Chapter 8
Maxime
She shouldn't look at me like that.
As I swallow heavily, trying to suppress the strange feeling spreading in my chest, a fierce determination flares up in her expression, just like she showed me in the park two days ago. But there's something else.
A strained kind of desperation.
She knows it. She's well aware that her dance hasn't been convincing so far.
Now, her partner places his hands around her waist and lifts her. She extends her legs into a split and gracefully spreads her arms while he initiates the spin.
Our gazes lose each other, and I finally manage to focus on their performance. Aurora's posture is excellent. Despite her simple attire, she shines like a dazzling star.
I turn my head to the right, where David sits, and nod significantly at him. I expected him to respond to my gesture, but he merely shrugs for a fraction of a second.
How can he be so blind?
Shaking my head, I redirect my attention to the dance floor, where they finish their spin.
Aurora beams, getting ready to land safely on the floor. But just then, Enzo makes another mistake. His last step was just a fraction too short, and his right foot lands too close to the left. This can only go wrong. I don't want to look, yet I'm fixated on them as my fists clench.
Before Aurora's floating phase is over, Enzo becomes unstable. The disturbance is minor, but it affects his partner, and of course, she struggles to place her foot securely on the ground. Even the best dancer couldn't compensate for that.
How unfair! I'm sure Aurora would have performed a perfect transition.
Externally, I remain composed, but inside, I feel like a volcano about to erupt. And it intensifies even more when I catch a glimpse of Madame Durand, huffing as she shifts her attention to her fingernails.
Has she written off Aurora?
The heat inside me intensifies, my heart racing. And suddenly, as if out of nowhere, the volcano erupts within me.
I rise from my chair abruptly. It crashes so loudly behind me that my fellow judges flinch despite the loud music. Aurora and Enzo continue dancing, but I can see Aurora looking at me questioningly.
"What are you doing?" David hisses at me. "Sit back down."
No, I won't. Keeping my gaze fixed on Aurora, I circle the judging table and approach her.
Before I reach her, the music comes to a sudden stop. The silence is so profound that I can hear my heart galloping. Nevertheless, I march on with determination.
"May I have this dance?" I ask, as composed as I can, extending my hand to Aurora.
She looks at me as if I'm an alien.
Enzo clears his throat. "But... um..." he stammers but then retreats without further protest, leaving the dance floor to Aurora and me.
I signal the assistant at the stereo to restart the music. Then I take Aurora's hand and swiftly pull her close in a turn so that we end up in the same starting position where she began her dance with Enzo.
The first notes of the mambo begin, and I feel her muscles relax as she gently rests the back of her head on my shoulder. Instantly, the volcanic eruption inside me subsides, replaced by a completely different feeling: joy.
Finally, Aurora has a chance to showcase her talent.
Filled with a warm sensation in my chest, I guide my hand along her waist, and our fingers interlock.
She looks up at me, and even though our feet haven't moved yet, it feels as though we're already dancing together. I give her a quick wink, and she reciprocates. That's all I need to know she's ready.
"Let's set the jury's blood on fire," I whisper in her ear.
Then we're off.
I give her the impulse, and she spins and lands safely in her position. Even though she's two arm lengths away, I feel her incredible energy. With every step she takes, she transmits it more and more to me. We assume the mambo position and start dancing as one.
Within a few beats, we merge into one unit. Harmoniously, we move to the music. Even our breaths are in sync.
And the way she looks at me...
I draw her close to me, pressing our hips together. Heat spreads through me, and she sends a tingling sensation of a million tiny electric sparks all over my body.
What is happening here?
She smiles and sways her hips.
Perfect , my mind judges.
Exhilaratin g, my heart whispers, and suddenly, I feel it everywhere: I am dancing the mambo of my life.
Passionately. Effortlessly.
Sensuously.
Our gazes meet repeatedly. Each time, the emotions that Aurora stirs in me become more intense. We move together with complete ease, and I just have to feel her in my arms to know she's not nervous or afraid.
