Beauty from Ashes: Authors & Dancers Against Cancer Anthology

by Vera Quinn

  “Why did he hate it so much?” I ask.

  “I asked him once, but he could never tell me. He always thought that my dance partner and I were having an affair, but I didn’t see Jose like that.” How does she remember all of this, but not me? I hate this disease and how it’s stolen my mom from me. “Ginger belongs on the stage and not in a courtroom.” I sigh.

  “Mom, I wanted to show you something.” I get out my phone and show her the dance I did a couple of nights ago. “I’m still dancing, Mom, but I do it for me.”

  “Oh, this is beautiful. You look like a younger version of me.” My mom’s crying.

  “I didn’t mean to make you cry.” I pull her into a hug.

  “Ginger, you are beautiful. Please dance. Go see Mr. Morales and sign up for your lessons. If your dad has a problem with it, he can come see me.” I smile at her.

  “I don’t want him to be mad at me.” I know he’s gone, but I don’t want to hurt him.

  “He could never be mad at you for doing something that you love. Now, let’s watch some more of you dancing.” I snuggle into my mom as we watch more videos. She kisses my forehead and I smile. This is the mom that I grew up with and miss.

  Chapter Three

  A week later

  I finish up my last class and as I’m walking to my truck, I see someone leaning up against it. He’s standing there with his ankles crossed and playing with his phone.

  “If a dance teacher saw you standing like that, you’d be in trouble,” I smart off to Mateo. “Stalking much?” I ask as I open the driver’s side door.

  “Since I’m the teacher, I doubt the kids will even know.” He chuckles. “I’m not stalking you.”

  “Uh-huh sure. You just happened to be at my college campus. Before you argue, it’s a small campus and I know most of the students. You just happened to be at my truck. What do you want?”

  “I need a partner. There’s this big fundraiser that’s happening in two weeks and my normal dance partner from New York can’t fly in because she has an audition to Juilliard. I can’t make her give that up for me,” he tells me and I close my door to stand next to him. I see a couple of my classmates walking toward me. I wave to them.

  “What about one of your students? I’m sure they would love to work with you. Why me?”

  “They would but you are the one I want. We could be so good together.” Mateo gets off the side of the truck to stand across from me. “Ginger, I know why you don’t dance but this is something that is important to Granddad. He started this showcase fundraiser, and it’s how he finds talent. I mean, he did find the great Margo.”

  “Don’t use my mom like that or I’ll break your foot,” I tell him. “What are you thinking about dance-wise?”

  “You’re going to do it?” Mateo looks hopeful. I hate to dash his happiness.

  “I didn’t say that, but I will think about it.” I get into my truck to grab a piece of paper and jot down my cell number and email address. “Send me the music so I can listen to it. I have a study group right now then I’ll be over at the studio to clean. If I say yes to you, then it has to be around my schedule. I have classes, work two jobs and visit my mom and great aunt.”

  “Deal.” Mateo is awfully smug. “My granddad is going to be so damn excited.”

  “I said no one will know!” I push on his shoulder and he laughs. He tries to argue with me. “Let me tell him.” I smile. “He’s always been so good to my family and especially me when my mom got sick and dad died.”

  “Okay. I’ll see you later tonight.” Mateo runs to his car. I get into my truck and head to the coffee shop to study. How am I going to do it all? After two hours of studying, I didn’t have time to go home to change. I decided to work in my regular clothes. I hope that I don’t get in trouble for being out of uniform. I clock in before heading to the closet.

  “Ginger, running late today?” Mr. Morales is standing behind me.

  “Sorry. I was at a study session close to here and not near my house. I’m sorry that I’m out of uniform,” I rush out.

  “Calm down. It’s okay. I was wondering how your mom is doing.”

  “She’s good. We watched videos of me dancing. She remembered me,” I tell him as I grab the cart.

  “That’s good to hear. She called me by my father’s name when she saw me. I guess I have gotten a tad older, huh?” We laugh.

  “I wanted to let you know that Mateo convinced me to do a dance for the fundraiser showcase.”

