At the end of September former bubblegum Pop crooner Aaron Carter admitted that he found it difficult to concentrate on his dance steps because he had “such a hottie for a teacher.”

Now the 21-year-old Dancing with the Stars cutie is claiming that he and Karina Smirnoff are just friends. But do we believe him?

“It’s really funny,” Aaron's partner told People following Monday evening’s performance. “The rumors are that we are hooking up but then we’re not sexy enough on the dance floor [according to head judge Len Goodman]? Let me tell you, if that was the case, the dance would have been very raunchy, as Len wanted it to be.”

Aaron says that he and Karina get along very well and that because his partner recently went through a breakup - with fiancé Maksim Chmerkovskiy - it’s important to treat her like a lady and “to respect her."

Karina, 31, confessed that if Carter wasn’t by her side, providing her with a shoulder to lean on, she wouldn’t be able to “get through it.”

These two obviously have amazing chemistry, heck just watch their dancing and you’ll realize how much they hit it off! Maybe after Karina has nursed her wounds she and Aaron will wake up and realize how perfect they are for one another … (People)

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