Love is a Dance Step (Rockstars Anonymous)

by Michelle MacQueen

  The man did a double take. “Forgive me.” He crossed off their names. “Yes, yes, I have you at the senator’s table, table one.” He snapped his fingers, and another man appeared. “Take their coats.”

  The six of them removed their coats and loaded him up before he scurried away.

  “Follow me.”

  They followed the man down the hall into a grand ballroom with gigantic marble-framed windows that looked out over a pond. Tables cluttered the room with high-backed chairs and white tablecloths. On one side, a stage stood in front of a wooden dance floor.

  “It’s beautiful.” Brooke grinned up at him. “Like a dream.” He imagined she was one of those girls who dreamed of fancy things, princes in expensive suits and forks made of gold.

  “Or a nightmare,” Lola muttered, probably hoping no one heard her. But he did, and he couldn’t stop the grin from overtaking his face.

  Guests lingered throughout the room, dressed in their finest clothes. Each plate at this dinner cost ten thousand dollars, so these weren’t mere mortals. When Drew visited Gulf City, he could almost forget the decadence surrounding every other part of his life. Everything there was so normal he didn’t have to think about the kinds of circles a rock star must live in.

  At least here, he wouldn’t be accosted by fans. These kinds of people would consider such behavior beneath themselves.

  Senator Warner stood near the stage, but he spotted them across the room. “Drew,” he boomed in the jovial way that always made Drew forget the kind of power he had and exerted. As one of the leaders of the senate, few questioned him. He said something to his companion before breaking away, a giant smile on his aged face. Gray hair had been combed to the side to hide the baldness that started when he was much younger.

  He approached Drew and stuck out a hand. Drew took it, surprised when the senator pulled him into a back-thumping hug.

  “It’s good to see you, Senator.”

  “Son, how many times do I need to tell you to call me Bill? Now, please introduce me to these beautiful ladies.”

  “Bill.” Drew smirked. “This is Noah.”

  Noah, playing along, curtsied.

  The senator let out a booming laugh. “I meant the pretty ones.”

  A laugh popped out of Lola, drawing Drew’s gaze toward her. He should have introduced his own date first, but the words slipped out before he could stop them. “This is Lola Ramirez.”

  Senator Warner bowed to her. “It is a pleasure, darling.”

  Drew gestured to Jo. “Jo Jackson, but you already know her. Her date is Nolan. And this is Brooke.”

  “Welcome to my party, dears. Our table is near the front. Go find yourselves a drink, and don’t forget to have a good time.” He gave them a smile before gesturing for Drew to follow him. Once they were away from the others, he stopped. “You’re on in an hour. Just… remember this is a classy affair.”

  “You mean you don’t want me to strip?”

  Senator Warner gave him a withering look. “You know exactly what I mean.”

  “Ah, no shaking my butt up there. I promise, Bill, I won’t dance. I don’t think the prim and proper ladies here could handle it.”

  “Probably not.” He laughed, clapping him on the shoulder. “Thanks for doing this.”

  “Wouldn’t have missed it.” He smiled before walking across the ballroom, winding around tables. He reached the group as a waiter arrived with champagne flutes filled with a pink drink.

  “I’m going to need lots of these to get through tonight.” Noah took one and held another out to Lola.

  Drew snatched it from him. Few people on the tour knew just how young Lola was, but even if she was legally allowed to drink, that wasn’t her.

  Lola didn’t say anything about the drink, but her brow furrowed.

  Downing the drink in one go, Drew set the empty glass on the table. “Who wants to dance?” His gaze was on Lola, but Brooke slid a hand into his.

  “Oh, definitely me.”

  Drew’s eyes didn’t leave Lola as Brooke dragged him away. He forced himself to focus on her. Dancing with Brooke came naturally to him after doing it on stage for weeks, but it wasn’t the same as dancing with Lola. There was no explosiveness between them. Each move felt perfect, but that was where it ended. Perfection stripped the emotion from a dance. He didn’t want to perform every step as he’d been taught. Like a robot.

  That wasn’t what dancing was to him.

