Love is a Dance Step (Rockstars Anonymous)

by Michelle MacQueen

  Love wasn’t enough.

  “Evening, ladies.” She looked to the lone boy. “And gentleman. Finish up your stretches, and then we’ll get started.”

  Penny joined the others as Lola dropped her duffle and began her own series of stretches. There was a time she’d lived in this studio, taking classes, teaching classes, and coming in between to use the empty studios, dancing until her legs physically couldn’t handle it anymore.

  Then, she’d grown up, choosing to take on more hours at the hotel, making business her major. She prepared for a future that wouldn’t have dance in it at all. Her mind drifted to Leah Baker, the dancer who’d collapsed on stage. That was why Lola had never tried. Even if she thought she could one day make dancing her career, how long would it last? And then, what would she have to fall back on?

  She finished her stretches and stepped in front of the line of kids looking to her for guidance. The class was an advanced mix of ballet and modern dance, Lola’s favorite combination. It required both grace and athleticism, beauty and rhythm.

  “Let’s go through the combination we learned last class.” Her eyes met Lauren’s as she stepped through the door with Mr. Stone at her side. Lola normally didn’t let parents watch class, but today she didn’t mind. “Lauren, music?”

  Once the beat started, Lola forgot all about her full stomach or her problems with Asher. This was what she’d needed. She led the class through the steps, a grin on her face. “Good,” she yelled above the music. “Transition into the second combination. Remain steady on your pirouettes.” She stopped her own dancing and approached Penny. “Keep going Pen, but put more weight on your supporting leg to ground yourself.” She stopped at each dancer, giving them tips to strengthen this combination. Once she’d finished, she joined them. “Again!”

  Her grin widened as her muscles burned. Her students made fun of her, calling her the “smiling dancer” because the harder the dance became, the more she smiled. She couldn’t help it. Dancing filled her in a way nothing else did, not her friendships, no romantic relationship, not school or work at the hotel. Heck, not even Drew Stone’s concert compared to these moments when her body took over.

  By the time she stopped, her chest heaved and sweat coated her brow. She’d never claimed her class was easy. These students weren’t newbs. She tested them, giving them all they could handle. That was why she launched right into a new dance, teaching them a combination of steps she’d created from watching Drew’s videos. She didn’t copy him, but there was something about his style that called to her.

  When class ended, a few of the girls collapsed dramatically to the ground. “You killed us,” Penny groaned.

  Lola nudged her with a toe. “And that’s new?”

  “No, but it’s evil.”

  “If you don’t want to work, don’t take my class.” That had always been Lola’s philosophy. At least with her more advanced classes. If a student wanted easy, if they just wanted to learn some basic moves, there were other classes for them. She’d weeded out the slackers with her high expectations.

  Another girl Penny’s age, Cassidy, lifted her head. “I would never leave your class. It’s the only thing that’ll turn us into professional dancers.”

  A few of the others nodded in agreement. Pride warred with guilt inside Lola. She was proud her students were willing to work for what they wanted, but she hadn’t even been able to get herself out of Gulf City with her dancing. How was she supposed to help them?

  “Good class.” Lauren, the studio owner, walked toward her. She was about twenty years older than Lola but had taught her everything she knew about dancing.

  Mr. Stone smiled down at his daughter. “Little tired, Pen?”

  “Dead, Dad. Dead.”

  He laughed and looked to Lola. “How are you, kiddo? I didn’t get to talk to you much at the concert, and you haven’t been around.”

  “Oh, I’m okay. Just school, work.”

  Mr. Stone managed the hotel where Lola worked, but she rarely saw him.

  He nodded. “Hope we’re not working you too hard.”

  Her eyes widened. “Oh no, not at all.” Life worked her too hard, but she couldn’t afford for him to cut her hours.

  “Good. Good.”

  Now or never. She needed to know. “Um, Mr. Stone, how is Drew’s dancer?”

  “Leah? She’ll be okay. Shin splints.”

