Dancing for the Lord The Academy - By Emily Goodman Page 0,20
at her watch, surprised—had they really been talking for more than an hour?
He laughed when she made that observation aloud. “You and me, on the phone for an hour? How on earth could that happen?” he teased.
Since they were usually together all day, the phone wasn’t actually necessary for the two of them; but Danni understood what he meant. On the rare occasions when one of them had been away from the other, they had been known to run up the minutes on their cell phone plans.
“Oh, go dance,” she told him, grinning. The smile almost felt right on her face again; and to her surprise, Danni realized that she had been grinning throughout most of the conversation.
“I miss you. It’s going to be weird in there without you,” Michael said seriously.
“Oh, yeah, it’ll be such a hardship—all those girls drooling over you,” she teased.
“Well, there is that.” He responded instantly, his own humor back in place. “After all, I’m such a desirable partner, you’ll be lucky if I’m still waiting for you by the time we’re together again.”
“Oh, you’ll wait for me,” she retorted immediately. “If for no other reason than because you’ll never find someone as good for you as I am.”
“Well, there is that.” Michael sobered suddenly. “Listen, Dragonfly,” he told her, and despite his use of the nickname, she knew that this was serious. “Things are going to get better out there. I believe that—and you should, too. God didn’t send you out there just to give you a hard time—and you and I both know that He sent you out there alone for a purpose. Keep watch for it, and trust that He’ll show you what it is when it comes, okay?”
“Okay.” No matter how many times she saw it, this serious Michael always surprised her. He was a true man of God, Danni knew—that was something that she had seen in him from the very beginning, and appreciated almost as long.
“I’ll be praying for you,” he promised fervently. “And hey—call again, okay? It’s good to hear your voice.”
“It’s good to hear yours, too.”
Danni hung up the phone with a smile on her face. She’d talked to Michael much longer than she meant to—she still hadn’t showered, and she had a lot of homework to get started on, after all—but it had made her feel a lot better to talk to him. She’d have to be careful, though. It would be easy to call Michael every day to get her dose of sunshine; and that was a good way to find herself putting off the things that she needed to do now, waiting for next year, when he was with her.
Tempting as that sounded, it also wasn’t the right road for her to travel. With a sigh, Danni got up off of the bed, stripping off her sweatshirt and slinging it toward her hamper as she walked.
Somehow, it didn’t surprise her when Madalyn chose that exact moment to tap on the connecting door to the bathrooms. “Hey!” she said cheerfully.
Danni turned, not the least bit embarrassed to be caught in her leotard.
“Oh, wow, you haven’t even had time for a shower yet, huh?” Madalyn frowned at her. “I’ll just leave you alone, then.”
“No, it’s okay—come on in.” Danni gestured to the foot of her bed. “I’m going to take a quick shower, but you can talk to me while I do.” She left the bathroom door cracked, stripping the rest of the way and slinging the leotard—now stiff with dried sweat—around it at the hamper without looking. If it missed, she’d pick it up later.
“So, who was that on the phone?” Madalyn asked curiously, as the water in the shower began to run. “Your boyfriend back home?”
“What? No!” Danni laughed at even the suggestion. “No, Michael’s not my boyfriend. My best friend, sure, but boyfriend? Not in this lifetime.”
“Oh.” Madalyn was quiet for a moment, then admitted, “it sounded like you were really into the conversation—that’s why I didn’t want to interrupt you.”
“I needed to hear a friendly voice.” Danni sighed, luxuriating in the hot water—though she didn’t take the time to enjoy it the way she would have if she had been at home. There were a dozen girls living in this dorm; if she used all of the hot water, most of them would be furious with her.
“I’m not friendly?” Thankfully, Danni already knew Madalyn well enough to realize that she was teasing.
“Not as friendly as Michael,” she shot back lightly.