Page 58 of Santa Has a Six-Pack
But here’s the thing: I want to do it.
The second Keira mentioned Matt was looking for a co-director, I instantly wanted to join him. And yes, part of that desire could be this pull between us, but I mostly want to be a part of the dance world again. On my terms this time.
Every night this week, I’ve emailed promising rental spaces for my future studio, and every day I’ve gotten a reply saying, “We’re sorry, it’s taken.” I feel like I’m pushing a boulder up a hill, and it keeps rolling back down on top of me.
One thing’s for sure, though. I’m grateful for all Herald’s has given to me, but I will not let another ten years go by staying in the same place. Working with these kids twice a week on my lunch break feels like a small step I can take in the right direction. So I’ll be damned if I let my temporary embarrassment over Matt’s rejection hold me back from walking into that auditorium.
I swing open the door, and all my confidence instantly drains out of me when my eyes land on my handsome co-director.
Matt is standing house left, his back to me as he addresses the group of kids onstage. “Alright, friends. That was a solid warm-up! We feeling limber now?”
“Yes, Mr. B!” they singsong.
“I was hoping we’d have a special guest join us today to help us with our dance numbers, but it looks like you’re stuck with me. My dance moves aren’t great…” He does some bizarre shoulder shimmies, followed by a round of roger-rabbits, making the kids laugh. “But they’re committed. That’s all I ask of you, kiddos, during this rehearsal process. Commitment.”
“Who is that?” an adorable little girl with box braids asks and points at me.
Matt whips around. His face positively lights up when he sees me. “Penny! Hi.”
“Hi.” I nod, all business. I save my smile for the kids. “Hey, dancers!” I spot Keira’s kids, Sutton, Sloane, and Sylvan, on stage and give them an extra wave.
“Everybody, this is my friend Penny. Penny is…” Matt hesitates.
“Your choreographer,” I say, keeping my eyes on the kids. “And I’m really excited to join you all on this exciting project.”
“Great!” Matt says, sounding surprised. “This, um, this is great! Why don’t you come on down, and we can get started?”
I jog down the sloped auditorium and place my bag on the seat closest to Matt.
He lowers his voice as he leans toward me. “Not sure if you got my emails. About the other day?—”
“Nope,” I whisper. “No need for that. Can we just forget that ever happened and get to work?”
“Is that what you want?” he whispers back.
I get brave and look directly at him. “Yup. That’s what I want.”
There’s a flicker of something in his eyes. Disappointment maybe? Which doesn’t make sense. He was the one who shut things down. I was fully prepared to have sex with him right then and there in the middle of my workday. Not that I’m proud of that, per se, but given the way he rejected me, he has no right to look so forlorn right now.
“I just feel like we should?—”
“Matt,” I whisper hiss. “I was having a weird day. Made a bad judgment call. I’m sorry.”
“A bad judgment call,” he repeats.
“Yeah. I think we can both agree that between Herald’s, the social media series Keira has us on together, and now working with these kids, we can’t have… energy between us.”
He clears his throat. “That’s fair. Though, correct me if I’m wrong… the social media series we’re doing with Keira is successful because of the energy between us. Have you seen the comments on the photos she posted of us from the other day? Look.” He pulls out his phone and lowers his voice even more. “RideMeSidewaze says, ‘These two are HAWT. They have me so fired up, I just had some me-time and?—‘”
“Are you two telling secrets?” a boy with curly red hair and freckles shouts from the stage.
“No, Sam!” Matt shouts back. “Not telling secrets, just coming up with our game plan. I’m so proud of you kids for spending your recesses this month building this show with us. We wanna give you everything we’ve got!”
“Who is our salty peach fairy?” I ask, full voice now.
The little girl who pointed me out when I arrived raises her hand.
“That would be Mikayla,” Matt says.
