by Amy DeMeritt
We sway in place a few times, before she takes a step away from me. She does a beautiful sequence of leaps and spins till she’s about ten feet away and turns to look at me. I place a hand on my heart and do an expressive sequence of calling her back into my arms.
Jaime does another intricate sequence on her way back to me, pretends that she’s going to leap into my arms and does a handstand instead, sending her legs over my shoulders. I lift her by her hips as I fall into a backbend, and set her down behind me. I fall between her legs and she pulls me through her legs and up to stand with her.
We dance hand in hand for several paces before she spins away from me again. As she starts to spin back to me, I slide forward, grab her by the ribs and lift her into the air with my arms fully extended above my head. As I slowly spin us, Jaime arches her body to lift her legs higher. She looks like she’s flying. As I lower her, her body slides down mine and I slide my hands from her ribs to her hips. Jaime grabs my shoulders and hops up, wrapping her legs around my waist in a very fluid and elegant movement. She arches back completely upside down and I spin us in a circle. As we’re finishing one full turn, she sits back up and gracefully steps down off my waist.
I turn her back to me and hold my hand on her stomach while I hold her right hand in mine. She places her other hand on the back of my head and we sway and step together in a romantic dance for a few moments. I glide my hands up her sides and lift her arms above her head. I tug up, pulling her up on her tiptoes and she falls backwards into me. I catch her by the ribs and lift her up high in the air with her back arched and knee pointed to the ceiling. I start to lower her, but push up with a hard burst of strength and Jaime twists in the air and I catch her and pull her down against my chest facing me.
The whole audience released a loud gasp when I tossed her and Jaime spun in the air, and it takes so much strength not to smile really big and laugh in excitement. The music starts to die down, so I dip her to the left, she hooks her left foot behind my right leg, and I rotate her from my left side, to my right hip, with her leg firmly resting on my back. I pull her in tightly and the music ends with our noses touching and we’re staring into each other’s eyes.
The entire hall erupts in applause and we finally share a huge smile and I lower her off my hip so we can face the judges. I hold my breath and wait for each judge to flip over their scorecards. Jaime squeezes my hand as the announcer reintroduces us and requests the judges to show their scores. One by one, they flip scorecards over till all seven scores are revealed, ranging from eight to ten. We end up finishing with a rounded average of eight point nine.
There are still several couples left to perform, but I feel really good about that score. I have no idea if we’re winning because we haven’t watched all of the other dancers and they’re not keeping a scoreboard to be able to know the ranking in progress. We won’t really know who won till it’s over.
As soon as we’re off of the dancefloor, I turn and pick Jaime up in my arms and spin her around, making her laugh. I set her down she looks in my eyes with a very happy smile.
“Thank you, Kayla. That was my favorite dance I’ve ever performed at one of these and I’ve done a lot of these competitions. The creative ballroom competition judges are very critical and the score they gave us is four tenths higher than the score I won with last year, so that’s a good sign. But if we don’t win, I’m still really happy with what we did here.”
“When’s the next one?”
She laughs and places a hand on the side of my face as she leans in closer to me. My hands are still loosely holding her bareback and they pull her in closer as she looks in my eyes with those beautiful golden eyes of hers.
“So eager to do another dance with me already?”
“I love dancing with you.”
“Then, you are going to have to learn the actual ballroom dances now. The next competition is the last weekend of September and they don’t have a creative division.”
“Sign us up.” She smiles and looks at my lips for a moment. “Don’t you have to check with your girls first?” I smile really big and my eyes get big. “My babies. God, Jaime, stop locking me in those gorgeous golden eyes so I can remember the rest of the world.”
Her eyes get really big and she slightly bites her bottom lip with a smile. I just smile and laugh a little as I pull her with me over to my girls. When we reach the table, they look nervously at Jaime, but they stand up and I hug and kiss each of them.
“So, what did you think?”
As if I’ve just pressed play on four stereos at once, they start gushing about how wonderful the dance was and how beautiful it was. Sam and Madison even admit to crying at a couple points because it was just so beautiful and moving. They give Jaime a lot of praise that she more than deserves because she was absolutely perfect in her execution and looked so beautiful and happy while we danced.
“So, would you be ok if I did another competition? The next one is at the end of September.”
They look at each other and then between Jaime and I and settle on Jaime for a few moments. Sam looks like she wants to say no, but they look at me and nod once.
“Ok, but can we please have a few days of no work when you get back from California?” I smile and pull Sam into my arms and firmly kiss her neck. “Yes, baby. I’m going to love on you so much when I see you again.”
She releases a small moan and pulls my face back to kiss me deep and hard, making me inhale deeply and tighten my embrace on her.
“Pardon the interruption.”
Sam slowly pulls back and we look around for the new voice. I almost groan when I see it’s a TV reporter with a camera pointing right at us with its red recording light blinking. The woman positions herself next to us and Jaime moves over closer to me looking a little irritated by the interruption as well. I release Sam and fully turn to face the camera, taking Jaime’s hand in mine, mostly for support because I hate this part of being in the spotlight.
