“Let’s go get something!” Kayleigh said. “The stores are still open!”
Harper laughed as Kayleigh grabbed her arm, pulling her near the door.
“Yep, I’ll drive,” Gardenia said.
“It’s okay, you guys don’t have to.” Harper suddenly felt nervous, shy abooutut them making a fuss over her.
“Yeah, we do,” Kayleigh said, putting her arm around Harper. “And when we get back, you can practice your audition!”
“We’ll be your biggest fans!” Gardenia giggled. “Until Xander and Logan know about it!”
“Thanks,” Harper murmured.
“Come on!” Kayleigh held open the door.
Harper grinned. What an immense weight had just been lifted because she didn’t have to hide everything from her friends. She felt like a normal girl hanging out with her normal friends, and it felt good.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN - HARPER
Steppingbackstagethistimefelt different. Fewer people were in the wings, just her and fifty other dancers. Harper’s throat tightened. She consciously took a deep breath, stretched, jumped on the spot to warm up, stretched again, and tried to tamp down her nerves.
While telling Gardenia and Kayleigh about the audition felt freeing, it also made her more aware, and made her feel more pressure. And it brought to the surface how much she wanted to get through to the next round, the Top Twenty. They would begin filming in three weeks, and then there was no way around it. If she made it that far, she would have to tell Logan and Xander. Her stomach dropped thinking about it. That almost felt as scary as going through with this two-minute audition in front of a panel of five judges.
She smoothed down her number across her waist, closed her eyes, and briefly visualized herself dancing across the stage. Opening them, she threw her shoulders back and waited. The woman in front of her got sent to a group dance-off.
“Break a leg.” A firm squeeze took her hand and Harper smiled at the curly-haired woman, waiting to go next to her.
“Thanks, you too,” she said.
Two judges stood up for a moment, stretched. One checked his phone, and the others sipped from their coffee mugs. The assistant director gestured for Harper to go on stage. A camera followed her as she moved. When she reached centre stage, she stopped.
She looked right at the judges’ table and gave a little wave.
“Harper Blake, nice to meet you,” the man with long brown hair said. “How long have you been dancing?”
“I’m happy to be here,” Harper said in a clear voice as she locked eyes with the judge. “I’ve been dancing forever since I was a small child. My mother taught me.”
“Your mother was a dancer?” the woman with the long blond hair asked.
“Yes, she was.” Harper swallowed over a lump in her throat. Her beautiful mother had wanted her to dance on the stages throughout the world as she had in her youth.
“What kind of dance do you do?” a judge with big hair asked.
“Contemporary ballet,” Harper said.
“Let’s see what you have.” The judge with the long hair waved at her, folding his arms over his chest.
Harper turned, took three steps back, extended her arms and smiled, the blood rushing in her ears, the beat of her heart reaching down through her toes. For a moment, she remembered her mother’s hands on her shoulders, telling her to be confident.
The soft notes of her music started, silencing all her thoughts. As the music floated in the cavernous space, there were only steps and beats and Harper gave her all to every extension, every roll, every high spin. She leapt with her head back, her fingertips pointed, her arms soft but steady…and she danced.
Her thoughts only centred on the next step. Harper gave herself over to the dance and knew, that no matter what happened after here, she wanted freedom.
No more gates and bodyguards and maybe no more Axis Management and, she realized with a start; the thought breaking into her concentration, no more hiding her feelings. She loved two men. A determination spread through her centre as she landed the last jump. Right after this audition, she was going to call them and tell them both. They deserved to know. Both Xander and Logan had asked for her to be honest and she was going to do what they asked.
“Fierce!” The big-hair judge started clapping.
Harper glanced at the judges’ table to see all of them on their feet.
