Page 104 of Take the Lead
He came out with the swagger of a champion, like he knew every eye was on him and he loved it. Gone was the man who wouldn’t look her in the face during tango practice, and the man who had barely said a word during their trip to New York. This Stone was strong and confident, and he owned that fucking stage.
Gina and the other dancers swooned at the edges, reaching for him as he hit his moves. Stone pulled Gina up, lifting her from the floor with one arm. As many times as they’d practiced, it felt easier now than it ever had. There was a glint in his eye that made her feel warm all over, aware of every inch of her skin. She couldn’t take her eyes off him.
Stone spun and posed, executing perfect body rolls that would make a real stripper cry tears of pride. He ran his hands over her,executing their moves in hold with a level of force and mastery that was rare for a male celeb on this show.
He was truly leading, in complete control of this dance, and of her. Even though Gina had orchestrated the whole thing, she could only go along for the ride. When the time came, he pulled off his shirt. She took it and pretended to swoon, falling off the stage into the arms of Matteo and Joel.
When Stone reached the end of the stage, the music picked up. He pulled out the breakdancing moves they’d been saving and the audience went wild.
And then Stone ripped his undershirt down the middle.
If the audience had been screaming before, now they lost their fucking minds. Their cries reached deafening status. Stone seemed to drink it in, embodying the character like never before.
Through it all, his eyes kept finding Gina’s.
The fire in his gaze, the naked desire—it went with the dance. It went with the character. But it was all for her. Gina knew that look, had seen it every time he thrust his hips and filled her.
She’d never been so turned on during a performance with literallymillionsof people watching.
For the rest of the dance, Stone showed off what his mama gave him. He leaped off the makeshift stage to dance with Gina, seducing her with his body, his hands, his eyes, and most powerfully, his ability to lead. He pulled her against him, rubbed his body on hers, spun them around, all while undulating his hips in a way that had her mouth going dry.
Natasha joined in for a few moves, she and Gina providing accompaniment to Stone, who was the real star of the show.
When they pulled off his tear-away pants, the audience lost their minds again.
He completed the dance in gold lamé hot pants and matching gold-and-white high-top sneakers. The dancers playing crowd members fawned over him, and when the song ended, Stone stuck his final pose and shot the camera a fuck-me grin.
He’d done it perfectly. Better, in fact, than in any of theirrehearsals. When he hugged Gina against him, she let him, and handed him the gold basketball shorts that had been their deal, so he didn’t have to receive their scores while mostly naked.
He looked damn good in that gold banana hammock, though. They’d joked about him keeping it and wearing it in the bedroom for her.
She couldn’t think about that now. Well, she could, actually. She could picture it all too well. But it wasn’t enough.
Already, her brain pushed away the discomfort of what had happened earlier. Already, she tried to convince herself this was normal.
It wasn’t. For once, she wanted more from a man than just a casual physical relationship. She’d put her heart on the line, knowing he was leaving, knowing men ruined careers—like her father had done to her mother. As soon as the cameras stopped rolling tonight, she’d have to face the consequences.
Backstage with Reggie, their scores appeared on screen. Ninety-seven. Dimitri was the only one who hadn’t given them a hundred.
“We’ll take it,” Gina said into the microphone. “We’ve worked hard on these dances, and we just hope we can show everyone what we have planned for next week.”
While Reggie fed the camera the voting info, Gina and Stone moved off to the side.
The others fell on them with congratulations, but Gina wasn’t in the mood for it. They’d all seen the footage. They all knew she and Stone were hooking up. It was her worst nightmare come true.
She could handle the good-natured teasing from her coworkers, but would anyone else in the industry take her seriously after this? The producers, the execs, future casting directors… It was the kind of thing that caused drama on set. Would they respect her now that they knew she’d gotten involved with her partner?
And the timing sucked. Even if they didn’t make it to the finals, they’d still have to do theMorning Mixinterview together the next day, and Stone would have to return to Los Angeles for the last episode. After that, he’d be gone. She’d always known this thing between them had an end date, and now they’d been exposed just in time for them to break up.
Lauren D’Angelo sidled up to her. “I knew you were fucking him,” she whispered in Gina’s ear. With a wink and a sly smirk, Lauren slipped away. Gina’s blood boiled in response.
“Don’t listen to her.” Natasha stood at Gina’s side, ready to do battle. “That comemierda is jealous and you know it.”
Even though she didn’t want to, Gina sought Stone out in the crowd and found him chatting with Jackson and Alan. Lauren’s comment had pissed her off, but it also left a strange, sour residue. “I feel awful,” she confessed to Natasha.
“It’s stress.” Natasha rubbed her back. “Only one more week, then this is all done.”
“I kinda want to hide until the show is over.”
