“Well, that explains a lot. I’m glad we had this conversation,” I told him blandly.
“Anything for you my dear,” said Jorge, flashing me a sly smile.
CHAPTER 20
That evening was the taping of the week’s show. I was nervous. Our practice today had been fair, but my team was lacking the personality I knew we needed to stay in this competition. We were slated to skate last, which could be good, or it could be bad, at this point, I wasn’t sure which.
I hoped that maybe if my team was forced to watch all the performances before theirs, they would be a bit more inspired to put their heart and soul into this performance.
First up was team Evans, they did a cute routine to the music from “I Dream of Jeannie”. They nailed all the elements and the female counterpart at least, completely blew me away.
The night seemed to drag on with all sorts of tiresome theme songs, I personally, would have never picked for my team to skate to. Team Muramsatsu put in a good performance with their song from “Hawaii 5-0”. Finally our team was up, I was so nervous I could barely breathe.
My team was announced and they skated to the center of the ice. Ron looked incredibly handsome in his chaps and gun belt. The wardrobe department had done a fabulous job with Elena’s costume. She was dressed in a red saloon girl dress, with feathers in her hair, they had even given her fish net stockings and they had covered her skates with black boot covers that looked like old fashioned button up shoes. Elena was loving her character this week and she was totally into playing up her role. Ron had flashed the cameras a fake smile when he arrived on the ice, but his face had been expressionless ever since.
The music started and I was nearly holding my breath in anticipation. Elena was doing fabulous as she hammed her way through the program, Ron, on the other hand, looked like a zombie. He was doing all the moves, but his body was void of any emotion, it was completely obvious, he was merely going through the motions. I sighed miserably as I watched, I had built all kinds of fun dance steps into the routine so that they could have fun with it, but Ron seemed to be a million miles away.
Technically, the only glitch came right before our lift. I had went all out this week and taught them a real pairs lift. Pairs lifts are harder than ice dance lifts as the man needs to be strong enough to lift the woman over his head. Ron was getting so much better on skates and Elena was so tiny, I figured it would be no problem for my team. They had done quite well with the advanced lift in practice, but still, I was anxious, any misstep on the ice could be dangerous for Elena!
Ron was supposed to reach down and pull Elena through his legs, then there were a few connecting steps and they would do a lasso lift, which would lift Elena high above the ice, above Ron’s head.
Ron pulled Elena through his legs, but then it seemed as if he had forgotten the connecting steps, he fumbled across the ice for a few seconds, then he did manage to get Elena up into the lasso lift, but Ron brought her down so quickly, I feared the lift hadn’t lasted the required two seconds that would actually give us credit for the move.
Finally, the program was over and Ron and Elena were taking their bows. They skated over to me and I hugged them both half heartedly. I was trying hard to conceal my disappointment, but I was sure there was a good possibility that my team was going home tonight.
The three of us huddled in the “kiss and cry” area waiting for our scores. Elena was mumbling harsh words in Russian. Luckily, neither Ron nor I knew exactly what she was saying, but her displeasure with the performance was evident!
The judges made a few positive comments about the technical difficulty of our routine and the choreography, what they all seemed to agree on, was that our program lacked the fire and personality that we had shown in all our other performances. We received a disappointing score of one eight and two sevens. I was much too nervous to remember the other teams scores, so I wasn’t sure if we were doomed, or not.
Moments later, all the couples were brought to the ice for the judge’s decision. I could barely breathe, I was so nervous. The announcement was made and I was so stunned I couldn’t even absorb which team had been eliminated, I only knew that it hadn’t been my team, we had been spared!
I watched numbly as team Biermann returned to the ice to take their final bows. When I saw the male counterpart of the team skate out in his white Captain’s uniform I suddenly remembered. This was the team that had done a really lame program to the theme from “The Love Boat”.
I sighed in relief, as the house lights came back up and everyone seemed to be scattering for the night. We had made it through one more week, but if we gave another performance like that one, I seriously doubted we’d be able to hang on for another week.
I socialized with a few people I knew as I wound my way through the crowd. I finally found myself in a quiet corner of the arena, where I could just hang back and watch everyone else as they interacted. Elena and Ron were still on the ice socializing with the other remaining couples. Jorge was standing near the judges box, having a very animated conversation with a few of the judges and some network executives.
I had to smile to myself. I loved to watch how people interacted. Hollywood was never short on interesting interactions. Everyone had an angle, it seemed.
Before I knew it, our camera man Javier had found me. He was training his camera on me, and giving me a sly smile.
“What did you think about your team’s performance tonight? I believe that Hal Luther called it lackluster,” said Javier.