  Lola winced. She’d gotten those once before and knew how painful they could be. She could be back dancing in a few weeks, but not at the level she’d need to for Drew’s concerts. “How long is she out?”

  “They’re saying it could be three to six months. The tour has been put on hold for a week or two while they get a new lead dancer in. Leah flew back to L.A. today with her girlfriend. I feel bad for the kid. She’s been with Drew a long time. It killed her to leave the tour.”

  “That’s awful.” Lola couldn’t imagine. “I hope Drew is able to continue because they were magic together.”

  He smiled. “They really were.” He nudged his daughter with his foot. “Get up, Pen. We have to get home. Your mother is holding off dinner for us, and you know your sisters get hangry.”

  Penny laughed as she got to her feet. “You calling Ash my sister now? He’s the worst of them all.”

  “You’re welcome to join us for dinner, Lola.”

  Mr. Stone’s eyes were so kind, his words kinder, and the thought of going home to an empty house held little appeal.

  But then, she thought of Asher and his childish jealousy of Drew. If he wanted her back in his life, he’d have to realize he couldn’t control her. “Sorry, Mr. Stone, I have plans. Tell Nora and Lizzy I said hi.”

  “Will do, kiddo. Have a good night.”

  “You too.”

  She watched them go and then joined Lauren in picking up the room, mopping the floor, and cleaning off the mirror. Lauren never expected her to stay to clean at night, but it beat going home and watching Netflix alone.

  7

  Drew

  Drew pounded a fist on the table. “I call this meeting of Rockstars Anonymous to order.”

  Jo groaned. “Do you have to do that every time?”

  Noah rubbed Jo’s arm. “It’s okay, Joey. Let him have his pretend gavel banging so he feels important.”

  Drew crossed his arms. “I am important.”

  Ben snorted. “Sure, man.”

  Only Dax and Melanie remained silent. This was the group Drew had started relying on more than anyone. Five rock stars and a publicist. There had to be a joke in there somewhere.

  “Mel.” He pouted. “Are you going to let them talk to me like that?”

  Melanie smirked. “Hush, Drew. Let’s get started. I know why I’m here. The label sent me to get this tour back up and running. Noah and Jo are part of said tour. But Ben, Dax you can’t just skip out on your obligations to the label.”

  Dax shrugged. “They’ll survive.”

  Ben nodded. “Drew needed us.”

  Drew pressed a hand over his heart. “I’m touched.” He’d been in a panic when he picked Ben and Dax up from the airport after receiving the news Leah couldn’t continue on with the tour. She was part of him, of his concerts. But having his friends around, other people who got what a tour was like, helped.

  Melanie sighed. She’d gotten good at wrangling the five of them, and her exasperation wasn’t real. Drew knew she loved them. “Anyone want coffee?” He scooted his chair back and stood. The RA meeting took place in the living room of his Gulf City home, a house he spent way too little time in.

  “Got any decaf?” Jo asked.

  Noah laughed. “Drew? Decaf?”

  But Noah didn’t know him at all. He’d had decaf delivered with his groceries specifically for Jo. “Sure do.” He sent her a wink before sauntering to the kitchen.

  He knew what the world thought of him, of the all-American rock star who sometimes took his shirt off on stage and had been linked to more Hollywood girls than he could cou
nt. Fact check: he hadn’t dated a single one of them.

  But the real Drew? The one who felt more at home in small-town Florida than big-city California, actually did care. Why should it surprise anyone he’d make sure his pregnant friend had coffee she could drink?

  He shook his head as he approached his fancy coffee maker—something Nora constantly made fun of him for—and made each individual cup of coffee. They’d had enough RA meetings by now he knew what they all preferred.

  Setting the cups on the tray, he rejoined them. “Cappuccino for Ben.” He set a cup in front of him. “Decaf latte for Joey.” She took her cup. “Black coffee for both Noah and Melanie because they’re gross.” He laughed. “Water for our little Daxy. And coffee with copious amounts of sugary creamer for me.”

  They all stared at him as if they’d never seen him before.

