“How could I be nervous when I had such an incredible coach?” I winked at her and enjoyed the pretty pink shade that stole across her cheeks. “Dancing with you makes everything else disappear. I doubt I’ll even notice the cameras, the judges, the audience…” I trailed off, suddenly feeling a little green as I thought about all the people who would be watching if I fucked this up.
Lisa poked me in the chest and stood on her tiptoes to bring our faces as close as possible. “Snap out of it, Bucannon,” she ordered. “Don’t fall apart on me now!”
I shook my head to get rid of my negative thoughts, then focused on her gorgeous eyes, sinking into their blue depths so that she surrounded me completely. “Steady as a rock,” I assured her.
“Good. Because we’re on.”
We were given the signal to enter the stage, and I grabbed Lisa’s hand as we walked out. She smiled at me and gave me a reassuring squeeze that I returned with a matching expression. We could—we would do this.
Once we were in position, they introduced each of the couples with a short video. When they played mine, I wasn’t surprised but still enthralled by how naturally Lisa and I fit together.
“What do you think of your dance partner?” the host asked off-screen.
I grinned and shook my head. “She’s the whole damn package. I couldn’t have asked for a better teammate. She’s whipping me into shape, and to my shock, teaching me to love dance.” I paused and shrugged. “Well, I doubt I’d like it so much with anyone else. Lisa is an amazing person and incredibly talented, and I’m very lucky to be paired with her.”
“Do I detect a hint of something more between you two?”
I felt Lisa tense in my arms when the video reached this question, and my stomach knotted, hoping I said the right thing.
“I wish. Maybe I’ll get up the nerve to ask her out one of these days.”
The audience let out a collective sigh, and Lisa’s shoulders relaxed a fraction.
As the reel continued to play, I leaned close to her ear and whispered, “You know that wasn’t just for the camera’s benefit, right?” I was hoping she’d gotten to know me well enough to know I was a genuine guy who didn’t say things I didn’t mean.
She glanced at me, her showman’s smile firmly in place, but a softness in her expression sent a thrill through me. “I know.”
I was making progress in one direction, and when the video ended, I’d move forward in another.
At the conclusion of our segment, the audience was clapping with gusto, so I grabbed Lisa and spun her to my other side before dipping her back for dramatic effect, which made them go wild. The cameras moved to another couple, and I raised her back up, both of us laughing. The energy in the room was unbelievable, and when they finally started playing the music for the dance number, I was so caught up in the atmosphere and having fun with my partner that it was over before I knew it.
We all shuffled off stage, and I guided Lisa to the green room, where they had water and snacks available.
“Damn, it’s hot under those lights,” I muttered as I twisted the cap off a bottle. After taking a long drink, I grinned at Lisa. “More and more, you’re convincing me that dancers really are athletes.”
Lisa growled adorably and flicked her water, spraying droplets at my face. I couldn’t help bursting into laughter at the disgruntled expression on her gorgeous face. Especially since she was struggling to hold the scowl and not laugh. This had been a common argument for us to banter over. She knew very well that I respected dance as a sport, but I’d teased her about it one day and discovered that the subject easily riled her up. And she was hot as hell when she was mad, so I pulled it out from time to time, just to see her erupt into sparks.
After a while, she caught on, but she pretended to be bent out of shape. I chose to assume it was because she enjoyed our battles of wit as much as I did. It electrified our physical chemistry, and I loved the way her pale skin would flush all the way down to her tits. I wondered if I could get it to cover her whole body if I made her come hard enough.
“Bucannon! Morrisette! You’re up next!”
I tossed my empty bottle into a recycle bin and held out my hand to my girl. “Ready?”
She nodded and placed her hand firmly in mine. “Let’s knock their socks off.”
Adorable.
The lights to the stage were dim when we approached the entrance, and they’d filled it with fog to hide us as we moved into place. Luckily, we’d practiced the whole thing earlier that morning, so we knew where we were going in the dense mist.