Dancing In His Arms

Chapter 9

"Dance with me" she says, slightly panting from what they just did.

"What? We just danced, you want to go again?" He asks confused and just likes to hear her talk more.

"No I- *laughs a little* I mean be my dance partner. I need a partner for the big dance competition everyone is talking about. You are the only person I have found here that is actually decent enough-"

"Thanks" he interrupts sarcastically

"- that can possibly help me win the competition and scholarship I need. Please, I need you to be my partner, you're my only hope to do this."

She waits as he processes her words.

She needs him he thought. Wow, the girl who has captured his mind the past week needs him and he holds all the cards.

"What would this entail? What would I have to do, and what do I get out of this?"

His seriousness and actual interest made her pause for a moment. She wasn't thinking it could be that easy. Then again he did ask what he gets out of it.

"Entail? Um well we would have to see how good you are, how much you know and work on your technique." She rambles off thinking out loud. "Then we have to learn different dance routines, new ones for each round we win and move up, if we do, which I assume we will if we go by how good we were at the bar slightly drunk to begin with and the tango we just did. Ummm" she taps her chin thoughtfully thinking of what else there is to it, which Luke finds positively adorable as she does so. "Hmm, what do you get out of this, what do you get, hmmm......" she looks up remembering that he is there "well what is it exactly you want out of this?" She asks now intrigued on what his answer could be.

Dear lord don't want me to be some sex slave, that's just weird and the way he looks in that suit I just might say yes. She thought looking at him waiting his response.

"What do I want?" He asks, now realizing he hadn't thought about it yet. "I don't know...yet. But I'm sure you must know of something. What's the prize for the thing again? money? fame? I never paid attention to the commercials on TV."

"The winning couple gets a full scholarship to Nevada Performing Arts Center. The best dance school in the state. As well as $500,000. You can have $400,000 no arguments and take the scholarship if you are interested in going to the school too. I don't know if you are that into dance but I am and that scholarship is what I'm after. I would give you all the money, but I do have human needs and bills to pay through college to survive."

Luke processes this information. As much as the winning prize of 400 thousand dollars is, it's not really that much to him since his father is loaded. The dance scholarship though. That does sound interesting. Could this be his calling? What he wants to do? After all those years spending his summers at grandma and grandpas, where they taught him to dance and cook, could he put it to use?

He looks back at her expectant and nervous face, yet sees the hope in her eyes for him to say yes. Hope he wants to keep there and be the reason why.

Could he do this? Enter a competition of something his father despises since his mother passed away.

He looks to the bar where his father is happily chatting away unaware of his sons inner turmoil. Luke could just not tell his father until circumstances make it so he is forced to. Oh what fun it would be to rub it in his fathers face to not only drop out of the business courses but to take up dance ones at a dance school where it's surely beyond his fathers reach of control like the rest of his life has been.

Rubbing his slightly stubbled jaw, turning his attention back to a now desperate looking Aria he cautiously asks "Say I accept the scholarship too... would we stay partners or would you- I mean we get new partners?"

A look of pure excitement comes across her face at the possibility that he accepts their deal.

"NO! No, I mean we ha, um, we can stay partners if you want to join the school with me. It makes it easier and if we end up winning that means that we work well together so it shouldn't be a problem. So is that a yes?" She asks hopefully.

Luke thinks about it but remembers something important from all those dance shows his mother used to watch when he was a kid. He asks with the utmost seriousness "Will I have to wear crazy costumes?"

Aria wasn't expecting such a question. His serious face makes it so funny she couldn't help but bust out laughing.

Luke waits for her to be done to respond.

"No." She says with a smile trying not to laugh again. "No you most likely won't have to 'wear a crazy costume'. The most exposed you will probably be is shirtless."

"Want to see if I have abs?" He teased

"No." She rolled her eyes at his male ego "Some dances look better without shirts or if a shirt is opened. I don't make the rules. If I did I wouldn't be out there with sequins barely covering my intimates."

Oh that was a sight he most definitely wanted to see.

"What kind of dances would we be doing?" He asks liking this arrangement knowing all the time he would be spending with her practicing and touching her beautiful body.

"Ballroom stuff. Ya know Tango, Cha Cha, paso doble, salsa, etc." she lists off handedly

"And time to practice?" He drills

"Well, we will have to compare our class schedules to find out when we both are free and for long enough periods of time and our synergy to each other when dancing, but I'm positive we can make this work." Her determination is adamant about them being dance partners is very present with her having an answer to all his questions.

He worries his lip in thought.

Dance with the most beautiful and sexy creature he has ever seen, piss his father off, make his mom and grandparents proud of his skill to dance, and possible win a scholarship to a major dance school with said girl.

He almost laughs at the fact that looking at her face if they were sitting he was sure she would be on the edge of her seat.

"I'm in."