by Alison Mello
“It’s very sweet of you to defend me, but that’s not what I meant.” I grin. “I meant I fell for him while we were dancing, and I don’t need to do that again.” I shake my head.
He shrugs. “Of course, I’d defend you. We’re friends, and that’s what friends are for.” He breaks out in song, making me laugh. Bentley has many amazing features, and a voice isn't one of them. “And why not get a new partner? If you’re over him, why not move on?” He shrugs. “Might help you heal.”
I stop in my tracks and look him in the eye. “Just because I’m over him doesn’t mean I want to be in a relationship.”
He takes a step closer to me. “Who said having a dance partner means you need to have a relational partner?”
I narrow my eyes. “It doesn’t. I just don’t want to take any chances right now.” I step around him and continue on my way. I honestly hadn’t thought of it that way.
“Well, I guess we’ll find out soon enough.” He reminds me as we get to the studio. Bentley opens the door for me, and we both take the stairs to the second floor where we all meet. Everyone is already gathering. They’re eyeing us as we walk in together, but I brush it off. It’s not like it’s the first time Bentley and I have arrived at the studio together. I drop my bag and rush over to see what everyone is up to.
“Glad you two could join us. We’re just about to start. There’s been a change of plans. Men, you are with me tonight, and ladies, you’ll be working with Destiny on your routine.”
The guys make their way out of the room, and Destiny spreads us all out so we can begin stretching.
Destiny is an amazing dancer, a fun teacher, and a great friend. She’ll be on stage with us just as Micah will be on stage with the guys. There is a total of six of us ladies on the dance team. “Okay, ladies, now that we’re warmed up, gather around for a moment. I’m going to play the song we will be dancing to for this competition.”
She struts over to the laptop and starts typing, and a moment later, music blares through the speakers. I burst into laughter when I hear the song. “You’re kidding, right?”
She turns around with an evil grin on her face. “Not even a little.” She walks over to me. “Wait till you see what we’re wearing.” She wiggles her brows. “It’s hot.”
I expel a deep breath and start laughing. I can’t believe we are dancing to Single Ladies by Beyonce. I’m not sure if I should love Micah or kill him, but if I know Destiny, this routine is going to be on fire.
Chapter Two
Bentley
"Good evening, people," Jade shouts, strutting into the room with a huge smile on her face. Her hair down, her curves exposed by the mid-drift top she's wearing. The sparkle hanging from her belly button grabs my attention, and her long, lean legs scream my name. She's beautiful, but we have been friends for years, and with all that her ex put her through, she's sworn off dating any other dancers. They were amazing together on the dance floor, but off, not so much.
We’ve been good friends from day one, so she has no idea how badly I’ve wanted to date her. She’s captured my attention from the moment I walked into this school, but I respected the fact that she had a man. I only wish her ex had the same respect for her. I’m not sure what led Jackson to stray away from a fine woman like Jade, but he’s insane if you ask me. I can only hope that at some point, his loss will become my gain.
"Y'all ready to work." My boy, Micah, claps his hands, pulling in everyone's attention. She drops her bag and heads over to our crew, saying hi to a few friends along the way. She stands directly beside me. We’ve walked to the studio together before, but I don’t want to crowd her, so when I didn’t see her today, I just kept walking.
This crew has been dancing together off and on for years now. We work hard in our spare time to compete amongst some of the best dancers in the world, and we have a huge competition coming up in just a few months. Micah owns the studio and runs our crew. His moves are insane, and it's as if he can teach anyone.
"Listen up, people. We have six months until the competition, that means we need to get our asses in gear if we are going to blow this competition up."
We scream and start clapping with excitement for our next challenge. He smiles. "All right, all right. After spending the last week going over tape, I've decided who the partners will be for the couple's division of the competition.” Janelle comes up alongside me, practically holding on to me. She’s made it well known to everyone in the company that she wants to be my dance partner, but honestly, I want nothing to do with her. She’s very snobby and seriously thinks she’s better than everyone else.
“As you know, we'll also be competing in a men's division, a women's division, and we’ll be competing as a company.” Micah carries on as everyone sits quietly, anxiously waiting to hear if they made it into a couple’s routine. "Breigh, you'll be dancing with Ky." They both look at each other with a smile. They always dance together, so it's no surprise. "Julie, you've busted your ass and earned this spot. You’ll be dancing with Aaron." That's a first, Julie is still somewhat new here. They both nod professionally at each other. "And last but not least, Jade…"
"Wait, hold up." Jade steps forward with her hand up in a defensive manner, stopping Micah from continuing. "I thought I told you I wasn’t participating in the couples division. You said, okay." She is dishing him out some serious attitude and is probably the one person who can get away with it. When you are part of a dance team, you dance where you’re told to dance.
"You did, and I vetoed it." He pauses for just a moment and then looks around her, locking his eyes on me. "You're dancing with Bentley." She glances up at me and then back to him. She looks a bit shocked. "Are we good?" He asks her. She pauses, grabs his arm and pulls him closer. I can’t help but watch the scene unfold between them as I secretly pray that Micah doesn’t cave.
“Micha, you know what I’ve been through?”
