’ Anne was serious now. She approached Stan, put one hand on his shoulder, the other on his cheek. He leant into it. ‘Stan, will you be okay with ...Tom and Denise there?’ ‘Yes,’ he answered immediately. ‘Yes, even if I have to grit my teeth. I’ll have to – I want to learn the Tango with you.’ ‘Hmm… Yes!’ she answered. ‘What an idea – its one hell of a sexy dance. You’ll be able to Tango me right into bed!’ ‘Why wait for the dance?’ he asked her, and laughing, she answered – by pulling him up the. And maybe I should have resisted the impulse, I thought, as the kettle boiled neglected and eggs burnt into the pan ... while I looked at the few new e-mails I'd picked up, some incomprehensibly cheerful ones from friends and associates, a couple of professional newsletters and advice notes, the normal guff from various government policy wonks. And a cryptic one from Carla – she'd phone me, basically, probably one of the calls I'd missed – and, of course, one from Debbie. Not the world's most. My buddy Ray threatened me with an ass-beating if I ever went near his sister. Despite the fact that she was older, he was always very protective."Ray's not home, he went shopping with mom," she stated as she approached and I found it difficult not to stare at her chest, and just as difficult to answer."What's the matter, Ladykiller? Cat got your tongue? Or are you too busy staring at my boobies to answer me?" she asked.I was caught and must have blushed every shade of red in the colour. I barely noticed. I only watched her. But she saw it, saw me, and started to smile at me now and then, when I skipped through the door, when my limbs lengthened, my spine flattened, according to her demand. At the end of each class she turned the lights off for five minutes and instructed us to relax, breathe, meditate, feel the weight of the floor beneath us and sink into it. I spent that time thinking of all the things I’d like to do to her, given the chance. How I’d smooth my fingers over.