Page 61 of Love is a Dance Step
He lowered himself to the floor of the banquet room Drew rented for the dancers to practice. “Because you’re still not connecting. When I look into your eyes, you shift your gaze away. I don’t even think you realize you’re doing it. Do you want to know why Drew and Leah were so special?”
She plopped down beside him and stole his bottle of water. “Sure. Tell me again how I’m not living up to her.”
He snatched the water back. “The entire world knows Leah Baker is madly in love with her girlfriend. They know Drew is madly in love with being single. Yet, for the length of a concert, they believe in their love story. Drew and Leah sell passion, they sell love. The rest of us are just side-characters in the romance they play out on stage.”
Lola leaned her head back against the wall with a groan. “I’m never going to get this.”
He bumped her knee. “You will. If you can’t be passionate, then you need to be technically perfect—like Brooke.”
But Drew hadn’t chosen her for perfection. Hadn’t he said that?
The sad thing was she knew Nolan was right. She couldn’t sell a love story with Nolan, she couldn’t dance with passion. There’d only been one time before… one person she’d danced with when she’d felt what Nolan was talking about.
And he’d barely spoken to her all week.
She kicked her legs out straight, stretching her calves. “It’s not your fault I suck at this. You know that, right?”
Nolan swiveled his head to look at her. “You don’t suck. Lola, you’ve been on this tour for a week and danced on stage during three concerts now. Your dancing is good, great even, and you somehow know each dance. It’s just the partner stuff that’s taking time. But we’ll get there.” He stuck his pinky out. “I swear.”
She laughed. “You want me to pinky swear with you right now?”
“How else do people making binding pacts?” He grinned.
She hooked her pinky with his, glad she had at least one friend on this tour. “Now, stop slacking. I want to be ready for this after the Charleston concert.” They’d arrived in Charleston in the early hours of the morning and had two days before the concert, a mini break after the last week.
And Lola would spend every moment she could practicing.
* * *
“This isn’t working,” Lola huffed as she lost her footing and stumbled away from Nolan. “At all.”
“You’re right.” Nolan slapped a hand on the wall.
“It’s because you aren’t good enough.” Brooke’s voice came from the doorway. “But I could have told Drew that after your atrocious audition.”
“Brooke,” Nolan warned.
“What? Is anything I’m saying wrong? Sure, Lola has surprised us all by picking up the dances quickly and not screwing up on stage, but don’t for a moment think that means she’ll ever take the lead from me.”
Lola crossed her arms, or more like hugged them across her chest to protect herself. She didn’t know if Brooke’s words hurt because they were mean or because they were true. “He didn’t want you.” The words popped out before she could call them back.
Brooke’s eyes blazed as she looked to Lola.
“He held auditions looking for any dancer to dance with him that wasn’t you.”
Brooke stepped toward her. “Who do you think you are? You’re nothing more than a kid in over her head. You think Drew sees you? He doesn’t see any of us, least of all some inexperienced and unqualified dancer. You’re nothing to this tour, and when it ends, you’ll crawl back to your quaint town, never to be heard from again.”
“Brooke!” A new voice entered the room, one Lola didn’t recognize.
Brooke turned on her heel. “Melanie, I… I—”
“I know what you were doing.” A woman with perfectly crafted makeup and her white blonde hair pulled into a low pony tail stepped into the room, her red lips pulled to the side in distaste. “We expect more than bullying from our lead dancers. You’re supposed to set an example for the others. Drew may have to rethink your position.”
“No.” Brooke’s face reddened. “I’m sorry. Please don’t.”
Piper walked in after the other woman and surveyed the scene before her. “Nolan, we need a few dancers to accompany Drew to the press event this afternoon. Go get changed and meet him in the lobby in thirty minutes.”
Nolan looked between the girls, relief in his eyes. Lola wished she could go with him and get herself out of this situation. He met her eyes one final time before hightailing it out of there.
