Romance: Dance with Me (California Belly Dance Romance Book 2)

by Cameron, DeAnna

  So, that was it. There was nothing else to say.

  She searched the blackness again. The three silhouettes didn’t move.

  “Thank you for your time,” she said. “I’m sorry for all of it.” With her eyes on the stage floor, she hurried off the stage and collected her bag.

  The spiky-haired guy was walking toward her as she headed for the door.

  “How’d it go?” he asked cheerfully.

  “I’m sure you’ll hear all about it,” she grumbled.

  “Oh,” he said in that way that really means “I’m sorry I asked.”

  Melanie didn’t go directly to the parking garage. She didn’t hold her head high or try to pretend she was fine. What she did was slip into the women’s restroom, hole herself up in a stall, and when she was sure she was completely alone, she cried like a little girl. Like the day her mother told her that her father had moved out.

  She cried until the hurt washed away—for the audition, for her mother, for her life. She cried until she couldn’t possibly cry another tear. She cried until she was just plain tired of crying. The hardest part was, no one else had made this mess. Taz had played his part, but this was her mess. She owned it, and she would deal with it.

  When she emerged from the stall, she checked the damage in the mirror. Eyeliner smeared around her eyes and in rivulets down her cheek. Lipstick smudged all around her mouth. Her teal rose hairpin had slid down to her neck.

  She laughed. Just a chuckle at first, but then it was a full, belly laugh she couldn’t stop. She looked like one of those devil-possessed clowns in a hacker film. She looked like a hot, stinking mess.

  It was funny, though, even if it was her life.

  She pulled two paper towels from the dispenser, wet them, and went to work cleaning up the worst of the damage. Makeup, hair, attitude—when it was all in better order, she peeked into the lobby.

  Still empty. She hurried across the floor and slipped out one of the glass doors. The sun was high in the sky and bright. Bright enough to scatter the shadows that still lingered at the edge of her thoughts. She didn’t know where she was going. It didn’t matter. She’d figure it out when she got behind the wheel. Maybe Laguna for a walk along Main Beach. Maybe the Huntington Pier.

  Oh, who was she kidding? She knew exactly where she was going. She was going to that pile of blankets on Abby’s living room sofa. She was going to crawl beneath them and maybe never come out.

  | 45

  The studio’s boutique door opened, but Melanie kept her eyes on the bills in her hand, and counted to herself, “Twenty-five, thirty, thirty-five, forty—”

  “Here you go, the biggest cup—”

  Melanie’s hand flew up to halt Abby’s words.

  “Forty-five, fifty, fifty-five. There, done.” She looked up. “Sorry. What did you say?”

  Abby set a big cup of coffee beside the cash register. “Don’t let me interrupt you. I haven’t seen you this focused since…”

  Melanie knew why Abby let the comment die. It wasn’t exactly a sore subject. It was just one they didn’t mention. Not since Melanie quit the newspaper and asked for the boutique manager job. That was more than two weeks ago now, and it was becoming easier not to think about it.

  Abby regrouped and started again. “Have I mentioned lately how glad I am you’re here?”

  Melanie pretended to mull it over. “Uh, probably not since yesterday.”

  “It’s just because I know you gave up a lot to do it, and it means the world to me. I’m good with students, and I’m pretty good with numbers, but I have to admit, this retail stuff is harder than it looks.” She glanced around at the new hip scarves that needed to be folded and the messy skirt rack.

  “I’m happy to keep it in shape for you,” Melanie said. “It’s a lot more fun than running month-end financial reports for Deffner or making sure he doesn’t miss his weekly status meetings.” She stepped back from the case and presented her outfit. “And where else could I wear yoga pants and a stretch choli to work, or not worry about whether my ink shows. Not to mention all the free studio time.”

  “Yep, as much free studio time as you want. You can practice to your heart’s content. By next year, when auditions come around again, they won’t know what hit ’em.”

