Author's Note: What is it about watching the Olympics that's so inspiring to me? Last Olympics had me writing a whole ice skater AU and this year it's making me want to write again. Admittedly this story has nothing to do with the Olympics, but it is a competition.
Also like… bare with me please because I have no idea how dance competitions work and did my best to write this using google research, which is sketchy at best.
Summary: EJ comes to Gina's dance competition.
Gina's mom had always been supportive. She was Gina's personal cheerleader, her hype-squad, her one-woman support team. She'd come to each of Gina's plays, all of her concerts, and every last dance competition.
Except this one.
Gina couldn't exactly blame her, though. Not only did Mrs. Porter feel terrible about not being able to come, but there was a blizzard brewing and no planes were taking off any time soon. There was really no way for her to come.
Still, it was hard to not feel at least a little disappointed. Gina was more comfortable dancing than she was doing anything else, but it was always nice to glance out into the audience as she spun across stage and know her mom was there, cheering her on. Gina had invited Ashlyn and her parents, hoping that they could fill the role as replacement-family in this scenario, too, but Mr. and Mrs. Caswell had a college reunion that evening, and Ashlyn had come down with a bad cold the day before and really needed to rest.
The fact that, not just her mom, but no one was out in the audience watching her put Gina in a bit of a funk as she sat off-stage stretching. She was excited to be performing and ready to compete, but still. She wished there would be someone waiting in the lobby for her when the evening was over.
"You ready, Gina?" her jazz duet partner, Marcus, asked.
"Yep," Gina replied robotically. She and Marcus had been dancing together for almost two years now, but he was such a no-nonsense, serious, professional guy that she didn't feel at all comfortable confiding in him about how she was feeling that evening. Besides, she was ready. She wasn't about to let her emotional state affect her performance; she was better than that.
Gina and Marcus would be performing in the advanced jazz duet division of the competition in the Senior (15-19) age range. Gina was also going to be doing an advanced group lyrical and an advanced solo hip-hop that evening, but her jazz duet with Marcus was first on the docket.
Two and a half hours, an entire hydroflask of water and three nerve-wracking critiques later, Gina was finished with her competition. She was absolutely glowing, having received an elite high gold in her duet, an high gold in her group dance and an elite, the best award possible, in her solo. She was almost eager to open the packet of rigorous performance critiques from the judges, and hurried into the lobby looking for someone to share her excitement with.
And then she remembered: There was no one there.
Gina slowly deflated, maneuvering towards a side wall in the lobby out of the way of the other competitors seeking out their family and friends. She received a couple congratulations from her fellow dancers, but everyone had their own agenda, exchanging flowers and hugs and getting ready to leave the competition site.
"Flowers for a Miss… Gina Porter?"
Gina spun around, eyes widening as she registered a familiar voice coming from behind her. "EJ?" she gaped, face lighting up at the sight of the tall, attractive brunette.
"Surprise!" EJ cried, grinning widely. He extended his hand, wrapped around a bouquet of gorgeous multi-color flowers. "Congrats, Miss Elite."
"What are you doing here?" Gina beamed, taking the flowers and looking at them in amazement. "I had no idea you were coming!"
"Yeah, that's kinda the point of a surprise," EJ laughed. "Ash texted me when you left. Said you seemed kind of disappointed." He reached out and nudged her playfully in the shoulder. "C'mon, G, why didn't you tell me you had this thing tonight? We could have gotten the whole theatre squad to come. People want to support you. I want to support you."
Gina felt suddenly teary and stepped forward to give him a hug, half because she was so appreciative and half to hide her face. "Thank you," she murmured into his shoulder, her free arm wrapped around his back. "I really appreciate you showing up."
"You were amazing," EJ gushed, pulling back. His eyes skated over her face, soft and warm and awestruck. "Our productions have really been holding you back from showcasing your full potential."
"Thank you," Gina laughed, flustered. "But there's a place and time for dancing like that. Besides, we're wonderstudies, not stars, remember?"
EJ's face lit up even more, if that was possible, and the two of them beamed at each other for a good twenty seconds before someone knocked into Gina and she almost dropped her flowers.
"Hey, you need a ride out of here?" EJ asked, glancing at his watch. "You must be wiped."
"Yeah," Gina admitted, pushing a strand of hair out of her sweaty face. "I was just gonna call an Uber but if you've got a car…"
"Come on," EJ urged, taking her elbow and starting to make his way through the crowd. "We can get some celebratory milkshakes on the way home."
"And fries?" Gina asked hopefully, stomach growling. "And water? I'm all out."
"I've got some in the car," EJ assured her. "But fries sound perfect."
W / T \ Y
"I totally tripped," Gina insisted, out of breath from laughing so hard as she recounted her first dance recital to EJ. "I tripped over my point shoe, and fell into the orchestra pit."
"If you say you fell into the tuba I will have to pull over for the safety of others," EJ chortled, face sore from smiling so hard. He had one hand on the wheel of his car and the other wrapped around his vanilla McDonald's milkshake, fingertips greasy from the order of fries he and Gina had just been finishing up.
"Noooo," Gina cackled, "No, oh my gosh. I think I landed on top of the flautist, though. I don't know. It was awhile ago."
"That's a pretty formative memory," EJ snorted, taking a sip of his milkshake.
"Eh, it makes for a great story," Gina shrugged. "Though past-Gina kind of wishes it had never happened. I did not win the elite medal that night, let me assure you."
"Speaking of the elite medal," EJ segued, looking over at her with a fond smile on his face, "I am crazy proud of you, G. Your solo dance was insane. I was about to start hopping on the seats and screaming."
"I'm… glad you didn't," Gina teased. "You probably would have been kicked out."
"Probably." Amused, EJ returned his gaze to the road.
"Well, thanks," Gina returned a little belatedly. "And thanks for the food, too."
"Of course!" EJ beamed. "This was really fun." He glanced at the clock on his dashboard. "I should probably be taking you home soon; it's getting late."
If Gina had it her way, the two of them would keep driving aimlessly around town until they ran out of gas. But she was tired, both from her competition and from the late hour.
"Probably not the worst idea in the world," she acquiesced.
They weren't far from the Caswell's house, but Gina and EJ sat in the car for a good fifteen minutes after EJ had parked.
"Thanks for showing up tonight," Gina said finally, unbuckling. "It really meant a lot."
EJ smiled, then leaned over and pressed a kiss to her cheek. Gina sucked in a breath, face warming. "It was my pleasure," EJ told her quietly. "Any opportunity to watch you shine is one that I will be more than happy to take."
Face still burning, Gina smiled at him and got out of the car.
Author's Note: So admittedly this will probably be my last chapter for awhile. I have a bunch more chapters that I have premises for, it's just my inspiration that's faded. But we'll see how it all goes :)
