I woke up the next morning with a cloudy head. I rolled over and found Mollee in bed with me.
“Sorry” I whispered as I almost rolled her into the wall
“It’s ok” She said tiredly through a yawn “How are you feeling?”
“Mortified”
“Don’t be. Anyone who has been through what you have been through has nothing to be embarrassed about. Plus, he was a perfect gentleman. You didn’t scare him one bit” She said with a smile before looking at her cell “It’s time to get up anyway. We have our first rehearsal today!”
“Hooray!” I said quietly, still feeling a mixture of exhaustion from the panic attack and embarrassment from Aj witnessing it. Not just witnessing it but causing it. And not just causing it but causing it by kissing me. How was I ever going to get him to kiss me again after what happened last night?
“Come on loser” Mollee said waking me from my silent despair. I rolled out of the bunk and made my way to the shower. I got out and quickly changed into some tight electric blue dance shorts and a matching electric blue sports bra. I threw on a white over-sized retro MTV shirt that I had cut the neck out of so it slung over one shoulder over the bra and slipped on some flip flops. I grabbed my jazz sneakers, a towel, water, and a power bar and threw them into my dance bag before grabbing a banana and waiting in the front room for everyone else.
“Stay at Aj’s last night?” Camie asked coolly as she walked out to sit on the couch
“No” I answered shortly and just as coolly. She grabbed an apple and we sat in awkward silence until Mollee and Sophie joined us.
“Ok ladies, let’s do this!” Mollee said excitedly and I grinned at her before following at the end of the line of dancers.
“Good morning ladies!” Brian said rushing over to meet us as we walked to the rehearsal studio
“My Lord” I bowed to him as he stopped
“Princess” He said excitedly pulling me into a huge hug. He squeezed me hard and picked me up before putting me down.
“What are you excited or something?” I asked with a grin
“I’m so excited. This tour is going to rock!” He said making the rocker hands and sticking out his tongue like Gene Simmons.
“Heck yeah” I yelled back giving him the superstar rock pose in a lunge with both hands up in the air and my tongue out as well. We both busted up laughing and headed into the studio where Aj was stretching along with Nick and Howie.
“Hey!” Aj said quickly coming over to me “How did you sleep?”
“Ok. Thanks to you. Thank you for staying last night. It meant a lot to me” I said quietly as he took me into his arms and kissed the top of my head.
“It was nothing. You scared me. I wanted to make sure you were going to be ok” Aj said sweetly
“Well I am. I’m more than Ok. I’m wicked excited!” I squealed jumping up and down a bit as the importance of this day dawned on me. “Think I’ll get to dance with you?”
“I sure hope so” Aj said placing a hand on my cheek. I leaned into it a little and closed my eyes as I felt his warmth through my skin.
“Alright ya’ll let’s get this started!” I heard from what seemed like another planet. Aj removed his hand and I took a deep breath to compose myself. I saw Fly, the choreographer from the auditions, walk into the room and we all gathered around. “I’m Fly for those who don’t know”
“Ooh Fly you so fly” Brian squealed in a high voice as I laughed and he gave me a look of appreciation.
“First things first, let’s pair up” Fly said as my heart jumped into my throat. I had to be dancing with Aj. I had to be. “Ok, the obvious first. Mollee is the only one tall enough to dance with Nick”
“You are kind of a freak” Mollee said with a smile as she stood next to Nick. I sent her a silent wink and I could see the excitement erupt in her eyes.
“Let's see. Let’s keep the dark hair together – Sophie and Howie” Fly continued as Sophie went over and Howie pulled her into a hug. I didn’t need to look at Aj to know he was repeating the same thing in his head that I was in mine. We have to be together. We have to be together.
“Ok then let’s do Kat with Brian and Camie with Aj” I heard and my heart sank. Camie squealed and ran into an unsuspecting Aj, almost knocking him over and I quickly hid my disappointment for Brian’s sake. I liked him a lot, the big goofball, and he’d be really fun to dance with. But it wouldn’t be Aj.
