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PROLOGUE
THREE MONTHS AGO…
Sweat was literally pouringoff her body, and her hair was practically matted to her head. Her heart was racing, her throat was dry, but as the choreographer took his spot in the corner of the room, Lily Montgomery took her position and waited for the music to begin.
The bass beat started, and Tag loudly counted them down. “And five, six, seven, eight! Hold, two, three, four, right, left, right, left, pull…pull…” He clapped almost aggressively as he continued to count out the movements and Lily knew she was nailing every one of them. This particular piece was jazz funk, and when Tag smiled and winked at her as she strutted across the room, she knew he was pleased.
Catching her reflection in the mirror, she spun several times before leaping three times along with the fifteen other dancers currently on the floor. It wasn’t until she landed and held her pose that she felt a twinge of pain in her hip that wasn’t there before.
Shake it off.
The routine was new and challenging, and perhaps she overextended on that last leap. Either way, when they took their water break, she’d do a little extra stretching just to play it safe.
“Take five!” Tag called out. “And when we start back, I’d like to see a little enthusiasm out of all of you, not just some of you!” He turned away without another word.
It wasn’t the first time that class went past midnight this week, so that didn’t throw her. But looking around at the full group—all thirty-six of them—it didn’t look like everyone was feeling the same way. Tryouts for this year’s squad was apparently going to be brutal, and as much as this had been a bucket list thing for her, she hadn’t expected there to be so much competitive precision this long before auditions. She had come to Miami to get situated and settle in long before auditions, which were still almost six months away. Unfortunately, her chance to dance with the squad at the Dolphins’ games wasn’t guaranteed yet.
But it would be.
She’d danced for a year as a Rockette and she did another year performing with the national tour of Hairspray. Basically, she’d grown bored with New York and doing all the travelling and was ready to tackle the world of NFL cheerleading. When she’d seen some of the competition, she’d played up the fact that her father was a bit of a legend in the world of football. He’d been forced to retire because of an injury before she was born, but his name still opened the door for her here.
And even though it stung a bit that she’d had to resort to dropping names, it just made her all that more determined to prove to everyone that she deserved to be here.
I’ve got this.
With a shrug, Lily went to the back corner where her bag was and pulled out a bottle of water. Taking a long drink, she allowed herself a solid minute to let her mind go blank before getting down on the floor and stretching.
Her nose was touching the floor when her friend Drea sat down beside her, mimicking the pose. “I’m ready to shoot Tag with a tranquilizer dart,” she murmured. “I don’t know why he doesn’t call out the specific people who are screwing up.” Turning her head, she grinned at Lily. “Because I don’t see why you and I have to be punished for other people not learning the damn routine.”
Lily straightened for a moment before bending to touch her nose to her left knee and winced.
“You okay?”
She hesitated only for a second before forcing a smile. “Yeah. I guess I didn’t stretch as well as I thought I had earlier.”
“Oh, same,” Drea said, mimicking all of Lily’s moves.
They were new friends, but…like…dance friends. They rarely hung out together outside the studio or rehearsals. It wasn’t intentional, but mostly because once they were done rehearsing each night, Lily went home and slept for almost twelve hours. She knew she needed a break, but she was making up for some lost time after breaking her collarbone three years ago in a freak accident.
Still…it would be nice to go home and see everyone…
“And we’re back!” Tag called out. He was a fantastic choreographer, but she wished they could move on to something new.
Both she and Drea got to their feet, finishing their waters. “I bet Tag picks me to be in his top five tonight,” Drea said confidently. “He’s been winking at me all night, so I know he sees how I’m nailing the choreography.”
“Or maybe he’s just got some sort of nervous tick,” Lily muttered.
“What?”The friendly girl she’d been chatting with was gone judging by the sneer she was giving Lily.
“I’m just saying…he’s winked at me too,” she quickly explained.
Muttering something under her breath, Drea stormed off, leaving Lily standing there, shaking her head.
Diva.
“Let me get group one up first!” Tag ordered. “And I want you all to watch Lily! If I had to pick someone to make the team right now, she’d get my vote!”
While she wanted to gloat, she didn’t.
