His Naughty Lessons
Chapter 113: Roll Your Hips

Chapter 113: Roll Your Hips

** Eli **

After introducing Harper to the Future Vision consultants, Eli sat down at the far side of the table, watching them chat and letting his thoughts wander.

He was messing this up again, he realized. He hadn’t even registered the fact that he was holding Harper’s hand until they were halfway to the table. When he saw the suitcase guy pushing that coconut thing at her, he was so shocked and outraged that he barely knew what he was doing. The need to get her out of there was urgent and instinctive, and he wasn’t aware that he had gone right for her hand in the process ... until minutes later.

How many people had seen him make such a scene? Now that he tried to recall, a handful of Miracles employees had darted them odd looks while he stormed away with Harper in tow. Her coworkers must not be familiar with how well the two of them know each other yet, and he wondered what the scene might make them think. Would it turn out awkward or uncomfortable to Harper?

For God’s sake, he’d better not have just done something equally bad as the suitcase guy.

Eli physically flinched at the thought. Thankfully, Harper hadn’t seemed to mind ... But that was no excuse for him. Especially considering that they hadn’t even had a proper conversation about Saturday yet ... Who was he to keep injecting himself into her personal life like that anyway?

He glanced again at the other side of the table where Harper was deep in conversation with the consultants. This would be the last time, then. At least she was getting something out of his excuse of a diversion and building a real career connection out of it. But after this once, it would be time for him to keep his word. He’d have to start getting used to watching her from afar.

~ ~

It soon became painfully obvious to Eli — for two completely different reasons — that he should never have thought about "watching her from afar".

The first was an unfortunate result from the location of his seat. Despite it being the prime spot right in front of the Luau stage, he didn’t like it, because as soon as Harper left his table to return to her own for the show, he lost sight of her behind all the various festivity props. Only an occasional glimpse of the suitcase guy next to her teased him and challenged his patience.

Fate was unfair to him. At least "watching from afar" should involve "watching", right?

Yet the second reason ... was worse.

"And here’s where the fun really begins!" The Luau hostess was saying, loud enough through the speaker to distract Eli from indulging in more self-wallowing. "Welcome our volunteer guests to a real taste of Hawaiian culture!"

Eli looked up absentmindedly. The show was already going full force by then. It must be the audience interactive portion coming up, as about a dozen women were getting up from their seats and joining the hostess at the central stage. They looked excited, and some were even wearing festive accessories ... such as the ones laid out on the table at the beginning of the evening. The visual of it was a bit peculiarly funny, with those coconuts and leis draped on the outside of modern blouses and graphic T’s.

A round of chuckles sounded from the seated audience. Everyone dropped their tiki mugs, watching the scene before them with curiosity, while a few whistled and waved at their friends standing on the stage. Eli offered a halfhearted smile as well, just to be polite, and he was about to turn his gaze back onto his drink when—

Wait, was that Harper at the end of the line?

Eli couldn’t believe his eyes. Never would he ever expect someone shy as Harper to volunteer for guest appearances in front of such a large audience, especially for something like ... hula dances? But it was clearly her, the lovely face and pretty figure that he hadn’t been able to catch sight of during the whole show. She was even smiling! As the group lined up, she happened to fall in at the tail end closest to his table, and she looked his way, her smile widening brightly when she met his gaze. There was no shyness in those twinkling eyes at all.

She wasn’t wearing those coconuts though. Thank God. Only the lei and the flower crown adorned her figure, and to be honest, they made her look like a forest goddess walking out of a fairytale book.

"Alright everyone! Get ready and follow your Kumu Hula!" The music was on before Eli could think more of the impossible sight in front of him. A hula dancer had appeared at the center of stage while he wasn’t looking, and the group of women took their positions, following her instructions: "Take a step to the side and lift your hips! Move your waist and sway your body, imagine you are a rolling wave ..."

As the minutes passed by, Eli became more and more incredulous. Harper was picking this up like a pro, with such a smooth and natural rhythm like she had already done it hundreds of times before. And the way she was swaying to the beats of the music ... Did it somehow look completely different from what he expected? He had always thought of the hula dance as something friendly and innocent, but the way she was moving her body and rolling her hips ...

"Now stretch your arm outward and smile at the audience!" the instructor announced. "Beckon them with your hand and give them the warmest welcome from Hawaii!"

Harper did just that, topping the gesture with a wide, sensual turn of her waist, and she winked as she swayed around to face his direction.

... This wicked little vixen! Did she know what kind of effect that sort of move would have on him?

Eli clenched his tiki mug. Little did she know how many times he had imagined her rolling her hips like that, though under a completely different context. He’d always known it’d look divine, with her slender waist contrasting the motion and her light frame making everything look just the perfect balance between delicate and sexy. But now, seeing it for real in person, with her dress rippling in the wind to reveal all the familiar contours of her body hidden beneath, turning such an innocent dance into something utterly uninnocent in his head ...

He wavered in his resolution to "watch her from afar". This type of watching wasn’t fair. It was torturous temptation!