Maya's mouth slowly fell open as she blinked over and over again. "You what?" she asked.
Joshua Matthews just told her that he loved her. In all honesty Maya wasn't exactly ready for that word. She had just come to terms with her feelings for him and how they might work but that word was something else. "I love you," Josh repeated. "And I know you don't feel that way but I do and you deserve to know that I love you."
Maya smiled away her fear as she took Josh's hand. "You make being with you really easy."
Josh smirked and brushed a hair out of Maya's face. "I try." Titling his head he laughed aloud.
Maya raised an eyebrow and smiled. "What?" she asked.
Josh shook his head and smiled at Maya. "Did you really vote for me tonight?"
"Of course I did," Maya replied. "Your Paso Doble tonight was very convincing," she said with her blonde eyebrows raised.
Josh smirked knowing exactly what she was referring to. "Oh really," he began. He wrapped one of his arms around Maya and the other underneath the bend of her knees. "Are you sure it didn't have to do with anything else?"
Playing along, Maya shook her head no as she allowed Josh to scoop her up into his arms. "I don't know what you're talking about. I was just really focused on your footwork," she insinuated.
Josh carried her over to the bed and gently rested her on it as he backed away from the bed. "Oh so you mean this footwork?"
Josh danced around in a silly manner as he put extra emphasis on his naked torso. Dancing around the room Maya couldn't help but laugh as she paid extra attention to his very nice body. Maya's eyes traced his abdomen all the way up to his pectoral muscles and all the way back down to just below his belly button. As those not so innocent thoughts began to creep into her mind Josh stopped dancing and walked towards her on the bed. Maya's breathing stopped as he stepped closer to her, soon his body hovering over hers. His face was inches away from hers as their eyes met and silence overtook them. "You were incredibly sexy," Maya breathed.
Josh closed the gap between them and kissed Maya gently. Slowly their kisses grew stronger and stronger as the hunger to be closer overtook them. Josh cupped one hand around her face as the other began to run itself up and down her body, settling on her waist as its home. Josh let out a slight moan as he moved his mouth to her cheek and then her neck. Enthralled in the moment and the fresh clean scent that he held, Maya lost herself quickly in her other feelings. Forgetting everything else going on around them and running through her mind, she lost herself in the moment. "You're so beautiful," he whispered into her ear between kisses. "Do you want me to slow down?"
Coming back into herself, Maya realized what was happening. Slowly nodding her head, she whispered, "Yeah. I actually need us to slow down."
Hearing her words, Josh pulled away and laid down next to her. "Then we'll slow down," he said whilst taking her hand into his.
"Thank you," Maya whispered.
Josh nodded and kissed her hand. "Nothing to thank me for. Just trying to respect you. It's getting late. Stay the night? We can help each other work on our solos for tomorrow nights show."
"Yeah. Tomorrow night someone goes home. Fingers crossed it's neither of us," Maya breathed.
"Don't worry," Josh began. "We'll be fine. I promise."
"If you extend your leg more and hold it out an extra count you'll show your range better," Josh coached as he helped Maya with her solo.
The couple stood in one of the many studios they were allotted in a studio nearby the show's lot. The bright orange walls and windows created a bright airy space that they worked in for the day. They'd been working since it about eight o'clock that morning. It was nearly four and they had yet to take a break.
Little blonde baby hairs stuck to Maya's forehead as she nodded her head, taking in Josh's critiques. "Okay," she breathed. "What about my turns in the fourth eight count? I felt like those could have been better. Were they clean enough?"
"Baby," Josh began as he walked towards Maya and placed his hands around her waist. "They were perfect. You should take a break. We've been working for hours."
Maya raised an eyebrow. "Baby? That's new. I kinda like that one. Gorgeous is still my favorite though."
"Really? I don't know...baby is kind of growing on me," Josh admitted.
Maya rolled her eyes and tilted her head back as she laughed. "You're stupid, you know that?"
"You're stupid, you know that?" Josh mocked her words and made funny faces at her as he leaned in and kissed her lips. Maya, laughing met his lips and melted into his touch. Thoughts of last night crept back into her mind again and just as she would've reached where she was last night, Charlie and a few other dancers busted into the studio ending their moment.
"Guys! You have to see this!" Charlie yelled. Charlie and the other dancers ran to Maya and Josh circling around them as they shoved a phone into their faces.
Irritated, Maya looked around and looked up at Josh in confusion. "What is it guys? We were working on our solos for tonight. Shouldn't you guys be doing that too?"
"Maya shut up! We were and then we all got these alerts on our phones!" Maya gave Charlie a pointed look. "Just look at the phone Hart!"
Sighing, Maya took the phone in her hand as Josh looked over shoulder. They both watched the screen in silence for a moment before Josh spoke. "When did this come out?" he asked.
"Less than twenty minutes ago," one of the other dancers answered.
"This has to be some sort of joke," Maya breathed.
"Oh my god," Josh whispered. "We broke the internet."
On the phone in front of them was an online news story from Entertainment Weekly.
America's Best Dancer: Matchmaking Show?
This year marks the tenth season of America's number one dance competition, America's Best Dancer. This year's favorites to beat are star crossed lovers Joshua Matthews and Maya Hart. Hart, 18 is from New York and Matthews, 21 is from Philadelphia. Both Jazz and Hip Hop Dancers respectively the pair have set America by storm with their love story. Their chemistry was immaculate as seen in this year's day three Vegas episode where we saw the two heat up the stage with their ballroom routine that pushed them farther into the competition. Last night the phone lines for both dancers shut down completely during the two hour window for voting. Their supports crashed their lines, rendering voting impossible for the last thirty minutes of the window. They are being predicted as this year's top two finalists in the competition. They've not only danced their way into each other's hearts but America's hearts as well.
"This has over a hundred thousand hits already," Maya observed. "Josh check your instagram," she ordered.
Josh frowned. "Why would I need to check it? I'm pretty sure that I would've seen if anything changed there already." Josh took out his phone and opened up instagram. "Oh shit."
Maya whipped her head around to look at him. "What? What is it?"
Josh looked at Maya and all the other dancers around them. "Last night I had like four hundred followers. Now I have over one hundred thousand."
Charlie laughed and looked at the couple. Holding up his phone he said, "And now Maya has over ninety thousand."
Maya and Josh shared a nervous look. They knew people would look at their relationship and at the show but they didn't expect this kind of attention. Josh stared at Maya and wracked his brain trying to think of the words that could possibly soothe the nerves he knew that she had. Pulling her aside, he looked her in her eyes. "Maya breathe. Everything is okay alright? Um-" He paused. "None of that matters. Just focus on the competition alright? We're both gonna make it past tonight's elimination and we're gonna dance our asses off."
The attention was a lot and they were going to know it very well.
A/N: I don't normally leave these but I am loving all of your reviews! And to answer one review from a previous chapter, I don't where you can buy a Josh but I'll let you know as soon as I find out!