Page 74 of Love is a Dance Step
They never tell people that the front of the stage is an entirely different world than the back, that the nerves are worse and the expectations higher.
From the moment Lola stepped out on stage, she couldn’t think. All she could do was move. The audience became the background to her dance, the encouragement to keep going. All the nerves left her. She wasn’t good at much, but this, dancing, she could do. With thousands watching or no one, she could put on a show.
Each dance felt like it was part of her, like Drew was just an extension of who she was. They shared their connection with thousands of people, and yet, it was still just them. She imagined the two of them at the studio in Gulf City, no interruptions, no one there to decide what they were.
Her feet floated across the stage. When Drew brought her close, their hearts beat in time. When he pushed her away, hers nearly stopped entirely.
Or, at least, it felt like it. In reality, her pulse quickened with each song as her legs strained to keep up and exhaustion entered her bones. After a while, pure adrenaline kept her going, and she wouldn’t, couldn’t stop.
Her hand slid up Drew’s chest, feeling the hard muscles underneath his thin tank top. He’d already removed the button up. Each concert was the same from the outfit he wore to the dance steps to the exact moment he flung his white collared shirt to the side of the stage. It was choreographed to perfection.
But Drew, he was different somehow. Maybe it was his proximity, but his deep voice echoed through her soul, calling her to keep going, to never stop. Dancing was as necessary as breathing on that stage, and Drew, he was the oxygen she needed to live.
For a small sliver of time, they danced as if nothing could tear them apart, telling the stories of his songs. Tales of love and loss, wanting and needing.
As the music faded, and the lights dimmed, Lola turned into Drew. Their chests rose and fell together, perfectly in sync.
The audience’s cheers rushed in at her, sending adrenaline surging through her veins. A grin spread across her lips as she felt it, all of it. The noise… the lights… Drew. It was too much and not enough.
Just like each time before, neither looked away. Drew was the famous rock star, and still, they were in this together.
“The crowd is chanting your name.” Lola’s grin widened.
Drew didn’t seem to notice the crowd or his name drifting to the rafters. This, being on stage, was his home.
And Lola wanted to be here with him. Every night. She wanted to feel the strength of his fandom again and again. She wanted to stand in the bright lights dancing and living a dream she’d never let herself dream.
They stayed staring at each other until finally Drew let her go. “We need to get off the stage.” His voice was hoarse, and she didn’t know if it was from singing or their nearness, but it snapped her out of the moment, and she stumbled back away from him, turning to follow the other dancers.
She started running and didn’t stop until she reached the hall to the side of the stage. Only then did the roaring approval of the crowd crash in on her. She backed up against the wall and leaned over, trying to catch her breath. She’d done it, danced as the lead in front of thousands, proven to everyone, including herself, that she had what it took.
Her heart pounded against her ribs.
“You did it!” Nolan ran toward her, sweeping her into his arms.
She laughed as he spun her around, and the tightness in her chest loosened. “I did, didn’t I?”
He set her down, a grin plastered across his face. “I’m so darn proud of you. I’m not even going to ask where all that came from. I’ll admit, when Drew announced you’d be dancing lead, I was worried. But, Lo, you killed it.”
She leaned against the wall whether for support or just to have something solid behind her, she didn’t know. Her tired legs felt like noodles beneath her. Soggy, slapped against the wall noodles.
“So, Lola Ramirez, now that you’ve danced with a rock star in front of thousands, what do you have left to live for?” He held his fist out to her like a microphone.
“Would I be lame if I said my bed? I’m so tired.”
“You, my dear, could never be lame.” He slid his arm around her shoulders. “Come, we don’t have to stay for Noah’s set. Piper can get us a car back to the hotel.”
“Why have you always been nice to me?” She looked up at him. “From the start, even when it looked like I didn’t belong here, you’ve been my friend.”
He thought for a moment before squeezing her to his side. “Because I believe people deserve the chance to show you who they are before you decide for yourself.”
His words echoed in her mind on the way back to the hotel. They ran on a loop as she showered and crawled into bed. Hadn’t she decided who Drew was before she knew him? She’d pledged to herself not to fall for another Asher, another guy who didn’t care about other people’s feelings. Another too-cute-for-his-own-good Stone.
Drew Stone was a playboy rock star, and a one-time hockey prodigy.
But did any of that tell her who he really was?
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