Contemporary Love

Chapter Five: Decision Day

Today was the day of the auditions to be put into the National Dance Competition. I was very excited and only a little bit nervous. I was never really nervous when it came to dancing in front of people because it was something that I really liked to do. Dancing was a passion and I hardly let nerves get in the way. Blake on the other hand was giddy with nerves. It was kind of funny to see his knees bouncing up and down as he waited for his turn to audition. We were numbers thirteen and fourteen, and number eleven was up now. The auditions were going by fairly smoothly, and almost everyone came back stage looking as happy as they could be. That was starting to make me worry because I don’t know if Autumn and James have already picked their favorites and aren’t keeping an open mind about everyone else. I was hoping that they were in fact keeping open minds, and that numbers twelve through forty actually have a chance.
“You’re going to give yourself a brain aneurysm if you keep worrying so much.” I said to Blake and squeezed his hand. He offered me a half smile and squeezed my hand back.
“How are you not nervous?” he asked me and I shrugged.
“I’ve been dancing my whole life so dancing in front of two people doesn’t really faze me anymore. Now nationals might be a different story but we’ll have to see if we get down that road. But for now, worry about your routine because you my friend, or up next.” I said as I stood up. It was now my turn to show Autumn and James what I, well what Blake and I could do.
“Go get ‘em tiger.” Blake drawled and I laughed.
“I’ll try my best.” I said and walked out of the room and onto the audition floor.
“Hi Macie, what song are you going to be performing to for us today?” Autumn asked and she wrote something on a clip board. I put the cd into the stereo system and pressed pause.
“I will be performing to the song ‘Jar of Hearts’ today.” I said and pressed play and quickly got situated in the middle of the dance floor. As the first few notes drifted through the speakers I started to dance. By the third measure I was lost in the melody and just danced. I finally stopped when the last whispers of the notes came through the speakers. I tried to calm my breathing as I waited for them to finish critiquing my routine and give me some feedback. After a few minutes James looked up to me and smiled, which I returned.
“Great job Macie, just watch your extensions and make sure you are pointing your toes unless it is purposely in flex.” He said and I nodded.
“I’ll practice at that.” I said and Autumn offered me a smile this time.
“The results will be up at six, so come back then Macie.” She said and I nodded and walked back to the waiting room. I did a little jump on the way mentally praising myself for once because I thought that I did a pretty good job. I had a huge smile on my face when I saw Blake, and he immediately came up and hugged me.
“I take it that it went well then? He asked as me spun me around. I laughed and nodded.
“I think that they loved it. I think I did wonderful.” I said and he smiled.
“Good. Now wish me luck. Hopefully they think that I do great too.” He said and I nodded.
“Knock ‘em dead cowboy.” I said as he walked out for his audition. Five minutes later Blake was back out by me with a smile to match mine. I squealed and hugged him.
“We got this.” Blake said as I handed him a water bottle. It was only three o’clock so Blake and I went to pick up Danny, and headed back to my house to work on homework. Danny was busy watching cartoons so it made concentrating easier. After finishing our homework I whipped up some chicken salad for sandwiches and grabbed some veggie chips for dinner.
“Danny, come eat your dinner before we have to leave.” I called from the dining room as I set down the plates and went back for the drinks. We had small chat while eating, once we were done I cleaned up quickly and we were off. Shortly after I was carrying Danny on my hip as I walked closer to the posting. I took a deep breath and opened my eyes.
Females
1) Macie Crane
2) Janie Hearing
3) June Gera
4) Nuria González
5) Sonia Bearing
Males
1) Blake Hemmingway
2) Daniel Hearing
3) James Lane
4) Samuel Danes
5) Fredrick Graves
I let out a small scream of happiness as I spun Danny around in happiness. He started laughing as I put him down. I turned around and was immediately enveloped in a pair of arms. I looked up and smiled as I saw Blake’s beaming smile looking down on me.
“I told you we had it.” Blake said and I nodded.
“I believed you; I just had to see it for my own eyes.” I said and placed my head in the crook of his neck. We stood like that for a little while everyone looked over the list. Sounds of joy and disappointment were heard but I was in my own little world of happiness. Blake gave my sides a squeeze and pulled away.
“Let’s go celebrate.” I said and grabbed both Danny’s and Blake’s hands.
“Where are we going Mac?” Danny asked me as I settled him into his car seat. I finished buckling him in and slipped into the driver’s seat and started the car.
“We are going to celebrate Blake and I making it into the national dance competition. So we are going to get our favorite.” I said.
“Frozen yogurt?!?!” Danny yelled from the back seat and I laughed.
“Yes. We are going to get some frozen yogurt.” I said and pulled out of the school parking lot. A few minutes later we pulled in to the frozen yogurt parking lot. As soon as I shut the car off, Danny was out of the car in no time. I got out after him and ran up to him so he didn’t cross in front of any cars. After we ate our yogurt, and Blake and I got accused of having pre-marital sex with resulted in Danny, by the owner it was time to go home. I looked in the rearview mirror and Danny was passed out.
“When we get home do you want carry Danny into his room for me please?” I asked Blake as I turned onto our street.
“Sure Mac.” He said and undid his seatbelt as I stopped the car. He swiftly moved around the car and scooped Danny up in his arms and walked toward the house. Danny was out like a light as I took off his shoes and tucked him in. I walked back to my room and Blake was sprawled out on my bed facing me. I dropped down next to him and stared at the ceiling. It was quite for a while before I broke the silence.
“I usually never befriend anyone.” I said and Blake nodded.
“How come?”
“I just never had the time, or the care. Danny was there and that was all I needed.” I said and he smiled.
“Are you saying that you need me?” he asked with the hint of a smile on his voice. I immediately blushed and looked away. He chuckled, and turned my face towards him.
“Hey, it’s okay to need somebody. You can’t be strong for everyone, sometimes you someone to be strong for you.” He said and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear.
“I’m just not used to it.” I said and he nodded.
“Then just let me try.” He said and I blushed again.
“Okay.” I whispered and he smiled.
“That’s all I asked for.” He said and leaned down and kissed me. I was taken by surprise and didn’t respond at first. He pulled back and looked at me.
“I’m sorry if that wasn’t what you wanted to happen.” He said and I shook my head.
“No it’s fine.” I said leaned back into him and kissed him. He smiled against my lips and pulled away.
“You won’t regret this. I promise you that.” Blake said and I smiled. This was the first time that I was allowing my guard down and I was hoping that it wasn’t going to come back to bite me in the ass.