Chapter 22
Its Monday night, the night of our group dance. We had one more practice yesterday and it went great. I don't think anybody messed up or forgot any of the moves. I cant wait to perform it in front of the judges. We are the last ones to dance and its finally our time to go out. I'm really nervous about the whole thing because of the lifts and tricks. We wouldn't want anyone to get hurt. I'm also excited about it though, everybody can finally see it. Derek and I are standing beside each other while they are showing the rehearsal footage.
" Are you nervous?" Derek asks
" Very" I reply
" Me too."
I reach up and give him a hug. He squeezes me once more time and then lets go.
" You will do great. I trust and believe in you." I tell him
" I believe in you also. I have 100 percent faith in you. Lets kick ass."
He leans down and plants a swift kiss on my cheek. We then walk to our starting positions to do the dance.
Everybody did amazing. We didn't have any mistakes and nobody forgot the moves. We are waiting for our scores with Brooke. Carrie Ann gives us a 9.5, Len and Bruno gives us a 10. I'm overall very happy with the wonderful people I got to dance with and our dance. I couldn't have picked a better team. Derek walks me to my trailer so I can change clothes. We don't have to go through press tonight, we will do all that tomorrow. We have our Rumba tomorrow. We will dance second, right after Melissa and Tony. I'm already getting nervous about it.
" When I get done changing I am going to find Shannon and tell her goodbye."
" Okay, I think Mark and I are going to have dinner later."
" Alright, so I will see you tomorrow?"
" Yes."
I am standing on the bottom step of my trailer. Derek is standing flat on the ground. We are finally at the same level, face to face. I put my arms around his neck and he wraps his arms around my waist. He pulls me closer to him and there is no open space between us. I life my head off his shoulder but still have my hands around his neck. He reaches up a little bit and our lips meet. I pull him closer to me and deepen the kiss. He pulls away and kisses my fore head, nose, both cheeks, and then my lips again. When I pull away from the kiss he pulls me back to him. We just stand there hugging each other for what feels like eternity.
" Derek your going to be late for dinner." I say laughing
" Sorry, I could just stand here and hug you all night."
" Yes, and then you would miss dinner with Mark. He probably wouldn't be too happy about that."
" So you would rather me leave then stand here and hug me?" he says smirking at me
" No, I love hugging you. I could stand here with you all night. I love it when you hug me."
" I love hugging you too. At first when we starting dating I thought it might be awkward hugging you. I mean with our height difference, I didn't know if it would be hard to hold hands with you. I wasn't sure if I was going to have to bend down all the time."
" I thought about that too. If I was going to have to reach up all the time just to be able to kiss you. And then if you wanted to hold hands would I have to reach up and you lean down."
" I'm glad you thought about it too. We must be perfect for each other because we always find a solution."
" Yeah, I could wear taller heels."
" That wouldn't be necessary. You wouldn't me my little munchkin anymore. I wouldn't want you to look any other way."
" Your so sweet."
I give him a kiss on the lips.
" I guess I will go. I will see you tomorrow." he says while turning around to walk off.
" Bye, I will see you tomorrow."
I blow him a kiss and then go in my trailer to change clothes. When I get done changing I walk back into the studio to find Shannon. I told her I might be a little late, but to not leave until I saw her. I see her still sitting in the seat she was sitting in earlier. I walk up to her and she stands up when she sees me.
" You did so good tonight!" she says while leaning down and giving me hug
" Thank you, I'm so glad you go to come."
" Me too, its definitely different then back in Alabama."
" I'm going to miss you."
" Aw, I'm going to miss you too. I have had such a good time here."
" I'm glad you go to come."
" Me too, I don't want to leave, but I have stuff to do back in Alabama."
" You will have to come back. I'm sure I could get you a pair of tickets for free."
" That would be awesome. I would love to watch ya'll dance again."
" Just let me know and I will see what I can do."
" Okay, well I guess I'm going to head home. I have a early flight tomorrow. I wish I could stay and watch your Rumba."
" Me too."
I give her one last hug and we bid our farewells. I walk out to my car and leave the studio. I'm going to have a busy and nervous day tomorrow.
I wake up the next morning and take a shower. I then head to the studio to get started on hair and make up. I have to try on my dress one last time to make sure everything still fits right. I pull up in the parking lot and there aren't many cars here. I walk into my trailer to drop off all my stuff. I then go inside the studio for hair. Sabrina is getting her hair done and I sit down beside her.
" Hey girl." I say to her
" Hey, you ready for tonight?"
" At the beginning of the week I was dreading the dance but Derek has brought it out of me. I don't know how he did it. I haven't ever been this vulnerable with anybody before. I mean even with Ryan I didn't always show my full emotions. I'm nervous though."
" I guess Derek just has magical powers."
" I don't know what it is, it must be magic. Are you nervous about tonight?"
" Kind of, I mean to me its like any other week. I'm just glad we don't have a elimination."
" Me too."
Sabrina and I sit together and talk for hours. We have our hair and make up done. We say goodbye and I walk back to my trailer. I wonder where Derek is. I decide not to call him. He will show up eventually. I mean its only 3:00 and the show don't start till 7:00. It doesn't take him as long to get ready as it does me. I walk into my trailer to try my dress on. I walk in to the bathroom and put it on. I absolutely love this dress. Its my favorite one so far. I just feel like a princess in it. I grab a robe and wrap it around me. Somebody has put fruit in my trailer, so I fix me a bowl of grapes and grab a water. I go and sit on the couch and watch tv to pass time. While I'm watching tv I hear a knock on the door.
" Shawn, its me."
