Page 8 of Love is a Dance Step
She shook her head. “No. It’s not professional of me to miss anything just because Ben is here. It won’t happen again.”
He grinned. This woman. “I think Ben would have had my head if I didn’t allow him time with the woman he lurves.”
Her face scrunched. “Do you have to say it like that?”
“Why yes, yes, I do.”
“You going to answer my question?”
He nudged her with his elbow. “Soundcheck was perfect. This concert will be perfect. I am perfect.”
She snorted. “Okay.”
“I feel like that was an insult, but I’ll let it go because you love me.”
“Drew, I’m your assistant. I don’t love you.”
“Whatever you say, milady.” He bowed. “Now, I must be off. These muscles aren’t going to stretch themselves, and I have a dance show—whoops, I mean concert—to do.” He laughed at the way her face reddened. “I promise I won’t forget the words again. The world already thinks I’m an idiot, so I just wanted to prove them right so they didn’t feel bad about themselves.”
“You’re not an idiot, Drew.” She tucked the clipboard under one arm.
He shot her a lopsided grin. “See? I knew you loved me.” With that, he sauntered over to where Leah sat on the floor stretching with two other dancers—Brooke and Nolan.
Brooke jumped to her feet as he approached, her face flushing. “Hi, Drew.”
“Hey, Brookie cookie.” He wrapped her in a one-armed hug. “You ready for tonight?”
She nodded against him, her grip too tight for comfort. Releasing her, he extended a fist down to Nolan. Nolan met his fist bump, barely looking up from his stretches.
“Hey, weirdo.” Leah elbowed him when he sat beside her. “You ready to rock?” She stuck her tongue out and pretended to scream.
“And you call me a weirdo?”
“That’s what you’re wearing?” She eyed him up and down.
“I think he looks good.” Brooke nodded.
“Thanks, darling.” Brooke’s attention had always made him uncomfortable. Leah teased him for it, telling him he just needed to give the girl what she wanted. But Drew had a rule. He didn’t get involved with people on his tours whether it was a one-night thing or longer. Relationships complicated everything, and he wanted the tours to remain as uncomplicated as possible.
He side-eyed Leah. “I like what I’m wearing, thank you.” Loose jeans would let him move easily, and the white button down wouldn’t stay buttoned up for long. Underneath, he only wore a thin tank. The tour’s stylist designed everything to make the girls in the crowd go wild. He had to give them what they wanted.
“Get to stretching,” Nolan chimed in. “Wouldn’t want old man Stone to break a hip out there.”
Drew raised a brow. “Dude, I’m twenty-nine.” In the dance world, that was old, but Drew wasn’t a mere dancer. He owned the show. One day, he’d have to slow down and realize he wouldn’t be young forever. He surveyed the dancers preparing to take the stage. Leah was the only one over twenty-five. Most of these dancers had been new to him when they started training before this tour. They were a bunch of kids.
And it was his fault. He’d told Leah to hire fresh dancers, ones he could train to move like he needed them to. Sure, they’d all been dancing their entire lives, but the world of professional dancing hadn’t ruined them yet.
“How old are you, Nolan?” He didn’t want to hear the answer, but curiosity got the better of him.
Nolan shrugged. “Twenty-two.”
That surprised Drew. Nolan was one of the few seasoned dancers on the tour. He had quite the resume already. “Way to make me feel old, man.”
Leah laughed like this was the funniest conversation she’d ever heard. “You guys realize we’re an hour away from stepping onto a stage in front of like fifteen thousand people, right? And this is what you want to talk about?”
“Drew can talk about whatever he likes.” Brooke pouted.
Leah rolled her eyes, and Drew suppressed a laugh. Being famous never got less ridiculous. People said the oddest things to him and believed he could do no wrong. They failed to see the person behind the songs or the pretty face. Surrounding himself with people like Leah and Piper was the only way for him to keep his head on his shoulders. They didn’t let him get away with anything.
