by Stacy Eaton
“How long does this take, Holly? I only have the week off from work.”
“It’s just a week. You’ll work on the dance for four days, and on Friday, you’ll have your date with her.”
“Date?”
“Dance date.”
“And that’s it?”
“Yes, that’s it.” She nodded quickly. “The other two men are totally her type, so I doubt she’ll pick you.”
I stared down at my sister, taking in the same green eyes that I had. “What if by some odd chance she does pick me; what happens then?”
My sister chuckled. “Oh, don’t worry, she won’t, but if for some weird reason she did, then you’d have to learn another dance, and do it one more time.”
I glanced around the room, inhaling deeply with my hands on my hips. “Man, are you going to owe me for doing this. Do you have any idea how much the guys are going to get on my case for this?”
“You don’t have to tell them.” She winced. “Well, they might hear about it once it goes on television.”
I groaned and stared at the ceiling. “Fine, fine. I’ll do this, but damn it, Holly, you are going to owe me something fierce.”
She squealed and threw herself into my arms. “Thank you so much, Harvey. I knew I could count on you!” She pulled back, grabbing my arm. “Okay, let’s get you to makeup.”
“Makeup?”
“Yeah.” She glanced at me, her eyes drifting over my face. “Yeah, you don’t need much, just a bit to even out your tone and highlight your eyes.”
“Holly, if you tell any of the guys that I work with that you put makeup on me, I’m going to kill you.”
“Don’t worry, no one will know.”
“Famous last words,” I muttered to myself as I followed her into the next room.
As I sat in the chair, a woman with wild red hair turned my face left and then right, and another woman fiddled with my hair, while my sister and a third woman went through the paperwork with me. There was one disclaimer after another, and I signed my name a dozen times that I wouldn’t sue the production company, the dance company, any of the film crew, the city, or the female co-star for any reason.
It all seemed ridiculous to me, but I went through the motions for my sister. When we finished, and they said I was ready, I looked in the mirror and wanted to laugh. My face had never looked so even and smooth, and the eye makeup that they put on me did make the green stand out a little more.
I can’t believe I’m wearing freaking makeup. Holy shit! The only makeup I’d ever worn in my life was camouflage for operations.
Holly introduced me to a few more people, including the host, and then they explained what I would be doing. The host knew that I was standing in but told me to come up with a story on why I would want to do this. It was something that they asked every contestant, and I was at a loss. I guess I’d say the first thing that came to mind.
The filming began with me coming into the dance studio and meeting the choreographer and dancers. When Tarin, the host, asked me why I wanted to find love, I answered immediately.
“At my age, it’s hard to find someone who wants the same things that I do. I’m hoping that this might be my chance.”
Tarin seemed thrilled with my answer, and the ball kept rolling. We’d stop and start things over and over again during questions and explanations, but then we came to the point that it was time for me to start learning the dance.
“This is the song that you are going to dance to.” She pushed a button, and the song began to play.
I started to laugh. “Yeah, I know this one. It was popular when it came out.”
“Yes! Shut Up and Dance by Walk the Moon is perfect! So full of energy, and it will totally be able to bring you two close and see if the energy is there between you without being too intimate.”
“Alright, let’s do this,” I said, sounding way more excited than I felt. What was I doing here? This was the craziest thing I had ever done, and I was already trying to figure out what I could ask Holly to do in return—equally crazy.
They showed me the dance routine, and the temptation to turn and walk—no run—out of the room was filling me rapidly. When I glanced at Holly, she looked tense, as if she expected me to do just that.
Man, I did not want to do this, but I would—for her. I really would do anything for her; I was putty in her hands.
“Well, what do you think?” Tarin asked me with barely concealed excitement in her light-brown eyes as the dancers finished. I glanced around the room and tried not to let my panic show through.
“I think that we have a lot of work to do.” I swear I heard Holly release the air from her lungs. Yeah, I didn’t want to do this, but I gave her my word. Now I needed to bite the bullet and make it through the landmine with my masculinity in check.
Cal, the choreographer, stated with jubilance, “Let’s get started! Before the music begins, you’re going to walk up to the corner of the building, and this prop wall right here represents that. You’re going to lean back against it casually as if you don’t have a care in the world. Like you are just waiting for someone to come along and she will be on the other side. Then the music starts.”
He put me in position and had Clara, my female dancer, stand around the corner from me. “Put your foot up behind you, lean back, look relaxed. You’ll be wearing jeans in this, so maybe tuck your thumbs into your pockets.”
I chuckled to myself as I tried to do as they asked.
“Okay, so the music starts, and you’re going to count, one, two, three, and then you are going to peek around the corner slightly. You’ll see her, but she’s looking away from you, and then you slip back on seven, eight. That’s when she will turn her face toward the corner. Another one, two, and you’re going to put your hand out like this.” Cal held his hand up as if I would have a tray on it, only more relaxed. “That’s three and four. On five and six, she will put her hand into yours, and on seven, eight, you will push off the wall, step out, and pull her into you. She’s going to spin toward you and end with her back to your chest. Let’s try that so far.”
We went slowly through the motions twice, counting aloud, and then we did it a second time, and I counted the beats to myself.