“Ladies and gentleman, we are live with one of the dance world’s most exciting up and coming stars, Kayla Johann, and her beautiful dance partner Jaime Monroe, returning winner from last year’s competition. They have just finished the highest scoring creative ballroom dance of the evening and with only three couples left to perform, they are looking like good candidates to take home the gold tonight.” She turns to us and smiles. “Your debut dance as a new partnership was riveting and brought your audience to tears. Can we look forward to seeing you two work together in the future?” She thrusts a microphone under us and I nod once. “Yes, we’ll be back.” The woman smiles and pulls her microphone back. “How do you feel after that beautiful dance? With something so powerful and moving that it can touch the audience the way it did, it had to have sparked something in the two of you.”
“It’s meant to be a moving piece and we’re glad we were able to convey our intentions to the audience well enough that they could feel what we wanted them to feel.”
“When you walked off the dancefloor, you shared a beautiful moment in each other’s arms. Any chance of a romance?”
“Kayla and I are just friends and dance partners. We are professionals, and creating romantic and moving dances is part of what we do. This is art, and nothing more.” The woman smiles and looks at me. “Is it just art, Kayla? You seemed very happy with Jaime in your arms.”
“I was. Jaime is a good friend and an incredible dancer. I was extremely happy with our performance and score. As you said before, Jaime is an accomplished dancer in the competition world, and I’m just starting my career, so the fact that I could help her get that high of a score really made me happy. I’m an affectionate person. Don’t read more into it.”
The woman turns back to the camera and smiles. “Well, there you have it folks. We’ll see more beautiful dances from this stunning couple, but to those of you that were with me in hoping for a romantic affair, we’ll just have to be content to see them dance together.”
The camera guy turns th
e camera off and points it at the floor before the woman turns back to us with an annoying smile that looks like she knows something we’re not admitting.
“Thank you for the interview. I hope to see you both taking home the gold tonight. You really deserve it.”
“Thank you.”
After she walks away, Jaime places a hand on my shoulder and looks around.
“Ok, these shoes are starting to kill my feet. I need to sit.” I spot a chair behind Awenasa that a guy is just leaning on the back of while he stands and talks to a group. “Excuse me.” I tap the guys hand and he turns and looks down at my hands holding the back of the chair. “May I take this so the lady can sit?”
“I’m leaning on this.”
“Chairs are for sitting in and my girl needs to sit. If you want to lean against something, find a wall.”
He removes his hand with an irritated sneer and turns back to his group. I move the chair next to Awenasa and take Jaime’s hand and help her sit.
“Your girl needs to sit, huh?” I look up at Sam confused. “What?” She gives me an amused smile and quirks an eyebrow. “You just told that guy that your girl needs to sit. You called Jaime your girl.”
“No I didn’t.” All of them look at me and nod with small smiles. I look at Jaime and she looks very amused, like she’s trying not to laugh. “You did, but its ok. Thanks for getting me the chair.” I nervously look around and rub the back of my neck. “That reporter wasn’t standing next to us, right?” They laugh and shake their heads. “Ok, good.”
We turn our attention to the couple currently dancing and while my girls sit and I stand next to them, we just watch the rest of the dances. After the last dance, Jaime reaches up and takes my hand that’s hanging at my side next to her.
“Your hand is shaking. Are you nervous?” I squeeze her hand and nod. “A little bit. I haven’t been paying attention to the scores. Did we win?”
“Do you really want to know, or do you want to be surprised?” She’s looking up at me with a really big smile. “Seriously? We won?” She laughs and nods. “I think so, but we missed a couple dances while we were talking, so I’m not sure.”
“Did you decide how you want to celebrate?”
“I did.” She just smiles and looks back to the dancefloor where the judges are conversing and preparing to announce the winners. “Ok, are you going to enlighten me?” She laughs a little and shakes her head. “Not till we win.”
The judges disperse and the announcer approaches his microphone with envelopes in his hand. He starts to wind down the evening and congratulates all of the dancers for our performances.
Jaime stands up and I wrap an arm around her waist, and hold my breath, waiting to hear if we won. He announces the third-place prize couple and they walk out holding hands with smiles and take their trophy and envelope, before moving to the side of the judges table as instructed to do. My heart starts racing so fast that it makes me feel dizzy. Second place is announced and it’s a couple we actually didn’t get to see because they performed while we were getting dressed.
“I feel very honored to be announcing tonight’s first place winners, because not only was it a spectacular performance, but it’s one that has made the history books. Not only is one member of the duo the youngest person to make it to this level in this competition, but this is also the first time in the state’s history that a same gender couple has won first prize in this competition and no doubt won’t be the last if they continue their partnership. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, the winners of this year’s professional creative ballroom competition, Jaime Monroe, returning winner from last year, and her new dance partner, Kayla Johann.”
