Chapter Twenty-Five #2
“What do you mean? You have every right to decide for yourself. You shouldn’t do it just because I want to.”
“I don’t care about my feelings. The only things that matter are how you feel and what’s best for the team.”
“But I don’t want to force you to do it.”
“Who said I’d be forced?”
“Your face.”
He stares at me. “What about my face?”
“You’re not that hard to read. I know you don’t like the idea of doing it. Which is fine. You don’t have to force yourself.”
He moves closer until there are barely any inches between us. “Why do you insist you know me when you don’t?”
“I…I don’t.”
“Exactly.” He turns to Moreno. “I’m game if Carly is.”
She nods at me. “What do you say, Carly?”
“I’ve never choreographed a pair routine before. But I guess I’ve always wanted to.”
“And how do you feel about being paired up with Ryder?”
“It’s fine,” I say, noticing that my voice shakes. Because I’ve never danced with a partner before. And Ryder, the guy who makes me feel so many conflicting emotions, is going to be my first one. I have no idea how to feel.
Although, a large part of me is thrilled at the idea…
I blink and shake my head. “I mean, I’m totally fine with pairing up with Ryder. He is the only guy, after all,” I tease.
He frowns. “Thank you.”
I playfully slap his shoulder. “You know I think you’re a talented dancer.”
“Okay, great!” Moreno says with obvious relief. “This is wonderful news. Now, to get a feel of how you two look together, can you please dance for me?”
“Wait, like right now?” I ask.
“Would you rather practice next month, after the competition?” she asks with a laugh.
“Heh,” I say nervously as I glance at Ryder. He doesn’t seem anxious at the prospect of doing this, but I know from experience that he’s good at putting on masks. Then again, he’s used to being that close with girls. I’m sure I’m just another member of the opposite gender in his eyes.
We step forward and just stand before each other. He looks at me and I look at him.
“Um, what are we doing?” he asks.
“You know any pair dances?”
“No. Do you?”
“Not really.”
He grins. “I’m sure you can improvise, Miss Amazing Choreographer.”
His words cause my face to burn. “Okay…let’s go.”
I have no idea what I’m doing, but I draw inspiration from my favorite dance numbers from movies. I place one hand in his, the other on his shoulder. He puts his free one on my waist. And I spin us around the room.
It doesn’t take long for Ryder to catch on, and before we know it, we’re getting really into it.
It’s not at all a romantic dance. In fact, our bodies barely come into contact with each other, except for our hands.
Still, this feels pretty amazing. As though he and I are on a huge stage all by ourselves, with every single pair of eyes of the audience glued to us like we’re the most mesmerizing things they have ever seen.
“Beautiful!” Moreno claps. “You guys are perfect together. Now, how about you try lifting Carly, Ryder?”
“Are you sure about that?” he asks as we continue to dance. “I think her parents would murder me if I damaged a single hair on her gorgeous head.”
I will not react to him calling my head gorgeous. Nope.
“The judges will love it if we can pull it off,” Moreno tells him. “Just try it.”
“Permission to approach, m’lady?” he asks me as we stop a few feet away from each other.
“You may,” I say as nonchalantly as I can, though my insides shake.
He steps closer, causing his warmth to bounce onto me and making my hair stand on edge. He hesitates for a second before placing his hands on my waist and hoisting me up in the air.
“Great!” Moreno says. “How about a little higher?”
“Sure.”
Ryder stretches his arms upward, lifting me higher in the air. It lasts for a few seconds before his arms crumble and he and I crash to the floor.
“Are you guys okay?” Moreno asks as she rushes over.
Somehow, we landed with our limbs tangled in each other’s and most of my body underneath his.
“Feels like a fridge collapsed on me,” I pant.
“Sorry!” Ryder makes a move to roll away from me, but because my arms and legs are intertwined with his, I roll along with him. I end up sprawled on top of him, my chest on his, and our faces nearly fused together.
“This is quite the predicament,” I mutter.
“No kidding,” he says.
“Sorry about this, guys,” Moreno says. “Are you okay?”
“Yep,” I say, even though my heart pounds like a hammer.
“I’m cool,” Ryder assures her.
She helps us untangle our arms from each other. “You did good, Ryder. Trying to lift your partner for the first time is pretty hard, but you kept Carly up for quite a while. You’ll get there with a little more practice.”
“If Carly still wants to be my partner,” Ryder says as he gets up and dusts the dirt off his pants.
“Why wouldn’t I?” I ask as I also get up and smack the dirt off my butt.
“Because I nearly killed you?”
I roll my eyes. “Don’t exaggerate. I’m not made of porcelain.”
“Of course not. But the last thing I want to do is hurt you.”
“We’ll have bumps on the road,” Moreno tells us. “And a lot of falls and some bruises, but we’ll get there. I loved watching the two of you dance and I know the judges and audience will, too. So what do you say? You guys in?”
“I am,” I say. Because even though we had a fall, I felt an energy between us that didn’t exist before. As though we were made to be dance partners.
“Heck yeah, I’m in,” Ryder says with a large smile.
“Great. We’ll meet for an hour after dance practice. Have a great night!”
Moreno takes her stuff and walks out of the gym.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Ryder asks me. “I wish you would have fallen on me instead of me falling on you.”
“I thought you would have held me for longer. Sorry, I’m heavier than I look.”
“Of course you’re not heavy! You’re very light. It’s just my arms. I think I need to focus on them more during my workouts.”
I head to my backpack and throw it over my shoulder. “Want to walk to the dorms together?”
Light illuminates his face. “Sure.”
After he grabs his backpack, we leave the gym and make our way to the dorms. We don’t say much to each other, but I don’t really mind it.
We stop outside the girls’ dorm, and he turns to me with a sweet smile. “I’m glad we’re partners, Carly. It’s fun to create something special with you.”
I stare at him, words getting stuck in my throat. My stomach feels like silly putty.
He smiles again as he pats my arm. “Good night, Captain. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He waves and heads to the boys’ dorm.
“Good night, Ryder,” I whisper, although he’s long gone.
I’m in a complete daze as I head to my room, the words he just uttered running wild in my brain. They stay with me for the rest of the night while I do my homework and keep me up for hours in bed.
I always look forward to dance practice every day, but now? I’m even more excited. Nervous, too, because Ryder and I have a lot of work to do, and we have no idea how the judges will react to our duet. Maybe they’ll hate it and we’ll lose.
But still, I can’t remember the last time I was this excited.