A Rehearsal for Love

by Alexandra Warren

  “Damn, ya’ll. How long do I need to clap to get an encore?”

  “Oh my God!” Malia shouted as she hopped out of my arms, scurrying to grab her pants in the process before she dashed towards the door. Thankfully, it had been a push the panties to the side situation, otherwise Knox would’ve been in for a real treat.

  Still, he managed to tease her on her way out at the same time I was putting my junk away. “Nah, nah. Don’t even worry about the pants, babe. A little ass is nothin’ new to me.”

  “Bro, chill out before I make you eat those words,” I scolded. Even if he was one of my closest friends, he could still catch a right hook to his jaw.

  “Eat my words? So eat a little ass? Like I said, nothing new to me. Where do I sign-up?”

  I gave him a shove that he took with a laugh as he continued to joke, “You should be proud, B! She actually sounded like she enjoyed herself.”

  “Yo, will you shut the fuck up already? And what are you doing here anyway? I thought you went back to Cali.” Though Knox spent most of his time traveling the country, he still called California home since that’s where his family was.

  But his extended stay made sense once he explained, “Well I was getting ready to until I got a call from my agent with some interesting news. Interesting news that involves me, you, and a shit ton of easy money.”

  “Is it legal?” I asked, as I readjusted my clothes in the mirror, still mad that Knox had ruined such an incredible moment between Malia and I.

  “Come on now, B. You know I stay on the right side of the law most of the time. But for it to work, I need you to do me one favor.”

  “Which is?”

  “Get me a meeting with Amerie.”

  Should’ve known this was too good to be true...

  “You’re shittin’ me, right? You know she can’t stand you, Knox.” I could already imagine her cussing me out for even bringing him up to her.

  Still, Knox continued to reason, “But she can stand you. And you have something she needs in Ms. Malia. So bargain.”

  “Bro, you’re buggin’. Malia’s not some bargaining tool. Her opportunity to dance for Amerie has nothing to do with me.” And I was way too proud of that fact to ever get her involved in Knox’s nonsense.

  “Are you sure about that?” he asked with a teasing smirk as if I was just making the shit up even though he had already seen her dance for himself.

  “I’m positive. Malia is good. Really good.”

  “Oh she’s good alright. And I’m not just talking about dance.”

  My fist balled up at the same time that Knox held his hands up to say, “Alright, alright. I’m sorry. That one crossed the line. My bad. But I really do need your help, bro. I know she won’t hear me out if I come direct, but she listens to you.”

  Though there was definitely a lot of truth to what he was saying, I still didn’t understand..., “What do you need to meet with her for anyway?”

  “Cause we need her in on it too.”

  “What is this “it” you keep referring to?” You would’ve thought this shit was some top secret CIA mission the way he kept speaking in code.

  And I honestly wished it would’ve been once I heard his real answer. “It’s a… reality show.”

  “A reality show? You’re playin’, right?” The last thing I saw myself as was some lunch-going, arguing for no reason D-lister.

  And it really sounded too good to be true once Knox explained, “Nah, man. They want to follow our careers as choreographers, intertwine us to make it look like we spend more time with each other than we do. And the best part, they only need to actually film us for four weeks.”

  “So four weeks of scripted ass reality TV, and we all cash out?”

  “Exactly. But, we have to get Amerie.”

  “Did you try to get in touch with her yourself?”

  “Hell no! Are you crazy? I need you to at least soften her up a little bit first; put her in the microwave for a couple seconds for me.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh at his Knox-ass reference. “I mean, I’ll see what I can do. But I can’t guarantee anything. You know how Amerie is.” Sure, Amerie was about her money. But her hate for Knox was easily a close second in importance.

  “Work your magic, bro. I mean, you obviously still have some finesse skills if you’re finally smashin’ Malia’s cute ass on the regular.”

  My hand twitched as I thought about slapping him for his dumb ass comment. But instead, I gave him a final warning. “You got one more time to talk that shit, bro. I’m serious.”