I can tell automatically who it is. Its Derek.
" Come in." I respond
Derek walks in and he is already dressed for our dance. He has his hair fixed and everything. He walks over and kisses me on the lips and then sits down beside me.
" I really like your hair like that."
" Its definitely different."
" You look just like Leonardo DiCaprio."
" I haven't heard that one before."
" Ya'll could be twins." I say laughing
" Your funny, but I'm definitely better looking." he says smirking at me
" Most definitely." I say laughing
" Can I have a grape?" he asks
" Well of course, you don't have to ask."
He reaches over in my bowl and grabs a handful of grapes.
" Lets play a game." I say
" What kind of game."
" I will throw the grape up and try to catch it. You do the same with your grapes."
" Okay, lets make this a little bit more competitive."
" Um, okay, we will see who can catch the most."
" And if I win."
" You wont." I say smirking at him
" Well we will just have to see about that."
" Lets start. I go first."
I pick up a grape and throw it up. I catch it with ease. I have had plenty of practice doing this. Its Derek's turn. He misses it and its my turn again. We play until we have ate all the grapes that was in my bowl.
" I won." Derek says
" Shut up, you probably cheated somehow."
" You were sitting right there, I didn't cheat." he says laughing
" Your right. I'm just a sore loser."
" So what do I win?"
" Anything you want." I say blushing
" Well right now, I want to kiss you."
" If that's what you want."
He leans over and kisses me. I wrap my arms around his neck and lay back on the couch. I'm laying on my back and pull him down on top of me. His tongue is skimming my bottom lip asking for entrance. I open my mouth and our tongues roam in each others mouth. I have never liked kissing anybody more. I still have my arms wrapped around his neck and his hands are running up and down my body. Where I had my robe tied around me falls open. Derek looks down at my body.
" You look great in this dress."
" Thank you, I really love it."
He leans back down and kisses my forehead, both cheeks, and then my lips once more. He then sits back up and I'm still laying on the couch with my robe open and my dress showing. I sit up from the couch and lay my head down in Derek's lap. He is sitting with both feet on the ground and his knees together. I lay my head on his thighs and look up at him. He puts his hand in my hair and starts playing with my hair.
" How are you feeling about the dance?"
" Better then I was at the beginning of the week."
" Good, are you ready to do it."
" Yeah, I finally feel like I can do it and I want to do it."
" Do you want to head over there."
" Yeah."
I get up from his lap and take off my robe.
" Lets go." I say smiling at him
" How did I get so lucky?" he asks
" No, how did I get so lucky is the question."
I reach up and give him a kiss.
" I'm so thankful we got partnered together." he says
" Me too."
With that we leave my trailer and head into the studio. I have to go back and get my hair re-curled and my make up touched up again. Since we dance second time flies by and its our time to dance. We walk down the steps hand in hand. We then go to the black stage in the middle of the floor. Derek lifts me up and puts me on the black stage. He then climbs up himself. He walks over to me and grabs my hand. The room is dark except for one light. They are showing our rehearsal footage.
" Are you ready for this?" he asks me
" Yes." I say
He leans down and wraps me in a hug.
" I believe in you. You are going to do great."
" I hope so."
He kisses my cheek and then lets me go. I walk over to my spot on the stage. When I hear the music start I walk towards him and tune out everybody but him. I dance like its just me and him. I know I can be myself around him and not be scared, so I don't hold anything back. I dance like we will never dance together again. When we have finished the dance and he disappears in the fog I walk over to the edge to wait for him. He walks over to me and pulls me into a hug. I feel a tear slip down my cheek.
" You did amazing." he whispers in my ear
" Thank you for everything." I whisper back
He sets me back down and we hear the comments from the judges. We then walk up to Brooke to get our scores. Carrie Ann gives us a 9, Len gives us a 8, and Bruno gives us 10. I cant say I'm happy with a 8, but I don't think I could have danced any better. Derek grabs my hand and leads me into the make up room. There is no one in the room. He walks over to one of the chairs and sits down. I walk behind him and go to sit in the chair beside him and he grabs my arm gently and pulls me towards him. I realize that he wants me to sit in his lap. I sit down on his legs. I wrap my arms around his neck and lay my head in the crook of his neck. He puts his arms around my waist.
" I cant even begin to explain how happy I am. You couldn't have dance any better than you did tonight. I was not expecting you to show that much emotion."
" I honestly wasn't either. I just tuned everybody out but me and you. I just set my mind to think that this was our last dance and I wouldn't ever see you again. I didn't have to fake any emotion that was all real."
When he hears that he pulls me closer to him.
" Shawn I have to tell you something."
" Okay, what is it?"
" I have been thinking a lot about us and our relationship."
I don't respond and he continues.
" I really have enjoyed spending time with you. I couldn't have asked to be paired with a better partner. What I'm trying to say is Shawn… I…l..o…v..e. you." he finally gets out.
I don't respond right away. I lift my head from his neck and look up at him. He looks scared to death.
" Please say something." he begs
" I…I love you too." I stutter out
" Really?" he asks
" Yes really. I know we haven't been dating long but I just feel this connection with you that I have never felt with anybody else. I am so happy with you."
" I feel the exact same way."
I throw my lips at him and kiss him. Hard. My hands are around his neck and his hands are in my hair. I haven't been this happy in a long time.
" I love you." I say to him
" I love you too. I wont ever get tired of hearing you say that. I was scared to death of what you would say."
" I didn't even have to think twice. I was just shocked at first. I thought you were going to break up with me."
" No, I would never. I love you." he says smiling
" I love you too."
And we sit there together until we have to leave.