  “You are? How did he convince you?” Mr. Morales’s face is lit up like a Christmas tree.

  “Mom actually did. When I first got there, she didn’t know me and told me that my dad made her quit dancing because he hated it. He thought Mom would cheat on him with your son. She said that I need to be doing what I love, and what I love is dancing. I feel the closest to her when I’m moving to music.”

  “Does this mean that you’re going to become a student here?” Mateo asks from behind me.

  “Don’t you have something to do?” I laugh. “I can’t afford to be a student here and I don’t have the time because I’m working two jobs to pay for my apartment and college classes. I’m doing this one dance with you and that’s final.” I squint my eyes at him. “Now, if you both will excuse me, I need to go get my work done.”

  “Don’t clean that room where I saw you dancing. We can practice there, okay?”

  "Yes, sir." I mock salute Mateo. I move my way through the dance studio to start cleaning. The dance studio is made up of ten rooms that hold about fifteen children for each class. There are two locker rooms, one for the boys and one for the girls. They have a lounge area for the dance instructors to relax, plus the primary office with a conference room and offices for the director and the senior Mr. Morales.

  I stop at the room where I first saw Mateo. There’s a class in there now that he’s teaching. Mateo’s dad calls my name.

  “Hello, Ginger. How are you?”

  “I’m good, how are you?” I shake his hand.

  “When Mateo first told me about you two dancing together, I did a little dance because I was so thrilled. He hasn’t been this passionate about the showcase in a long time. He must have looked forever for a partner here. There was no one on his level or that he clicked with, so I’m happy to hear this news.” Mr. Morales smiles.

  “He told me his dance partner couldn’t fly in.”

  “Oh. Mateo didn’t tell you. His ex-dance partner is his ex-fiancée. She’s getting married the weekend of the showcase.”

  “I didn’t know. I’m so sorry to hear that.” I look back at Mateo. My heart hurts for him.

  “Don’t say anything about your knowing this and focus on the dance. It will be good for both of you. Tell your mother we said hello.” I tell him that I will and move the cart out of the way because the students start to leave the classroom. I say hello to all of them. I walk in and see Mateo talking to a few of the students.

  “There she is!” He looks up to see me. I wave. “If you want to talk about dance royalty, then look no further. Ginger’s mom is the great Margo Jones. You see the posters of Margo and my dad when you walk these halls.” The kids seem impressed.

  “Are you a dancer too?” one of the kids asks.

  “Yes, she is. She’s going to be dancing with me in the showcase.” Mateo knows that I’d tell the students that I’m a janitor. “Now, your parents are waiting, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  I say bye to them as they walk past me.

  “I’m not a dancer. I am a janitor slash college student,” I remind him.

  “No, you are a dancer. It’s in your blood. It’s who you are,” Mateo tells me. I want to believe him, but I’m afraid to think of myself as that.

  “What is this dance going to be?” I ask.

  “It’s everything.” Mateo laughs. “Do you trust me?”

  “No.” I laugh. We start with some stretches. It’s a good thing that I wore leggings to school today because doing this in
jeans would suck. “I'm going to make sure that I pack an outfit to dance in instead of my regular clothes.”

  “Sounds good. Now did you get a chance to listen to the music?” I nod. “Good. We have two weeks and it’s going to be a vigorous two weeks. We need to practice as much as we can.”

  “I’ll check my schedule to see if I can add in any more sessions. I’m sorry, that’s the best I can do.”

  “That’s all I ask. Now, we are going to start like this.” Mateo makes sure that I’m standing across from him, then he moves me slightly to the left of him. Mateo grabs my left hand in his right as he places his left hand on my hip. My right hand is down at my side. He tells me that on a three-count I am to bend at the waist going backward in a half-circle, letting my free hand flow with my body. My long blonde hair touches the floor, and I use my core to pull myself up and face him again. He spins me around and as he drops my hand, I spin a few more times, stopping to face the mirror.

  “Is that right?”

