Gin and Juice

Kale’s POV

I knew bringing Danni in on this shoot would be a good idea, much to the dismay of my co-workers. It only took Danni listening to the song twice before she had an entire choreographed routine for the song with limited help from me. We were doing the routine in real time with the music when the other dancers came in and started warming up. We even started to plan out her duet with one of the guys from the band, hoping that at least one of them was of a complimentary height and build to her slender 5’7” frame.

The other dancers were quick to pick up on the routine- it was basically the Rambo with heavily influenced Tango seduction. When something didn’t go as smoothly as planned or there was a better way of doing a move, some of them would offer their suggestion; we would try it out, and then take a vote to see what everyone liked. I couldn’t have asked for a better group. Everyone seemed to get along fine and was open to new ideas.

After an hour and a half of learning the routine and practicing it, the band finally arrived and I was summoned to the doors while Danni took the group through one last run as she looked on and perfected any flaws.

“Hi, I’m Kale Davis, the choreographer.” I said, offering my hand out to the rough looking band. I was seriously intimidated, but I wasn’t going to let it show.

“Hey, I’m Matt. We had a phone-conference a few days ago.” The middle one said with a grin, shaking my hand. He wore a black bandana underneath a black baseball cap. His aviators covered his eyes, as well as most of his face. He wore a grey shirt with the sleeves cut off and ripped dark jeans. His grip was strong. “This is Johnny, Zacky, Brian, and Jimmy.” He added, pointing to each member in turn.

“DAVID! THE LIFT COMES ON THE BEAT! NOT THE HALF BEAT! LET’S TRY IT AGAIN!” I head Danni scream from behind me.

I shook my head. “Pay no mind to her. That’s my assistant and she always stresses close to crunch time. Now, if I can have Matt and Brian. You two are closer to her height. The rest of you can go back to Mark.” The three other guys shrugged and followed the assistant back to wherever they came from.

“So, what do you want us to do?” Matt’s companion, Brian, asked me.

“Have any of you had any ballroom experience?”

“DAVID! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! WHY ARE YOU HAVING ISSUES LIFTING HER?! YOU WERE FINE LESS THAN HALF AN HOUR AGO! COME HERE, TRACY. SEE, DAVID, IT’S NOT THAT HARD!”

Noticing that I had lost my audience, I looked back to see Danni holding Tracy securely above her head while David watched on.

“That’s good, D, now let him try it.” I yelled back at her. With a huff, she brought Tracy down and handed her off to David.”

“Wow. Is she going to be okay after that?” Matt asked.

I turned back to look at him. “She’ll be fine. She can actually lift a 250 pound man clear over her head for a few steps without flinching. Hell, there’s been plenty of times where she was called in to teach the guys how to lift. Anyways, back to what I was saying: have either of you ever had any ballroom dancing experience? The Tango and Rambo, in particular?”

They were identical looks of horror.

“Once. A long time ago.” Brian said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

“That’s fine! And girlfriends? Would they care if you touch D in a somewhat inappropriate place?”

“Do explain.” Brian said with crossed arms.

I looked back to see D still yelling at the dancers. I looked around and spotted a blonde shouting into her cellphone. “Is she with you?” I asked, pointing to her.

Matt turned and looked. “Yea, that’s my girl. Hey, baby! Come here! Would you mind if Kale showed demonstrated on you?”

She gave him an odd look before quickly talking to the phone and hung up. “Come again, Matt?”

“He just wants to show us something and his main dancer is occupied at the moment.” She gave him a hard look before looking at me.

“What are you going to do?”

“Lift you in the air by your thigh.” I showed her where I was going to touch her on her inner thigh. “I swear that’s it. I’m going to lift you and set you down again.”

“Sure.” She agreed. I guided her directly in front of her and pressed her back against my front.

“It’s easier if you’re closer.” I explained. I told her every move that I was going to do, waiting for her consent because the guys looked as if they could kill me without a blink of an eye. “Ok, now I just want you to relax and let your body naturally fall. I promise that I will not drop you.”

She nodded her head. I quickly go in professional mode , placing on hand on her left hip while the other slid down.

“Okay, half fan kick.”

She did and I slid my hand from the top of her thigh towards her knee and spun her around before letting her spin out.

“Spin back into me and do a split when you get into the air.”

She did. “How did you know I was in cheerleading?” she asked as I put her in the air.

“I didn’t.” I said, bringing her down slowly. “And, well, that’s only half of the mood, but I just wanted to see how comfortable you were with that particular hold, because you’re going to finish with hand on the same spot on D’s leg.”

Matt looked at Val.

“Honey, I don’t care. It’s just a video and you’re only going to shoot the dance part for a maximum of two days. I saw the sketch, and I know how sexual this video is going to get.”

Matt broke out into a smile. “You heard the woman.”

I looked over at Brian. “What about you?”

“It’s fine with me. I know that ‘chelle won’t care.”

“OKAY, THAT WAS DECENT, YOU CAN TAKE A WATER BREAK, BUT NO EATING UNTIL AFTER WE SHOOT!” D yelled again. She grabbed her water bottle and chugged it as she made her way toward us.

“Have you made any of them cry yet?” I asked her.

“Surprisingly not. But I’m pretty sure David will crack before the end of this.”

“Danni, this is-”

“Matt and Brian.” She finished. “Hey, Val.”

I hadn’t noticed the guys and Val’s shocked faces until now.

“Oh, so you know each other?”

“You can say that.” Brian replied heatedly.

“Guys, let’s just try to put the past behind us and be professional about this.” Danni negotiated. “Please?” she was speaking to Brian more than anyone else.

“Ok, how about we show them the routine and then teach them how to do the lifts? Then we can see which one you’re more comfortable dancing with” I interjected, even though from what I could see, she would probably pick Matt.

“That’s fine.” She forced a smile, throwing her bottle in her bag and taking her place. “Tracy, can I get you to cue the music on my count.”
Tracy nodded.

“You three can either stand or sit with the other dancers. We’re going to take up the entire space.” They nodded and leaned against the wall with the other dancers.

“Play, Tracy.” Danni commanded with a sense of authority.

As soon as the opening riffs came on, she put on her “seductress smirk” and danced her way across the room to me. I let her dance close by me for a few minutes before grabbing her by the waist and tearing up the dance floor. She never lost her cool, which is what I loved about her. The Tango was her favorite dance, and you could tell by the gleam in her eye that she loved it- hell, she loved to dance. I few spins and lifts later, she was tracing my lips mischievously before stepping out of my grasp and letting me “fall” backwards.

Danni kept her position until Tracy stopped the music. She immediately broke character and helped me up with a smile.

“So, who wants to be the first to get poisoned?” Danni asked them cheerfully.

“Well, the lifts I don’t see me having that much trouble with, it’s the spins I’ll have issues with.” Matt spoke up.

“It’s true. You remember, Danni, right?” Val said with a smug smile

“Oh yea. Haner, what about you?” Danni asked. I got the feeling that she knew something that I didn’t.

He scoffed. “I don’t see a problem with any of it.”

“Well, there you go. Brian, you stay here and learn the routine and I’ll figure out how she’s going to kill me.” Matt said, excusing himself out of the room quickly, dragging Val out with him.

“Well, Brian, are you up for it?”

“Guess I have to be.” He said, shrugging his shoulders.