  Noah’s brow creased. “Who are you, and what have you done with Drew Stone? And better question… why don’t you ever bring me coffee on tour?”

  Drew slid into his seat. “Because your legs work perfectly fine.” He never even asked Piper to bring him coffee. Drew didn’t believe in coffee runs from assistants. That wasn’t their job, and he was perfectly capable of getting his own. A few weeks ago, he’d caught Brooke, one of his backup dancers, ordering Piper to go to the café around the corner from the hotel for some girly coffee drink. Piper only stared at her and walked away.

  Melanie took a long sip of her coffee as if fortifying herself to deal with them. “Okay, first things first. How is Leah?”

  “Home.” He sighed. “I tried to get her to stay for a little while, but she’s not in a good place right now and decided she needed some space from the tour.” None of them were dancers. They didn’t get it. A dancer who couldn’t dance… well, what were they anymore? Maybe that was why Leah was his person. Only they understood that part of each other. She’d get back to it, but it would be a hard few months.

  “Wait…” Noah leaned forward, his mug cupped between his hands. “She didn’t even stay to help you decide what to do about her absence?”

  “I know what I need to do.” Since that night, it was all he could think about. He knew each one of his dancers. None of them had what it took to be the lead. They were too perfect, too technical. It was why they’d been chosen to dance in the background. Leah danced with her heart, not her head. “I need a new dancer.”

  No one spoke for a stunned moment before Melanie looked to him. “Drew, you are in the middle of a tour. You can’t bring on a new dancer now and get them up to speed. We were able to put things off for the next week or so, but after that…”

  “I don’t care what I can’t do, Mel. Only what I need to.”

  “But you have a whole host of dancers who could learn Leah’s role.”

  She didn’t understand, and by the looks on the others’ faces, neither did they. “You have to trust me, Mel.”

  “What about Brooke?” Noah asked. “She’s the best dancer you have.”

  “No. Absolutely not. I choose who dances with me, and I choose none of them.”

  “You’re being unreasonable, Drew.” Melanie set her cup down.

  “I know. I know we’re in Gulf City, Florida, not exactly the mecca of dancing. I know we don’t have time to make this work and that the middle of a tour is no time to bring a dancer up to speed. But I need you to trust me, to trust this is right.”

  She leaned back in her chair, arms crossed, but didn’t say anything.

  “Okay.” Drew blew out a breath. “I’ll make you a deal. One day. Give me one day of auditions. I already had my dad talk to the local dance studio about this. If I can’t find a dancer I believe in, I’ll give the job to Brooke. One day, Mel. Please.”

  She sighed, but he knew what that meant.

  A smile spread across his lips.

  “I didn’t say yes.”

  His smile widened. “You won’t regret this.”

  “I will if the label gets wind of it beforehand. Here’s what will happen, the day after tomorrow you will hold auditions, but we do not tell my bosses unless you find someone. I will not organize this, Drew. That’s up to you.”

  “And us.” Jo jumped in.

  Drew looked to her in surprise.

  She shrugged. “I might be pregnant and grumpy half the time, Drew, but we’re only a month or two away from when I’ll have to leave the tour since I don’t want to be banging on my drums with an alien bowling ball inside me. I don’t want you to screw up before then.”

  “Aw, Jo, I’m touched.” Drew nudged her shoulder.

  “Don’t be. It’s completely self-serving.”

  “Joey is right.” Ben smiled. “Dax and I have already angered the label by being here, so we might as well do it some more. We’ll stay to help you find a dancer.”

  Dax nodded in agreement.

  Melanie groaned. “This won’t end well.” An unwitting smile came to her lips. “But I never thought when I started this support group you’d all end up caring about each other more than your careers.”

  “Don’t get sappy on us, Mel.” Drew laughed because Melanie was the most no-nonsense woman he’d ever met. There was no sap in her at all.

  They spent the rest of the meeting planning how they’d conduct auditions and get the word out through both Gulf City and Tampa. Noah volunteered to run through the streets naked to make all the girls follow him to the studio, but Drew turned down that particular marketing campaign.

