Unexpected Connection (Sequel to Imperfect Attraction) (EXCERPT)

Chapter One

MELANIE

August 27, 2022, will go down in history as the first time, but definitely not the last, Dream Chasers performed at Madison Square Garden. It's like a dream come true for me, Kaylee, Erin, and Ava. Finally, we're one step closer to the dream we've been chasing. No pun intended. We're hastily changing costumes after what the audience thinks was our last song of the night. Little do they know, we're about to pop up for more.

I'm dressed in a black leather leotard with white trim around the neck, arms, and legs. My hair is in its natural kinky curls. The extensions from last night have been removed. Half of my hair is pulled up into a bouncy ponytail. The rest is hanging freely. My rich brown skin glistens with sweat. My chest rapidly rises and falls. To my left, Kaylee's pale golden skin is nearly glowing from all the sweat that our crew is hurriedly wiping off her. She's dressed in black leather pants with white strips on the sides of the legs and a black leather bikini top with white straps. Her hair is in its natural curls as well. The texture is finer than mine because she's biracial. On my right, Erin is now wearing a white and black checkered leotard with peek-a-boo sides. Her nearly bleach blonde hair is in waves and parted in the middle to curtain her oval shaped face filled with European features including ice blue eyes. On her right is the last member of our group, Ava. Ava is showing off her curves in a black strapless leather top and black leather leotard shorts. Her sculpted abs are on full display. Her brunette hair is still hidden beneath the honey blonde beach wave wig she's wearing.

"Let's do it one more time," Erin encourages as we each crawl into our individual pop-up stalls.

"La, la, la-la, la, la, la-la, la, la, la-la, la, la," plays from the speakers. The audience loudly cheers as Erin is thrust onto the stage in her stall. The line repeats. This time Ava is jolted up. After the third time it plays, Kaylee is popped up. I'm the last one to make it onto the stage. The audience is still cheering. 'Free' is a song on our new album that was released on June 27th, but it's not a single. At least it's not a single yet. This performance is its debut.

Kaylee lifts her personalized microphone to her mouth and extends her right arm. "Once upon a time. I promise this story is true. I was a young and silly woman. I was stuck on this one dude." As she sings the words in a low octave, she performs a simplified version of the choreography she does solo in the music video. The music video hasn't premiered yet, but the fans will love it. It's kind of dark-themed like the music video from our most popular single off our second album 'Bow Down'. Each of us has a scene where we dance alone. There are fire and brick walls and an overall badass theme.

"I would do anything for that man. Let him break my heart in three! But now I know much better. Now I'm finally free. And I feel like." Kaylee finishes singing her verse as our background vocals sing the la, la lines.

Ava jumps out of her stall as our dancers come onto the stage. "He had no time for romancing. He couldn't care about the truth. Whenever we would go dancing. He would always act a fool. Finally, I opened my eyes. And I saw he was no good. He begged me for another chance. But there was nothing he could do. And I feel like..." Once again our background vocals sing the la, la lines as we move into our positions for the chorus.

We stand with our feet shoulder-width apart. "He used to cage me, but now I'm free." We slowly roll back our left shoulders. "Can't tame. Now I know who I should be." Our heads roll from shoulder to shoulder. "He caged me, but now I'm free." We turn our faces to the right and lift our right hands with the palm facing us. We take three large and slow steps to the right. "And the lesson is learned. The girl you knew is long, long gone." The music picks up tempo as we sing the lines of the chorus again. We bend our knees and lean forward while slinging our right arms in front of us and then behind us. Meanwhile, our legs are moving in a subtle flapping motion. We double roll our left shoulders before leaning forward with our left legs lifted behind us and our left arm crossed over our chests. We fall back onto our left legs and lift our right legs. We stomp twice to the right then swing our bodies to the left. We're in a line facing the left of the stage. We take steps back as we pop our booties in time to the music. Dramatically we arch our backs and move into a straight stand. As we sing the last line, we all strike poses. Erin drops into a squat. I turn my back to the audience and look over my shoulder. Ava places her arm on my right shoulder and crosses her legs. Kaylee rests her chin on her hand while looking up at an angle.