Cheryl Burke admits to 'fling' with Chad Ochocinco

Of all her Dancing With The Stars partners, Cheryl Burke appeared to have a particular connection to Chad Ochocinco.

In her new book, Dancing Lessons, Burke, 26, writes that people assumed she and Chad were "an item" last spring because they had great chemistry and were both single. (There was also the matter of that $10,000 ring he gave her.) And now she tells Lifeline Live that, yes, "We had a little bit of a fling."

They dated? "We didn't date. I wouldn't call that dating," she said, calling yesterday between media appearances for the book. "We maybe had a little bit of a fling. I wouldn't take it to that word dating."

She says, ultimately, "He was never really available to me. I 've had that pattern of dating unavailable men in my life and it was hard to resist, obviously, but it was still something I knew from other relationships."

Burke says she doesn't have a boyfriend. "It's been a little over a year and I've taken this time for me and taken the time to really get to know who I am. I'm still healing from everything. For now, it's best that I work on me and focus on my career. I'm ready to date, but I'm always traveling."

The "healing" she's talking about stems from being molested as a five-year-old by a family handyman, which she reveals in the book. From being beaten with a belt by abusive boyfriends. And from being hurt by media scrutiny over her weight.

And she has no regrets about getting so personal. "Oh my gosh. Not at all. I've been getting amazing positive feedback. It's helping me and I feel like I'm helping people."

She admits, "I did think about it for awhile. Do I really want to go this deep? But this is my story."

And she's ready to return for the new season of Dancing With The Stars, although she won't know her celebrity partner until after they're all announced on Feb. 28. "I have no idea" who will be on, she says, and adds, "We have no say" about who she'll be paired with, which is why "every season has been a different experience" -- from Tom DeLay to Wayne Newton to Gilles Marini to Emmitt Smith.

She doesn't foresee leaving the show anytime soon, as pros Julianne and Derek Hough have. If anything, she says, she'd like to "maybe do another dance show on television or have a talk show, be a spokesperson for young women. "

After the book tour ends and Dancing gets underway, she does have one project lined up: A new shoe line that will debut in April. She promises she'll have "heels, wedges -- shoes for all women that are as comfortable as a dance shoe."