  Melanie looked away. Abby was trying to be helpful, she knew that. It didn’t diminish the sting. She swallowed hard, looked back, and tried to make light of it. “Well, I appreciate your optimism, but we both know that’s not going to happen. I had my chance.” She wanted to add, “and I blew it,” but the words wouldn’t come. Instead, she changed the subject. “I figure I’ll work on trying to pick up a few private-lesson students then see what happens.”

  “Maybe get your own place? You must be miserable being back at your mom’s.”

  “Actually, I’m not. Things between us are better than they’ve ever been.”

  “That’s great,” Abby said. “If you ever want to come back to my place, you can do that, too. I liked having you there.”

  Before Melanie could respond, the bell jingled, and the studio door opened.

  Taz filled the doorway. Not smirking and cocky as he had been that first day. He stood at the threshold with his fists in the front pockets of his jeans. Almost timid. Almost boyish. As though he wasn’t sure he was welcome.

  | 46

  Melanie just stared. As if Taz were a ghost. A memory of better days.

  “Hi, Taz,” Abby said with forced enthusiasm. “Great to see you. Right, Melanie?”

  “Yeah,” Melanie managed to say.

  “Hi,” he said sheepishly, avoiding eye contact. He ran antsy fingers through his hair, which was pulled back in a ponytail. It looked like he wanted to say more, but his mouth tensed, and he stayed silent.

  For a long moment, no one said anything, and tension stretched between them like a taut rubber band.

  “You know,” Abby continued, drawing out the words, filling up time. “I need to check on something in the back. Will you excuse me?” With her eyes, she motioned to Melanie as if to ask, “Are you okay? Do you have this?”

  Melanie nodded, but she honestly didn’t know. She didn’t know anything.

  “Holler if you need anything,” Abby said, and she disappeared around the corner.

  Taz moved closer.

  “I heard you were working here. I hope you don’t mind me just showing up. Maybe I should have called. I probably should have called.”

  Melanie couldn’t watch him shift and fidget. It was so not like him. Stripped of his confidence, it was like it wasn’t even Taz anymore, and it made her want to do crazy things, like throw her arms around him and comfort him. She wanted to nuzzle her nose in that warm, tender part of his neck.

  Stop! What was she thinking? She stared hard at the unpaired earrings. The mix of gold and silver chains in front of her. She had to focus on something else. What had she been doing? Why couldn’t she think? “No,” she said. “It’s fine.”

  He took another step closer. “Look,” he said, “I owe you an apology.”

  Her glance shot up from the merchandise to meet his gaze squarely for the first time. “No,” she practically shouted before getting a grip on herself. “If anything, I owe you an apology. A big one, and I know it. What those bloggers said… what I said, I guess… I didn’t mean it. I was angry and hurt and stupid.”

  “You weren’t stupid. It was my own fault. You know, I didn’t realize it till later, but I went out with one of those girls. The blond one. It was just once last year, and I didn’t even remember until she called the day after that post. She wanted to know if she could come over for an interview, to get my side of the story. When I said no, she went ballistic. She brought up how I hadn’t called her after our date, and how I blew her off.” He shrugged. “She’s right. It was a dick move. Guess she showed me, huh?”

  He chuckled, but the humor didn’t reach his eyes.

  She curled her fingers into fists, fighting the urge to jump to his defe
nse.

  He didn’t pause for long, though. “I know I put you in an awkward position. I never should have taken it so far. I guess I wanted to believe you wanted to be with me.” He sighed and threw his head back. “I don’t know what I was thinking. Of course you must have thought that was part of the bargain. You have to believe me, that was never my intention.”

  “I know,” she blurted. “That’s not why I did it.” She winced, trying to wrap her mind around what he just said. “So you think I’m mad at you?”

  “Well, yeah,” he scoffed. “Aren’t you? I mean, you have a right to be.”

