It's Only a Dance Step

"You want to do what!" I exclaimed. She had to be joking.

"You heard me. Lets all ditch!" Candice laughed and took a long sip of her Pepsi.

"I'm so glad you find this amusing...because the rest of us surly do-"

Damon beside me began to chuckle and tried to hide it with a cough. So much for not finding any of this amusing. I sighed and shook my head.

"Come on Desera! Your the only one who is apposed to the idea!" Candice smirked.

"Am not. Chace over here is..." I looked at Chace, but only to find him biting his lip. He was in.

I ran a hand down my face and put my head on the table. "You guys! You know how much this performance means to me."

"Exactly! We do. Which is why you cant stress over it because stressing leads to mess-ups."

I raised an eyebrow when I lifted my head to look at her.

"What she meant to say was, don't stress over it. You have the steps down already. All you have to do is relax and let your muscle memory work its magic!" Chace smiled, saving Candice from having to explain. I glanced up at Damon, waiting for his opinion. He looked up from his hands and smiled at me. A smile that made my stomach do flips and twirls.

"I think you should ditch." Then he added, "I feel completely confidant that my dance partner has her steps down."

His words and hearing his confidence in me, made the decision for me: I was going to ditch the last two hours of dance.
~~

For the rest of the day, the four of us walked around town goofing around. We bought ice cream, candy, and little things here and there from people selling on the street. It was...fun.

Once in a while, Candice being Candice, pushed me into Damon on 'accident.' I blushed and shook my head apologizing every single time. But all he did was chuckle and shrug.

And before we knew it, it was time to head back.

“You two go ahead. I’m going to take Chace back to his dorm.” Candice said.

“What? I can take myself perfectly fine Candice…” Chace said frowning.

“Well, you could. But I have some suggestions for your ‘girl’ problems that you have.” She said with a smirk.

“Girl problems? What are you talking about Can…” Chace looked completely lost and searched my face for answers. But I had none.

Candice rolled her eyes and slapped Chace’s back. “Just come on!” She tugged his arm and they both headed toward the boys section. I chuckled and shook my head wondering what the heck that was all about.

“Hope she didn’t make it all awkward now.” Damon said beside me, smiling a bit.

“Awkward? Why?” I looked up at him frowning as we walked.

“Because, her excuse to let us have some time alone before the night was over, was pretty lame.” He chuckled a bit.

Oh, I thought. That’s why Candice wanted to take Chace back. Not because of some ‘girl’ problems.

“Oh…Um…no she didn’t make anything awkward.”

“But…now I did.” Damon replied shaking his head.

“No.” I said softly and looked at the floor as we walked. “I…I guess I’m just a slow person to catch onto meanings. That’s all.”

“You don’t have to be ashamed of it Desera.” He turned his face to look at me with a soft smile. I glanced down at his lips and bit my own as I quickly looked away. Unfortunately, I looked away too quickly and ended up missing the first step to the stairs that lead to my dorm.

I closed my eyes ready to hit the floor but quickly opened them when I felt warm hands on my waist. Damon had caught me the last second and his body was close to mine. His arm wrapped around my waist to steady me.

“You okay?” He asked softly, his forehead almost touching mine. I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out.

Was I okay? If I really was, I’d be able to answer him right?

He searched my eyes and gently stroked my cheek with his free hand. His hand was so soft and gentle that made it impossible for me NOT to lean into it. My eyes began to close shut but stopped when I heard him give a soft sigh.

“Are you better now Desera?” He asked a bit too sternly.

My jaw tightened and I forced myself to straighten up. “Yes. Thanks.” I blinked a couple times and pulled away from him.

The rest of the way to my dorm was silent. The space between us was a bit too much, but neither of us moved any closer. I gave a small sigh when we reached my room and took my key out.

“Well, I’ll see you tomorrow then right?” I turned around to wait for his answer.

“Yeah, you will.” He said with a nod. I started to bite my lip but quickly stopped and turned the key, opening the door.

“Desera…” Damon said softly, touching my arm that caused my stomach to do more twists and turns. “You will be great tomorrow night, I promise.”

I turned around to look up into his eyes and saw complete sincerity. I gave a soft smile and said, “You mean, we will be great tomorrow night.”

He chuckled a bit and dropped his hand from my arm. “I’m sure you’ll be much better. Trust me.”

With that, we said our goodnights, and walked away from each other.
~~

“Positions! Positions! Hurry! Two minutes people! Move!”

Mrs. Stevenler and her husband rushed the dancers around on the stage and I couldn’t help but laugh a bit from where I stood. I watched the clock and then began to fidget. Shit!

He wasn’t here. Damon wasn’t here yet!

I bit my lip and jumped up and down to calm my nerves. It didn’t help.

“He’ll be here Desera, relax. He wouldn’t let you do this alone.” Chace said from beside me as he finished up his stretches.

Finally I yelled, “He’s NOT here!” My breathing began to get unsteady and short. I ran my hands through my hair and pulled.

“Desera! Relax, please.” Candice tried to calm me.

“He will be here! We have a minute!” Chace tried to talk to me as well.

But I didn’t listen.

Not until I felt familiar arms wrap themselves around my waist from behind and pull me close to him.

“Relax…” He said softly against my neck and I took a large breath in and ever so slowly, let it out.

Chace and Candice quickly took their spots and in seconds the certain lifted. Thankfully, Damon and I were already in the right position. My breaths slowed and I closed my eyes.

“Dance with me. Only think of me.” Damon said against my ear and I was then twirled around and dipped. Damon stared down at me and I focused my attention on him, and only him.

Till the song ended, I only focused on Damon. Damon and my dancing.
~~

By the end of our performance, people were EVERYWHERE. Dance instructors of various companies were talking to the dancers and considering them for their own company.

Considering everyone-but me.

I tried not to think too much about it as I stared down at my dance bag. No one, NO one, had come up to say hello to me, or ask my name for future references. But everyone came up to Damon, Chace, Candice, and all the other dancers.

“Hey!” Candice said, making me jump and stop day dreaming.

“Hi.” I said softly. “Sorry for freaking out earlier. It’s just that he wasn’t here and well…”

Candice laughed and shook her head. “Don’t worry. I can’t imagine what you were going through knowing that you didn’t practice the night before AND that you dance partner wasn’t on time.”

“I’m sorry about that.” Damon said from behind me, quickly making me turn around and look at him.

“I-it’s fine. You got here. That’s what mattered.” I said gently and forced my nasty comments back. He DID get here, and that was all that mattered to me at that moment.

“Hello!” Chace yelled at us and smiled. “There’s an after party in an hour! Who’s in?”

“I AM!” Candice shouted jumping up and down. I laughed and shook my head.

“I don’t think I am…I mean, remember how the last one turned out?” I said, biting my lip and blushing at all the memories from the party to waking up at Damon’s house.

“But Damon will be there this time! Right?” Candice said with pleading eyes.

“Only if you want me there.” Damon said, looking down at me. My breath caught a bit. He was staring at me so deeply, he made me want to melt. Finally, I replied.

“I want you there.”