  It was instinctive. His body knew what to do before his mind did.

  Yet, as he drew Brooke to him, it was only his mind he listened to. The sweet melody of a violin was joined by other stringed instruments for a classical sound perfect for rigid dancing.

  They moved through the crowded dance floor, knowing each step before performing the previous one.

  “This is fun.” Brooke smiled up at him. “To get a break from the tour like this.”

  “Yeah.” Drew offered her a smile in return. It wasn’t Brooke’s fault she wasn’t the girl he wanted in his arms. “Sometimes, I forget a tour can be about more than work.”

  “It doesn’t feel like work to me. I get to dance on stage and stay in nice hotels. This is my dream, and I’m living it.”

  He sometimes forgot to think of the dreams of others. Brooke might be insufferable half the time, but she was fighting for herself, for her chance to live the life she’d always wanted. He hadn’t considered what it would mean to her not to keep the spot as lead dancer. It wasn’t because she wasn’t good enough. In fact, she was a better dancer than Lola, technically at least.

  What she lacked was a connection to him. And that wasn’t her fault.

  “I used to think that of tours.” He remembered his first one and how even the crappy venues made him feel like he’d made it. They gave him more joy than any arenas did now. “Now, it’s my job.” He did love it, most of the time. When he wasn’t missing his family or denying himself what he really wanted.

  Lola.

  If he wasn’t Drew Stone, would he have realized how much he wanted her sooner? Would he have taken their almost kisses as reasons to try again rather than reasons to stay away?

  “May I cut in?” Noah stepped in front of them.

  Drew pulled away from Brooke. “Well, I guess I can give you one dance.” He held his hand out.

  Noah batted it away. “I meant with Brooke. My own date turned me down.”

  Giving Brooke a smile he hoped didn’t seem relieved, he let Noah pull her into his arms. Drew made his way back to the table and sat beside Lola. Jo was nowhere to be found, but Nolan lounged on Lola’s other side. The two of them laughed together, and Drew wanted to know everything that made her smile.

  “What’s so funny?”

  Nolan smirked and sipped his drink.

  Lola startled as if she hadn’t realized he was there. “Nothing.”

  Drew leaned in, inhaling her coconut scent. “Nothing made you laugh?”

  She breathed him in, and he smiled, knowing she was as affected by his nearness as he was hers. Lola tried to act confident and aloof, but he’d seen another side of her, one beyond her shy countenance. He’d seen what she wanted.

  And he’d seen her take it.

  “I need another drink.” Nolan lifted his empty glass and shot them a wink before leaving them alone in a sea of people.

  “Lola.” He skimmed his finger along her hand. “Dance with me.”

  He’d asked her that many times before, but this was different. This time there were no screaming fans and the state of his tour didn’t rely on her dancing.

  Here, now, he wanted an excuse to be near her again, to know their kisses had meaning.

  “I don’t dance,” she breathed.

  One corner of his mouth curved up. “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”

  She shook her head. “No… I… I’ve never been to something like this. No dances, no balls. I just… when I’m on stage I can pretend no one is watching me.”

/>   “No one is watching you here.”

  She lifted her eyes to his, and her dark brows pulled inward as if he was a puzzle she couldn’t figure out. “You are.”

  He wanted to kiss her. To lean forward in his seat right there and show her how much he wanted her, how much he’d wanted her since first seeing her dance. “Dance with me,” he repeated. “Please?”

  Her shoulders rose and fell as she breathed deeply. Wordlessly, she nodded.

  Drew stood and extended a hand. The moment she took it, the moment their skin touched, something shifted inside him. It was the same feeling he’d had when he kissed her. Like this girl was meant to rest her hand in his, like she had the power to change everything.

  They made their way onto the dance floor. Jo saw them first and smiled. Her dress flared out at the waist, hiding any evidence of her pregnancy behind folds of silk. She danced with a young man Drew didn’t recognize. Good. She needed a night like this.

  Nolan twirled Brooke around, and Noah had found himself a new partner in Melanie. Drew didn’t know when she’d arrived, but it always felt good to have her around.

