Page 57 of Wicked Dance
“Are they all this big?” I ask, shaking her cool, limp hand. Her hair looks like it just came out of one of the hair dryers you sit under at salons, big, blond, and airy.
“You will want space to entertain,” Tammy says, clicking a button so that the tall iron gate slides open. “Let’s take a look.”
Blitz and I follow her uncertainly. Shelly pops out of her car and hurries to catch up.
“I tried to tell her you wouldn’t be throwing big parties,” Shelly says. Today she’s in shorts and a pink tank top that matches her hair exactly.
Blitz takes my hand and we walk up the impressive drive. Shelly fusses with some keys and manages to open the door. “It has six bedrooms and five baths,” she says. “Then another bedroom and bath in the pool house out back.”
“I could live with a pool,” Blitz says, pulling me close. He whispers in my ear, “I want to swim with you naked.”
I squeeze his hand. The house is grand but the echoes of our footfalls sound depressing and empty. “We really need something furnished, don’t we?” I ask. I can’t imagine having time or energy to buy an entire house full of stuff.
“Oh, we can have it staged for you,” Tammy says. “The designers will fill it however you like and pull it all when you leave.”
I would argue at how expensive all that is, but then I remember those numbers on the contract. If mine were that big, I couldn’t even imagine what Blitz’s look like. I guess it doesn’t matter.
“Are they all okay with a short lease?” Blitz asks.
“Three months is fine by them,” Tammy says. “Although I’m guessing you might need six.”
“Nope,” Blitz says. “The finale airs in less than ninety days and we are out of here.”
“All right,” Tammy says. She stands in a formal room with glossy wood floors and windows that stretch along the entire back wall, looking over the pool. It’s so Hollywood that I feel like people must film things here. Maybe that’s why short leases are popular, and the staging of the furniture. It all starts to make sense.
“Doesn’t feel very homelike,” I say to Blitz.
“Agreed,” he says. “What’s next?”
“A condo about two miles from here,” Tammy says. “I’ll text you the address for your GPS.”
And the morning wears on. The condo is on the fourth floor, and while there is an elevator, it’s on the wrong side of the building. I can’t imagine trudging up all those stairs after a long day of dancing.
The third place is another house, probably also used in filming. It seems vaguely familiar. It’s not as large as the first one, though, and tucked in what feels like a normal neighborhood.
“Four bedrooms, three baths,” Tammy says. “No pool, but there is a hot tub. Lots of living space.”
We walk around. It’s partly furnished already, the living and dining room fully set up, as well as bar stools set around a tall counter in the center of the kitchen. We’d only really need to outfit our bedroom.
“What do you think of this one?” Blitz asks.
I look around. The living space has a high ceiling, but the other rooms are cozy and close. Everything is beautiful, from the tile floors to the granite countertops.
“I like it,” I say. “I think it’s a good fit.”
Blitz turns to Shelly. “Get us a bedroom suite, something traditional, and a king bed. We’ll move in midweek.”
Tammy claps her hands together. “Excellent. I have the lease agreement in my car.”
“Let’s do it.” Blitz rubs his hands together. “A real place.” He pulls me up against him and kisses my hair. “You were right. I’m glad we’ll have somewhere to call home for a while.”
“I’ll cook you dinner every…” I hesitate, thinking of our exhaustion every night. “Hmm. Every Sunday.”
“Sounds amazing,” Blitz says. “I’ll have to run over to my condo later to check on things. We’re filming one of the dates there next week.”
A chill passes through me. “Really? Who with?”
“Christy,” he says. “She’s been the most aloof and Devon thinks it will make us seem closer if I take her home.”