“Okay, in this next part, you’re going to run your hand down her side, take her other hand, and then spin her out.”
I laughed, spiking a brow. “You want me to run my hand down the side of a woman I’ve never even met, along her rib cage?”
“Yep, this is a moment when she has to trust you; she wants to feel wanted and attractive, and then you spin her out, and she comes back to you. Now she’s facing you, and this is where you two get your first eye contact. When you gaze down at her, you want her to see you, see right into your soul. You want her to fall a little in love with you in that very second.”
The last thing I wanted was any woman looking right into my dark soul. Oh, hell, no! The second to last thing that I wanted was any woman to fall in love with me. I peered sideways at my sister wishing that I could walk the hell out of here, but instead, we took it from the top.
Chapter Four
Ali
Monday afternoon, I arrived at the dance academy and bounced up the steps. I bubbled with an energy that I hadn’t felt in a long time, and although I was scared to death of what I was going to do, I was excited too.
I located Holly quickly as I reached the second-floor lobby area, and she rushed to my side and hugged me tightly. “I am so glad that I got you on the show, Ali. You are going to have so much fun, and I know you are going to find someone to love during this—I just know it!”
“Honestly, I can’t believe I let you talk me into applying for it, but now that I’m doing it, I’m excited. Nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs, but still excited.”
Holly laughed. We had met a year ago when her production crew had come into the restaurant where I was working for an end of the season party. She had asked to speak to the chef, and I’d com
e out to the private room where she and forty other people raved over the meal. Holly and I had clicked immediately when she asked if it was cardamom that she tasted in the rice.
A few days later, Holly was back at the restaurant early, and I took a break, sharing a new dish with her. She soon became my favorite taste tester and friend. We didn’t hang out often, but she was always bringing her friends into the restaurant. Being a chef, I worked long hours from mid-afternoon until almost midnight, so I missed the regular hanging out times.
I didn’t mind, I love my job, and I enjoyed the fact that Holly came by the restaurant and was willing to try out new concoctions. I valued and trusted her opinion.
“If you are nervous now, just wait until Friday when you get ready for your dance dates.”
“Oh, my god! Don’t remind me, Holly. It’s too early in the week to pass out!”
She grinned as she spoke and hooked her arm with mine. “Come on, let’s get you to makeup. No passing out; you’ll be fine.”
After a whirlwind of makeup and hair, I returned to the studio, and we started taping. For the first few minutes, I was extremely uncomfortable knowing the camera was on me but was able to put it out of my mind pretty quickly. The only time that I was reminded they were there was when they wanted us to redo something from a different angle.
When Tarin turned on the music, I laughed, and Cal stood in front of me. “This is a bold song, full of energy. You’re telling these men to prove themselves without words. To show you that you can trust them and that they can be there for you and that you can both have fun.”
“I can’t believe I’m doing this!”
“Do you want to see the routine?”
“Yes, show me what kind of trouble I’m getting myself into.”
I watched the dance with ever-widening eyes. I was out of breath by the time the dance routine finished, and I wasn’t doing anything but watching. How the heck was I going to be able to do that, not once, but three times with three different men?
“What do you think?”
“Holy—cow! It’s fun and sexy and full of energy, and then there are moments when it can be so much more.”
Cal clapped. “Yes! That is exactly what we are looking for. Are you ready to get started, Ali?”
“My knees are shaking, but yes, I’m ready to get started.”
As Cal, and Victor, my dance partner for training, showed me the first few steps, I thought briefly of the man I’d run into coming around the corner the other night in the storm. Is that what this was going to feel like? Would the electrifying moment when we look into each other’s eyes be as intense as that moment had been?
A second later, that thought was gone, and I was waist-deep in counting beats, kicks, turns, hips swivels, and body waves.
“Ali, when you look at him here, you want to take a moment to let him in. You’re not just trying to find out more about him, but you are allowing him into your soul. You want him to see that you are this incredibly loving and sincere person. Since it’s so hard for you to talk to strangers, you have to let your body do it for you.”
I couldn’t imagine my body telling anyone anything, but I wanted it to. I genuinely hoped that this whole experiment worked. For it to do that, I had to give it my all. “Okay, if you say so.”
“Let’s try it again.”
It ended up taking another four times before Cal and Tarin clapped their hands excitedly. “Yes! That right there showed your vulnerability; it was perfect!”
“That is crazy scary,” I told them.
“Oh, there is no doubt that it is,” Tarin said. “It is frightening to open yourself up to strangers and let them see the real you, but it’s going to pay off.”
“I hope so.”
Tarin took my hands. “I know so!”
“And cut!” someone called from off to the side.
“That’s a wrap for today,” Holly said and approached us. “How are you feeling, Ali?”
“Good! I’m excited, and I do love this dance, but I’m exhausted too.”
She chuckled as I glanced at the clock on the far wall. “Oh, no! I need to get going. I’m already late to work. I told them I’d be a couple of hours late, but eek, I’m later than I thought I would be!”
“Go, we will see you tomorrow, and you did fantastic!”
I gave Holly a quick hug. “Thank you, Holly.”
