Chapter 4

When Clara walked in the next Monday, John was nowhere to be seen. Over the weekend she had had time to think through the amount of work and pressure she'd be under by learning all of the dances, and especially with someone as impatient as John. And while Donna had given her his number he didn't call her for assurance or encouragement, and neither did she. Clara realised he might not have even been informed of it. She walked round the theatre, all the rooms, the stage, asking everyone where he was to which they didn't know. Donna told her he sometimes came in quite late but Clara was always one for being punctual, so he'd already disappointed her. By the time he showed up it was past the hour of 'being late' and Clara seriously considered if he thought that dancing was so easy he could learn a routine in an hour. Unfortunately, she couldn't.

'Where have you been?' She asked with a hint of sternness in his voice.

His eyebrows raised to her question. He probably wasn't used to being spoken to like that.

'I have another job, you know. It ran later than I thought.'

'Which job?'

'I work in my bookshop if you must know.'

Clara found it hard not to splutter. Of all things he could have said, owning a bookshop was one that would have come very low on the list. She tried to picture it but his character made it so difficult she ended up laughing aloud. At least she could say he was also intelligent.

'Yeah, go ahead, laugh at me. You won't be the one laughing when we start dancing.'

That quietened her. Usually when it came to dancing she was very confident, but with him she seemed like her own pride and ability was diminishing.

She followed him to a studio, where he began by not telling her a word of what he was doing.

'Excuse me, but I thought this was supposed to be partnered dancing?'

'If you want to pair up for the exercise be my guest,' he snorted, 'I thought you said you knew a lot about dance.'

'It does help when one communicates.'

He smirked at her, arms stretching above his head. 'My bad.'

They finally started on dancing, but not before a lecture.

'We'll be doing four dances, so you better hurry up and learn them, and learn them good.'

'That depends on the teacher too.' She cut in, disliking the way he ordered her. She had never much liked conformity.

'And the student.' He replied, 'now, if you'll let me speak, I can tell you about each dance. We'll be doing a tango, a rhumba, a salsa and either a mambo or a paso doble, haven't worked that out yet.'

Clara stared at him, shocked almost to the point of dumbfounded. The idea of getting up close and intimate with him was something she had never considered nor wanted. Those dances were best known for their sensual element, and she had been hoping for a jive, or some kind of jazz, which was more her area. Ballet was all about grace and beauty; those dances were much the contrary.

'You are joking?' She said, laughter tickling at the back of her throat. He stared at her in disbelief.

'Why would I be joking?'

'I expected maybe a swing dance, or something like a quickstep.'

He laughed. 'Yeah, everyone does those ones. Only a few do the harder dances.' He gloated.

'But why are we doing dances that are so similar to each other?'

'They're not similar, a and they are my style of dance. I don't do flighty lindy-hops and ballet. I do the fiery ones.'

'So, you're a bit of a passion player?'

'If you like. Now, we'll be starting with a tango-'

'How long will we have to complete each dance?' She interjected.

'God, you're always asking questions! Do you have an off button? I will get to everything if you just let me speak.'

She obediently stayed quiet. He paused before he spoke, his eyes like daggers into her skin. Clara didn't know how she would cope dancing with him with a gaze like that.

'Now, the tango. Ballroom dance originating in South America, very popular. We'll be doing the Argentine tango, which was actually born in Buenos Aires.'

Clara couldn't believe it. Was he picking out every single passionate dance he could find? He knew full well the argentine was more romantic than the others.

He bent down to the stereo, and music filled up the hall. As was the same for ballet, she could feel it already begin to affect the weight of her footsteps and lighten her heart.

'Okay, now, feel the beat of the music. 16 beats. The song repeats well, so don't get confused. 16 beats.'

Clara concentrated, her arms and legs itching to break out in dance. He slowly drew her closer to him, his hands holding onto her arms. She felt unusually self-conscious but concentrated on the music. Clara was glad they had their personal space for now.

'Practice position,' he explained softly, 'Don't go flighty, don't go light on your feet. Stay grounded, allow your movements to flow. We're doing the parallel walk, basic, well known. As I step forward with my left leg, you step backward with your right, then I step with my right forward, you step left back. Easy.'

He took the step forward, which she responded to, trying to keep up with the 16 beats. John slowed the pace, counting aloud for her. His eyes, when she looked at them again were much friendlier and understanding. She began to focus on her feet, feel the rhythm and step on the right counts.

'Look at me.' He told her, lifting her chin up. 'You don't have to concentrate on your movements step for step so much, just fall into the music.'

'You don't have to treat me as a beginner. I did ballet for seven years and I know how to do footwork.'

'I know. I'm just trying to make sure you become part of the dance, as the two are very different. And you are, broadly speaking, a beginner at tango.'

'Shut up.'

'See, there you are. Already in the fiery spirit.'

'Must be quite easy for you.'

'You have no idea.'

They went on like that for what seemed like hours, but was probably only minutes, until Clara was confident with the rhythm and the pace.

'Right, good. Now, you get into position. It's typically called a V embrace. Here,' he pulled her into him so both their chests were touching, leaving space between their lower torso's. Their heads were almost joined, to the point they could hardly see each other. She inhaled a breath as he took her arms, placing them calmly over his shoulder while his own settled to her lower back. The tension was so high she could feel her very muscles tighten at being held like that. She hadn't done this in years and yet it felt extremely good.

'Relax,' he ordered, running his hands gently over her arms and looking at her so peacefully it made her want to fall asleep. If John really did have this effect on her, maybe she could dance a rhumba with him.

'Alright, start doing the parallel walk again. Keep your back straight, look directly in front of you, with your chin raised like some posh bastard, okay?'

She giggled, already beginning to feel his charm wash over her.

He counted it down, and then they were moving. Clara could tell John was already impressed by her solidity and fluency of movement but that was only to be expected. As long as he didn't act so surprised and treated her like a first timer again.

'You're evading your own rules,' she said, withdrawing slightly to see him look down below them.

'Yeah, I was just watching your steps. Do it again, step forward.'

She did as he said, and he watched his eyebrows rise.

'What, am I doing it wrong?'

'No, perfectly as it happens. You actually seem to have developed a bit of a sway of the hips already when you move. That's very good, you'll be easy to work with. I've had all sorts of heavy handed students but you've picked this up amazingly.'

'I do have to keep reminding you: ballet.' She emphasised.

'Hm, yeah. But I would have advised you to start this earlier, because you prove to be quite talented in this area of dance.'

'Maybe I'm an all-rounder.'

'Wouldn't surprise me. Right, no more chatting, back to work.'

Clara rolled her eyes, but happily let him take the lead.

'We'll start with a full round of 16 beats to this at first, and then on the next count of 4 you will actually sway your hips slightly. When you do that our arms will be raised and I'll spin you out. Got it?'

She nodded, and focused once again on the spot above the fire exit sign. She hardly had to think about her feet, it was already imprinted in her mind. Clara could feel his arm levitate and she nervously swayed twice to which he had no negative comments. As soon as her swaying ended he spun her out so she could finally see him and both their arms were extended.

Clara started laughing at how flustered she looked in the mirrors and John joined in too, looking impressed.

'That was excellent, especially for a first try. More of that, through and through. It has to be a sharp transition, and you certainly got it.'

She didn't tell him how much that lifted her spirits.