  He shifted his focus to the girl in front of him, the one with the wide, innocent eyes. He’d seen so much more in his life than she had. Such was the life of a rock star.

  He rested his hand on the small of her back and drew her against him. “Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?”

  Her hair fell down her back, grazing his hand, as she tilted her face to look up at him. “Drew…”

  “Have I told you how much I want to kiss you again?”

  She swallowed.

  “Have I told you how much I—”

  “Drew,” Senator Warner boomed, rushing through the crowd toward them.

  Drew sighed and released Lola. Her face told him nothing of how his words affected her, if they did at all. He turned to greet the senator. “Is it time?”

  The senator nodded. “You need to get warmed up and ready to go on.”

  “I’ll meet you by the stage.”

  He bent his head to press a soft kiss to Lola’s cheek. “This isn’t finished.” With that, he left her standing in the middle of the dance floor alone.

  26

  Lola

  Drew’s voice melted like butter over the captive audience. A few people continued to dance, but most took their seats, letting the music wash over them.

  Lola had never really considered Drew’s voice before. As a fan, she’d been more interested in his dance moves. During his concerts, he picked up the speed of his songs to go along with the dancing. It was more of a party atmosphere. But here, without all the effects and dancers, there was only Drew and a microphone.

  He sat on a stool with Noah beside him. An acoustic guitar rested in Noah’s lap as he played stripped-down versions of Drew’s songs. On stage with thousands of screaming fans chanting his name, Drew was a spectacle, something to watch, to enjoy. He captivated his audience.

  But now, here, he was something else. He didn’t only steal every eye in the room, he stole their hearts.

  He sang in a way Lola had only heard once before—after Leah was hurt. But this was different. This time he was looking at her.

  His voice was raw, no frills, and she never wanted him to stop.

  And it was magic.

  Even Jo sighed as she gazed up at him. “If he wasn’t so Drew, I’d be totally in love with him.”

  Nolan chuckled. “If he wasn’t a guy, I would be too.”

  Brooke sat with her chin in her hands and stars in her eyes.

  Each word he sang washed over Lola, tipping her over the edge of the cliff she’d walked along since agreeing to join the tour. The cliff that was Drew Stone.

  “Hey Lola?” Brooke sounded unsure of herself for once.

  Lola turned toward her. “Yeah?”

  “Okay, so I’ve already had a couple drinks, and it might be going to my head. I’ll deny I said any of this later, but when I was dancing with Nolan, he reminded me you were one of us, so here goes.”

  Lola braced herself for impact, reaching for her glass of water just to have something to focus on.

  Brooke continued in a rush of words. “He’s right. You are one of us. I didn’t see it before because let’s face it, your audition sucked. I assumed you got this job because you were hooking up with Drew or something.”

  Lola shifted her eyes away, afraid they’d reveal the truth.

  “But I know you’re not. He must have seen something in you, and he was right. I saw the way you danced with him, like you were meant to stand up there. Frankly, it kind of hurt to see because as good as I am, I know my dancing lacks one thing. Emotion. Don’t get me wrong, I’m perfect in a way you could never be, but Drew never wanted that. So, I guess I just wanted to say, um…” She flicked her eyes to Nolan, and he gave her an encouraging nod. “I’m sorry I’ve been so awful to you, and I know now you’re here because you deserve to be.”

  The words were meant to be encouraging, to be an apology and a vote of confidence from the last person Lola thought would ever give it. But she couldn’t help wondering if they were true at all. Brooke said she earned it, but Lola thought back on each time Drew looked like he wanted to kiss her. Now, she wondered if she had earned it after all.

  What kind of Jedi mind trick had Brooke just pulled?

  As Lola stared at her, all she saw was a reluctant earnestness. “Thank you.”

  Brooke nodded and downed the rest of her drink. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Ah, the denial she’d foretold.

  Lola shared a smile with her, wondering how different things might have been if she’d joined the tour any other way. If she hadn’t been chosen over Brooke. If she hadn’t bombed her audition.