Does she, too, feel like we're dancing alone in this ballroom? Does she imagine a single spotlight following our movements as if we were on a show stage?
I savor it.
There's only us, and the magic that connects us goes beyond the physical.
Far too quickly, the music approaches its climax. I don't know what her choreography has in store, but it doesn't matter anymore. No matter how subtle the signals I give her are, she understands them instantly. One variation follows another, and when she turns back to me again, I raise my eyebrows in question.
She grins mischievously.
Yes. We're thinking the same thing.
With a powerful push, I release her from my arms and continue moving in the mambo steps until her turns come to an end about ten yards away from me.
Then I open my arms.
She walks toward me.
Normally, I would calculate her takeoff point in my mind, but my legs position themselves on their own.
It's as if my body instinctively knows where it needs to be and what to do.
In an instant, she's by my side.
I bend slightly at the knees, and my palms find her hips. Our movements flow into each other, the music intensifies one last time. She pushes off the ground, and in an instant, she's above me.
Her body tension is impressive, yet she appears so carefree as if she could effortlessly fly away from her position.
To the rhythm of the music, which becomes calmer again, I let her glide down. The last gentle notes play as her shoes touch the floor.
Silence falls. Our dance is over.
Seconds pass before I realize that I should let her go. Also, I should stop fixating on her lips, which is inappropriate. I must immediately stop imagining what it would be like to kiss her now.
But the truth is, all I feel inside is an urgent desire to do exactly that.
For a few seconds, I hold her in my arms, and we gaze at each other. Then I notice my head involuntarily tilting down a few inches, bringing our lips closer.
"Bam," a female voice whispers.
Oh yes. There's no better way to put it.
Bam.
Suddenly, applause breaks out. It starts faintly, then quickly grows louder.
The jury! They're here, in this room. And they see what I'm doing.
Immediately, I feel caught. I quickly release Aurora and try to shake off all the intense emotions that have overwhelmed me in the past few minutes, causing me to forget everything around me.
I make a gesture as if to bow, and Aurora follows suit. Normally, we would hold hands during this, but I don't offer mine.
It's better if we don't touch each other. And it's better if I leave the dance floor right away. So I make sure to put some distance between Aurora and me. The applause ends, and Madame Durand, with a delighted grin, instructs the couple with the number forty-four to take their position. Aurora slips out through the half-open door. All of this helps me partially break free from the surreal world I was just in. On my way to the jury table, I avoid any eye contact. After picking up my chair from the floor with a pounding heart and sitting down, I feel David's hand on my back.
He leans toward me, scrutinizing me for seconds, but he doesn't say a word, and neither do I. I dare not move, frozen like a rabbit being eyed by a snake.
Now, he raises his eyebrows. "Looks like she indeed had the wrong dance partner."
I try to nod as coolly as possible.
"I still won't vote for her." His expression becomes serious. "And you shouldn't either."
Why the hell...?
"For your own sake."
What? "This has nothing to do with..."
"Even a blind person could see it." He raises his hand defensively. "Imagine if we accept her," he whispers. Significant seconds of silence pass. "Could you keep your hands off her?"
Damn.
"She would be just another student. Nothing more." Part of me resists these words. I must ignore that.
"It probably wouldn't even take a week for you to weaken." He squints his eyes. "It would cost you your career at this academy, and you know it."
Before I can react, the music starts again, and I pretend to focus on the couple with the number forty-four. At least, that's what I'm trying to do. Because in my mind, I'm still dancing with Aurora, and even if I'd prefer to tell myself something else, deep down, I suspect I'll keep doing that for quite some time.
Slowly, David's words seep into my consciousness. When they arrive, it suddenly dawns on me that I may have just made the biggest mistake of my life.
My God, what have I set in motion?
If we accept her, I will need all my willpower to ignore whatever this woman does to me. At the same time, I am the one who just made it possible for it to actually happen.