Dancing Between the Lines
Chapter 4
The Quiet
For the dancers still in high school, there was a very clear-cut rule: there was a girls' floor and a boys' floor and the boundary was to be obeyed at all times. That was the particular reason that the hotels they stayed at always set aside one of the many lounge areas for the younger dancer to mix quietly. What made everything nicer was the fact that both floors of the hotel and the dancers' lobby were barred from the press and other forms of journalism.
Which made it a private place to meet for two young people in a semi-relationship.
Kayte was sitting with a group of dancers playing cards. After she had taken her turn, Kayte looked up to see a young man patiently waiting on the boarder of the lounge area. He was tall and slender with dark features. He was reading what looked like to be leather bound journal, and occasionally even writing in it.
"Do you speak English?" Kayte asked the boy as she approached him.
"Of course," the man said with a smile. "I'm waiting for Melody."
"You must be Kyoya," Kayte said, eyes narrowing.
The young man smiled, pushing up his glasses. "And you must be Kayte, it's nice to meet you."
Kayte's eyes narrowed further.
"My driver told me about how he mixed the two of you up," Kyoya said laughing.
Suddenly his smile grew. Melody was approaching the pair. While most of the other dancers were relaxing in sweats, she had dressed up. She wore a pair of skinny jeans with flats. Her top was a bright red with a lace-trimmed vest over it. She had straightened her hair and added a touch of make-up.
Kyoya easily caught the slim woman as she launched herself into her arms. Kayte could tell how happy Melody was from a simple squeal! "Hello! I've missed you so much."
"I've missed you too," Kyoya said with a laugh, kissing her cheek before hugging her tighter.
The two held onto each other tightly. Kayte watched the couple for a minute. Melody had never referred to Kyoya as her boyfriend; no one had suggested they were dating in fact. However it was clear the two were close. Kayte left her friend alone.
Kyoya and Melody sat down together on one of the two-person chair. Melody had sprawled out and had her legs draped across Kyoya's lap. The young man was gently massaging the dancer's injured knee. The dancer was relaxing under the touch, enjoying the relief she was getting from the constant pain.
They were doing something on his laptop, as Melody typed and Kyoya massaged. They didn't seem too concerned about labels or pleasantries. They looked happy to be spending some time together.
Every once in a while, someone for the hotel staff would bring a bouquet of flowers towards Melody. Melody would look up to acknowledge the staff member, before sending the person to set the flowers down in her room. Neither seemed too concerned about the growing number of flowers in Melody's room.
"Comon roomie," Kayte yawned, as she finally approached the pair. "Let's go to bed."
"Okay, I'll be up in a minute," Melody replied.
Kayte waited by the elevators as Melody said good-bye to Kyoya. The two simply hugged each other, and gave small pecks on the cheek. Then he was gone. Melody walked quickly over to Kayte, and the two took the elevator to the floor.
"So what are you two to each other? Boyfriend and girlfriend?" Kayte asked.
Melody shrugged. "Kind of hard to be in a relationship when we live on opposite ends of the Earth."
"Do you want a relationship with him?" Kayte asked her friend.
"Yeah, I do," Melody said simply. "He has always been my most trusted friend. But between the distance and the expectations for us, a relationship is more than a little unreasonable."
"What do you mean?" Kayte asked.
Melody turned to Kayte. "Kyoya for sure will have an arranged marriage, and if my grandparents have any say of it, I will too."
The two young women opened the door to their room. Every flat surface had a vase of flowers on it. Kayte stared wide eyes. "What is all this for?"
"These are from the men my grandparents asked to woe me," Melody said with a sigh.
