parts of the dance in the small space that I had. My cellphone beeped, and I checked it to see Alice sending me a message saying they were there and so excited. She wished me well and told me not to break my leg.
I told her thank you for coming and then turned off my phone. I didn’t want any more distractions.
A few minutes later, a young guy came to get me. He brought me in front of a camera crew, and Tarin joined me. “Are you nervous, Harvey?”
“I’d be lying if I said no.”
“How do you feel?”
To be honest, my fingers were tingling, and my stomach was a mess, but I wasn’t going to say that. “I’m excited and ready to meet her—and okay, more nervous than I have ever been.”
“Are you still hoping for a connection with her when you do?”
“Yes, even more so now than before.”
Tarin cocked her head. “Why is that?”
I shrugged slightly and laughed. “I don’t know. I guess when I started this, I wasn’t one hundred percent invested in it or the idea, but now I am. Now I’m really excited to dance with her, and while we aren’t going to be talking, I hope that our bodies say all they need to.”
“Cut!” the director said, and Tarin leaned toward me. “I have a feeling your bodies are going to be doing a lot of talking.”
“Let’s hope so.”
Holly approached me. “Alright, it’s almost time. Go with Cal; he’s going to get you over there, and Ryan is going to let you know when you can take your place. As soon as you are both in place, we will start the music, and the stage will be yours.”
I noticed a camera over her shoulder on me, and I nodded and tried to smile. The butterfly in my stomach had turned into a full-sized bird. Now it was banging around in my stomach so hard I was expecting it to burst out at any moment.
“You ready?”
“As I’ll ever be.” She hugged me, and I whispered into her ear. “How did I let you talk me into this?”
She laughed as she leaned back. “You love me, that’s how! Now, go show her your stuff.”
I headed with Cal and Ryan across the street and down the side street slightly. The main road was now closed, but there was an area for spectators, plus a lot of production crew and cameras.
Holy shit! What the hell was I doing? I bent over at the waist, putting my hands on my knees, and tried to calm myself. I seriously had never been so nervous in my life. Why? I was only going to dance with a woman. I’d danced with women before, dozens of them, so why was this such a big deal?
It has to be because of the cameras; that was the only thing I could think of or the fact that I wouldn’t say a word to this woman for the four minutes we were together.
“You ready?” Ryan asked.
“Yeah, let’s go.” I stood and inhaled a few times deeply as I tried to center myself. Pretend you are going into a battle zone; people depend on you; it’s a dangerous place, and you need to keep your head on a swivel and focus. I could do this.
“Get ready, when I drop my hand, you start walking toward the corner and get yourself ready. She is already going to be there.”
I nodded, and a few seconds later, he dropped his hand, and it was showtime. As I approached my spot, I tried to remember the dance, but it was hiding under my anxiety. As I reached my place, I saw her knee on the other side of the corner, and I smiled. Holy shit, I was actually going to do this.
I leaned back against the wall, inhaled slowly, and felt the calm descend. We would either have a connection or we wouldn’t. Either way, we were going to have fun.
The music began, and just like that, the dance came back to me as I leaned sideways and peered around the corner. Her dark hair was pulled up in a ponytail, and she wore matching sneakers to mine, jean shorts, and a darker purple shirt. I saw all of this in one single peek before I pulled back and turned my head away.
I waited for the beat and put my hand out; a moment later, her small hand landed in mine. It was almost electrifying, and I stepped out and pulled