Page 4 of Battered Moves

Jaxon leans into the doorway between the living room and kitchen, wiping his hands on a towel. River has been holed up in his room for the past two days, poring over our security camera feed, searching for any clues as to where she might have gone.

“I haven’t found any leads on where she might be,” River admits, and my hope deflates a little, “but I found something else.”

He connects his tablet to the TV, and there is a younger version of her, with blonde hair and those same beautiful olive green eyes that captivate me so much. It’s a paused YouTube video, where she’s standing beside a guy with his arm around her shoulder. They both look sweaty but happy.

“What is that? Where did you find this?” Ryder asks, jumping up.

River looks down, seemingly embarrassed. “I wanted to learn about contemporary dance, so I looked up videos of the best contemporary dancers worldwide and stumbled upon this.” He hits play, and the video starts over.

It’s a clip from a Canadian show calledCanada’s Biggest Talents. We watch as Liv and the guy run onto a dance floor, stopping in the center to face a wildly clapping audience and a panel of judges, consisting of three Canadian celebrities I recognize but can’t name. They hold hands, smiling and waving to the crowd. Liv is wearing only a dark red sports bra and denim shorts, her long, blonde hair falling down her back, while the guy wears a beige shirt and dark red trousers. Both are barefoot.

“Olivia, Liam, are you ready for your final performance tonight?” asks one of the celebrity judges, and the crowd whoops.

“Olivia?” Ryder asks, but before I can answer him, the Liam guy speaks.

“We are so happy to have made it to the finale. It doesn’t matter to us if we win tonight. We’re blessed to have this experience with all of you. It’s been the adventure of a lifetime for us. Thank you, to every single one of you who has voted for us time and time again for making our dream come true. We love you guys!”

God, what a cliché this guy is.He’s good-looking, though. Even I can admit that. I don’t want to imagine what my seventeen-year-old self would have looked like beside him.

The lights go down as they get into position. “Unsteady” by X Ambassadors starts playing, and I get a flashback to Liv stumbling over her gym bag to get to her phone to change the song in the studio.

When the stage lights come up again, Liv is on her knees while Liam stands beside her. He offers her a hand, pulling her to her feet and into a twirl before lifting her off the ground, her body horizontal over his chest. My heart races as he releases her, where she flips in the air before he catches her inches from the floor with just one arm. A tug on her hand brings her back to standing with her back to his front. Liam places his hands on her forehead and chin, then Liv takes a step towards the camera, holding out her arms and opening her mouth in a silent scream before he pulls her back into his chest. They turn around, dancing a few steps apart before coming back together. When the beat drops, Liam lies on the floor while Liv performs a split in the air. She steps over him and, with a backwards bridge, positions herself above him, then slowly lowers herself to lie on his chest. Liam sits up with Liv in his lap, both hands on her hips, before he swings her off of him, the momentum bringing her back-to-back with him.

As I watch Liv and Liam’s performance, I’m completely mesmerized. I’ve never seen anything like it. Their choreography is flawless, their movements perfectly in sync. Liv has always been an outstanding dancer, but seeing her paired with Liam is pure magic.

“You guys have no idea how fucking good that is,” I murmur.

Jaxon comes up behind me, leaning on the couch I’m sitting on.

“I’ve never seen anyone dance like this,” I say, and I’ve seen my fair share of great dancers.

“The video has two hundred million views,” Ryder says, his eyes wide.

“I found their YouTube channel,” River says with a grimace. “It has over six million subscribers and is filled with high-quality dance videos. They won the competition and many more after that.”

“How the fuck did we not know about that?” I ask, baffled.

“It seems like they’re huge in Canada, but I don’t think the hype made it to the States,” River explains.

“I still think I should have heard of them in the dance community,” I say, scratching my neck, andRyder chuckles bitterly.

“Oh yeah? Because you were so into contemporary dance before you met her?” he asks sarcastically, and I realize he’s right.

“It may also have to do with the fact that it’s not Liv Michaels who’s famous,” River points out. “According to their YouTube channel, our girl’s name is Olivia Baker.”

CHAPTERTHREE

Ryder

My girl’s name is Olivia, and she’s a star in Canada.Honestly, I don’t give a fuck about it. I knew she was special from the moment I met her, so it doesn’t surprise me she’s more than what she’s let on. It stings a bit that she didn’t tell us, but I’m sure there’s a reason for it. Plus, she’ll tell me everything as soon as I have her back in my arms, right after I make her come so hard on my tongue that she passes out. That should be punishment enough for leaving me like this.

What bothers me is this Liam guy. River is showing us their channel, and Liam is in all the videos, which spans years of content. Is he her brother? A friend? Or worse, an ex? I can’t even fathom a scenario where he’s still in the picture. If she left us to go back to him, I might just die from a broken heart.

“When was the last video uploaded?” I ask River, and he scrolls back up to the most recent one.

“It’s from nearly a year ago,” he says, and I feel like I can breathe again.That’s a good sign, right?

River clicks on the video, and music begins to play. The video says it’s “FIGURES” by Jessie Reyez. I don’t know the song, but it gives off indie vibes. There she is on screen, looking much more like the woman I know. She’s still blonde and dolled up, but she’s more mature and her perfect curves are the same.

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