  “Aw, we’re like one big happy family.” Nolan beamed at them.

  Jo chuckled and muttered under her breath. “Dancers.” She sipped water, resting a hand on top of her stomach.

  Lola didn’t realize she’d been staring when Jo narrowed her eyes. “Got something to say, Lola?”

  Lola shook her head. “Just listening to Drew.” She turned back to the stage where Drew started in on his final song. Once he was finished, they were told dinner would be served.

  Lola couldn’t help but wonder what kind of food rich people ate.

  Drew fit in so well with them with his easy charm and ready wit. He hid his boredom much better than Noah, even looking like he enjoyed himself.

  For once, Lola wished she could borrow even an ounce of his confidence.

  Because the longer she sat in that room surrounded by fine things, the more she waited for her dress to turn back into rags, and for her prince to realize she was no princess at all.

  Lola escaped to the bathroom as soon as Drew’s set was done. She needed a moment to breathe, to feel like herself again. The real Lola Ramirez would have never attended a ball, much less one thrown by a senator.

  No, she was more content in pjs with her sopaipillas and Netflix. In some memories of her lame weekends, Asher sat next to her, stealing her food and complaining about the shows she watched.

  In others, she sat alone while he went on dates or to parties, only showing up at her house when there was no more fun to be had.

  She bent over the sink and cupped her hands under the water to splash it on her face. Brooke spent a lot of time on Lola’s makeup, and Nora would no doubt be mad she’d ruined it, but Lola needed a reminder that it wasn’t her, that the only time she wore that much makeup was on stage.

  She lifted her face to the gold-rimmed mirror and stared at her reflection. The waterproof eye makeup didn’t run, but she’d rubbed some foundation from her cheeks, revealing real skin underneath.

  Her eyes skimmed the bodice of her dress. Too fancy. It was too much.

  The door opened behind her, and Lola whipped around, half expecting Brooke to be there to chastise her for ruining her “look.” Instead, Drew’s publicist walked in.

  Lola hadn’t spent mu
ch time with Melanie, but she’d noticed how much the woman seemed to care about the rock stars she worked for.

  “Oh, hello.” Melanie offered her a kind smile, looking more at ease in her beautiful gown than Lola ever would. Something about this woman oozed class.

  “Hi.” Lola tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

  Melanie gave her a strange look, and Lola couldn’t help but wonder what she saw. Did she know about the kiss Lola shared with Drew? The night they’d hung out in his room as more than a star and his dancer?

  Melanie walked toward the couch at the far end of the elaborate bathroom and dropped down onto it. “This place is my sanctuary.”

  Lola glanced from the stalls to the sinks. “This place?”

  Melanie laughed. “Well, not this one in particular. But these kind of events are always held somewhere that has couches in the ladies’ room.” She dropped her voice as if sharing a secret. “That’s how you know how fancy it is.” Kicking off her shoes, she leaned back and stared at the ceiling.

  Lola couldn’t help but walk closer, needing to know why someone who probably spent her life going to events needed a sanctuary. She lowered herself into the armchair next to the couch and slipped her feet out of her heels, sighing as the tension eased.

  Melanie looked to her and grinned. “Heels are a killer, huh? The guys don’t know how easy they have it.”

  “So.” Lola chewed on her lip. “You aren’t having a good time?”

  “It’s not that. I enjoy the dancing, and Drew sounded amazing, but if I have to talk to one more old blowhard, I think I’m going to scream.”

  Lola laughed at the accurate description of the guests. They were older couples who were from one of two worlds. Either the D.C. political scene or Wall Street. “Do you and Drew come to these a lot?”

  “Hardly. I mean, I do, but whenever the label tries to convince Drew to do anything, he makes up excuses. I swear, if he wasn’t so darn charming, they’d spend their lives frustrated with him.”

  “But he came tonight.”

  She nodded. “It’s different when it’s for charity. Drew will do anything to help those in need. At the beginning of the summer, he threw a charity concert that raised over a million dollars. If you asked him, he’d probably tell you his old assistant Matt did most of the work, but it was really Drew.”