He shrugs. “And,” He shakes his head. “Jade you know as well as I do that you need to get out there, you need to show them what you’re made of and that this isn’t going to stop you.” I look away not wanting to hear his words. “You know they’re going to be in that competition. Whoop their ass. It’s the best thing you can do for yourself.” He lifts my chin. “Are we good?” She sighs and nods ever so slightly.
She mumbles, “so much for not caving,” she knows that if she wants to continue being a part of this team, it means listening to Micah.
Janelle sucks her teeth and struts off with a huff, mad that she won’t get to dance with me. She needs to get over it because, honestly, I’m good. She’s a brat, and I don’t want to deal with her attitude. I was sure to make Micah aware of my feelings. Thankfully, he told me he would take it into consideration.
I’m beyond thrilled with his decision. I want to jump up in the air, but that wouldn’t be very professional. As the teams break off, she walks toward her bag. I approach her slowly. "Jade listen, I know you're not all too happy about this, but you know that I'll be a total professional at all times, right?"
She expels a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Bentley, I don't mean to come across as a bitch.”
I smile. "Come on, Jade, it’s me. I know you're not a bitch. I mean, call me crazy, but I thought we were friends.” Our crew often gets together for dinner or a night at the club. It’s not like we don’t know each other.
She chuckles and slaps me playfully. "Thanks, Bentley, and we are. It’s totally cool. Let’s just get to work, okay.”
I wink at her. "Sounds good to me." I put my arm around her shoulders, giving her a brief hug.
Micah comes back over to us. "You two are with me tonight. Destiny will work with the other two couples." He leads us up the stairs of the huge warehouse he has taken over. He has multiple rooms in the building. That's how we all manage to get our work in at the same time. Later this week, we'll get together again to work on the men's routine, and the ladies will work on theirs.
"Jade, I know this is going to be a bit
of a struggle for you, but I'm banking on those emotions to not only make this routine amazing but to heal your hurt." He steps close to her. "You need to move on, not only for your personal life but for your career." She turns away, looking down over her shoulder. She's hurting, and it makes me want to punch her ex in the nuts. He grabs her chin and forces her to look back at him. "I’ve known you for a long time now, Jade. I’m not letting you throw your talent away.” She nods. “I chose Bentley for a reason. You two have danced in routines before, and I know you've developed a great friendship.”
"A friendship." She states as if dancing together means we’re more than friends.
"He is a professional. He would never push it beyond what this is." He wiggles his brows. “Unless that’s what you want.” She chuckles and slaps him. “I’m kidding, but seriously. You two will be great.”
I feel like the odd man out watching this scene unfold, but I need her to be perfectly comfortable with me if this dance will be any good.
"You ready?" He asks her.
She nods. "What do you have in mind for us?"
Micah smiles. "I'm honestly conflicted. You two are so perfect together. I would like it to be sexy but upbeat. Maybe a salsa kind of flare but mix in some hip hop too. I'm thinking sexy, dramatic, emotional."
"So, where is the conflict?" I ask.
"I can't decide on a song."
"Bro, how are we supposed to work on this if you can't pick a song." I plant my hands on my hips.
Micah laughs. "That is step one." He walks over to the laptop he has hooked up to his equipment. "We pick a song."
We spent the next hour going over song after song. We struggled to find a song that we could all agree on. Micah has managed to pick a song for every dance but us. There's a vision in your head when it comes to dancing, and you know what you want to happen on that stage but picking the music for it can be hard. Sometimes you have the kick-ass song, and you know that’s the song. In our case, Micah has the vision but no song.
"I want to try something." He gets up off the floor, and we follow him. He fumbles with his laptop for a moment, and Stitches by Shawn Mendes starts playing over the speakers. “I would like for you two to try and feel the music.” Jade starts gracefully moving across the floor, feeling the music. She's beautiful. All I can do is watch. I'm in awe of her. Then suddenly, she runs at me and stops dead in her tracks as the words sing, “Now, I need someone to breathe me back to life.” Her eyes glued to mine as her hand slowly glides up my chest and around my neck. At that moment, she's so close that I can smell the lotion she uses to keep her skin so soft. My breath gets caught in my lungs, and my heart beats hard and fast. It feels like the moment lasts forever, but she backs away and continues to move.
Micah laughs, slapping me on the chest. "Dude, are you going to dance or just stare at her?"
I respond without taking my eyes off of her. "Bro, can you blame me? She's beautiful to watch, and you want me to match up with that." I hold my hand out, watching her dance gracefully around the room.
"I do, and you will. You're just as amazing bro, just let your heart and your moves do all the talking."
I narrow my eyes at him. He wants to say more, but he laughs and walks away. "Times up."
Jade walks back over, expelling a deep breath. "It was good dancing with you tonight. Maybe next time you'll join me." She smiles and walks away, giving me a glimpse of her tight round ass.
I mumble under my breath. “I'll see what I can do.”
"You both need to listen to some music this week and come up with something we can use," Micah calls out, giving us homework. Not like that's any big chore, there's not a day that I don't have music playing in my ears.
