Chapter 36
Maxime
Alice ties her waist-length blond hair into a high ponytail. Her training outfit looks brand new, and she's wearing so much makeup on her face as if this were a competition and not a practice session.
She glances at me with a sly grin. "Nice that we're finally dancing together," she says with a sickly sweetness.
I nod curtly and begin warming up. "Let's start with the jive."
With fluttering eyelashes, she approaches me. "Whatever you want."
Is she flirting with me?
Even if she is, it won't entice me. "We'll begin without music. Get into position."
My arm feels stiff as I raise it and extend it toward her. She reaches for my hand with a conspiratorial grin.
"Turn on one," I say, my gaze fixed firmly on the mirror in front of us. "Six... seven... eight..."
With perfect timing, Alice spins. Her ponytail lifts in the breeze, and she has that radiant smile that every competition judge wants to see. Her steps are precise, her movements fluid, and her posture full of elegance. I expertly catch her and release her immediately.
"Basic step, open position," I call out to her.
Together, we start the lively sequence of the jive. I observe us in the mirror, and after just a few minutes, I have to admit that it could be going much worse.
"Lady’s solo with a flirt," I comment next, leading us into the first figure. "On seven... eight..." I raise my arm, and Alice steps underneath it. Her upper body brushes against mine as she gracefully moves to the side, executes a turn, and then comes back to me.
The jive is not danced in close contact, but her proximity still feels wrong. How will it be when we dance the rumba?
You're a professional, Maxime, I remind myself, gritting my teeth. After all, I'm doing this for Aurora.
Even without instruction, Alice returns to the basic step and even adds variations on her own.
I stop our dance. "Okay," I say curtly, walking over to the music system. "Now with music. We start as before, then continue with a stop-and-go sequence, followed by changes of places and link-and-whip elements."
Everything inside me resists admitting it, but this attempt also goes reasonably well.
"We'll sweep the competition off the dance floor in Lyon," Alice declares breathlessly after we've danced through the choreography three more times. "We've already got the spot in the TV show performance."
Did we just dance the same routine?
I take a sip from my water bottle. "We still need to refine many details." And we haven't even attempted the other dances required in the competition's specifications.
She pouts her lips. "Oh, the rumba will surely go smoothly from the start," she coos so sweetly that it makes me sick. It couldn't be any clearer. She wants me. Whether it's just for a hot night or for a relationship, I don't know, but it doesn't matter.
For a moment, I consider addressing it openly to clarify things. It wouldn't be difficult for me, but I decide against it. Too much depends on Alice and me getting along well enough to shine in the upcoming selection for the TV gala and serve as the academy's showcase.
"We'll work on those in the next training session," I simply reply with a sober tone. "Today, let's focus on the jive. That's more than enough to do."
She lowers her head and looks up at me with an innocent gaze. "As you wish."
"The timing in the link and whip needs improvement. We need to synchronize more precisely, become one." Which means I have to open myself up to her. We need to understand each other without either of us saying a word.
What was always natural for Aurora and me is now my biggest obstacle.
Alice claps her hands enthusiastically. "Then let's start slowly and without music, okay?"
"Right." I position myself in the center of the dance floor. She is immediately beside me, and a split second later, everything feels wrong again.
