Ryder the Love Expert | Protector 2.1

Chapter 13

French is spoken in here, but don't translate them online. I'll put the translations in the author's note to save you time. cx

Chapter 13

       "That's....a lot of people," Mae said as she stared in the audience. "It's full."

       "It's not that bad," I offered. "Besides, you won't be dancing alone. You'll be dancing with me."

       Mae nodded and moved away from the curtain. "I'm still afraid. What if I mess up? What if I time something wrong? What if I forget the choreo? What if...."

       "Hey," I interrupted, resting my hand gently on her cheek. "You won't mess up. You have never messed up in rehearsal before, so there's no way you'll mess up now." I leaned down and pressed my lips on hers in a short kiss. "You'll do great."

       Mae gave me a faint smile before giving me a hug. Nerves were normal on a dancer. Even if you were an experienced dancer who loved performing, the nerves came. Even I was feeling a bit nervous but I knew that as soon as I got on stage and the music started, it would be great.

       It wasn't long before the duet competition began. All dance studios in a specific area were here to participate. All the ones here were going to participate in the regional competition, so we could check out to see what the other studios were like.

       Normally, the studios liked picking the two strongest dancers for duets. I, personally, think it was better to pick two people with the strongest chemistry instead of abilities. Solos, on the other hand, was when you wanted the strongest dancer.

       Lilith walked up to us while the host was talking to the audience. "Are you two prepared?" she asked.

       "Yeah, definitely," I said. "We're a bit nervous, though."

       "You don't seem nervous," Mae said.

      "Trust me, Ryder's really good at masking his nerves," Lilith said. "For the solo competition last year, he didn't look nervous at all, but he told me he was close to having a meltdown. You two shouldn't be worried, though. For the last two weeks, the dance has been amazing. I've never seen so much chemistry between two dancers."

       "That's because we're dating," I said.

       "Oh," Lilith said. "That makes sense considering you two won't stop talking to each other. In the middle of rehearsal. And while I'm talking." She sighed and shook her head. "Well, it looks like the first duet is on, so we should watch."

       I had to admit, I was getting a bit more nervous watching the duets perform. A lot of them were great, and I was really hoping we would place.

       My nervousness raised even higher when our biggest rival studio, Nonpareil, did their duet. It was amazing. The dance was amazing.

       It was official.

       They beat us.

       When they finished and the audience applauded, with a standing ovation, I said, "That. Was. Insane."

       "Now I'm even more nervous," Mae said. "We can't top that."

       "You don't have to," Lilith said. "You just have to place for us to be allowed to go to the regional competition. But I have so much faith in you topping that. Yes, it was amazing, but I know you two have more chemistry than they do. They just picked the best dancers."

       "True," I said before looking at Mae. "We can do this."

       Mae nodded, but she still looked unsure. "Yeah."