“Oh, I love that song. That is a very romantic song.”
“Wait till you see the dance.”
“Is it romantic?”
“It is, but it’s also very sexy, and the dancing is crazy. I’ve only learned a portion of it, and I’m kind of amazed that I can do some of what they are asking me to do.”
“Come on, Ali, you know you can do anything you put your mind to.”
“In the kitchen!”
“Just think of it as a different kind of cooking.”
“Very funny.”
“Will I be able to watch this week?”
“Yes, I put you on the list.”
“Great, I can’t wait to see you and check out the two guys.”
We talked a little more about it, and then they needed me in the kitchen. As usual, the night flew by, and before I knew it, it was Thursday morning.
My body ached in every possible joint it could. I stood under the hot shower spray after I woke up, trying to get my muscles to relax enough to stretch. I only had to get through two more days of this, and it would be over.
What would I have then? Would I find a man that I could build a life with? Or was this all just a colossal waste of time? What if I choose wrong? What if the one I thought would be good for me wasn’t the right one? I’ll never know. I signed a contract that said I would only date the man I chose for at least one month. Not that I had to stay with him that entire month, but I wasn’t allowed to be seen with any other men, especially either of the other dancers, until after the show aired.
If I picked wrong, would the other man even be interested in getting to know me? Did I even want to date anyone?
I sighed as I turned off the water. I needed to get through this and see what happened. If I picked wrong, then I chose wrong, and life would go on. Maybe someday I would find the right man.
I dried my hair and told myself that I needed to focus on getting the dance down without breaking anything, and then I could worry about my future love life.
At the hotel, I found Victor, who hugged me tightly. “I think you are going to be pleasantly surprised by your dance partners.”
“Why do you say that?” I asked as I pulled back.
“Clara told me that they have done fantastic in the last two days. Better than she ever expected.”
I sighed. “So, I’m the only one that is going to look stupid then, is that what you are saying?”
He laughed and took hold of my face. “You will look anything but stupid, Ali. You have taken to this routine as if it were designed specifically for you.”
I stared at him sideways. “Why are you trying to butter me up?”
He laughed. “I’m not buttering you up. After you do a few run-throughs today, you’ll get to see it on screen, and you will see that you are better than you thought.”
“Yeah, we’ll see about that.”
While I had done almost the whole dance at one time, today was the first time I had gone from start to finish without pausing. It was exhausting, but also a little exhilarating as people worked on the lighting around us. Victor and I did it three times before Holly pulled me over to a bank of computer monitors and let me watch it.
I was amazed at what I saw. “Holy cow, I actually do look good.”
Victor threw his arm around me. “I told you. You’re better than you think you are.”
I had Holly pause it a few times, and we talked over a couple of moves. I could see where I was slightly stilted and where I needed to add a bit more of a flourish to flirt more openly. After we watched it three times, I went back out, and Victor and I danced two more times.
“How do you feel about it?” Tarin asked on camera.
“About as good as I can. I know the steps, and now I just have to trust the men that I will be dancing with will know them too and not drop me.”
“I don’t think you’ll have a problem with that.” They cut and I was rushed out to make room for my male partner number one. How much I wished I could have peeked into the room to watch him, but I was forced to leave.