Chapter 12 Jack & Jill #2
As I watch them, I am reminded of what Hank told me in one of my training sessions with him: top-level competition dancing is different than social dancing because you get to shamelessly use large amounts of space.
If you’re in a crowded room, you need to stay in your little area so you don’t knock into other couples by accident.
But in competition, you can take advantage of the whole area, playing to the crowds on different sides of the room and extending your arms as far as they can go.
Dion and Jaana are pros at this, and they end with a long slow slide that leaves Jaana doing a split on the floor.
When they finish, I turn to Helen and whisper, “How can anything beat that?”
She smiles. “Wait and see.”
Soon Hugo is up—Yukka’s former partner, paired with the Belgian woman Marianne who is also popular with the crowds.
She has a mercurial flow and a bending quality that remind me of water being poured over rocks.
Then a British man dances with Sarah, and I watch Connor’s eyes as he watches his old partner: nothing but friendly support.
“Have we gotten Connor wrong?” I ask Helen. “Maybe he’s just a nice guy who occasionally switches partners.”
Helen looks him over. “Nah,” Helen says. “There is ice in those veins.”
Then the next couple is up. “Connor,” cries Maria with enthusiasm in her voice. “And… Eliana!”
A murmur rushes through the crowds. This is drama.
What will happen when Connor has to dance with the woman he just cast aside?
They approach each other slowly as Connor gives her an amused, apologetic look, one that Nick has given me often enough that I can recognize it: I know I let you down, but you forgive me, right?
There is a determined look on Eliana’s face as she takes his hand.
Oh, I think. She’s going to kill this. I don’t even like Eliana, but I already know she’s going to be great before the music begins.
I glance at Ollie, whose face is impassive.
Connor gently positions her close to his shoulder.
They have been dancing together for years now, and it shows in every movement they make, every sexy turn, every little slide where he brings her close and then back again.
When they finish, I genuinely wonder if they are going to kiss.
My eyes go back to Ollie, who has the same neutral expression on his face as he applauds politely. I look away from him toward the door, and that is when I see someone else staring at Ollie even more intensely than I am.
It is a man with red-brown hair, close to Ollie’s coloring but more ruggedly handsome, his arms muscular and tattooed, his skin tanned. He could easily be a fashion model or a movie star in a 1960s Western. He is Ollie’s brother. I know it at once.
It feels impossible. Coming here? Right when Ollie is about to perform in his first big competition in years and will be completely distracted if he notices his brother?
“Our next lead is…Oliver MacCormack!”
I am on my feet before I have time to think about it, crossing the room to him. To Sean. The name pops into my mind.
“Excuse me,” I say. “Are you Sean? Ollie’s brother?”
The man glances at me, then back at Ollie.
“Yeah, why?” he asks. His Australian accent is more noticeable than Ollie’s, and I vaguely wonder if the older brother kept the accent on purpose.
I suspect he must have, that it must be part of his charming, unruly auctioneer persona.
Of course he’s pulling the Crocodile Dundee thing, like he didn’t grow up in a fancy suburb. His boots are artfully scuffed.
“Can I talk to you outside?” I ask.
“I want to watch him dance first.”
“Well, this is a really big deal for him and if he sees you, it could distract him.”
The man’s eyes finally focus on me. “Who are you, love?”
“Just a friend of his, but I know he wouldn’t appreciate you showing up without his permission.”
“You’re sure I don’t have his permission?” Sean gives me a little smile. He is caught somewhere between trying to be charming and confrontational, and neither quite lands.
“Do you have his permission?”
“I’m just here to talk to him.” He puts up his hands in an innocent gesture, and I’m tempted to leave so I don’t make a scene, but there’s a tension in his shoulders that I recognize from my bartending days.
I know he is here to start something. The question is whether I can steer him away from doing it in public.
I hear the music starting. Hopefully nobody has noticed Sean and I whispering.
“Just come outside and talk to him afterwards,” I say. “He’ll be done in ten minutes, and you can speak to him then and have a proper conversation. Okay?”
Sean gives me a hard look, then pushes off the wall and follows me outside the doors and into the main lobby.
I feel a wave of relief as he follows. When the doors shut, I lean against the lobby wall and look at him.
For a moment, I consider going back in. This is none of my business.