  “One more time? Well let me use my last token to tell you that you sure know how to pick ‘em cause oooohhh-weeee gotdamn!”

  I gave him a stiff push as I told him, “Take your ass back to Cali before you get hurt.”

  And he was already taking off towards the door, laughing hysterically as he said, “Alright, alright. Just don’t forget to talk to Amerie for me. And tell Ms. Malia she’s an incredible… actress!” Then he quickly took off out of the door so that I couldn’t catch up to him and sock his ass for real.

  Still, the mention of Malia reminded me to go upstairs and make sure she was alright after the run-in with Knox. Even though it was a rookie mistake on my part to be having sex with the studio door unlocked, I was sure Malia was a lot more shook by it than I was.

  I climbed the stairs and headed straight to the room where she was keeping her stuff, only to find her packing her suitcase.

  “Malia, what’s the matter? Where are you going?” Sure, the situation with Knox was awkward, but it wasn’t that damn bad.

  Malia’s face twisted as she answered, “Uh… to the airport? Did you forget today’s the day I fly out for rehearsals?”

  I scratched the back of my head, feeling like an idiot because…, “Damn, I guess I did. That went fast. Must’ve been distracted.”

  She rolled her eyes teasingly, smirking as she replied, “Very funny, Blaise. But seriously, my flight leaves in like two hours and I need a ride.”

  “I got you, pretty. Though I’m not exactly thrilled about you being away from me.” Malia may have not been staying with me for long, but I had definitely gotten use to her presence along with the little hints of “woman” that now showed its face in my crib; like the lingering scent of flowery body wash every time she showered and the assortment of makeup brushes scattered on the bathroom counter.

  “Don’t you go getting all mushy on me now, Blaise Anthony. I’ll be back before you know it. And if all else fails, you can just come see me rock the stage,” she said as she stuffed the last outfit into her suitcase and attempted to zip it. And after watching her struggle with it for a few moments, I went over to help.

  “I’d much rather just lock you in here and throw away the key,” I told her as I gave the zipper a backwards tug before using momentum to zip it closed.

  Then I turned to her just as she was reaching for my waist, wrapping her arms around it as she replied, “As incredibly kinky as that sounds, you know how much this means to me. So like I said, I’ll be back before you know it. Just be sure to wish me luck while I’m gone. I have a strong feeling I’m gonna need it.”

  Malia

  “Gotdamnit, Malia! The show is in two days! Not ten, not twenty, but two! You wanna dance in the show, right? Well tighten it up!”

  I only vaguely heard Amerie’s scolding as I was too busy trying to catch my breath. Knox had been completely right about her choreography being killer. But the dancing I could deal with. It was her constant disapproval that I struggled with, though I should’ve been used to that by now considering the woman who raised me that shall not be named.

  “I’m sorry, Amerie. I’ll get it the next time. I promise,” I replied between breaths.

  With her wooden dance cane in hand, she stalked over to me, getting right in my face and slamming the cane against the ground as she said, “Malia, there won’t be a next time when you hit that stage. You have one show; one opportunity to get it right.
You mess that up, you’ll never book another tour.”

  There was no use in answering with words, so I just nodded my head to show I understood. And before I knew it, Amerie was back to kickin’ all of our asses, tapping and counting our way through the show from top to bottom. By the end of rehearsal, I was completely winded and thankfully I wasn’t the only one as everyone seemed to collapse onto the floor once she called it to a close after giving a few announcements about the coming days.

  As I made myself busy gathering my things to head back to the hotel, one of the other dancers - Todd - settled in next to me, doing the same. He was my partner on a few songs and had helped me through some of the choreography during our downtime, so I already considered him an ally in the chaos of my existence.

  “Man, that was rehearsal was brutal,” he said with a little laugh as he wiped the sweat from his eyebrows.

  “Well at least you don’t get chewed out every run-through.”

