Dance with Me [h.s] (Completed)

Chapter 8

On Tuesday, the day after my dance lesson with Harry, I meet Carmen for lunch. We go to a little cafe near her place in the Lower Eastside. We sit outside on the patio enjoying the summer weather.

"So, what's new?" she asks me as she takes a bite of her food.

"Well, Zayn and I are competing in a dance competition this Saturday."

"What?! Where? I want to come!"

"It's in Jersey. I can get you a ticket if you really want to come," I say, sipping my water.

"Of course I want to come! Are you kidding?! I'll be cheering so loudly. People cheer at those things, right?" she asks to confirm.

"Yes, my brothers are usually the loudest ones there."

"Brothers? As in more than one? Are they hot like you?" she asks leaning across the table toward me.

I laugh at her bluntness, always being real with me.

"I have three older brothers. You can meet them on Saturday, although one has a girlfriend," I answer her. "Oh, and Niall asked about you yesterday."

"Really?! He was super cute! Do you think he'll come on Saturday too?"

"Yes, he'll definitely be there."

"Ooohh," she squeals in excitement. "Are you and Zayn all ready to compete? I can't imagine anyone being better dancers than you two. You were incredible!"

"Yeah, I'm feeling pretty good. I think we have our routines down and just hope we get judges that like us. That's all we can hope for."

"How long have you been competing?"

"Since I was ten."

"Always with Zayn?"

I nod at her.

"How did you know the Cha Cha?" I ask her, remembering how she tricked me into finding out if I was a ballroom dancer.

"I took a few classes with an ex-boyfriend. We had no chemistry though so I dropped the classes and him."

"You were good. You should do it again," I encourage her.

"Do you want to teach me?"

I'm just about to say that I don't teach adults when Harry's face flashes in my mind. And then it's like a replay reel, showing me how fluidly and gracefully he can move across a dance floor.

"I'd love to," I say when I refocus. "Hey, have you ever seen Harry dance?"

"No," she says laughing, "Why?"

"I just heard he used to be a dancer."

"Harry did?! I don't think so," she chuckles again at the mere idea of it.

"What's his last name? Maybe I've heard of him before."

"It's Smith. Harry Smith."

I think back to seeing Harry wearing rings one time with an H and S on them and now I'm guessing those were his initials. Smith sounds like such a fake last name for him. It doesn't suit him at all.

Carmen gets a text message and sighs deeply after reading it.

"What's up?" I ask.

"My landlord just told me I have to move out. They're doing renovations on the building."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it totally blows. Now I have to find a new place."

"Carmen!"