That’s not exactly my idea of romance, but to each their own. I wonder what type of person he is. Is he ultra-outgoing like Leslie? Or more closed off?
As if reading her thoughts, Leslie added, “The next time he’s in town, I’ll introduce you to him. You’ll be the first person outside the family and Alyssa to meet him. Ron keeps a low profile. He’s painfully shy, which is ironic given his profession.”
She could see that being the case. As a pro hockey player, he was probably inundated with fans and the spotlight. When he was home, he probably just wanted to be himself.
“What colors were you thinking about adding today? When I texted, you said something about pink?” Alyssa said.
Frankie grinned. “Yes, I’m taking my skating test next week, and I was hoping you could color the end of my hair to match the color of my dress. That way, when I perform, the judges won’t be able to tell my hair isn’t ‘normal’”—she made air quotes—“but when it’s down, it’ll be a fun surprise.”
“That sounds great. Show me the exact shade, I’ll try to re-create it.”
Frankie got up from the chair and walked over to her purse.
“What about you, Les?” Alyssa asked.
Leslie’s face lit up with a wide jack-o-lantern smile. “I’ve been inspired recently by all the Halloween merchandise that’s starting to pop up in the stores. I want a dark purple with white and orange streaks. There isn’t a way you can dye shapes in my hair, is there? It would be next level if I could have silhouettes of ghosts, pumpkins, and bats in my hair.”
“Sometimes I think you like coming up with the most complicated styling options possible just to test me.” Alyssa sighed. “I can’t make any promises, but we’ll experiment with some stencils.”
Leslie fist-pumped.
* * *
“Well done, everyone. You’ve all officially passed into the intermediate-level adult ballroom class.” Excited chatter broke out around the room. “You’ve learned the mambo and the jitterbug for social dancers. And we’ve also covered the waltz, foxtrot, cha-cha, and a little bit of the quickstep. Today, we have just enough time to start on the rumba. It’s a very sensual dance from eastern Cuba.”
Madame Miller walked out into the center of the floor. She asked the couple closest to her to come out and act as her demonstrators.
“In this Latin dance, one of the most recognizable features is the active hip movements. The difficulty lies in making the motion subtle while keeping your torsos upright.”
“It looks to me like we’re about to get a good ab workout with all the side-to-side movements,” Frankie whispered to Charlie.
“You will also take note of the arms in the rumba. The best way I can describe it is to pretend as if you’re throwing a Frisbee. Picture that Frisbee directly in front of your face. When you initiate a throw, you start with your back, shoulder, upper arm, elbow, lower arm, wrist, and then release the fingers when you finally let go.”
“I was afraid she was going to say pretend you were throwing your partner,” Charlie whispered back.
Frankie snickered. “You would never throw your partner in ballroom.”
Madame Miller clapped her hands together. “Now if you would all line up. We’ll learn the box step, arms, then try putting it to music. It goes like this . . .”
The six couples in the room turned to face the mirror. Walking through the motions, they worked on an individual basis, then were instructed to try it with their partner.
“I like the rumba—it’s a nice slow-and-easy pace.” Charlie offered his arm to her.
The music clicked on. Frankie tried to stay on the balls of her feet as she imitated the movements Madame Miller had asked them to try out a few minutes before.
“Well done, Frankie. Close your ribs a little more. Charles, no slouching. Lift from your back. Extend your chest out. Better,” the ballroom teacher said while perusing the room.
When she was out of earshot, Charlie said, “So, I’ve been wanting to ask you if you’ve given any thought about what’s going to happen after you pass your test?”
“If I pass—”
“It’s not an ‘if’ any longer,” he interjected. “It’s a when. You’re more than ready.”
“Don’t blame me for not wanting to jinx myself, but no, I haven’t thought about anything else.”
“Well, I’m so confident that you’ll pass; I didn’t think it would hurt to look into what it would take for us to qualify for nationals.” Charlie grinned.
Frankie’s curiosity overruled her head. “And?”