“The royal couple shall be holding court!” He announced loudly as I joined him with as much excitement as I could muster.
“Tribute may be paid at lunch with crumpets and tea!” I added in a royal tone. I was trying to convince myself this was not the end of the world. I would still be on stage with Aj. Being Brian’s dancer didn’t mean I’d never dance with Aj. And Brian was great. We’d have a blast. I glanced at Aj to see he had certainly gotten the raw and of the deal. Camie was talking at him a mile a minute about all her ideas for them and how she knew they would be dancing together and Aj was looking at me with sorrow filled eyes. I tried to convey my sympathy mixed with the message that we’d still be together some of the time on stage through my eyes but I’m not sure it worked before Fly started talking again.
“Ok guys, here’s the deal. We have a month to rehearse here in Tampa for the tour. Then we fly out to Portugal to open the thing on October 30th. We have a dance heavy show so we’ll need all hands on deck for the entire month. I know the guys have some spots to do to promote the show during the process but I’ve been promised that they are minimal. We’re going to spend the morning on We’ve got it goin’ on and Everybody. Then this afternoon we’ll come back and work PDA. That will be the opening of the tour. Let’s do it!” Fly said as we all cheered.
The opening portion of We’ve got it goin’ on was a big electric guitar riff and the dancers would be on a platform above the guys. We hit a few easy positions and then joined them for some fast footwork as Aj began to sing. I was positioned between Aj and Brian but a little farther back so I had a good view of Aj from behind and that calmed me a little bit. As we learned the dance Aj would glance back at me and wave or make faces and I’d inevitably blush which would make him laugh. Brian and Nick brought rehearsals to a screeching halt after only about five minutes by running around at super speed while trying to do the footwork in triple time.
“What are you laughing at girl? I bet you can’t do it!” Brian challenged as I grinned
“Oh I know that smile…” Mollee trailed off as I counted myself off and did all the footwork at lightning speed. Brian’s mouth just hung open.
“Holy crap” Nick said “Do it again!”
“Count me off!” I said as my excitement began to build. I ran the whole thing fast and Aj stood with his eyes at my foot level, watching my every move.
“You are nuts!” He said giving me a big hug. Fly got us all back on track again and we learned the dance break which ended up with me trust falling into Brian’s arms. He dropped me twice which had us laughing and once he caught me but refused to let me go and get to my position so I ended up accidentally launching him off to the side. It was sheer chaos and fun and I got to end on my knees right in front of Aj which afforded us some more time to flirt. I was a little jealous as I watched him catch Camie but Brian kept me well entertained as I could never guess if he would be there or let me fall.
“Alright kids. This is looking great. I’m going to take the boys from here to work on Everybody for about an hour. We’ll all meet up to work on PDA at 1:00 sharp. See you then!” Fly said as everyone cheered. I started to walk away from Aj and something in me started hurting. The hurt was deep down, way in the far depths of my soul.
“Hey Molls, I brought some food, I’m going to hang in here and watch” I said as she came even to me once I had stopped
“Want me to stay too?” She asked as I shook my head “Alright. I’ll see you in a few hours”
“Thanks. I’ll see you later” I said as she rolled her eyes at me. I grabbed my bag and sat across the room in the corner nearest Aj. He grinned at me as he realized I was staying and I figured he must have been feeling the same anxiety over my leaving as I had.
“Staying to watch me SHINE?” Brian asked running and skidding to a stop in front of me with his water bottle
“Please. You can’t shine that bright unless I’m there” I said with a smirk as he pretended to be insulted
“Oh you just watch me princess” He said acting all hardcore. I giggled and he kissed my hand before Fly had a chance to yell at him for talking to me. I watched the guys rehearse, meeting Aj’s eyes every once in a while which kept me perfectly happy. In the middle there was a step he couldn’t get and I couldn’t help myself. He looked to me with frustration clear on his face and I stood up and broke down the step while Fly worked with Nick. Slowly, while intently watching me as I exaggerated my weight shift and where my moves were going, he was able to nail it. I clapped silently and gave him a fist pump in the air as he laughed at my dorky congratulations and mouthed “Thanks.” Finally they were done and Aj rushed over to me.
