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“Okay, so the music starts, and you’re going to count, one, two, three, and then you are going to peek around the corner slightly. You’ll see her, but she’s looking away from you, and then you slip back on seven, eight. That’s when she will turn her face toward the corner. Another one, two, and you’re going to put your hand out like this.” Cal held his hand up as if I would have a tray on it, only more relaxed. “That’s three and four. On five and six, she will put her hand into yours, and on seven, eight, you will push off the wall, step out, and pull her into you. She’s going to spin toward you and end with her back to your chest. Let’s try that so far.”
We went slowly through the motions twice, counting aloud, and then we did it a second time, and I counted the beats to myself.
“Okay, in this next part, you’re going to run your hand down her side, take her other hand, and then spin her out.”
I laughed, spiking a brow. “You want me to run my hand down the side of a woman I’ve never even met, along her rib cage?”
“Yep, this is a moment when she has to trust you; she wants to feel wanted and attractive, and then you spin her out, and she comes back to you. Now she’s facing you, and this is where you two get your first eye contact. When you gaze down at her, you want her to see you, see right into your soul. You want her to fall a little in love with you in that very second.”
The last thing I wanted was any woman looking right into my dark soul. Oh, hell, no! The second to last thing that I wanted was any woman to fall in love with me. I peered sideways at my sister wishing that I could walk the hell out of here, but instead, we took it from the top.
Chapter Four
Ali
Monday afternoon, I arrived at the dance academy and bounced up the steps. I bubbled with an energy that I hadn’t felt in a long time, and although I was scared to death of what I was going to do, I was excited too.
I located Holly quickly as I reached the second-floor lobby area, and she rushed to my side and hugged me tightly. “I am so glad that I got you on the show, Ali. You are going to have so much fun, and I know you are going to find someone to love during this—I just know it!”
“Honestly, I can’t believe I let you talk me into applying for it, but now that I’m doing it, I’m excited. Nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs, but still excited.”
Holly laughed. We had met a year ago when her production crew had come into the restaurant where I was working for an end of the season party. She had asked to speak to the chef, and I’d come out to the private room where she and forty other people raved over the meal. Holly and I had clicked immediately when she asked if it was cardamom that she tasted in the rice.
A few days later, Holly was back at the restaurant early, and I took a break, sharing a new dish with her. She soon became my favorite taste tester and friend. We didn’t hang out often, but she was always bringing her friends into the restaurant. Being a chef, I worked long hours from mid-afternoon until almost midnight, so I missed the regular hanging out times.
I didn’t mind, I love my job, and I enjoyed the fact that Holly came by the restaurant and was willing to try out new concoctions. I valued and trusted her opinion.
“If you are nervous now, just wait until Friday when you get ready for your dance dates.”
“Oh, my god! Don’t remind me, Holly. It’s too early in the week to pass out!”
She grinned as she spoke and hooked her arm with mine. “Come on, let’s get you to makeup. No passing out; you’ll be fine.”
After a whirlwind of makeup and hair, I returned to the studio, and we started taping. For the first few minutes, I was extremely uncomfortable knowing the camera was on me but was able to put it out of my mind pretty quickly. The only time that I was reminded they were there was when they wanted us to redo something from a different angle.
When Tarin turned on the music, I laughed, and Cal stood in front of me. “This is a bold song, full of energy. You’re telling these men to prove themselves without words. To show you that you can trust them and that they can be there for you and that you can both have fun.”
“I can’t believe I’m doing this!”
“Do you want to see the routine?”
“Yes, show me what kind of trouble I’m getting myself into.”
I watched the dance with ever-widening eyes. I was out of breath by the time the dance routine finished, and I wasn’t doing anything but watching. How the heck was I going to be able to do that, not once, but three times with three different men?
“What do you think?”
“Holy—cow! It’s fun and sexy and full of energy, and then there are moments when it can be so much more.”
Cal clapped. “Yes! That is exactly what we are looking for. Are you ready to get started, Ali?”
“My knees are shaking, but yes, I’m ready to get started.”
As Cal, and Victor, my dance partner for training, showed me the first few steps, I thought briefly of the man I’d run into coming around the corner the other night in the storm. Is that what this was going to feel like? Would the electrifying moment when we look into each other’s eyes be as intense as that moment had been?
A second later, that thought was gone, and I was waist-deep in counting beats, kicks, turns, hips swivels, and body waves.
“Ali, when you look at him here, you want to take a moment to let him in. You’re not just trying to find out more about him, but you are allowing him into your soul. You want him to see that you are this incredibly loving and sincere person. Since it’s so hard for you to talk to strangers, you have to let your body do it for you.”