  Her head swam with confusion. It felt like the world just turned upside down. “No,” she said. “I’m the one at fault. I’m the one who opened my big mouth to those girls. I’m the one who got jealous.”

  “Jealous?” he cut in. “Of what?”

  “Tamara. It was obvious you still care for her.”

  “Whoa, hold on,” he said and covered his eyes with his hands, squeezing his brow. “You thought I wanted to be with her?”

  “Well, yeah. You two looked very cozy at the party.”

  He shook his head. “That was not what was happening. That will never happen. We had some unfinished business, yeah, and my sister had told her some things that were misleading, to say the least. I just needed a minute to clear it up. That’s why I was talking to her. That’s the only reason. If you had stayed, you would have seen that she left about ten minutes after you did.”

  “But she was at your house.”

  He shook his head. “Gina’s doing. Not mine. Like I said, she didn’t stay. Is that the only reason you left?”

  He was standing at the display case now, across from her. She could see his hands, the curly, blond hair on his wrists and arms. She flashed on the moment those hands had been in her hair and roaming over her skin.

  He was waiting for an answer. She had the feeling he would stand there, staring at her until he got one.

  “Yeah,” she said with a shrug. “Okay, so it was all just a misunderstanding.”

  She wanted to leave it at that, but she knew she couldn’t. She was being honest now, which meant she had to be totally honest.

  “Look, I lost my temper. I never meant for those things I said to those girls to be taken the way they were. I had no idea what had happened until it was too late.”

  He smiled a meek smile. She knew what he was thinking: It didn’t make things better.

  “I never meant for you to get fired, Taz. I absolutely never wanted that to happen.”

  The truth of that tore through her. She couldn’t help but think how she would feel if someone had taken her passion—her dancing—away from her. That’s what she had done to him. That’s why she didn’t deserve to be a Belly Dance Diva.

  He was staring at the floor again. When he finally glanced up, he said, “I wasn’t fired. That rumor started, and I didn’t correct it. But the truth is, I quit.”

  | 47

  Melanie instantly felt the questions mounting. She wanted to know what he meant. She wanted him to explain. Honestly, how was it even possible?

  The only sound she could muster was, “Huh?”

  “Things got really complicated,” he said with a sigh. “Gina convinced herself Garrett was taking advantage of our partnership. I told her she was wrong, but she wouldn’t listen. I tried to tell her it was my choice, that I didn’t want to be involved in the business side of things, that I liked things the way they were.”

  “Then why would you quit?”

  “That night, after you left the Pandemonium, she told me she got a lawyer. She said she was going to file a lawsuit saying I had no right to use the money I invested with Garrett without her permission.”

  “Her permission? But isn’t half the money yours?”

  He shook his head like the whole matter disgusted him. “She found some piece of paper, some stupid contract I’d signed years ago giving her power of attorney because she was managing the money in the beginning. She told me I never officially rescinded it, so it was technically still in effect.”

  Melanie didn’t know much about the law, but she could see by the look on his face it was bad. “I’m sorry. That sucks.”

  “She said she was going to get my money back from Garrett, whether I liked it or not. So before she could cost us all a bundle in legal fees and embarrass the hell out of me, I quit and asked Garrett to buy me out. I figured I’d lose the show, but at least I’d have money to buy my dad’s masters from his old record label, and I could finally finish the legacy album. Now I own them. They’re mine.” He smiled, for the first time since he walked through the door.

  “You went to New York?” Hope surged within her, but just for a moment. He still could have called. It wasn’t like the city had no cell service.

  “Yeah,” he said. “It took a few meetings with the label guys, but I got them to release the recordings. It wasn’t easy, but I got them.”

  “I guess you must have been pretty busy these past couple of weeks, then.” She winced. Why did she have to say that? She might as well wave a flag that said, “Look how pitiful I am.” She hurried to add, “So all those rumors, all the gossip about you being fired. It was just completely wrong?”