  He waved me off, stuffing his towel into the side pocket of his duffle bag as he stood up. “Ah, don’t worry about that, Rookie. Amerie is always like that with the female standout in the bunch. It’s like she gets a little possessive over the best woman in the room. Sees a little of herself, so she wants the best for ‘em. Don’t take it personal though. She does it with love.”

  That all sounded good, but it still wasn’t easy to accept. So once Todd and the other dancers left the room, I decided to approach Amerie myself. I wasn’t even sure what I was gonna say, or why I felt entitled to answers from my superior. But not speaking my mind was no longer an option.

  “Amerie. Can I speak to you for a minute?”

  She peeked up from her little makeshift desk with a smile; the first smile I had seen from her all day. “Sure, Malia. What’s up?”

  “I umm… I was just wondering, why you’ve been… riding me so hard? I promise you I’m trying my hardest.”

  She smiled again, nodding as she offered me the empty seat across from her. I took it cautiously knowing her answer could go one of two ways regardless of the smile she was wearing. But I was feeling optimistic, so I settled in and waited for a reply.

  “Malia, you’re incredibly talented. When you move, there’s an aura around you that takes the spotlight and shines it right on you. And while that’s wonderful, I don’t want the spotlight to capture a dancer making careless errors. You’re better than that, I know you’re better than that. So I guess I push you to the limit so by the time you hit that stage in a couple days, you could do the routine in your sleep and still grab the attention of others. I want you to be your greatest self come showtime, even if that requires me giving you a little tough love.”

  I nodded to show I understood what she was saying as she continued on, “I don’t do it to hurt your feelings, or to crush your spirits. I do it to uplift you, even if my delivery says otherwise. I believe in you, Malia. I know you’ll do great, and I know you’ll continue to book shows as long as you listen to what I tell you without taking it personal. Thicken that skin up and you’ll go far.”

  It was sound advice from someone who had been there and done that. So it honestly would’ve been foolish for me to not take it verbatim.

  “Thank you, Amerie. I appreciate that. Oh! And by the way, Knox Riley told me to tell you Hello.”

  You would’ve thought the air had been sucked from the room as I watched Amerie’s face transform from chipper to disoriented to… angry?

  “Kn… Knox Riley told you to tell me Hello?”

  Considering her initial reaction, I was a little afraid to answer. But I managed to push out, “Uh… yeah. He did.”

  Amerie turned frantic as she shot up from her desk and began to let questions fly. “How do you know Knox? How did Knox know you were working with me? When did this happen?”

  Her attitude made me panicky as I quickly tossed back, “He stopped by the studio before I left to come out here. Blaise told him I had gotten booked for the show and that you were the choreographer, so he sent a message.”

  I watched as she paced back and forth next to her desk, fuming as she said, “Wow. The nerve of that motherfucker…”

  “Am I… missing something?” Even though I had vaguely heard Blaise and Knox talking about the pair, I still didn’t really know much about them. Or why she would be this upset about a simple hello.

  “No, no. I just… Knox and I have a complicated history. Very, disgustingly complicated. So for him to send a Hello is… interesting.”

  I could tell by her reaction that it was more than interesting. But in this moment, I was just grateful that things between him and I hadn’t actually gone past that dinner date.

  &

  My palms were sweaty and my leg wouldn’t stop bouncing as I sat in the dressing room with the other dancers waiting for our cue to get ready to hit the stage. The energy was electric, but I felt sick to my stomach as I thought about everything that could go wrong.

  I knew the steps, I knew my marks, I knew the routine to every song frontwards and backwards. But there was still that lingering feeling that something would go wrong just because my expectations were sky high.

  “Hey Rookie. You alright? You look like you’re gonna be sick.”

  I peeked up and found a shirtless Todd - shirtless because of the first number we’d be performing - with a worried look on his face. And since I considered him a friend, I answered honestly. “Because I am gonna be sick. What if I mess up? What if I fall? What if I bump into Zalayah on a transition? Hell, what if I bump into you?”