“That’s exactly what I would call it. Luckily we were not eliminated tonight and we will have a chance to redeem ourselves. I’m hoping to reclaim the top spot next week,” I told him with an enthusiasm that wasn’t quite genuine. My face didn’t betray what my heart feared deep inside. Ron had been hurt deeply, his heart was broken. I wasn’t sure that Ron could be snapped out of his funk by next week, let alone by the end of the season. I was sincerely hoping that my team wasn’t done in this competition.
CHAPTER 21
I had been anticipating that the ride home in the limo with Jorge would be tense, he was disappointed with my team’s performance and he was displeased with me, as if I had any control over the emotional health of my team members.
“Your teams’ program was very frustrating to watch tonight. I’ve seen what they can do, but tonight’s performance was just pallid and lifeless. I know that Brannon is upset over his wife’s shenanigans, but you need to reel him in and get him back on track, or you are going to lose this competition,” snapped Jorge, shaking his head miserably.
“Thank you for telling me that Jorge, I truly had no idea,” I told him, my voice was laced with sarcasm. I wish I could control people’s emotions, but unfortunately I could not.
“I am sorry Lane, but you have a talent, a talent that could take your team all the way to the finals. Your programs are so magical and they always blow everyone away, when performed properly, that is.”
“I don’t know what to do Jorge, I’m not sure that Ron can get over this. He’s in pain, I’m getting the feeling he’s going to be worthless for the rest of this competition. Jenae really hurt him, the only reason he even came on the show is because his soon to be, ex-wife coerced him. He was doing it for Jenae and the girls, now he has no motivation to perform, he’s only here because of the contract he signed,” I told Jorge, shaking my head miserably.
“You’re going to have to give him that motivation. Isn’t that what coaches do, inspire and motivate? I’m beginning to think that maybe I was wrong to forbid you to hook up with him, maybe...”
“No Jorge, under the circumstances, I think it’s a bad idea,” I told him.
“No, it’s a fabulous idea, think about it, he’s been attracted to you since day one. I mean really, what raises a guy’s spirit more than...”
“Jorge please, I may be your employee, but I’m not some sort of trollop you can call up and use for favors at your discretion!” I cried.
“Lane,
a trollop or a whore would pay favors to many men, but I am only asking you to do something I well know you already want to do. You forget...I saw the video. Believe me, I am well aware that the two of you were merely seconds away from it becoming pornography, thus making the video footage way out of my price range.
I know you’re attracted to him, what’s the big deal? I know I forbid you to see him, but under the circumstances, waiting to consummate your relationship could possibly ruin your chances to win this competition. I mean why wait, to do what you’re going to do in seven weeks anyway? I am quite certain if we could do this discreetly enough, maybe no one would even catch on.”
“Ifwe could do this?” I cried.
“Well I wouldn’t be physically involved, of course, but I could help in the planning. It would have to be very discreet, Hollywood seems to notice everything. Maybe if I had him over to the house for dinner one evening. You could just bang him there, no one would even know.”
“I could just bang him there? No one would even know?” I cried, glaring at Jorge, as if he were insane. “Have you lost your flipping mind? First of all, I am not a prostitute, I will not be plotting any seduction of Ron with you, the man who all of Hollywood is convinced is my lover.
Secondly, this is Hollywood, you’re fooling yourself if you don’t realize that everyone is going to know the actual moment anything happens between the two of us! The big deal is that he is not divorced yet, and I am. Besides the obvious scandal, which would be bad enough. I refuse to give Jenae any fuel for her lawyers to use against Ron,” I snapped.
“Lane, I just think...”
“No Jorge, just let it go. Let me handle this,” I snapped.
“That’s the problem, you’re not handling it. Last week you were at the top, but your team is teetering on the edge now. This week could be your last week, if you don’t do something!”
“Jorge, I want to win, but I cannot jeopardize his reputation and his entire life, just to win this competition. I’m afraid of the repercussions, he has his daughters. He loves them. I don’t know what he would do if Jenae tried to keep them from him.”
“Here’s an idea, maybe if we had him over here for dinner tomorrow night, I could...”
“I swear to God Jorge, I’m going to...” I made a fist and gave him a threatening glare.
“Sorry, sorry, I’ll shut up,” said Jorge when he saw that I was finally losing my cool.
I rolled my eyes. I was beginning to hate my life here in Hollywood. I hated how everyone knew everyone else’s business. I really hated how I had become nothing but a pawn in the business! I sighed and shook my head miserably, I didn’t know why I was here, I didn’t belong in Hollywood.
CHAPTER 22
The next morning I arrived on the ice before anyone else. I was working on some new footwork and I wanted to skate alone for a while. I loved being on the ice in the morning before anyone else got there, it was quiet in the chilly, echoing rink and the ice was still smooth and unmarred. There was no music, no voices, no one else there to intrude on my thoughts, no producers, no cameramen. It was exquisite!
