I do not own Dirty Dancing.

Chapter Fifteen

POV Baby

Learning The Lift

"And back, easy. And turn, turn, down, and lift, you learn that later. And..." I struggled to remember the names of these last few steps, so I just let Johnny lead me. The stress had only increased, with just two days until the performance. "Come on!" He shouted in encouragement, "Down, twist, and, bow." At the last note, a groan escaped Johnny's lips. He was bent sideways in obvious pain. I stood up as best I could, Johnny following. He bent over, supporting himself on his knees.

"Sorry! Sorry," I told him, irrationally hoping to be spared the brunt of his wrath. Johnny glared spitfully at me. I didn't even know what I'd done. "Are you trying to kill me? You've gotta concentrate! Is that your idea of fun?" He shouted.

Something in me snapped. I set my hands on my hips, anger creeping onto my face. Every inch of me was covered in sweat. "Oh, yes, as a matter of fact, it is. We're supposed to do the show in two days, you won't show me lifts, I'm not sure of turns, I'm doing all of this to save your ass! What I really want to do is drop you on it!"

Johnny just looked at me. Not with anger, or any emotion, really. He almost looked confused. The next words out of his mouth confuse me.

"Well, let's get out of here!"

Johnny and I walked through sheets of rain to his car. He tugged on the handle to no avail, and looked in the window. "Shit!" Johnny slammed his palms into the roof of his car. He turned to me to explain, "I locked the keys in the car,"

I stare at Johnny. I couldn't do anything, and it was his car. Johnny looked around, and stomped over to a light post, kicking off the bulb. He kicked the wooden steak until he could pry it from the ground, at which point he smashed it the through the rear window to open the door. I step back and turn away as he did this, shielding my eyes from any shards of glass that may have gone flying.

It was so astonishing to know someone who should do as Johnny had done. I couldn't believe he actually broke the glass. Like, really? Was there no better option? As if sensing my astonishment, he smirked. Johnny pulled the door open for me, and motioned for me to get into the car, "You're getting wet, right?"

I climb in, and unlock the other door for him. As we drive out of Kellerman's, I tell him, "You're wild,"

"What?"

"You're wild!" I howl, throwing my head back in laughter, Johnny laughing with me. After a while, we go off road, nearing what can only be our destination. "Where are we going?" I ask him. Johnny pulled the door for me. I took his hand, and he helped me out.

"You're gonna learn the lift. Come on," He answered. Johnny took my hand, and walked over to the fallen log. The stream below was shallow. He leaned down, and took off his shoes. Apparently we needed to be barefoot for this. Somewhat skeptically, I follow his lead. "Shoes off," Johnny said.

He snatched up my Keds the second they were off my feet, along with his. "What are you doing?" I ask, slightly frightened.

He answered in but a few words, "You don't get them back until you make it across."

Johnny stepped into the log, my shoes with him, and paced across, while I sat down on the other end. He turned back, strolling in the middle of the log. He held his arms aloft, and stood on his toes. "Now, the most important thing to remember in lifts, is balance," Johnny lept into the air, and landed unsteadily on the log. For a good thirty seconds, he struggled to regain his balance, as we laughed together. I think that he perhaps made the moment last longer than it should have. Maybe for me. "I got it now," Johnny laughed.

"So where'd you learn to be a Dancer?" I question. That had been something I was curious about from the beginning. Johnny quietly snubbed the guests. He didn't come from a well off family, that much I knew. I seriously doubted that his Parents got him into dance school.

Johnny looked thoughtful at my question, and shrugged. I wondered how long ago it was. Johnny was an experienced Dancer, but he wasn't all that much older than me. He was only twenty one. Johnny began to describe, in the simplest terms, how he had quite literally fallen into his profession.

