that I never wanted to let her go.
When we came to the final step, her knee was against my hip, and one hand was curled under her thigh to hold it in place. Her arms were wrapped around my neck, and our faces were only an inch apart. Both of us were breathing hard, but smiling as we stared at one another.
I didn’t want to let her go, didn’t want to watch her walk away, and I cupped her cheek, pulling her lips to mine. I hadn’t meant to kiss her. I’d never even considered it, but as I started to do it, I knew I needed to. This might be the only time I would get the chance, and I needed her to know what I was feeling just then.
She kissed me back for a few brief seconds, and then it was over. We snapped out of it and began to pull back, each of us startled that we had just done that. We stared at one another. Was she as shocked as I was to be sucked so deeply into the moment? Had she too forgotten where we were? Had she wanted to kiss me too?
I let her leg go, and it slowly brushed down mine as she began to step away. One hand caressed my cheek for only a second before it dropped to her side, and she turned and rushed off the floor. I felt so suddenly lost that I didn’t know what to do, and then remembered that I needed to go back the way I had come. Only, my body wanted to follow hers.
The crew was there to direct me out the door to the hallway. As I stepped out, I turned back to the door, but it was closing. I shifted around to the camera in a daze.
“That was—that was amazing. I’ve never felt anything like that before.” I wiped my hands down my face, still trying to catch my breath. “She was incredible—beautiful and graceful, and so damn sexy. I’m not sure there will ever be another moment in life like this one.”
I had to wait a few moments, and when Tarin joined me, I still hadn't collected myself. “How do you feel after that?”
“I don’t know how to feel, Tarin. It’s like I just danced with an angel, and she stole a piece of my soul.”
“An angel?”
“Yes. She didn’t just dance, she floated. She was so elegant, so beautiful; she took my breath away.”
“I have to ask you, Harvey. Did you plan on kissing her when the dance started?”
I shook my head. “No, not at all. Earlier on in the routine, our lips brushed, and mine tingled for a while, but that was an accident. I’ve never had anyone do that to me before. In the end, when we finished, it wasn’t a conscious choice; it was just something that I needed to do. It was like the final move to the most perfect moment of my life.”
“It was perfect—even the kiss was perfect, Harvey. It was straight out of a movie. I think every woman here swooned slightly.”
I chuckled.
“Alright, we need to move you along, so she can get ready to do her second dance. How do you feel about that?”
“I can’t imagine them having the kind of connection that we did.”
“I guess we will see.”
As I stepped away, Holly rushed me and threw her arms around my neck. “That was amazing, Harvey. You two looked so beautiful out there. So perfect together, almost professional. How do you feel?”
“To be honest, I feel a little overwhelmed.” I laughed slightly. “I’m not sure how to feel.”
“Well, if she doesn’t pick you, she’s crazy!” she said softly. “Now, you need to go because they are bringing the other guy down.”
“Can I watch?”
“No!” she said quickly. “You need to go back upstairs, and then you can meet up with everyone after. They can tell you how the second dance went, and you will get to see some clips of the dance from the center point.”
“You are no fun.” I kissed her cheek and headed back to the elevator. I was just getting on when the elevator across from us opened, and a man with another camera crew stepped out. Our eyes locked, and there was no doubt he knew who I was. He nodded once, and then my door closed.
He was tall and muscular. He was also very blond with his hair longer than mine and parted on the side, and I noticed