyed him speculatively in the quiet dance studio. "There is... something else we could try."
"Alcohol?"
Arthur rolled his eyes. "Tango is a very sensual dance, but you act like you're afraid to touch me. We need to practice making it sultry and flirtatious."
"You want me to flirt with you?" Alfred ended his question on an undignified squeak. His thoughts spun in dizzying, wonderful circles. The idea of trying to seduce Arthur with his tango techniques was terrifying and exhilarating.
"Something like that." Arthur nodded and stepped closer. "I want you to pretend that you've been dying to hold me in your arms for ages and this is your one chance. Put everything into the dance."
It look Alfred a moment to calm his nerves and start breathing again as Arthur turned on the music again. This was the chance he had been waiting for! Arthur had just given him permission to do exactly what he had always wanted, and at the end of the dance they could go back to pretending that everything was normal. It was too good of an opportunity to pass up, although it felt like jumping off a cliff without being sure that the bungee cord was properly tied.
They started from the top again and Alfred immediately felt much better. He liked the way Arthur looked at him and Arthur's hands seemed a bit more... handsy. If that was the way it was going to be, Alfred started letting his own fingers roam across Arthur's lean, lithe body. He stepped closer than necessary and brought his face within inches of Arthur's face, enjoying his wonderful view of those bright eyes and thick eyelashes. Were those... freckles? How had they been dancing for five weeks without him noticing that Arthur had the cutest dusting of freckles on his nose and rosy cheeks?
They spun away and not giving it much thought, Alfred whirled through his kicks so he could hold Arthur close again. The instructor pressed against him and jumped into his arms for a body-spin. Alfred managed to lift him up and over, though he probably wasn't supposed to grope Arthur's butt at the end. Oh, well. Judging by his grin, Arthur didn't seem to mind.
"I think you're getting the hang of it," Arthur said, panting slightly, his face a little flushed. Alfred felt warm too, and he didn't think it was just from the dance steps.
He smiled happily and pulled Arthur against his chest as they whirled together across the room. Despite Alfred's extra height, Arthur didn't have any trouble keeping up with him thanks to his long legs. They looked marvelous in well-tailored slacks, although Alfred suspected they would win the entire competition easily if he could just convince Arthur to wear a skirt. The thought of it was enough to drive him wild. Caught up in his fantasy, Alfred dipped Arthur to the floor and brushed his lips with his own. On the next beat, he pulled Arthur upright and was surprised by the slightly dazed look in Arthur's eyes.
"Do that again," Arthur whispered into Alfred's ear as he wrapped his arms around Alfred's neck. The American shivered pleasantly and felt his pants tighten.
Gently lowering Arthur until his head nearly brushed the floor, Alfred kissed him slowly, savoring the taste. He lifted him up on the next beat and Arthur raised their hands above their hands, pulling Alfred in for another kiss before they kicked and spun their way through the next set of fancy footwork with their bodies pressed together.
The only thing Alfred could think about was that Arthur was being maddeningly close and yet far too coy with his half-lidded glances and sultry smiles. "Stop... stop teasing!" he cried with pure need, his body on fire with desire.
Acquiescing with a sultry smirk, Arthur slipped his knee between Alfred's legs and drew a soft moan from the American's lips. Well, if that was the way it was going to be... Alfred grabbed Arthur and pulled him flush against his body. He might look small and scrawny, but Alfred could feel the wiry muscle underneath his hands. With his incredible muscles and flexibility, Alfred imagined that Arthur would be as good in bed as he was on the dance floor. Probably better, once they'd had time to practice. Alfred rocked his hips to the rhythm of the music and let his hands glide down to hold Arthur's firm ass.
Arthur cupped Alfred's face in his hands and kissed him soundly. By that point, they both had given up on trying to maintain any semblance of dancing other than rubbing their bodies against each other for as much friction as possible. It was like high school prom again, but way, way better.
Alfred's world narrowed to firm muscles and soft lips, and the sound of Arthur's lusty, breathless moans. His erection throbbed. He peppered kisses down Arthur's collar bone in beat with the tango—slow, slow, quick, quick, sloooow.