"Well, this guy came into this luncheonette one day, and... you know, we were all sitting around, doing nothing," Gracefully, Johnny sat down on the log, as he continued to explain, "And he said that Arthur Murray was giving a test for Instructors. So, if you passed..." Johnny stood up. "They teach you all these different kinds of dances, show you how to break them down, how to teach them, you know?" So that was it. He had lucked his way into a career, with no idea just how far it would go.

I looked back to Johnny, who had bent one knee, and stretched his other leg back, into a sort of lunge like position. He extended an arm, and beckoned to me, twitching his eyebrows. It was comical, but I kept myself from laughing. He couldn't be serious. He did not want me to dance on the log. Hoping that isn't what he wants, I nervously ask him, "What?" Johnny beckoned again, and pointed to the log in front of him, wearing an evil smirk. I shook my head, "No." There was no way I was getting on that log, shoes or no.

Johnny abandoned the ridiculous position, and walked over to me. He took my hands in his, and helped me up. His hands were warm, like always. "Come here," He said. Fearfully, I gaze down into the water below. The water was shallow, and I could see the rocky riverbed below. I'd been afraid of heights since I was a child. If I told him, he might not make me do it. But something stopped me from admitting such a weakness to him.

"No. Hold on," Johnny put a finger under my chin and nudged my head up, keeping the riverbed well out of my line of sight. "Don't look down. Look right here," He said in an encouraging tone. Johnny pointed to his eyes.

Blue eyes.

I take a deep breath, and swallow. I could do this. My shoes were at stake here. I just had to look right in those eyes of his, and dance like I always did. His eyes were my anchor. Johnny smiled, and pulled my arms into the frame. "Good. And..."

Johnny stepped backwards. I wobble helplessly on the log, gripping Johnny's shoulders so tight that I'm sure they'll leave bruises. Uncontrollably, a laugh burst from my stomach. With Johnny, the height wasn't so bad.

Johnny stepped back again, and again. We go one step at a time, until we reach the middle of the log, where Johnny released me. Johnny leads a few seconds before me, but I copy his motions to a T. But eventually, we danced over to the other side of the log, and stable ground was beneath my feet once more. I released a breath I hadn't noticed I was holding, and we put our shoes back on. "Where to, now, oh, great genius?" I ask. Johnny was leading us somewhere, I just didn't know where.

He looked back at me, and gave a vague answer, "The field. We need room for this. Open space," The answer left me almost no new information. I was supposed to be learning the lift. His words began to make sense as we approached a field of tall grass. Johnny took my hand, and lead me out to the middle. Quietly, I await instructions.

"Okay, step back. Just a few steps. Not too far. We'll work up to the full distance. And we won't go all the way up the first time," I nod to his words, and do as he says, stepping back a few yards. A feeling of exhilaration filled me at the thought of doing the lift. It shouldn't have. I'd always been afraid of heights, and normally, this would have counted. It was like Johnny was draining away all my fear. Johnny continued to instruct me. "You're gonna bend your knees, and go up. Go," He ordered.

Johnny motioned, and I charged foreword. All of a sudden I feel Johnny's hands on my hips, holding me in the air, not too high. In a moment I'm back on the ground, and he backed away from me, for the next try. "Good try,"

I desperately want to go again. I can feel the energy pulsing in me, screaming with a desperate need to please him, to get this right. Johnny held up a finger to stop me. "Now, you'll hurt me, if you don't trust me, alright? Now go. Go." Quietly, I wait for more, but he says nothing. "Go," Johnny insisted.

I surge foreword, and once again feel the sensation of Johnny lifting me up. There is a strong pressure of his thumbs pressing into a soft patch of skin between my hip and pelvis. When he sets me down, it brushed against my skin feeling almost ticklish. "Good," He smiled, backing up for the lift, "Now we're going to go up this time, alright?"

Hesitantly, I nod. I didn't know how I felt about going all the way, teetering on a few inches of his hands. Regardless, I charge forward. This time, on the way up I screeched, and felt myself curling into a fetal position. I collapse on top of Johnny, landing in the tall grass, howling with laughter. Days ago, I would never have laughed at something like that.