  “Perfect. Now, we are going to do the tango but without touching. I want you to sashay your hips to me.” I do as he instructs. We start to tango without touching, but I keep messing up. We laugh so hard that we are holding our sides.

  “The tango is getting me all twisted up.”

  “I see that.” Mateo laughs. “I think this is good for tonight. Practice the tango by yourself.”

  “I will. Thanks again, Mateo. I can’t wait to have someone record this and I can show my mom.” I start to gather up my stuff and I see the cart sitting there. “Fuck. I can’t go home yet.” I bring the cart closer to the door. “I need to finish my job. Oh shit! I didn’t clock out. I need to leave a note for your dad so he can adjust my timecard.”

  “I can finish cleaning up. It’s midnight.”

  “We’ve been dancing for three hours. Damn, I’m going to be sore tomorrow. I can do my job. I’m not going to have you do it.” We start to argue a bit, but Mateo is stronger than me.

  “Go home.” He points to the door. “Don’t make me swat you with the broom.” I salute Mateo as he grumbles about me being a smartass.

  Chapter Four

  We’ve been rehearsing for a week now and my body hurts in places that I forgot about. I slide into my bathtub after coming home and groaning with each step coming up the stairs. I put in my relaxing playlist and close my eyes. I can’t believe that I’m dancing again. It feels like breathing to me. I do everything that I can think of to fill the void in my heart. I go to the different dance clubs so I can sense the music pulsing through my veins, but it never gave me that fulfillment—not like I feel when I’m with Mateo.

  He makes me feel alive again. I let the music surround me. It’s filling up the room and I cry. I don’t understand the emotions that I’m feeling but I wish I could share this with my mom. I want her in the room with me—watching me, correcting me, and being proud of me. As I climb out of the bathtub, there’s a knock on the door. I grab my pink silk robe and quickly put it on. I come out of the bathroom yelling to hang on a sec as I wrap my long hair in the towel. I swing open the door and Mateo is standing there. I smile.

  “What are you doing here?” I ask. I invite him in, and he looks me up and down. I can’t read his facial expression. Mateo clears his throat.

  “You forgot this, and I figured that you needed it.” He hands me my backpack.

  “I must have been tired, to forget that. I have a paper due in a week and all of my research is in there. Thank you.” I set my backpack on the chair next to the door. “Do you want anything to drink? I have water, iced tea, and coffee.” I smile at him.

  “Iced tea would be great.” Mateo sits down on the black leather sofa.

  “Let me get some clothes on. I’ll be right out.” I race to my room trying to find something cute to wear. “Ugh, why is tomorrow laundry day,” I mutter to myself smacking my forehead. I remove my robe and the towel around my head as I throw on a pair of light blue boy shorts and a black tank top with the dance studio logo on it. My hair is in a braid over my shoulder. I check my face to see if I need makeup. I know that Mateo is single, and we’ve been flirting for a week now.

  I walk out of my bedroom and see Mateo sitting back on the couch flipping through my Netflix.

  “Sorry about that. I’ll get the iced tea now.” Mateo doesn’t look at me.

  “I ordered a pepperoni pizza; hope you don’t mind. I figured that we could hang out outside of the dance studio!” he yells while I’m in the kitchen. I smile.

  “Sounds like a promising idea to me. Did you find something on Netflix to watch?”

  “I was thinking Supernatural, are you good with paranormal?” Mateo asks me. I place the glass down on the coffee table as I sit down next to him.

  “I love Supernatural. Dean cracks me up with his smartass remarks.”

  “Me too.” He finally looks over at me and smiles. “Hi.” Mateo has his hand on my knee.

  “Hi.” I smile and feel my face blush. We lean into each other and our lips touch. There isn’t an urgency with the kiss but more of a tenderness, a longing. I slide closer to him as he helps move me to be on top of him. Mateo takes his finger on my tank top strap to guide it down off my shoulder. He playfully rubs my nipples hardening them. I moan into his lips. I break apart from him.

  “Tell me to stop now or I won’t be able to once we start,” Mateo whispers as I look into his eyes.

