And neither of them wanted to stop.
Back in the studio the chaos hadn’t stopped, it’d just shifted flavor. Glitter still floated through the air like an airborne disease. The other couples were gathering in tight, tense clusters near the edge of the stage, all trying to look calm while the scoreboard loomed above them like a digital guillotine. The band had gone quiet, but the crowd buzzed with post-performance energy.
Nate felt like he was ready to crawl out of his damn skin. His hand still hummed from the friction of his palm against her back as he took his place beside her. They were shoulder to shoulder, like soldiers in a peculiar war. Winning last week had been amazing, and enough of a thrill to please the competitive athlete in him. But this week he felt nervous about the results. About maybe being sent home.
About disappointing her.
Holly didn’t say anything. Just stared up at the scoreboard with her arms folded, her mouth pressed into a tight line that didn’t leave room for emotion. And then he felt her shift and lean in against him. The faintest pressure of her weight against his, as she wordlessly voiced her own anticipation.
Indie flitted onto the stage like a manic butterfly as the cameras set up for the shot… and then they were rolling.
“Hello and welcome back toTake the Floor!We’ve had so many electrifying performances tonight, and we’re ready to announce who is heading home?” she paused for dramatic flair, “?and who’s living to dance another day. We’ve tallied the judges’ scores and combined them with our viewer votes.”
The tension stretched tight across the studio floor as the obscenely huge leaderboard screen behind them flashed to life. The names of the couples were populated in a list with a space for their final combined score.
“It’s always sad to say goodbye,” Indie was saying, striving for wisdom. “While theTake the Floorjourney might be over for this couple, we know they’ll always be dancing in their hearts. So without further ado, the couple leaving us tonight is…”
Nate’s pulse thundered in his ears, and for one jagged moment, he was sure it would be their names in the red. He clenched his fists, jaw tight, fighting the wild panic clawing up his throat. Not because he was afraid to lose, but because he’d finally found something hewantedto win for.
Someone.
He thought of Holly’s breathless moans against the mirror in the rehearsal studio, her body trembling as she came apart inhis hands like she trusted him with her ruin. And now? He needed toearnthat trust. Not just on the floor, but off it. He couldn’t go home. Not yet. Not when he was still learning how to be the man who deserved her.
“Kaden and Willow!”
A newer couple. Sweet, nervous, and completely out-danced. Their names dropped to the bottom of the leaderboard amidst gasps from the crowd. Willow burst into tears as Kaden scooped her into a rough hug, while Indie offered some comforting nonsense aboutfate.
When the other couple’s names were called, Nate exhaled like he’d been holding his breath for years. Relief hit him like a gut punch, knocking loose something sitting deeper within him. Without thinking, he reached for Holly’s hand, fingers brushing against hers hesitantly before lacing tight.
Her grip came a second later. Sure, strong, and warm. And it absolutely gutted him. She didn’t even look at him, just squeezed once like a silent message, and somehow that hit harder than anything else they’d shared. It was nothing, and it was everything. And Nate knew, in that heartbeat between camera pans, that he’d burn down the whole damn stage if it meant holding onto this.
Indie cycled through the names of the other couples, announcing scores. Time was a blur because his heart was still hammering against the inside of his ribs. His hand was still resolutely wrapped around her delicate one. And Holly didn’t flinch. She just waited until they’d announced all the results… except for the top three dancers.
“And now, ladies and gentlemen, the couple taking the topspot this week, with the highest combined score and fan vote…”
Indie glanced down at her blank ‘results’ card like there were two names etched on it, a small smirk playing on her lips before she looked back up at the cameras dramatically.
“Holly and Nate!”
The studioexploded. Nate didn’t think. He just turned and grabbed Holly by the waist, lifting her off the ground and spinning her in a full, exuberant circle. And Hollylaughed, full-bodied and genuine in a way that tied his brain into knots. She curled her hands over his shoulders to steady herself as her heels touched down again, but she was shocked. He could tell.
So he grinned, leaning all the way in so that his forehead brushed hers as the cameras frantically zoomed in for a payday close-up that would make next week’s ratings skyrocket.
“Toldyou we were winning,” he murmured smugly.
“Don’t get cocky,” she shot back, breathless. But her look had gone from wide-eyed disbelief back to fiery with a side of don’t fuck with me in an instant, and that made him grin all the wider.
“Too late,” he added with maddening cheek. “It’s in my contract.”
Strictly Scandal Online:
Feathered, Furious, and Flirting: Are TTF’s Holly and Nate already the couple to beat?
There’s hot, and then there’s whatever Holly Martinez and Nate Eriksson just did on the dance floor during their high-energy Quickstep. From Holly’s tie-grab to that dizzying final spin, the chemistry was volcanic, and the scoreboards agreed. With judgesandviewers both putting them at the top this week, it’s clear the pair have broken out of this competition as the frontrunners faster than you can say ‘heel turn’. But is it just talent…or is tension translating to technique? Sources say…READ MORE→
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nate eriksson is not ‘dancing’