I was worried about my team, especially Ron. I hoped that Ron could pull himself out of this depression and make a comeback. It wouldn’t be so bad if my team just totally sucked anyway, then at least, I knew there wasn’t even a chance. But Ron had it in him, I knew he did. He was a champion on the football field, and I knew now, that he had the drive to be a champion in anything he put his mind to. Unfortunately, his own wife had damaged him, his heart was broken. I didn’t know if Ron would recover himself in time to save our team in this competition. Broken hearts just didn’t heal overnight.
I hoped to completely blow the judges out of the water with this week’s routine. This week we would be adding the final required element, a throw jump, which made me glad that I had a female professional skater on my team, someone who had a bit of experience with jumps in general. It would be hard to take someone with basically no skating experience and tell them that their partner was going to throw them across the ice.
I’d had a difficult time selecting the music for 80’s week. I graduated from high school in the 80’s so I was emotionally attached to a lot of the music. It brought back a lot of good, and a lot of bad memories for me. Finally, I chose a song that I loved for a lot of different reasons. The song was, “In a Big Country” by the band, Big Country.
I was drawn to the song because it was fast moving, it was unique, and the band was Scottish. So of course, the music had a unique Scottish flavor to it. My father was Scottish, which would supposedly make me half Scottish, that is, if you didn’t listen to the whispers that I was most likely the bastard child of some Hollywood actor. Still, I felt a bit of a connection to the music and I felt like I could make the music work for us.
My idea for the costumes was to dress Ron and Elena in black, 80’s style spandex outfits that were trimmed in black watch plaid. I was excited about this program, if I could just get Ron to perform in the caliber I knew he was capable of, we might just walk away with first place this week!
I skated alone in the vast, echoing rink for about an hour, soon Ron and Elena arrived on the ice. I explained my plans for our program. Ron seemed okay with everything, but Elena was frowning and rolling her eyes.
“I want to skate to Michael Jackson,” she whined.
“Everyone will be skating to Michael Jackson and Madonna, and stuff like that! I want us to stand out. We need to do something unexpected and memorable,” I told her.
“Oooh, what about Cyndi Lauper?” cried Elena excitedly.
“No!” I told her, now I was rolling my eyes.
Elena pouted for a little while, but after a while it seemed as if she was finally getting into our program. Ron seemed to be doing a little better, though I was still a bit worried. Our big element, the throw jump was very important, I hoped he could focus enough to get it down. I really didn’t want Elena to get injured.
I planned to have them do a throw toe loop, but Elena had her heart set on a throw double axel. I shook my head dismissively. Elena was getting caught up in the big illusion here.
I almost broke out in hysterical laughter, when she brought it up. Elena and Ron were not really pairs skaters. They were two athletes, from two very different sports that were brought together for a reality TV series. I thought that trying anything too advanced was an accident waiting to happen, Elena was not a pairs skater, so she had no experience with throw jumps. I just thought it would be best if we didn’t try to overdo it!
The week seemed to fly by quickly and my team was doing much better than I had expected. Ron was still not one hundred percent, but at least, he was not the zombie he had been last week.
I had taught Ron and Elena the throw toe loop and it looked as if they would have it perfected before we taped on Wednesday.
When I arrived on the ice Monday morning, Ron and Elena were already busily running through their program. Elena had really gotten into the music and was pouring her heart and soul into this program.
I smiled as I watched them, as a team, they had come so far, it was truly amazing to watch them skate together and realize that Ron had never ice skated at all, before he came on this show.
The big throw jump was coming up and I held my breath as they skated around the ice gaining speed. My eyes were wide as Elena got herself in position to do an axel and before I knew it, Ron had flung her into the air and she was spinning above the ice in a double axel. I stood there with my mouth gaping open in shock, in an instant, she landed it gracefully and they both skated gracefully to their ending.
“Holy crap!” I cried, completely oblivious to the fact that Javier was right there with his camera trained on me, in an effort to get my reaction to their jump.
Ron and Elena were both breathing heavily and smiling broadly at me as I skated out to them on the ice.
“I can’t believe it, that was incredible!” I cried throwing my arms around Elena.
“You
are surprised?” she asked, beaming up at me.
“Hell yes, I’m surprised,” I cried, going to Ron and hugging him briefly. He squeezed me hard, but I pulled myself from his arms uncomfortably, then I stood there staring at them both in shock.
“You two did this on your own?” I asked.
“Elena wanted to try it, she said we could win with this jump,” said Ron.
“Well I seriously doubt any other team has a throw double axel. I can’t believe you guys got it down so fast!” I was still completely in shock. If Elena had been a pairs skater previously, I could believe it, but this was something completely out of her comfort zone. I was so proud of both of them!
We trained hard for the rest of our practice and I left that morning more confident that we wouldn’t be going home this week.
Laying Low In Hollywood Page 17