I roll off of Johnny, untangling our limbs. Suddenly, I heard his deep voice, "You know, the best place to practice lifts is in the water,"

Apparently, 'the water' was a small little bay in the lake. It jutted inland on the far right side, away from prying eyes. I took off my striped button down shirt, unwilling to get it wet, and my shoes. I knew that he'd seen me in little to no clothing before, but I wasn't about to strip down to my underwear to go for a swim. He could've seen everything.

Where I left on most of my clothes, yet again, Johnny took off only his shirt, and, of course, shoes. My eyes lingered on the lines of toned muscle all over his body. We waded into the water until it was waist high.

"Okay. We're going to try this again," He says, as I move closer to him. My eyes skim over every inch of his skin, pulled away only at the realization that he'd put his hands on my hips, preparing for the lift. I set my hands on his shoulders. "So just bend your knees, and go!" Johnny lifted me from the water and held me over his head. I struggle, trying to remain as still as possible. "Good! Good, now hold the position! Hold it," He encouraged, "Good, don't break it! Don't break it!"

As we fell back, a shriek escaped me, soon to be silenced by the water. I surfaced, air filling my lungs. Johnny was a few feet away, and I swam over to him, wrapping my arms around his neck for support. I felt like I was going to burst from laughter, from joy. I'd never been this happy before. The most spectacular thing, was that he was laughing too.

Johnny rested his hands on my hips, as mine slip back to his shoulders. He pulled away slightly, confusing me. My worries flit from my head moments later, as I know that we're about to try again. I breathe in reassurance, "Okay."

"Alright, let's do it again," Johnny lowered himself deeper into the water. Simultaneously, we brush the damp hair from our eyes.

"Okay," I whisper.

"Alright. One, two, three!" The water leaves me, and I am surrounded by air. There is only air, and Johnny.

I can sense something, an unnatural sensation. I must have made a mistake. Immediately, I apologize, "Oh, sorry,"

Johnny's comment is not what I expected, but then, he was the one doing the real work in this. He had to concentrate to keeping me in the air, "Good," He strained, as though I hadn't made a mistake, "Your legs are... no! No, don't do th-"

I screamed, realizing what was about to happen just before I hit the water. I was overwhelmed by the cold of the water, and immediately kicked up to air. The first thing I see is Johnny shaking water from his hair. Laughter bubbled up uncontrollably. I swam over, and put my arm around his neck, wiping water from my eyes. I laugh again, certain that this was what pure joy felt like.

As Johnny straightened, my hands slipped down his chest, feeling the muscles there, "That's not too bad," He said, commenting on my lift.

Johnny turned slightly red, and reached for my shoulder. My strap had fallen down in the commotion. That wouldn't have bothered me so much if the temperature of the water hadn't been letting him see everything underneath my shirt, regardless of the fact that I'd left it on. Before he can touch me, I slide it back on my shoulder. Johnny pulled his hand away and shrugged.

"One more time?" I suggested, wanting to get this right before the Sheldrake.

Johnny nodded, "Okay." He bent down and put his hands on my hips, while mine were at his shoulders, as always, "Over my head, go,"

Johnny pushed me from the water one last time. This time, when I landed back there again, it wasn't because I fell. It was because I finally did something right.

Hi, Guys! Sorry it's been so long. I was busy for a few days, and then our WiFi went out before I could update. I spent most of today editing stuff I'd already posted, because I could a few inconsistencies with italicization, and words that should be capital, but weren't.

I'm going to catch up Exerts From The Way I Feel With You before I update The Way I Feel With You, so it might be a bit before I post something on that again, but don't worry, I will continue with it.

I would like to thank bobcatwriter for being the first person to leave me a review. It was great to finally hear from someone, and your comments are greatly appreciated. And if you like the way I weave the minor characters into this story, I have a few things I plan on doing with Lisa that I think you're going to enjoy, but that's coming up later. Until then!

TheLovelyBallroomGeek