  “It was easier to let it run its course. I figured it would die down eventually, and it wouldn’t matter, anyway if I wasn’t with the show.” He chuckled. “And since I lost my phone, it was really easy to ignore.”

  “You lost your phone?” Hope reared its head again.

  “It’s all right. I found it, or rather, Gina found it. In the driveway after I left. I must have dropped it as I was leaving. Luckily, she relayed messages to me at the hotel. She wasn’t thrilled about having to be my secretary for a few days, though.”

  “Emails too, huh?” She knew she was being obvious, but she couldn’t help herself.

  “She had to forward all of it to me.” He laughed. “Well, she was supposed to relay it all. Turns out, she left a few things out.”

  She wanted to ask about hers. Was it one that didn’t make it through? The question couldn’t get past her throat.

  An awkward silence stretched between them.

  “I’m really happy things worked out for you,” she said at last, knowing it wasn’t the right thing to say. It was true, but it was nowhere near what she wanted to tell him.

  He shook his head like he was shaking off his own doubts. “I didn’t come here to tell you all that. That’s not why I’m here.” He glanced up and met her gaze. “I came to thank you.”

  Did she hear that wrong?

  She must have looked utterly confused, because he quickly added, “Garrett has been trying to reach me ever since your audition, but my sister never told me. We didn’t connect until yesterday, when I got back.”

  Panic stabbed at her. “What did my audition have to do with anything?”

  “I never told him why I wanted to leave the show. I figured it was best if he just thought I wanted to do my dad’s album. It turns out I should have talked to him, because he’s got a lawyer who says that document Gina was holding over my head would never hold up in court.”

  “That’s good news.”

  “Yeah, no doubt.”

  “But I still don’t see what that has to do with my audition.”

  It was his turn to look sheepish. “Garrett only started to question why I quit because of what you said to him.”

  She pulled back.

  “He told you what I said?”

  “Of course he did. Wouldn’t you tell your friend?”

  He had a point. She shrugged.

  “At first he assumed it was because of that blog post. He tried telling me he didn’t believe it and not to worry about it. He couldn’t understand why I still wanted to quit. He said he couldn’t believe it was just the legacy album, and the only other answer he could come up with was that you dumped me after Pandemonium and the Tamara fiasco, and I was taking it badly. After your audition, he realized that wasn
’t it either. That’s when he started tracking me down again. When I told him I was trying to protect him and the show from Gina, he got his lawyer on the phone.”

  Her heart and head were pounding. It all made sense, but there was still one thing—one person—he hadn’t mentioned. The question eked out of her. “What about Tamara?”

  He gave her a look like she’d just jumped aboard the crazy train.

  “She was at your house,” she added. “You looked like you were back together.”

  “What? No. My sister invited her over, but she didn’t stay. I left after you did, and she was gone when I got back. We are not getting back together. Not now, not ever.”

  “What about Gina?”

  “She’s gone, too. Thankfully.” He sighed. “I would never admit this to her, but in some ways, my sister was right about some things. There is more to life than drumming and performing. I don’t need her to tell me how to live my life, but I know, in the end, she has my best interests at heart.”

  He stopped and shook his head. “But I’ve gotten completely off track again. What I came to say, what I came to ask, actually, is would you still consider joining the Belly Dance Divas?”

  “Oh, right,” she scoffed. “Like I’m ever going to stand up in front of those judges again.”

  “No, you won’t,” he said.

  It wasn’t said with malice, but the words sliced through her. She dropped her glance again so he wouldn’t see the tears welling in her eyes. She blinked fast, forcing them back. She forced back the lump creeping up her throat.

  He must have known emotion was getting the best of her, because he stepped toward her and put his hand on her arm.

  Oh, crap. Now she was playing the pity card, even though that was the last thing she wanted to do. Get a grip, Mel. Stop acting like a baby.

  “You won’t,” he said, his voice quiet and consoling. “At least I hope you won’t. Damn, this is harder than I thought it would be. See, the thing is, I need a partner in the show.”