But I still care enough about Ollie to want his brother not to make a public scene, and that means I ought to keep Sean talking.
It was a strategy I sometimes used with drunks.
Just let them say whatever they want to say, and they don’t notice that the bouncer is on his way.
He looks me up and down. “You the new girlfriend?”
“Well, I’m not the old wife.”
Sean grins wolfishly. “Boy. He did a number on you, huh? Ollie the saint. You know Phoebe was with me before she dated him. Did he tell you that? He’s the one who stole my girlfriend.”
“I heard you dated her and then dumped her, yes.”
Sean sighs. “And did he say that he only went after her to make a point? That he told me he was going to date her before he started? That he was doing it to get at me?”
I say nothing, and Sean continues.
“She was never the right person for him. If she had been, what happened between us would never have happened. I was just getting her out of a mess she got herself into.”
“So you’re the hero in this situation? That’s quite a take.”
“Look, I’m not here to defend myself, alright? I’m here to talk to my brother.”
“And to distract him in the middle of a big competition?”
There is applause booming through the doors. We both glance toward the ballroom. Ollie’s dance must be wrapping up.
Maria’s voice can be heard faintly through the speaker system. “And the judges are just tallying up their scores…”
Sean gives me a look and then walks back to the doors, just as Ollie steps out. Ollie looks between us.
“What the hell is happening?” he asks.
Sean takes a step toward him, raising his hands in appeasement. “You can call off your girlfriend. I just want to talk.”
Ollie’s eyes flicker to me, filled with emotions. Ollie nods, once.
“Fine. Let’s go outside.”
“You should stay and hear who won first,” I say.
He shakes his head. “It’s not going to be me. I was a little bit distracted once I saw you two leave together.” He glances at his brother.
“I’m sorry,” I say, feeling chastened.
“I told her she was causing a scene,” Sean says as they walk toward the doors.
Ollie looks furious. “She has absolutely nothing to do with it. What the hell are you doing here?”
Ollie’s shoulders are stiff as he follows his brother out through the wide glass lobby doors of the theater.
I stand there for a moment watching them.
I should leave, but I’ve spent enough time around bad scenes to recognize when something might escalate.
I step closer to the doors, just in case Sean tries to get into a physical fight. Not that it’s any of my business.
“No,” Ollie is saying. I can’t see them, but I realize they must be right outside because I can hear their whole conversation. “You know what, fuck you, Sean. I have every right to be angry and you’re going to have to deal with the consequence of your actions for once in your life!”
“She’s leaving me.”
There is silence, and I feel my own heartbeat pounding in my chest like a fist hitting a punching bag.
“She said she saw you the other day at some dance thing and realized she’s still in love with you,” Sean adds quietly.
Now it’s me who stands frozen, waiting to hear what Ollie says next.
“Jesus,” I hear Ollie mutter.
“What the hell did you say to my wife?” Sean demands. There it is. That’s why Sean is really here.
“Nothing. Barely a sentence.”
“Tell me the truth. What did you—”
“I said I hadn’t forgiven her! That’s all. Because it’s true.”
“Well, she took that as a sign that you’re not over each other.” My cheeks blush red and hot. Is that what I’m here to listen to? Ollie getting back with Phoebe? The one thing that wasn’t even on my radar…
“That’s…no, Sean,” comes Ollie’s voice. “I’m not getting back together with Phoebe. You of all people should know that I would never do that.”
“It would be a nice revenge if you broke us up, though, right?”
“I don’t want to break you up. I just want to stay away from you until I’ve gotten past it.”
“Stay away from us? You only went after her in the first place to mess with me. Out of all the women in New York, you chose the one woman I had ever gotten serious about. You just dated her to prove you were the better man.”
“I was the better man.”
Sean laughs loudly. “Exactly. You used her against me. And now you’re doing it again. Just like Dad.”
“I haven’t tried to steal your goddamn wife. Which makes one of us!”
There is a scuffle and then Ollie backs into my field of vision, and I can guess that his brother has taken a swing at him and he’s trying to avoid the battle. I’m glad he’s not the type to launch into a fight, but I’m worried he won’t have a choice.
I finally step outside. “Ollie,” I say. “Are you okay?”
Ollie glances at me with worry in his eyes. He glances quickly between Sean and me.
“He’s fine, love,” Sean replies. “Go inside.”
Sean advances again.