by L. Foster
Chloe realized it was time to head downstairs, so she threw on her high heels and left her room. Her heart was racing with anticipation, she was anxious to get it over with. She headed down to where the competition was being held and she made her way over to a table to get her number. Chloe looked around at all the other girls as she pinned a piece of paper with a large black number 11 on her dress neatly. The other women had gotten very dressed up as well, Chloe noticed.
A heavy knot sat in her stomach as she stood near the edge of the marked dance floor. The lights dimmed and the chatter silenced as the woman running the competition walked out on the stage, giving a small introductory speech before the first dance began. The knot seemed to grow heavier as each dance passed, she breathed in the music, her eyes glued to each performer.
Finally her name was called, and Chloe felt the same nervous and nauseating feeling she had whenever she performed. As she began to make her way onto the floor, someone touched her arm and she looked up to see Julia, the girl who she sat at with dinner the night before.
“Good luck!” Julia said with a genuine smile, her eyes dancing with excitement.
Chloe let out a relieved breath and quickly replied, “Thank you.”
She took her place in the center of the dance floor and closed her eyes, bowing her head as the spotlight focused on her. The music began to swell and Chloe let it carry her across the floor in sweeping deliberate moves. Slow and beautiful, the song reached her deep in her center, soft passionate waves passing throughout her body. As the song reached its climax it sped up, and so did her limbs, flailing and twisting into a whirlwind of hot and heavy intensity. Her performance was true art, her body screaming words of love and pain, of desire and loss, all at the same time.
As the song ended, she finished her routine and descended back into reality. Chloe opened her eyes and smiled at the cheering crowd. Her chest heaved with ragged breathes as she exited the stage, euphoria flowing freely through her. The other women were supportive as she reached the crowd, giving her compliments before the next dance began. ‘
Chloe watched as the other women preformed their routines. She felt impatient, and she was practically shaking with anticipation as she waited to hear the results of the competition. As the last performer left the stage, they waited for the judges to discuss. Chloe was standing alone nervously. Julia approached her and said, “Incredible performance, Chloe. I hope you win!”
Smiling Chloe replied, “You were amazing too. You deserve to win, seriously.” Chloe wasn’t bluffing either, Julia was incredible.
Julia and Chloe stood together as the judges sat back at their table, handing an envelope to the speaker. The woman smiled at the crowd and said, “In third place for the Solo Female portion of the Traditional Art of Dance Competition, we have Ms. Cecilia Weber!”
The crowd clapped as the girl walked to the center of the floor and was given a small trophy. The crowd quieted as the woman continued to read from the paper held in front of her, “In second place we have Ms. Elizabeth McMann!”
The crowd applauded loudly and Chloe realized her name was called. A huge smile formed on her face as she ran up, a man handed her a blue trophy. Excitement rose up in her as she looked out at the others as they cheered her on. Her face flushed and her cheeks hurt from the crazy smile on her face.
“I would like to congratulate all you incredible dancers on an amazing job tonight.” said the speaker, “With that being said I would like to announce our winner of the Solo Female portion of our competition, Ms. Julia Summers!”
Chloe felt happy for her friend, but as the perky blonde bounced up to grab her trophy she couldn’t help but feel envious. Julia beamed at the crowd, her eyes watery. She walked over to Chloe and they congratulated each other.
Chloe shrugged off any jealousy or self-pity she was feeling, and felt glad to have won second place. Besides, she reminded herself, the competition isn’t over yet. Chloe took a deep breath, feeling confident and determined. It was her dream to win this competition, and nothing would stop her now.
Chapter 3
It was the third day of the competition, and Chloe couldn’t believe how time had flown by. Today was completely dedicated to working on a routine with your assigned partner. As Chloe got dressed she reminded herself to stay focused, and not to let her obvious attraction to Evan get in the way. She’s always seen her partners as objectively good looking, but Evan was different, he was practically the embodiment of the word handsome.
She had heard from Julia that Evan won first place last night against the other male dancers. With their chances looking so good Chloe smiled to herself as she headed out to the studio she and Evan would be working at, just down the street from the hotel they were staying at. A portion of the day they would be working with famously trained choreographers and instructors, and she was excited to see how well her an Evan would do.
When she arrived at the studio Chloe realized she was the first one to arrive and she began to stretch. It had been a good 15 minutes before anyone else showed up. A petite dark haired woman entered the room, looking a few years older than Chloe. She smiled at Chloe, shaking her hand she introduced herself, “Hi, I’m Anna. I’m your assigned choreographer. Are you excited to get started?”
Chloe nodded and said, “I’m very excited. Thanks so much, I look forward to learning from you.”
After a little more small talk, Anna began to show Chloe some moves as they waited for Evan. Chloe began to get nervous, her eyes constantly flashing from Anna to the door to the studio. Finally he arrived and she let out a sigh of relief.
In an annoyed tone Chloe said, “We were supposed to be here at 8.”
