On That Midnight Street | Joanne

Chapter Eight

"Jump, kick, 5,6,7,8!" Dianne shouted as she and Joe went through the routine for what felt like the millionth time.

"Good! Run, run, run run! Turn-" Dianne stopped still. "Wrong foot!"

"Sorry. Sorry. Can we take a break?" Joe asked, looking desperate.

Dianne sighed and walked away. "OK. Ten minutes. Get your head on straight, Joe. This was perfect yesterday and now it's falling to shit. Regroup, have a drink and focus."

Joe nodded and walked over to his bag to grab his water.

Dianne walked to the door and turned. "I'm going for a wee. I'll be back in a minute."

Dianne entered the bathroom and closed the door. Taking a deep breath, she shook her arms and legs down. She was being too harsh on Joe, she knew she was. She was exhausted as well, and she was pushing him far harder than she usually would for week 2. But Joe was made of strong stuff, and this routine could be amazing.

She had caused a few mistakes herself over the course of their late-night training session. A few mis-steps here and there and definitely at least once she had turned the wrong way. It was her own fault; ever since their chat in the hotel room, all she could think about was him. Him and his stupid long, attractive neck. And his blue eyes. And his ridiculous floppy hair. And those lips. And...

"Jesus. Get a grip, woman." Dianne muttered to herself.

She was single for the first time in months. The sensible thing to do would be to go out and enjoy single life. But the timing wasn't right for that, and she was spending all of her time around a really attractive man. She had vowed not to let herself fall too hard and get hurt again, but he was there and he was pretty great.

///

Back in the studio, Joe ran through the routine by himself. He wanted it to be perfect. It was much more complicated than last week, and the technical steps he had to learn had thrown him a little.

But he was determined to get this right. For her. For Dianne.

"Very impressive" she congratulated him as he finished the routine. "OK. Let's run through it once or twice more and, if it's good, we'll call it a night".

Joe brushed his sweaty hair off his forehead and got back into his starting position.

"5, 6, 7, 8!"

The routine ran perfectly. No mistakes, no stumbles, nothing.

As the song ended, Joe pulled Dianne up and into his arms. Spinning her around the room, she could feel how excited he was.

"That was SO good! Oh my god, I feel amazing!"

Dianne smiled softly as Joe stopped spinning and caught her gaze.

"You were amazing" she said quietly. "You are amazing."

For a moment, silence fell between them.

Reaching out, Dianne let her hand wander to Joe's neck. His hand caressed the side of her jaw and his eyes met hers before fluttering to a close.

Leaning closer, she brushed her lips over his. Feeling him return the kiss with more pressure, she leaned into his body.

Pulling apart, Dianne pressed her forehead against Joe's and slowly opened her eyes.

"That was... nice" he said, his voice gravelly and quiet.

Dianne nodded. "Yeah. It was."

The room fell silent, Joe's hand found hers.