Dance, Sing, Love. Book 1 (english)

Chapter 1

Half of the girls on my team were big fans of James, so upon hearing the news, the cries of excitement were endless. I was the only one who reacted normally. Of course I'd heard of him. The media constantly raved about him, and you could find some record of him in almost every newspaper, every day of the week. He was 26, and began his career early as a teenager. He was discovered during a school talent contest. After recording a demo, his career gained momentum, and within a few years, he became a star. I'm not crazy about his music. I liked maybe a few of his songs, but that's about it. I preferred rock music over anything else.

One Monday morning, while in Rome, Italy, I was getting ready to leave the hotel and go explore the city. I was staying in a five-star hotel in the heart of the city. I had to admit James was fast. In only a span of a few days, Alexis had signed the contract with him and the agreement was sealed. Well, I wasn't that surprised that it had happened so quickly. Soon, our dance team was off to Europe for the next ten days where our first concerts would be held. The first concert was scheduled in Rome.

Training started the next day, so we had a chance to relax after a long journey and get used to the change in time zone. I gave myself a day to walk around the city, because the next morning, I knew I had to spend long hours training in rehearsals for the concert. I would have no energy to see the sites after each rehearsal, so I took advantage of my one day. The heat in Italy this time of the year was relentless as I walked around the city.

Suddenly, Kathy breathlessly bursts into the room. We two slept in the same room, even though the apartment was big enough to comfortably hold five people. She leaned against the wall, trying to catch her breath with difficulty. Earlier, she had told me she was going to talk to Miranda about our next workout, and I figured she probably ran the whole way back from her room to ours.

Her long, light brown hair fell carelessly from her ponytail, and her gray eyes sparkled with excitement and emotion. I was curious about what had gotten her so worked up emotionally.

"James just arrived, and you won't believe who will be the guest star at the first concert!" she panted, fanning herself with her hand.

She closed the door behind her and fell onto her back on the bed. After a moment, she quickly sat up again, as if she couldn't stay in one place longer than a second. She walked around the room, smiling nervously.

I sat on the bed in shorts and a T-shirt. I frowned as I watched her, smearing my sunscreen on my exposed skin. I didn't want a sunburn.

"He's not really staying at this hotel. Please. Only five-stars? Ya, right," I said, rolling my eyes. "He probably rented a villa outside the city or something."

Kathy wasn't amused by my remark.

"Fine, but that's not the most important part. At the concert, Zafir Maluf will be performing with him. You can't tell anyone. It's supposed to be a surprise for the fans." Her eyes glistened and she jumped excitedly, clapping her hands.

"Maybe just the female fans," I said, looking at her amused. "Only girls go to their concerts."

She waved her hand dismissively and continued to pace around the room. I laughed at her, as if she was a toy that someone turned on and she couldn't stop.

"Oh, Zafir!" She swooned, putting a hand on her forehead. Then looked at me in panic. "What if he won't like me? What I'm not his type?"

At that moment it hit me. Kathy had a crush on the former boyy-band member Level. Zafir was born in the UK, and his parents were probably immigrants of Egypt. I wasn't sure. They certainly belonged to the Islamic faith, even though their son and his siblings didn't follow the religion. Recently, he had turned 27 years old. He gained fame a few years ago, when he sang in the band Level, but a year ago he decided take on a solo career.