“Eat with me!” He said quickly. And before I could answer he grabbed my hand, my bag, and his food and rushed us out to the beach right outside of the studio
“Hi” I said once we were seated with our food in front of the waves
“Hi” He said back while looking into my eyes quizzically. “Bright Blue”
“Very happy” I said knowing he wanted to decode my mood in my eyes. He smiled wide and settled into his sandwich “Why did we need to run out of there so fast?”
“The guys like spending time with you. I wanted you all to myself before one of them could interfere. I want to talk to you about last night” Aj said as I looked at my power bar “Hey now, don’t be worried. I just want to make sure it doesn’t happen again”
“I don’t think that’s possible” I said sadly before taking a bite of my bar
“Well I at least want to make it as easy for you to be around me as possible no matter what we’re doing. It’s like you with drinking. I can handle if you do it, but it’s cool that you don’t” Aj explained as I sighed
“I guess that makes sense.” I said still not really meeting his eyes
“Woops. We’re back to silver. I’ll make this quick. What did I do to set the memory off? I was thinking all last night while I watched you sleep-” He started and I choked on my bar
“You did what?”
“Sorry. You were cute. I didn’t want to leave. Is that too creepy?” He asked innocently as I relaxed
“No, it's not creepy. It's just odd. And it’s even odder that I’m ok with it” I said with a small smile
“Ah, a lighter blue, this is fun” Aj said referring to my eyes again
“Hey, I’ll stop looking at you if you are going to be like my sister and judge my every move through my eyes” I joked as he laughed
“Well then I’ll stop being so overt about it. I don’t want to lose the sight of those eyes. Not now. Not ever. So what did I do last night?”
“I think it was where you put your hands on my neck. The last time a guy did that it wasn’t because he was pulling me into a passionate kiss” I said taking a drink of water. I really hated talking about this.
“Got it” He said “Next time I go for a kiss we’ll make sure to position properly”
“There's a next time?” I asked flirtatiously
“Well, a kiss that good, even one that ends in chaos, is not something I’m willing to let go of either”
“KKKAAAATTT” I heard from behind me as Nick slid in right next to me covering Aj and me in sand
“Hey Nick” I said with a laugh as I brushed the sand off of my shirt
“Where’s your sister?” He asked as I laughed again.
“I don’t know. She went to get lunch when we were dismissed and left me to watch you guys”
“Yeah I saw you helping my boy Aj over there. He needs all the help he can get” Nick joked as Aj punched him in the arm behind my back.
“Hey, I saw you screwing up the move before that. Try stepping on the beat and shifting your weight to the back foot on the kick in chorus” I said
“Well, I’ll just tell Fly that he can pack it up because we’ve got all the dance instruction we need…” Nick trailed off as I laughed. Aj gave a small laugh of acknowledgement but I could tell he was pretty annoyed at having our alone time disturbed. But I liked Nick, he was a good time and as long as Aj was near me, I was pretty happy. “Anyway, we should go back. I hear PDA is partnering. Good luck with that Aj”
“Can’t wait” Aj said grumpily as Nick laughed and sprinted ahead of us.
“You’ll survive” I said as he sighed. I could sense that his disappointment was twofold – having such a short amount of time with me at lunch as well as having to dance with Camie – but I needed to try to cheer him up before we got back in so I tackled the portion of the problem that I had some control over “Want to go out to dinner with me tonight just the two of us?”