  Todd only laughed, putting a hand on my shoulder and looking me directly in my eyes as he replied, “Malia, we’re a team. If you fuck up, I’ll be there to at least help you make it look good. As long as you promise to do the same for me.”

  I shook my head, more confident in him than myself as I told him, “You aren’t gonna mess up, Todd.”

  “And neither are you, Rookie. Now let’s go. They’re ready for us.”

  It felt like the air had been sucked out of my lungs as I looked around and saw all of the other dancers heading out. But there was no turning back now.

  So after looking at Todd’s extended hand waiting to help me from my chair, I took a deep breath, put on my best game face, and accepted it.

  Blaise

  I was proud as fuck as I watched Malia perform from the side of the stage. It was her first big show and even though it was clear on the other side of the country, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. I didn’t tell her I was coming, knowing that probably would’ve added to her nerves. But as I watched her do what she did best, it hardly seemed like she had any nerves at all.

  According to the track list Amerie had sent me, Zalayah was on her final song. So I decided to head backstage towards the dressing rooms to meet Malia when she was done. Even from the back, you could still hear the crowd roaring. And while I knew the noise was for the artist, I also knew how much of the crowd’s energy was fueled by the dancers. Even though the dancers were just in the background, they were still an integral piece of the show.

  The music faded out and the claps and cheers from backstage faded in as the dancers exited the stage. I gave nods of congratulations to the familiar faces as I waited for my girl, but the trail of dancers came to an abrupt end before she showed up.

  Where is she?

  After waiting a few more beats, I climbed off of my spot against the wall and headed towards the hall where the dancers had come from. And once I wrapped around the corner, I saw Malia in a tight embrace with one of the male dancers; the one that had been her partner for the majority of the show.

  What the hell?

  Instead of making my presence known, I listened in on their conversation.

  “Thank you so much, Todd. I wouldn’t have made it without your help.”

  “I got you, Rookie,” he replied with smuggest smirk before adding, “How about we grab a drink to celebrate?”

  “Uhh... I don’t know about that.”

  “
Aww come on, Rookie. You survived your first show. You deserve to celebrate. And besides, we have tomorrow off. So you’ll have plenty of time to recuperate if you overdo it.”

  “Actually, she already has plans.”

  Malia jumped away from ol’ boy with wide eyes, before doing a little jog to get to me. “Blaise! What are you… when did you… how did you…?”

  I smirked as I pulled her under my arm into a half-hug, giving her a kiss against her temple as I told the both of them, “You know I couldn’t miss my girlfriend’s first major gig.”

  My words seemed to shake the little me-wannabe. But he quickly pulled it together before walking over to us with an extra pep in his step. “Blaise Anthony. It’s an honor to meet you, man.”

  I shook his hand, giving it a firmer than normal grip as I told him, “Yeah, it’s always cool to meet a fan.”

  Dude squinted his eyes, catching my drift, before Malia interjected, “Blaise, Todd is my partner on the tour. He’s been helping me with the choreography.”

  That better be all he’s been helping you with...

  Instead of acknowledging him for doing anything good or bad, I remained focused on her. “That’s what’s up, pretty. You were incredible out there.”

  She sounded surprised as she asked, “You saw the whole show?”

  And I nodded my head as I replied, “Of course I did. I didn’t come all this way just to miss you do your thing, Malia.”

  Her little smile made my heart twitch as she got on her tippy toes to give me a quick peck, unintentionally rubbing it in ol’ boy’s face just enough for him to say, “Rookie, I’ll catch you later.”

  She kept her eyes on me, her lips near mine as she gave him a little wave and said, “Okay, Todd.” Then she kissed me again, this time with a lot more intensity.

  But before I could get swept up in her presence, I asked her, “Pretty, be real. Ol’ boy been keeping his hands to himself?”