Page 6 of Take the Lead
In hold, Gina’s shoulders dropped, her neck elongated, and she tilted her head at a precise angle. For the first time since she’d entered the clearing, it was obvious she was a dancer.
Stone’s heart pounded. Suddenly, he didn’t feel so cold anymore. From the rise and fall of her chest, she was breathing fast, too.
“This is the hold we use for the waltz.” Despite the elegance of her pose, her direct, authoritative tone didn’t change. “Do you know anything about the waltz?”
What was this, a pop quiz? “Um, it’s old?”
She grinned. “Well, yeah. It’s the oldest of the current ballroom dances. It’s a romantic dance, slower and more emotional than, say, a samba, which is a fast Latin dance.”
Dread skittered along his spine at the thought. “Are we going to have to do that one, too?”
“Not for the first week.”
What the hell was he getting himself into? His muscles locked, afraid to ruin the hold, afraid she would make him move in someway. His mind supplied the image of him falling, crushing her, and both of them tumbling down the steps.
He swallowed hard. Why had he agreed to this? Wasn’t one reality show enough?
Oh, right. The money.
“Relax.” Gina gave his shoulder a brisk pat. “You’ve already nailed the hold. All you have to do is step and turn.” She nudged him in a way that jostled him into motion. Counting the steps, she led him in a circle, then stopped.
Stone waited for her to do something else. She didn’t. “Was that it?”
“That was it.” She smiled. “Good work.”
He narrowed his eyes. “It can’t be that easy.”
“It’s not. But that was the basic step. The Viennese waltz is a series of rotations, interspersed with change steps and a few others.”
“If it’s so simple, how do we make our waltz look different from everyone else’s?”
Gina threw her head back and laughed full out. Underneath all the makeup and perfect hair, the sparkle in her eye and exuberance in her laugh struck him like a kick to the gut. Despite the cold, sweat tickled the back of his neck.
When she caught her breath, she gave his hand a squeeze. “You leave that to me, mountain man. Come on, let’s do one more.”
The camera operators scrambled out of the way as she led him through another turn. The boom mic bobbed over their heads.
“The waltz marked a bigturning pointin dance. Pun intended.” She stopped their turn and leaned back with one leg extended, her booted toes pointed.
“How so?” Getting the hang of it, Stone led her in a rotation to the other end of the porch.
She gave him an approving nod. “In Europe, before the waltz, people at parties danced in groups and didn’t touch each other a whole lot. They also faced outward during part of the dance.”
“Seems strange now.” They spun again, eyes locked.
“Right? People thought it was either scandalous—bodies touching—or boring, because they only faced their partners.”
When they came to a stop, Gina stepped away. Cold air rushed in to fill the space where she’d been. Stone dropped his arms before he did something stupid, like pull her back to him.
It was his turn to say something. “Uh, you know a lot about the waltz.”
“I know a lot about dance, period.” She leaned against the porch railing. “This will be my fifth season on the show, and I’ve been dancing since I was three.” She gestured out at the wilderness around them. “I’m sure you’re an expert on all this.”
“You learn a thing or two when your survival depends on it.”
“I wouldn’t know where to begin.”
Miguel, theLiving Wildproducer, gave the signal. It was the perfect lead-in. Ignoring his uneasiness, Stone asked, “Hey, you want to try chopping wood?”