My girls erupt from their seats and we embrace each other with Jaime in the center of us for a moment, before they pull back and push us forward to accept our prize. Jaime loops her arm in mine, holding my arm, and I place my hand over hers, as we walk towards the smiling tuxedo wearing announcer. He leans forward to shake our hands and offers words of congratulations, before handing us the envelope and trophy. After he steps back, I pick Jaime up and spin her around a few times.
As soon as I set her down, we’re swarmed with cameras and reporters asking questions about how it feels to be the first same-sex dance couple to win a competition at this level and if I did special training to be able to lift Jaime, and so many intruding questions into our personal life. Its madness and makes me very uneasy. Jaime’s not as affected by it, and calmly answers a few of the questions as she works on slowly tugging me out of the horde.
When we break free of the swarm, my girls circle us, so they can’t close in on us again. I also notice the event announcer step between our groups and tries to fend them off, asking that they give us time to celebrate our winning before asking any more questions. The reporters and cameras turn their attention to the second and third place winners instead and I sigh in relief when I see them walking away.
My girls wrap both of us in a tight hug, making Jaime and I press together in the center of them. Jaime smiles and rests her head on my shoulder and places a hand on the other side of my neck. We just hold each other for as long as my girls continue to hold us, and even after they pull back. Jaime slowly lifts her head to look in my eyes and gently caresses my neck and cheek, with a very happy closed lip smile.
“Can we get out of here now?” I smile and nod. “Definitely. Let’s make a run for it while the cameras are distracted.”
We get to the doors and the same woman that bombarded us before the winners were announced walks out in front us, ruining our escape plan. Her camera guy quickly has all us under the gaze of his large lens.
“Kayla and Jaime, could you spare a few moments to say a few words for all of our viewers at home celebrating your history making accomplishment?”
“Sure.”
She smiles and starts asking questions about how we met and the training we did to be able to include so many high strength stunts in the routine. Her questions are mostly relevant and dance related, and she doesn’t bring up the dynamic of our personal relationship again. But she does irritate me with how much her questions stress our gender, as if it’s so hard to believe that a woman can be a strong lead in a couple’s dance.
“It’s refreshing to see a pair of dancers so at ease and in sync with each other. It was amazing to watch you put total and complete trust in each other. Jaime, as a dancer who’s competed with only male partners in the past, how different was it for you dancing with a female lead? Did you ever feel uncertain that Kayla wouldn’t have the strength to support you?”
“No, Kayla is very strong and would never push her limits to a point that would risk injuring me. I trust that she knows her body well enough that if she’s attempting a technique, she knows she can execute it.”
The reporter thankfully wraps up her interview with congratulations and we quickly make an exit before the other crews can surround us again. All of us rush upstairs to get our stuff and Jaime decides to change back into her simpler dress and heels before we leave.
As we walk back downstairs, Jaime loops her arm in mine as she has done all night and my hand instinctively raises to rest over hers. We’re blinded by flash photography as we’re leaving the building and then we’re finally alone and away from the madness as we enter the parking garage across from the hotel.
We rented an SUV so we can all drive together. Jaime and I slide into the center bench together, while my girls take the front and back. Shannon looks back at us and gives a slightly concerned glance at my hand holding Jaime’s in my lap.
“Where to?” We look at Jaime and wait for her to answer and she smiles and blushes a little bit. “Do you know how to get to the Echo Grill?” Shannon smiles and turns back around. “I’ve actually never been, but yes, I know where it’s at. That’s a pretty fancy place. Do you think we’ll get in without reservations?”
“I called ahead while I was changing, so we’ll be able to get in.”
Shannon starts
driving and we listen to my girls talk about the evening and their favorite parts from our dance and other dances. I love how excited they are. It just reaffirms that they really are happy with this life and enjoy these events. Madison is sitting up front with Shannon and turns around after a little while with my cellphone in her hands.
“Here, baby. Your phone is blowing up. You should probably answer some of these texts.”
She glances at my hands holding Jaime’s and then back in my eyes like she’s trying to read something in my face. I just smile and take my phone. I release Jaime’s hand and she leaves it on my thigh, which does not go unnoticed by Madison before she turns around. I notice her and Shannon glance at each other, but neither of them say anything.
I don’t know what they’re worried about. We’re friends and we just had an amazing night together. I just want to be close to her right now. Is that so weird?
I unlock my phone and nearly drop it.
“Holy shit. How am I supposed to read all of these, Maddi? I have over a hundred new messages from like every single person in my contacts.”
I open my family’s threads first and read through all of their messages, which makes me smile and laugh a little. All of them watched the live broadcasting and the interviews and they’re very excited and happy for me. My mom loved the dance and told me Jaime and I both looked beautiful. I send a quick response back to all of them, thanking them and promising I’ll call tomorrow since we’re going out to celebrate.
Sara: Please respond to Symone and tell her you’re not hooking up with Jaime. She is going fucking insane and I can’t deal with her anymore.