The Ballroom Class Read Online Free PDF Page A

there was a bottomless well of hurt behind his eyes. No one could suffer like Ross. That was, if she was being truthful, why she couldn’t look at him in the counselling session. She wondered if all-seeing Peter had noticed.
    She stopped walking and watched him go ahead down the corridor, his shoulders slumped with dejection. He was tall, good looking, and his hair was as thick and dark as when she met him. So what was missing?
    The answer was one she didn’t allow herself to think often, in case she found herself saying it out loud. It was sexist, selfish, and totally unfair. But it was true: Ross had lost his manliness, the thing that made her want him, the unexpected remark, the feeling of being protected. And it was all her fault.
    I used to fancy him so much, Katie thought, as if she were remembering something someone had once told her. I used to stop breathing when he pulled off his T-shirt at night and I saw that prickle of hair on his stomach leading into his jeans. Now I feel like I’ve got two toddlers and a sulking teenage son, and I feel about as sexy as my mother, and according to the magazines I’m meant to be in the prime of my life.
    Ross had come to a halt in front of the noticeboard. Katie noticed that his jeans had flecks of poster paint on them. It didn’t look arty any more. It just reminded her that he never sorted the laundry properly.
    ‘What about this?’ he said, pointing to a handwritten advert.
    ‘What?’ she asked, unable to summon up even pretend interest.
    ‘Singing.’ He flashed a brave, fake smile like he would to Hannah. ‘Join a choir, no karaoke experience needed!’
    ‘Singing? Seriously? No, thanks.’
    ‘Pottery, then?’
    She pulled a face.
    ‘Do you have to be so negative?’ he complained. ‘The whole point is that we try something neither of us can do.’
    ‘Sorry.’ Katie shook herself. ‘How about  . . .’ She scanned the jumble of kids’ gymnastic lessons and AA meetings. ‘Ballroom dancing? Starts tomorrow.’
    Ross peered more closely at the ad; unlike the others, it had been created neatly, on a computer, and had silver glitter sparkling around the edges. The harsh strip lights gave it a pretty, animated look. ‘Ballroom dancing. Huh.’
    ‘Although you’ll have to listen to what the teacher says instead of drifting off and getting me to explain,’ she added, waspishly, before she could stop herself.
    Ross covered his face with his long, pale hand. ‘God, Katie, why are you always trying to pick a fight these days?’ He removed the hand and looked at her seriously. ‘Listen, I know you think counselling is a huge waste of time, but I really want to try to make things better again. It’s just a rough patch. We’ve got to try. For the kids’ sake? Let’s do the ballroom dancing. On the proviso, mind,’ he added, raising his eyebrow, ‘that we only learn dances that don’t involve tight satin pants or those fancy fishnet shirts you see on the television. The world’s not ready for that.’
    ‘On you or me?’ she asked deadpan.
    ‘On either of us.’ He paused. ‘Although you know I’ve always had a thing for Olivia Newton-John in Grease . So if you want to wear the tight satin pants  . . .’
    It was a bit lame, but she appreciated his trying. She just wished the trying wasn’t so obvious.
    ‘OK,’ she said, capitulating. ‘Ballroom dancing, then.’
    ‘Great. How hard can that be?’ Ross jotted down the details and looked up from his notebook with a hopeful smile. ‘Come on. We don’t want Gemma to run into a third hour, do we?’
    They walked down the echoing corridor in silence, until Katie asked, ‘Was that as bad as you thought it would be? The session, I mean.’
    ‘It was what I expected,’ he said, stoically. ‘Not easy. But, you know  . . . Nothing worthwhile is. I want to fix things,’ he said, stopping and taking her hand suddenly. ‘I really want us to get back to where we were.’
    But I don’t know if I can ,