Evan was wearing a pair of tight workout shorts and a loose white shirt. Chloe pretended not to notice how well shaped his body was beneath his clothing. He slipped his head phones out of his ears, oblivious to Chloe’s hostile comment.
He introduced himself to Anna, and figuring there was too much to get done Chloe quickly dropped the subject. Anna began to explain to Evan what she had already showed Chloe. Figuring it best to leave them alone for a bit, Chloe headed over to a corner, practicing what Anna had shown her. Chloe couldn’t help but watch the other two in the large studio mirror. They seemed to get along well, like really well.
After two or three hours of Anna instructing them, Chloe and Evan were left alone. Chloe felt the tension of the room change, and the space suddenly seemed smaller than before.
Chloe decided it best to get straight down to business and said, “Okay so we have the final competition Friday. That only leaves us a little time to come up with a routine and music and then perfect the entire thing. What do you think we should work on first? I mean, it’s probably important we at least form some sort of plan as far as a song goes, but then again we still have to pick out a genre of dance. There’s just so much to do!”
Chloe looked up bashfully, realizing that she had been babbling. Evan looked at her with a strange smile on his face. Then in a sudden and sweeping move he grabbed her around her waist and dipped her, their bodies pressed firmly together and their faces just an inch apart.
“I’m really good at the tango, baby.” he said with a chuckle and a devious wink, his arms holding Chloe close to his body.
Chloe was breathless for a moment, her body radiating from the heat his was giving off, hot against her own. She stared into his eyes a moment, caught off guard by his touch. Quickly coming back to her senses, she removed herself from his embrace, doing her best to seem poised and professional.
“Okay then.” Chloe said stiffly, “Do you have any preference as far as what we preform?”
Evan shrugged and leaned against the wall, “What are you best at?”
Chloe considered this for a moment and said, “I’m good at almost anything, but Ballet is my favorite. What about you?”
Evan smiled and walked closer, looking thoughtful he said, “Yeah okay, a contemporary ballet could work well.”
Chloe and Evan began discussing strategies for moves for their routines. Time flew as they talked, discussing music and dance for almost an hour. Chloe found it so easy to talk to Evan. He made her laugh, and she was surprised to find he had a lot of good ideas.
“Okay,” Chloe began, finishing mapping out their dance on a sheet of paper, “So all we need to do is figure out our finishing move and we’ll be done.”
“There is this local competition near where I live, and one year they had this group that did a really amazing lift towards the end of their final performance.” Evan said, his face lighting up as he described the move to Chloe.
“Yeah, I saw something just like it at the Elmwood Dance Festival in Ohio!” Chloe exclaimed excitedly after Evan fully explained the move to her, “It was incredible.”
“Wait are you from Elmwood too?” Evan asked excitedly, his green eyes lighting up with a childlike excitement.
“Well I actually live in the suburbs but wow, what a small world.” Chloe said. She beamed up at him, and their eyes locked, making her feel a bit woozy.
Chloe looked at the clock on the wall and realized what time it was, and said, “Oh my god, we have to get to work!”
She and Evan danced for the rest of the night, working endlessly for hours. Chloe was surprised to find that she adjusted to his body easily, their movements flowing together fluidly. Time flied as they moved together in harmony, their bodies moving to the music like they had been dancing together for years.
After they finished Chloe practically floated back to her room. She was walking on clouds, and Chloe found it hard to explain but she had never felt so in sync with a partner like that. Chloe felt connected to Evan physically and spiritually, her body feeling empty without his moving effortlessly with her own.
Chapter 4
Practice was grueling that morning. Despite her excitement from seeing Evan, Chloe felt exhausted and her body was aching. They had been practicing their dance all morning in preparation for the competition on Friday. Both of them wanted to win desperately, and expectations were high.
They continually made mistakes, stepping on each other’s toes, and bumping into each other. Chloe was getting frustrated with Evan, but mostly with herself. This was basic stuff, she reminded herself impatiently, not understanding why everything felt so off.
As they attempted to complete the routine, Evan went to lift and spin Chloe, but dropped her, her body crashing to the floor. “Ow!” she cried, pain radiating up and down her spine.
With tears in her eyes, Chloe pushed herself up off the floor. She looked at Evan angrily and said, “What the hell? Why did you drop me?!”
“Look, it’s not me, okay?” Evan defended himself quickly, “I know what I’m doing, and I’ve won countless competitions and contests.”
Chloe stepped closer to him, getting in his face and clenching her fists against her side angrily she yelled, “Well apparently you forgot how good you are because right now you suck!” Her face was flushed, hot with rage. She was annoyed with his cocky attitude, he had no right to treat her that way.
Evan didn’t back down from her angry screams and he stepped even closer, his face only inches apart from her own. In a quiet but angry voice he spat, “Get your shit together, second place.”, and then he stormed out of the room.
