Free Teased to Death (Misty Newman 1) by Gina LaManna Page A

leave, you'll be dressed in nothing but satin gloves and a man's button-down shirt, shimmying your way home."
    "Oh, uh. My. That sounds…" Barbara glanced around, but luckily a pretty blonde head bobbed into the doorway at that moment.
    "Burlesque?" a high-pitched, girly voice asked. "Am I at the right spot?"
    "Yes, absolutely." I tried to mimic the level of sweetness in her voice, but it just didn't come naturally. In fact, it sounded more like a grimace. I cleared my throat and tried again. "Yes…Intro to Burlesque. How are you, Sarah?"
    "Oh, wow. That's you!" Sarah pretended to peer closer, her cute blonde hair swinging over her petite shoulders and her clear blue eyes squinting in my direction as if I were a Rorschach blot. "Misty? Wow, you look different."
    I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. The email I'd sent had my name on it. There was no surprise I'd be here teaching the class. But I was determined to take the higher road. I could do it. Take the mature route, Misty. Plus, the tooth fairy didn't exist anyway. I knew that now. I didn't need to hold a grudge from kindergarten.
    I shifted my gaze between Barbara and Sarah. "We're waiting for a few more."
    "Who else?" Barbara butted her nose in where it didn't belong once again.
    "You'll see," I said. As soon as the words were out of my mouth, the one and only Mrs. Jenkins strolled through the door.
    "Well, isn't it just the woman of the hour," Barbara said in a screechy voice. She fidgeted with her hair and tucked her hands first under her arms, then in her pockets, and finally behind her back.
    I looked at Mrs. Jenkins to see if she'd say anything about Barbara's insensitive comments. I absolutely didn't want a fight starting here on my first day of classes. This place was starting to feel jinxed.
    Sarah yawned fake and loud, and I was grateful for the distraction. "Gosh, I'm tired. Late night yesterday. I'm excited for class though. How many more are coming?"
    I was grateful for the distraction, and I spent a few minutes chatting with Sarah over Barbara's pointed questions as the rest of the class trickled into the room.
    Despite the fact that I knew most of my students were here solely for morbid curiosity, there was a small twinge of pride in my belly. I'd moved across the country, built up the studio, recovered from the accident that had halted my dancing career.
    It'd been one show, one night, and a torn ACL. Months of rehab had left my knee functional again, but I'd never be the same. In addition, the injury had cost me a coveted spot at a well-known dance company along with most of my recurring freelance gigs. Broke, alone, and hurt, I'd finally accepted that it was time to try something new.
    I'd been thinking of coming back to Little Lake at some point anyway and wondered if this wasn't a sign the time was right. A few months, some research, and a huge risk later, I'd landed back home.
    Looking around at what I had to show for it, a feeling I could only guess was excitement blossomed somewhere in my chest around my heart. I had a gorgeous little studio and a small, but hopefully growing, population of students. Now, if I managed to not get arrested for a crime I didn't commit, that would be a huge bonus.
    "We'll start with the basics. First of all, why did you each show up here today?" I stood at the front of my studio and six students spread out before me, some obviously nervous.
    The room was silent.
    "Oh, come on," I said with a smile. "Something made you click on the Sign Up button. Something dragged you out of the comforts of your homes on this beautiful fall day and back inside a studio. Why?"
    Nosy Barbara looked around with shifty eyes. I didn't look in her direction—I knew why she was there.
    "Anyone?" I asked cheerfully.
    Mrs. Jenkins raised her hand shakily.
    "Sure! Mrs. Jenkins. What brought you here today?"
    "Well, I'm a widow now. On account of that fact, I gotta get back out there in the dating game sometime in the near future. So I gotta