  The nerves that had wound through him since he first saw Leah fall started to calm as he realized he wasn’t in this alone.

  The house Drew grew up in was much smaller than the one he called home across town. The one-story, yellow concrete structure sat on a small yard at the edge of a lake. The lanai where they had an in-ground pool overlooked the water. He’d never considered the life they’d lived small. Sure, it seemed so in comparison to his life now, but he tried not to compare it.

  There was a certain comfort in his childhood memories, a comfort he no longer had. He pulled his car onto the driveway behind the van he’d bought his mom. The front door burst open, and Lizzy sprinted across the yard.

  He was barely out of the car before she slammed into him.

  “I was watching for you out the window.” She laughed as he hauled her up onto his shoulder.

  “You were? Was it so I could do this?” He swung her around his body like he’d done a million times before.

  She squealed with laughter until he put her down. Nora walked toward them, a grin on her face. He hugged her to his side. “Where’s Pen?”

  “In her room.”

  Lizzy rolled her eyes. “Probably dancing again. It’s all she does.”

  Nora laughed. “Liz has been kinda annoyed since they share a room.”

  Drew ruffled Lizzy’s hair. “Once Ash leaves, you’ll get your own room. So, this dancing… I didn’t know Penny was so into it.”

  “It’s this class she’s in. Dad brought her home yesterday, and I heard him telling Mom he’d never seen Penny try so hard at anything.”

  He smiled as they walked into the house. Penny’s room was near the front, and music filtered out. Drew couldn’t help himself as he pushed the door open and watched his sister move like he’d never seen her. She was young and made mistakes, but the foundation was there. And her choreography? “When did she learn to dance like that?” he whispered to Nora.

  It was Lizzy who answered. “Lauren’s GC studio,” she yelled over the music. Penny stopped dancing, her breaths coming rapidly as she saw them watching her.

  Lauren’s? Drew had only known one studio in Gulf City, Canton’s. Lauren Canton had been a teacher there, but her parents owned it. He hadn’t thought even Lauren could dance quite like Penny a few moments ago.

  “Hey, Drew.” Penny wiped sweat from her brow.

  Their mom appeared in the hall. “Drew! You’re here. Perfect. I need you to start the grill. I don’t trust your father to do it, and I’m waiting for water to b
oil in the kitchen. Nora, you’re on chopping duty. Penny, get cleaned up and come help Lizzy set the table.” She turned on her heel and left the siblings staring at each other.

  Drew met Nora’s gaze, and they burst out laughing. Their mom loved the fact that she basically had an army to help her cook. He was twenty-nine years old, and when she said jump, he still asked how high.

  He headed out to the lanai where his dad bent over the pool filter, tinkering with it like he always did. The pool was his obsession despite the fact that pools in Florida required very little care. He looked up with a grin. “It’s good to see you in this house, Drew.”

  It was good to be here. “You good there?” His dad had an arm sunk down into the basket.

  “Peachy. Your mother send you out here to light the grill?”

  He nodded. “She doesn’t trust you.”

  “I have no idea why.”

  Drew laughed. “Might have to do with the fact that you burn every piece of meat you try to cook.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He shook his head with a laugh.

  “Sure you don’t.” Drew got the grill going, but he knew his mom would want to cook the meat herself. Grilling was her thing.

  He stood talking to his dad for a few minutes before his mom rushed out with a plate of filets. “You boys get inside. Drew, the corn is cooking. Make sure Nora doesn’t overdo it.”

  He gave her a salute before heading in. Lizzy and Penny finished setting the table and lounged on the couches like it had taken all their effort.

  Drew made sure Nora took the corn out of the water before joining them.

  “Where’s Ash?” He’d hoped to see his brother when he came by.

  Nora sighed. “Out, apparently. He just said there was a girl he needed to see. I wish it was Lola.”

  “Did he and Lola break up?”

  Penny chimed in. “I asked her that, but she said they weren’t together.” She shrugged. “Something is wrong though. Asher has been more of a douche than usual.”