“I’d like that” Aj said with a smile “Better yet, why don’t we order in? We can eat in my bus – it has a lock”
“Sounds amazing” I said taking his hand and squeezing it before letting it go to join Brian on the dance floor
“Are you ready to show some PDA?” He asked grabbing my hand and spinning me into a low dip.
“Wouldn’t miss it” I said with a laugh. The first verse into the chorus was a great little back and forth with the girls on one side and the guys on the other. As the chorus started the girls walked down the stairs to center stage and I happened to be right across from Aj. We got to do some body rolls into each other which had us both grinning like idiots.
“Aj, keep your hands at your sides” Fly reminded Aj for about the fifth time as he tried to grab my hand in the body roll section. I stuck my tongue out at him which he returned with a pout. Unfortunately, the section with us both front and center together was brief and pretty soon we were deep into a very sexual partnering section. I was having fun with Brian as I wrapped my leg around his front while standing behind him. Following Fly’s example I attempted to twirl in front of him and land in a split.
“Ah you totally got me in the nuts!” Brian yelled collapsing on the ground dramatically. I looked at him skeptically but offered him my hand to help him up
“Wimp” I said as he grinned mischievously and pulled me down to the floor with him “Just wait until I’m wearing heels. You’ll be hitting those high notes without a problem in no time”
“That is not a very nice joke” Brian pouted as I laughed. I looked over at Aj and Camie was all over him. My face grew very hot as I sent her what was probably a pretty good death stare “Careful princess. You don’t own him”
“Huh?” I asked being pulled out of my fiery jealousy
“He’s not enjoying it anyway” Brian said with a smile as I rolled my eyes at him
“Imagine if that was your wife” I said as Brian’s eyes narrowed
“You make a compelling argument” He said turning me so I couldn’t see Camie and Aj grind on each other. At least I was with Brian so I could be goofy about it. Aj seemed miserable with Camie groping him every chance she got. I had to laugh at a move that involved the guys brushing their hands over the girl’s upper chests and then their faces. Brian was pretending he was sloppy drunk and fake slapping me in the face every time and Aj was barely touching Camie. She kept trying to get in closer to him so he’d have to touch her but he kept stepping back. Aj caught me laughing at him and he gave me a grin and a wink. We finally moved out of the partnering section and on to the bridge Aj sang and I was doing the dance moves facing forwards so he walked over to me and serenaded me while I danced and spoke the girl’s part at him.
“From the lobby to the patio (boy you so crazy) and we so compatible. The Starbucks to the Navajo (hmm, nasty) and we so compatible.” Aj sang as I nailed the dance steps. We moved right into the closing section which wasn’t partnered. It was a pretty amazing dance and it took us the whole afternoon but we finished around 5, sweaty but proud of a good days work. We were able to run from the beginning of Everybody to the end of PDA without stopping and it looked decent. Fly was happy so he let us go.
“Alright everyone tomorrow is All I have to give and She’s a dream. Go over what we did today because we’ll start with a review first thing in the morning. See you at 8” Fly said as we all cheered. Before I knew it Aj was at my side, escorting me to my bag.
“You were amazing today” He said to me as I took a big gulp of water and changed into my flip flops
“You aren’t so shabby yourself. So let me get showered and changed and I’ll meet you at your bus in about an hour?” I offered as we walked
“Sounds like a plan. If you’re not there by 6 I’ll come looking” He said as I laughed.
“I’ll be there. Wild tigers couldn’t keep me from it”
“Let’s hope there aren’t tigers. I’m not much of a fighter” He said with a grin
“So you're more of a lover?”
“You’ll find out tonight” He said seductively as I blushed. I gave him a soft kiss on the cheek before hurrying in the bus, hollering my sister’s name.
“What? What?” Mollee asked nervously rushing half dressed from the clothes room
“I’m going to dinner with Aj. What should I wear?” I asked as she hit me in the arm
“Don’t scare me like that you jerk. Go shower and we’ll find something appropriate” She said with foe annoyance. Her eyes gave her away though. She was as excited for this as I was.
