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It took over an hour before I finally made my way towards my parked car. Much of my time was spent hovering in the locker room, wondering how in God’s name I was going to be able to deliver dancing in my achy condition. But, as much as I was tempted to bail out, I couldn’t muster seeing Carmen’s knowing smile and smart retorts. Somehow, I felt as though I had something to prove to her. It wasn’t the taunting or her name calling me “Disney.” It was more than that. For some odd reason, I just wanted to prove her wrong, whatever the basis of that reasoning might be. So tonight, come hell or high water, I was going to be in her well-renowned studio, dancing until I was numb from the pain in my body.
Pulling my BMW out of the parking space, I joined the madness of LA traffic while I scanned my dashboard screen for music when my phone rang. My eyes immediately flickered to who the caller might be.
Well, well, well, I grinningly thought as I took the call. “Hi, stranger.”
“You’re back in town and you didn’t even call? I’m extremely offended.” Kyle’s smooth voice boomed into my car’s Bluetooth, laughing.
Upon hearing his voice, I couldn’t help smiling. There was always something about him that made me happy.
Ever since I had started dating River again, Kyle and I had been communicating through calls and text messages. His schedule had been chaotic, as was mine, so we didn’t really have the chance to meet up again. It had been ages since I’d seen the man in flesh. But now that I was back in town, I hoped that problem would be remedied soon.
“I’m so sorry. I meant to call, I swear to you, but things got crazy.”
“I know. You’re all over the news,” he teased, clearly updated with what had been going on with the media. It came with his job, seeing that his father owned one of the most lucrative music companies in the world.
“That comes with dating River, and one I’m not used to yet.” The moment I had gotten out of bed, I purposely ignored the internet, in fear of what I might find. More importantly, I didn’t want to become obsessed with what the public thought of me. I knew what I was about, and that was all there was to it.
“Being in this business means embracing all the lovers and haters. All I can recommend is to have fun because, at the end of the day, how you rise above it counts the most. So just shrug it off and smile,” Kyle gave me sound advice.
“Thank you. And let me just say how good it is to hear from you after so long. I missed your lectures. When can we meet for lunch?”
He gave a hearty laugh. “I’m in New York, but I’ll be back on the West Coast next week. I’ll call you the second I land, deal?” He was crazy busy.
“Next week sounds perfect,” I responded before we carried on conversing about his work and how my show wrapped up in Vancouver. We spoke for another ten minutes before he had to cut it short for an impending meeting.
So, after we wrapped up the call, I pondered for a bit if River was okay with my ongoing friendship with Kyle. Now that my relationship with River was well-established, surely keeping friendship with a friendly ex-lover wouldn’t be frowned upon? Kyle Matthews wasn’t like Hailey. He was also a dear friend, one who I could always count on if I needed someone to jumpstart my common sense. Kells and Anton were my great confidantes, but Kyle had somehow become part of the sacred crew, and hopefully—fingers crossed—River would see it as such.
//
Thankfully, River’s condo greeted me with welcomed silence. Willa was most likely running around town, doing whatever River had on his to-do list, while the boss man himself was stuck in the studio.
Last night, just before bed, he announced that he was dropping one of the lead singles of the album the day after tomorrow, scrapping previous release plans, so he had until the week’s end to finish the entirety of this project. He was shedding blood, sweat, and tears into this production, creating everything that surpassed his arduous set of standards. He was a manic perfectionist, so it was understandable that I barely saw him between the chaste visits, and of course, coming home to take a few hours of sleep. As much as I abhorred being such a nag, I had to make sure the man wasn’t skipping meals. A bad habit he indulged in once he was in the zone.
It was quite a process hauling as much ice from the largest mixing bowl I could find before dumping the whole lot into the bath. I followed it with a whole gallon of milk before soaking my achy body into the frigid water just to ease the throbbing muscles that vibrated through me. This wasn’t the first time I had taken such drastic measures, yet I had forgotten how severe this whole thing was.
“Fuck me,” I harshly groaned as I tightly clamped my jaw shut from clattering.
Hopefully, Carmen didn’t expect me to bring the big guns after I had explained how it had been ages since I’d properly had a chance to shake my cha-cha.
The more I pondered about it, the more I realized that Carmen was exceedingly competitive, and judging from that sole fact alone, she was going to see and consider this as such—a competition.
Whatever prior inhibitions I had should go out the window, or I wouldn’t be able to avoid her teasing. She was one of those individuals who thrived on being pushed to the limit. Sure, she might be one of the best performers I had seen to date, but I wasn’t without skills, either. I had the power to command an audience, Gloria, my dance instructor, had once proudly stated so. The only problem I had was believing it myself and not let doubt and insecurity cloud my ability to properly perform when under pressure.
I arrived at the address Carmen gave me that was located in Van Nuys at the time she specified. The famous studio had graced the likes of Britney Spears and other stars that thrived on dancing. Daunting didn’t even begin to cover how I felt at the moment.
Basing how the energized dancers were dressed in their videos, I donned similar clothing—black denim shorts, black fitted cropped top, and my favorite black booties. I didn’t bother doing anything with my hair, so it cascaded down my back as I stepped out of my car, leaving my inhibitions aside as I strode into the studio. My eyes scanned the place, jam-packed with energy that I could instantly feel being injected with an adrenaline rush.
The nimble woman was on her phone, and the second she caught a glimpse of me, she instantaneously sprinted to where I stood.
“Right on time, Disney,” Carmen greeted with a chaste embrace. “Ready to rock that body?” She grinned in her usual upbeat, slightly sarcastic manner.
“I am,” I mumbled as we moved towards the hall, leading me straight towards one of the studios.
Carmen apparently scored one of these studios for this particular dance-off. Was I impressed? Undoubtedly. Was I threatened? Absolutely.
Let’s just say that Carmen took this to a whole different level than what I was accustomed to, and I found that quite unnerving. If she wasn’t all buoyant and cheerful all the damn time, I would’ve been easily intimidated by her. Luckily, Carmen was about good vibes. That was why I was here, because in some ways, I found her encouraging and at times, oddly enough, endearing as well. She shone positivity, and I wanted that relentless drive she possessed, that particular kind of optimism that people gravitated towards.
“Here we are,” she announced as she rubbed her hands together, tickled by the idea of beating me again.