  “Please don’t stop,” I tell him. He nods as he gently moves me off of him and lays me down with my back on the couch. He slides a finger into my shorts as he rubs my clit. I move my hips up off the couch to help Mateo. He slides my shorts off as he gets frustrated not being able to slide his finger into me. My shorts are about off when there’s a knock on the door.

  “Fuck. I forgot the pizza.” He throws a blanket on me since one of my breasts is out of my tank top. He answers the door and pays the guy who says hi to me. I wave not looking. I don’t want Jerry, a fellow classmate of mine, to see me with my entire body red with embarrassment. Mateo closes the door, then tosses the pizza on the coffee table. “Where’s the bedroom?” I point down the hallway. Mateo picks me up and throws me over his shoulder. I can’t help but laugh and smack him on his ass.

  We enter my room and he tosses me onto the bed making me squeal. We remove our clothes at lightning speed and he’s back on top of me, kissing me.

  I run my hands up and down his back grasping at him. Mateo’s kisses on my body send shivers down my spine. I want him inside me so badly.

  “Damn,” I mutter. “Mateo, inside me. Please,” I beg.

  “So impatient. I might have to take my time now,” he teases. I try to push him off me and he laughs.

  “Do you want me to leave? I can go eat some pizza.” Mateo starts to move off of me and I wrap my legs around his hips, pulling him back on top of me. We laugh. “You’re so beautiful. How did I get so lucky that you feel the same way about me?” He looks into my eyes. The moon comes in through the circle window highlighting every inch of Mateo. He’s a beautiful man.

  “I’m glad that you came over. I feel like this is a dream.” I kiss him. We start to make love and the connection we feel for each other makes it so much sweeter. He’s gentle the first time. Once we finish, he pulls me into his arms, and we hold on to each other. I start to drift asleep when my stomach growls. I laugh into his chest.

  “I’m so embarrassed.”

  “Nothing to be embarrassed about. I’m hungry too. I’ll go grab the pizza. You don’t mind if it’s microwave nuked, do you?”

  “Sounds heavenly. Do you need me to grab the drinks?” Mateo nods. We walk through my apartment naked to the living room. “Want to eat out here or in my bed?”

  “Bed, so I can devour you after we get food into our systems.” He wiggles his eyebrows. We eat pizza and drink iced tea. We talk about my school, dance, and what he wants to do in the future. He’d love to continue the tradition of his father and grandfather and run the studio, have a family and
still be able to dance. I’m jealous that he has an idea of what he wants for the future. I still don’t know if I want to finish school.

  “You know, you could always switch your degree to business, and we can run the dance studio together,” he comments. I smile.

  “Are you asking me to be your girlfriend?” I poke him in the side. He moves the pizza off the bed and moves on top of me. He stares into my eyes.

  “What if I am?” he asks with a serious face. I swallow hard.

  “Then I would say yes.” I smile at him. He kisses me again.

  I push him onto his back. As a dancer, I have great body strength. Now, I’m on top. “I like this view,” he tells me. I feel his hands dig into my hips. I lean forward so I can slide down his cock. I sit still waiting for my pussy to get used to him being there. I start to roll my hips forward, feeling him growing inside me. I pick up my pace as he grabs onto my ass. I run my hands down his chest. He mutters, “Oh God. You feel so damn good.” I smirk as I grab my breasts and massage them. I pinch my nipples and roll them in my fingers.

  The sensation of the pain from his hands on my hips and ass, the speed of my movement, and Mateo’s hips moving in sync with me send a shiver to my core. I feel myself tightening against his cock. I know that I’m going to come. Mateo sits up with me and I slide up and down his cock, slamming hard. “God.” He kisses my neck. I start to come and bite down on his shoulder as my nails scrape his back. As I come down from my orgasm, Mateo flips me to my back, raising my hips as my calves are at his shoulders. He slams into me so hard that every bone in my body feels it. He shudders as he comes inside me. He gently removes himself from inside me and lies down next to me.

  We fall asleep wrapped up in my sheet.