Bold As Love

Chapter 6: Action! Is this real life? Cut!

Heather walked into the dance rehearsal studio, the "Tin Shed" as it was affectionately named. The front and side walls were lined with full-length mirrors so they could see themselves dancing while they rehearsed. The space was bare except for a few chairs up against the wall and a sound system in the corner. Naya was already there talking with Gwyneth over on the opposite side of the room. Naya was wearing athletic shorts with a tank top and a zip up hoodie. Heather stood there for a second, with her backpack slung over her shoulder as the door closed behind her. She gazed across the room looking at Naya who was bobbing her head back and letting out a carefree laugh, a huge smile on her face.

Naya's laughter resonated throughout the room. At the sound of it Heather felt a flutter in her stomach. Then it felt like someone had stretched a rubber band super tight inside her tummy and let it go, making it twist and knot. It didn't feel bad at all though. In fact it made her insides burst with warmth. It brought a smile to her face.

"HeMo!" Gwyneth excitedly called out from across the room. "Come here girlie," Gwyneth waved her arm out, beckoning the girl over.

Heather thought the smile on her face probably looked a bit dorky and took a moment to clear her throat, replacing her dorky smile with a simple, friendly one as she strode across the room. She tried to keep her focus on Gwyneth but she couldn't help but glance over at Naya. She shifted her eyes to the smiling brunette at least five times as she made her way across the room.

Gwyneth pulled Heather into a big hug. "It's been a while. How've you been? Not getting into any trouble I hope," she joked.

As Gwyneth hugged her, Heather glanced over at Naya, first to her brown eyes then down to her lips and back up again.

Naya's eyes quickly diverted and started darting up and down and all over the room, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. She became incredibly conscious of her hands and didn't know what to do with them as they involuntarily did a nervous little dance around her hips. She finally settled her footing for a second and then decided to swiftly turn around to where her bag was on the floor against the wall, kneeling in front of it to get her water bottle.

When Gwyneth let go of the hug, Heather placed her hands in her hoodie pockets and smiled back at her. "Good. Ya know, working a lot." Heather was surprised at how unsettled her voice sounded, like she had pop rocks in her throat or something. And her arms started feeling tingly.

"Yeah, this week is gonna be loads of fun with the three of us," Gwenyth turned slightly to give Naya a warm smile before turning back to Heather. "You two are in for quite a storyline."

Both Heather and Naya's eyes shot towards each other, connecting with what felt like an awkwardly tight string that filled the space between them. After a brief moment, both girls quickly broke eye contact. Naya whipped her head back to look down into her bag and Heather cleared her throat once again while trying to mask her sudden nervousness with a smile as she continued some small talk with Gwyneth.

Naya was looking down into her bag at nothing in particular. She chugged about half of her water bottle trying to calm herself down. When that didn't work she took a few small breaths to try and regain her composure. She shut her eyes for a moment trying to center herself.

Okay. Come on, you can do this. You just gotta make it through this week without being an emotional wreck or making a complete fool of yourself with those googly eyes you just had when Heather walked in. Just one day at a time. Calm down. Breathe. She took a few steady breaths and felt some of her frenetic energy dissipate. You're here to do a job. So do your job, stay focused and you can worry about how screwed over your feelings are later.

Naya zipped up her bag and slowly stood up to join Gwyneth and Heather's conversation, masking all her feelings with a friendly enough smile.

"Hello ladies!" Zach's voice boomed from across the room as he walked in and made his way over to the girls.