The three of us head back downstairs to grab our stuff. I throw my bag over my shoulder and exit the building. It's a crisp, beautiful night here in Florida. The air is brisk but warm enough to walk around with a light jacket or zip-up sweatshirt. I love this time of year. It heats up during the day, but it cools off just enough at night, at least in January it does.
I moved to Florida for my last few years of college and never left. I had no desire to move back up north, where the temperature right now is a frigid twenty degrees with a wind chill of ten degrees. I miss my family, but I go back to visit from time to time. My mom is amazing. She sends me the most amazing care packages filled with her amazing brownies and all kinds of stuff. It makes me laugh because I’m a Senior Financial Analyst and do quite well for myself, but she worries and likes knowing that she's helping to take care of me.
"Bentley, wait up."
I pull the Air Pod from my ear and turn to find Jade running up the street. "Don't you live in the other direction?" I’ve picked Jade up from work a few times and walked her to class, but we don’t typically walk home together.
She chuckles. "I used to, but I moved."
I narrow my eyes. "He kicked you out?" I question angrily. That prick has balls. Who the fuck kicks a woman out of her apartment?
"Sort of. I um…walked out.” She rolls her eyes. We talked about it again after I left, but I didn't want to be there anymore, so I gave it up." She looks down at the sidewalk as we walk up the street together.
"I guess that makes sense seeing you two got that place together. Are you doing okay?"
"Yeah, I’m honestly over it, but I ran into them earlier today. They were walking hand in hand down the street past my salon.” She shrugged. “It’s been months, and although I’m moving on, I guess it still stings a bit. At this point, I think I'm angrier that he cheated than I am hurt."
It kills me that he did this to her, but I need her to know that I’ll respect her space and keep things professional. I also want her to know that I’m there for her. I want to help her move past this as a friend. "Listen, Jade." She puts her hand up to stop me.
"I know full well that you're a great guy, Bentley. Not wanting to dance with you in a couple's routine has nothing to do with you or any other guy in our company. It has to do with me. I need to believe that I’m truly over him so I can fully move on, and I'm not sure how to do that right now."
"I was going to say, if you want to talk, I'll listen."
She chuckles. "Of course, you were." She blushes and glances down at the ground.
“It’s all good.” I put my arm around her shoulder and pull her into my side. "So, where are you living now?"
“A friend of mine had a room available at her place. I moved in with her for the time being. You know, till I'm back on my feet again." She glances up at me. "It's not too far from you."
"Cool, I'll walk you home then."
"Thanks." For the first time since she found out we were dancing together, she looked relaxed and comfortable.
I grin down into her beautiful green eyes. "Any ideas on a song for our dance?"
She sighs. "Nah, I feel like it's just going to come to us all of a sudden, but right now I have nothing."
"I hope it doesn't take too long to come to us."
She laughs. "Bentley, I know you haven’t been with the dance company as long as I have, but you're an amazing dancer. It takes you very little time to master a routine. We got this."
I shake my head. "I wish I had your confidence. There are many things I'm certain I can do. I'm one of the top analysts in my company. I can do math equations most will never understand. I can budget and manage finances with the best of them, and I love to dance. I just don't have the confidence you have when it comes to the moves."
She comes to a stop. “Well, it would appear that we both need some fixing.” I chuckle, not sure what to say. “This is me.” She nods toward the gated apartment complex.
She’s right about not living far from me. My apartment complex is only a few blocks down. It’s one of the things I love about this area. I have a car, but it is easy enough to walk around here, so I only use my car for work.
“Listen, Bentley. You have the moves. I’ve watched you. Maybe the issue was your partner.” She states with a
shrug.
I grin. “Maybe, we both had partner issues.”
“I know I had partner issues, but as far as your partner goes...” She pokes me in the chest. “Time will tell.”
I burst into laughter. “If you say so.”
She nods. “I do.”
“So, your birthday is coming up.” I point out not wanting our night to end just yet. “Wanna plan a night out? Maybe dinner and then the club?”
“Sounds like fun.” She grins.
“Okay, I’ll get our crew together.”
“Awesome, good night, Bentley.” She replies with a smile.
“Good night, Jade.” I watch as the gate to her community closes behind her. I continue walking over to my place with music playing in my ear and her words playing in my head. “We both need fixing.”
I wouldn’t consider myself broken. I’ve been a dancer for most of my life. I always felt I had to work a bit harder than the others on my teams to remember the steps and get them down to perfection. I was able to do it, but I never felt it came easy. It’s like the student who can read something once and remember it forever versus the student who has to study. I’m good at it, but I have to study it, feel it out and work on it.
When I get home, there’s a box in front of the door that makes me smile. It has to be one of my mom’s amazing care packages since I haven’t ordered anything in a while. I pick up the box and walk into my apartment. My cat Mushu is there to greet me instantly. He’s running between my legs, trying to get my attention, nearly causing me to trip.
“Mushu, give me a minute.” I shake my head, putting the box on my small square kitchen table. I pick up my buddy and scratch him on the head. He instantly purrs. “I already fed you, so you’re not getting any more food, but how about a treat?” He meows at me as if he knows exactly what I offered him. I gave him a quick treat and post a picture of us to my Instagram story. My followers go crazy over my cat.