"Ah!" Arthur arched into him. His eyes were wide and wild, his perfect clothes now a perfect mess. He sank onto Alfred's thigh and tipped back his head with a languid moan. He rubbed back and forth, driving Alfred wild and making his cock strain against the tight fabric of his dark slacks.
"Nnngh," Alfred moaned, thrusting his hips, quick, quick, quick. As the tango music reached its climax, so did he. He still felt like he was floating on a cloud as Arthur gasped and shuddered against him a moment later. As the music trailed off into silence, the dance instructor swayed and then sank his face into Alfred's chest with a satisfied sigh.
A hot blush burned on Alfred's cheeks as he drifted down from his orgasmic high. He hadn't creamed his underpants since his visit to the beach with his first boyfriend. But judging from the warm dampness where Arthur's groin was pressed against his thigh, at least he could take consolation in the fact that Arthur was in the same... delicate situation. It was a good thing they had nearly reached the end of the practice.
"So... uh..." Alfred began to speak.
"I need to visit the gents," Arthur interrupted, swinging his leg off Alfred's thigh with brisk efficiency. He strode across the room and left Alfred gaping. As soon as his thoughts caught up with his feet, the younger man hurried after him and followed him to the men's changing room. They both pulled on their street clothes in what was probably the most awkward silence of Alfred's life. Even more awkward than the time he accidentally walked in on his parents while they were... he shook his head, all feelings of lust drenched in a bucket of cold water.
"So..." Alfred started again, blushing furiously as Arthur turned to face him with his shirt still half-undone.
"I thought that was good," Arthur replied as he casually finished buttoning up his shirt. This one was a nice shade of forest green. Alfred knew he was gay, but he wasn't sure when he had developed such an appreciation for clothes. He liked the way they helped him speak coherently in Arthur's presence.
"Are we... is it going to be okay to, um..." Alfred trailed off again, helplessly lost as he tried to think of how to ask Arthur what their little make-out session had meant and if Arthur wanted to go get dinner or something.
"Yes, dance like that and we'll certainly win. Of course, we'll have to tone it down a bit."
"Oh." Alfred felt his heart drop to the soles of his dancing shoes. All of that heat and tension and all of those passionate kisses had just been a way to loosen him up and help him perfect the erotic elements of the tango. "That's good," he said, refusing to meet Arthur's eyes as he reached for his gym bag. He wanted to go home and watch a bad horror movie with a bucket of rocky road ice cream. Nothing took his mind off of his heartsickness faster than a horror film. Of course, the cure was probably worse than the disease, but he didn't want to think about that at the moment.
He moved to leave, then jerked to a stop as he felt Arthur grab his wrist. "Alfred." He looked up at the hoarse sound of Arthur's voice. "That's not how I typically teach people to dance the tango," the instructor admitted, an unreadable emotion in the tightness of his lips.
Alfred blinked. "What?"
"Please don't be any more of an idiot than you already are."
"Hey!" Alfred started to speak, but his protest was muffled when Arthur leaned over and kissed him. His head was in the clouds as Arthur's mouth melted against his. Alfred dropped the gym bag and wrapped his arms around the lithe dance instructor instead. When they pulled back for air, he still felt dazed and a little light-headed.
"God, I've wanted to do that since our first dance," Arthur admitted.
"Really?" Warmth suffused Alfred's body at the thought that his unrequited love affair wasn't so one-sided after all. He laughed and lifted Arthur up around his waist, spinning the other man around into a dizzying circle until they were both smiling and a little out of breath. He finally put Arthur down when the dance instructor swatted him on the shoulder. But as much as he just wanted to enjoy the moment, Alfred couldn't stop thinking about all of the worries that had made him so hesitant about crushing on Arthur in the first place. "Do you think it'll be a problem with the judges?" he finally asked.
"Not so long as we don't give them a repeat of our little tango."
"Yeah." Alfred gave Arthur a cheesy grin. "But, you know, it's sorta their fault for calling it Strictly Cum Dancing."
(They didn't win the competition, but Alfred always maintained that what he took home was far better than a mere trophy.)