Page 53 of Take the Lead
The most significant period of my life was five years ago, when my family decided to move further into the Alaskan bush.
“Here, let’s eye-gaze.” Gina cupped his chin, enjoying the scratch of his beard against her palm as she directed his attention toward her. “Listening to that always makes me feel weird.”
In the inky shadows of the stage, she met his gaze.
On the screen, they practiced the jive, with Gina correcting his footwork while Stone’s voiceover continued.
It’s weird being alone—you know, I’m used to having my family around.
We moved there around five years ago, after a fire destroyed… well, almost everything.
“Stone was always an active little boy,” a woman’s voice said.
“What the hell?” Stone jerked his head up and stared at the screen. “That’s my mom. They didn’t say they were getting my family to do interviews.”
Gina tucked herself in against Stone’s side, feeling the tension in his body. She rubbed his back in an effort to soothe him. “It’s normal. They sometimes get family members to add commentary, and yours already has a camera crew around them.”
His mother—PEPPER, the label on the bottom of the screen read—had soft blond hair that fell past her shoulders. Her big, blue eyes were just like Stone’s. To her side sat a man with graying brown hair pulled back into a ponytail, and a full beard that was also going gray—Jimmy, Stone’s dad. He spoke next.
“It was a hard decision to make, moving further into the bush. We’d talked about it for a long time, but after the fire, it seemed like the right thing to do. And of course, we did it as a family.”
Stone appeared on the screen, talking to Gina in the rehearsal room.I had a girlfriend.
At her side, Stone’s entire body clenched.
Gina grimaced. Shit. Shit, shit, shit. This was going to be so bad.
She didn’t want to move. Wanted to leave Alaska, in fact. So, we broke up.
Gina would have bet anything this was Donna’s doing.
“Stone,” she whispered. “Stone, look at me.”
He didn’t. A second later, a woman with straight brown hair and a sweet face appeared on the screen. Stone jolted in surprise. Gina threw her arms around his waist, afraid he would bolt from the stage.
“Those fucking assholes.” He breathed the words, and Gina knew before she looked what she would see at the bottom of the screen.
ANNA,it read.STONE’S EX-GIRLFRIEND.
“Stone loves Alaska,” Anna said, her twangy voice ringing out across the room. “But I wanted to move to Seattle. It’s a shame, but it just didn’t work out. He’s doing a great job onThe Dance Off,though. I had no idea he could dance. He certainly never danced that way withme.”
The audience laughed. Stone turned to storm offstage.
“Where are you going?” Gina hissed at him, grabbing his arm and digging in her heels. “Stone, do not let them get to you!”
He stopped abruptly and she tumbled into his back, her arms wrapping around him both for balance and to keep him from leaving.
“But they have, Gina. And it’s exactly what they meant to dowhen they dug up my past and pulledherout of it.” He pointed at the screen. “All my staged interviews were about the fire and the move. Not about her. That wasn’t supposed to be included. I even confirmed with Jordy that it wouldn’t be.”
One of the stage managers gestured at them frantically, and Gina’s heart pounded in desperation. She had to get Stone to his mark. “What do you want me to say? They’re assholes who screw with our emotions on purpose to create good TV. I’m sorry. I really am. You didn’t deserve this. But please,please,don’t leave. If you walk out now, we’re done.”
He leveled a steady stare on her. “And you want to win.”
“I want to win withyou.” She pleaded with her eyes, begging him to understand the difference. “Please, Stone.”
For a second, she didn’t know what he would do. But then he nodded, brushing past her to leap off the stage and join the other guys on his mark. Gina hurried backstage and let the wide-eyed stage manager hustle her to where she’d make her entrance from the trees. The audience quieted as the music began and the lights went up.
Showtime.