I rushed out of the studio, grabbed my things, and was out on the street in a moment. I could walk, but it would take a while and only make me later. Instead, I hailed a cab, and even though I wasn’t a fan of using them, I didn’t feel so uncomfortable today as I slipped into the back seat and gave the driver the address to Randolph’s, the restaurant where I worked as the head chef.
While I was later than expected, but only by thirty minutes, and I knew my kitchen staff would have everything under control. I’d told them that I might be a little late today, and they all knew what I was doing. When I had explained it, I had gotten some good-natured ribbing, but I didn’t mind. The other employees in the kitchen were my friends and family. If you couldn’t joke around with them, who could you joke with? When I arrived, I rushed down the alley beside the restaurant and came in from the back.
It was only three-thirty in the afternoon, and the restaurant didn’t open on Monday’s until five, but the cooking was fully underway. Desserts were being prepared, bases and stocks were on the stove for the main dishes. The vegetables were being washed and cut.
I slipped into our small employee lounge and changed out of my leggings and t-shirt to my chef’s pants and coat. I wasn’t too worried about the fact that I was sweaty from dancing. Five minutes near the stove during rush hour dinner, and I’d be ten times worse.
“Hey, hey!” Ricardo, my sous chef, called as I stepped into the kitchen. “The star is here. How did your dance lesson go today?”
I laughed. “I’m hardly a star, Ricardo.”
“Ah, but you are. You, my Chef de Cuisine, are a bright and shining star. If I were not the man I am, I would be interested in a woman as beautiful as you.”
I stared at Ricardo. “I’m going to take that as a compliment, and try not to ask you why you are buttering me up.”
He laughed. “You picked up on that, didn’t you?”
“Yes, so what’s wrong?”
“The cod that you wanted for tomorrow night’s special will not be available. They called today and said there was a problem with their main fishing boat, and they couldn’t meet the demand this week.”
“That’s the second time that they have done that.” I tied my apron around my waist. “Fine, I think we might need to source out a new vendor for some of our fish.”
“Might not be a bad idea,” Ricardo said. “In the meantime, we can get tilapia; I already checked with that supplier to see if they can get it in. They said it wasn’t a problem if we told them by five tonight.”
I winced and glanced at the clock. “Better get on it, then.”
“Yes, Chef.” Ricardo hustled away to make the call, and I scanned the kitchen.
I had started here as a Sauté Chef seven years ago. Three years after I started, I moved up to the Sous Chef position, and last year, I took over the Head Chef position, when Monty decided to retire. Despite the title, the Head Chef didn’t usually do as much cooking as many of the other chefs, but I preferred to have my hands in it all. Maybe that was a bit controlling, but I didn’t think the others in the kitchen minded. I knew Ricardo didn’t, and since he was my right-hand man, I appreciated that.
There were thirteen of us that worked in the kitchen. I was the top of the food chain, Ricardo, right beneath me. Behind him was Paul, my Sauté chef, who was responsible for sautéing foods and creating the sauces and gravies that went with other dishes.
Then came Maryanne, who was our Boucher, our meat chef, and she was in charge of all meats, including fish, although she didn’t deal with roasting, frying, or grilling. Maryanne made sure the meats were cleaned, pre
pared, marinated, and ready to be cooked by the other chefs.
Malick was our Rotisseur or our Roast Chef, and he was responsible for all the roasted meats and sauces while Ben was our Friturier or our Fry Chef. Anything fried was his to oversee.
We also had a Grillardin, a Grill Chef, and Nate worked that position, always trying new rubs and spices on the grilled meats and vegetables.
Josiah was our Garde Manager, more often known as the Pantry Chef who prepared the cold dishes and salads, and we had Tobias, the jack of all trades as the Chef de Tounant. He moved around the kitchen as needed and knew enough about every position to get by without being dangerous.
We had an Entremetier, who was responsible for all the vegetables, and Melinda worked that station. Her boyfriend, Wallace, was our Junior Chef. He was still in culinary school, and he was lucky to land this position to keep up his training.
The last two people in our hectic kitchen were Sadie and David. Sadie was our Kitchen Porter, responsible for prep work, and usually one of the first to arrive each day, while David was our Exuelerie. A fancy term for dishwasher, but not just a dishwasher. He was responsible for making sure our kitchen tools were well maintained, cleaned, and ready for use. He also let us know when something was amiss with a tool and needed to be replaced.
Josiah and Tobias were our two newest members, having recently replaced a couple of guys who were caught stealing from the kitchen. So far, they were working out, and the kitchen was running like clockwork.
This place was my sanctuary, my haven. Here, I was intense but also vibrant and confident. If only I could meet someone here that I could fall in love with—someone who understood what long hours meant, what sacrifice meant to do something that you loved.
My last relationship had ended because of my job. Thomas had said that I always put my career first, that I’d rather be in my kitchen than making love to him. I can’t say that he was wrong. I mean, I did care about him, and I did enjoy our time together, but when I was in the kitchen, I forgot about everything else. Nothing else mattered, and I did become neglectful of him and our relationship. Was that because of my job or because he wasn’t the right man for me?