Chloe watched him storm out, feeling wounded and hurt. She collapsed on the ground, hot tears pouring down her face as she cried softly into her hands. Chloe felt angry and defeated, she was over worked and over exhausted. Maybe I’m not meant to win after all, she thought bitterly.
Chloe sat on the floor for a while, drowning herself in self-loathing thoughts. After she cried out all the tears she had left in her body, she grabbed her cell phone from her bag. Quickly dialing the phone she placed it to her ear, desperate for kind and comforting words.
The other line clicked and an older woman’s voice answered, “Chloe?”
“Hey, Mom.” Chloe replied back, feeling immediately comforted by her mother’s voice. They spoke on the phone for a while, and when they hung up Chloe felt better. When Chloe turned around she say Evan standing at the entrance of the room watching her.
He walked over to her quickly, remorse clear on his face, “Chloe, I’m so sorry, I had no right to say that to you.”
Chloe quickly shook her head and replied, “No really, it’s okay. We both said things we shouldn’t have. It happened in the heat of the moment. Dance is passionate, sometimes it gets explosive.”
Evan looked down at her, and Chloe got lost in his green eyes for a moment. His body was so close to hers, all she wanted to do was grab him and pull him closer. He lowered his face towards hers and she could feel his breath on her face, and she inhaled his scent, her body craving his.
They quickly broke away, both getting lost in the moment. Chloe couldn’t help but notice that after that the air in the room seemed to change. Their touches seemed to linger, their embraces a little closer than necessary, almost as if they were finding reasons to touch each other. It grew late and the sun set as they danced again and again. Finally when it reached 9, Chloe had figured it was best to leave, feeling disappointed that she would have to leave his presence.
“We did a lot better, I think.” Chloe mused, feeling proud of their perfected performance.
“I told you we’d make a good fit.” Evan said, nudging her shoulder softly with his own as they left the studio.
They finished the short cold walk back to the hotel ended too fast for Chloe’s liking. As they rode up in the elevator together it took all of Chloe’s willpower not to touch him, the small space basically cramming together.
She reached her floor and the elevator opened with ding, she turned wistfully to Evan and let out a soft, “Goodnight.”
She headed off to her room, and set her stuff down on the floor of the empty hotel room. Chloe was exhausted physically but she felt so awake, her brain filled with a million thoughts. Mostly surrounding one person.
There was a knock at the door, and Chloe walked over curiously opening it. She was shocked to find Evan, who had a wild look in his eyes. Confused Chloe opened her mouth beginning to ask what he was doing here, she said, “Evan? Wha-”
She was interrupted before she could finish her question he grabbed her face with his hands, and kissed her deeply. Chloe immediately kissed him back, pressing her lips against his roughly. She was desperate for more of him, a hot and burning desire taking over her body fast like a wildfire. Her hands reached up and twisted in his thick hair, pulling his face closer, deepening the kiss.
Evan’s hands slid down her back, pressing his body into hers. They kissed like that for a few moments, barely coming up for desperate ragged breathes, their lips moving against each other’s roughly. Evan finally pulled away, and Chloe’s swollen lips pulsed as she looked into his eyes, her heart beating fast.
“Sorry.”, he breathed, “I just had to know what that was like.”
He slipped form her embrace, and Chloe was silent, stunned by the kiss, by her feelings, by the strong need she felt for him. He turned going to leave, but Chloe reached out to stop him, saying only “Stay.”, in a soft whisper, her eyes pleading.
Evan said nothing and just nodded gently, the silence between them speaking volumes. He shut the door behind him, and Chloe’s hand slid down his arm gently, taking his hand in her own. They stared at each other for a moment, lost in the eyes of the other. He reached his hand out, cupping her face. He leaned in slower this time, more deliberate with his actions.
Evan’s lips finally pressed against her own, but softer than before. They took their time exploring the way their lips fit together, the way their bodies molded to each other’s. Eventually the kiss became hungrier and deeper. Suddenly time seemed too short, the distance between them too far. Their bodies slammed against one another’s as they kissed, grabbed, and felt.
Chloe’s heart was beating fast as she pulled Evan onto her bed. She had lost all reasoning and logic, the only
thing she could seem to focus on was his hot and burning touch. They made love the way they danced, moving together fluidly, with burning touches and long embraces. They greedily devoured each other into all hours of the night, desperation deep in their bones, yearning laced into the hot breaths and moans that escaped their heaving lungs.
As they lay together in the bed that night, Evan held her tight, their bodies intertwined together into one. He kissed her forehead softly as he held her, and he whispered, “Get some sleep, tomorrow is the day your dream comes true.”
Chapter 5
Chloe awoke that morning with Evan’s arms holding her. She moved closer to him, feeling safe in his strong embrace. For a moment there was an eerie peace surrounding her, and she relished in the silence of the morning. As her brain began to wake up, she sat up quickly, everything hitting her at once. She scrambled out of her bed, and out of the safety of Evan’s touch.