Page 18 of Love is a Dance Step
A sly smile spread across Penny’s lips. “No.”
“Come on.” Lola gave her a playful shove toward the room she’d been teaching classes in since she was sixteen when she got her certification.
Dance had always been what Lola used to make sense of the world around her. From the time she took her first class when she was six, she hadn’t wanted to do anything else. Maybe that was why she’d obsessed over videos of Drew, the way he moved. She saw in him the same need to create peace in his mind.
A handful of kids ranging in age from ten to fourteen waited in the large room. They stretched in front of the mirror that spanned the back wall. This was Lola’s more serious class. They weren’t kids wanting to be pretty ballerinas or princesses. There was an intensity to them that matched Lola at that age.
They wanted this more than anything and still believed there was a future in dancing for them. Lola encouraged them to dream, to want bigger things, but if there was one thing her mom taught her, it was practicality over passion.
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?”
