Genevieve's POV
Day three of rehearsal is going dood so far. At this point we've gotten through the whole song and we're refining and polishing. Madonna has been acting strange though. She seems really excited and no one seems to know why.
"Alright everybody in their places. I want to see the dip again. Remember she should be able to see her entire face in the mirror."
I press play and watch them closely. Everything looks good except the stunts. They're having trouble visualizing them without the stage. They told us it would only be a day of building but they lied. At least we were able to get their costumes and props today. There are a lot of scenes where she takes things from them or they hand her something. Props are always hard in dances. One fumble and the prop is useless.
"Drop the watch again and I'll glue it to your hands!" I stop the music and start over. "I don't care if all you're doing is swaying, make it intentional. More intensity!" They're performance is missing something and I really think its just the stage. I stop the music and decide to call it. "Thats it for today. We will pick this up on Monday. Monday we should have our stage and we will be correcting every mistake. We will not be going onto the set without this finalized." I return to my corner and write my notes as they all pack up. The dancers file out but Madonna stays, walking up to me.
"You alright?"
"Yea, I just want all of this to come together. We really need them to finish the stage."
"Don't let it stress you out, Girly Pop. It'll work out." She oats my shoulder but I don't look up from my notebook. She eventually walks away, leaving me alone in the room. "You should stay here for a while and clear your head." She smiles giving me a wink from the door before it closes behind her. I turn half the lights off and pull out my Purple Rain CD. The space is technically still mine for another hour so I might as well do some practicing. I lay in the middle of the floor and just listen to the album, giving myself a chance to get into the right headspace. Once the CD has played once I get up and work through my routines. I know this isn't how it'll sound live but it'll help me remember all the words and different parts of the songs.
I play the CD on loop practicing everything I can think of. After the third time, I stop the CD to breathe. I close my eyes and put my hands on top of my head. The door opens behind me. Probably just one of the dancers that forgot a water bottle or something. I continue to just stand and breathe waiting for them to find whatever they're looking for and go. I hear some shuffling and the sound of crumpled paper. I open my eyes to see what they're doing and gasp. I immediately turn to face him hoping that what I saw in the mirror was true.
"Surprise." Prince smiles sitting on a stray bench we had been using to practice.
"What're you doing here?"
"I had them put me on an earlier flight. I knew rehearsal didn't end until 4 but there weren't any cars outside. I asked the front desk if you were still here and they said you were so I just walked back." He walks up to me as he speaks smirking a little looking down at the flowers in his hands. When he finally stops in front of me he looks at me with a warm smile. He offers me the flowers and I take them bringing them to my nose. Roses. I smile looking down at the soft pink roses surrounded by baby's breath and greenery. "Come on. Lets get out of here."
I grab my things and hold his hand as we walk out to the parking lot. He leads me to his rental and we climb inside. I smile down at my bouquet as he drives us to the hotel. The pink is so soft like the blushing cheeks of baby. The tiny white and pink flowers of the baby's breath complement them well. The arrangement is wrapped in a mid-toned grey paper with a silver-lined dark grey ribbon holding it together. Its so beautiful. The colors, the flowers, the bow, its so simple and elegantly beautiful.
"I love flowers." I smile touching the velvety petals. "Thank you."
"I'll have to buy them for you more often." He smiles glancing over at me.
"Did you pick these colors?"
"I picked the flowers but they picked the paper and the ribbon."
"I love the way they look together."
"I thought you might." He turns into the parking lot and we make our way inside. We take the elevator to my floor and I lead him down the hallway. I open the door and let him walk in passed me.
"I'm gonna take a shower. When I get out do you want to watch a movie?"
"Sure."
"Okay. You pick a movie while I shower and think about what you want to eat too."
I walk into the bathroom and close the door. I peel off today's spandex and turn on the water while I prepare everything else. I take my hair out of its pineapple and massage my scalp to loosen it. I grab a towel and a set it on the closed toilet seat before stepping into the shower. The hot water feels good on my sore shoulders and legs. I just let it run over me for a long while. I tilt my head back letting my hair absorb the water. I don't wash my hair everyday but I do try to water it everyday. It keeps my hair soft and moisturized. I wash my body until I feel clean and step out, turning off the water. I grab my awaiting towel and pat my skin dry before applying generous amounts of lotion to my body. I wrap myself and my hair in a towel and walk out into the room. Standing at the dresser, I grab shorts and a t-shirt. Its been too hot in LA to sleep in much else. I begin to drop my towel but I catch him watching me in the mirror. I bite my lip as our eyes meet, gripping my towel tighter.
"I'm not going to look away."
"I wasn't going to ask you to." I let my hair down first. The towel had absorbed mist of the excess water and my hair has formed a tight ball on my head. Then, I let my towel fall to the floor. He watches as the fabric of my shirt covers my upper body. A smirk forms on his lips as i pick up my shorts. I bend over, stepping into my shorts and I can hear him groaning behind me. I pull the fabric up my body stopping at my hips then try to do something with my hair. I pick it out smiling as I admire its height. I part my hair down the middle and braid each section to my scalp to keep it out if my way. When I turn around he's still looking at me as if I were naked.
"Bring your fine ass over here." I make my way to the bed and lay beside him the way I always do. His hand finds the small of my back. The warmth pulsing through me. I can see the hunger in his eyes. I reach out and touch his face, letting my thumb graze his cheek. I didn't know I was leaning in until our lips touch. Softly at first but it quickly became something sensual.
"Mmm, I missed you. Did you miss me, baby?" He moans softly against my lips. I nod kissing him again, needing to feel his lips on mine. Three days was a long time to be without him. I crave his touch when he's away. No man has ever made me feel like this and I don't think another man will. Being close to him is the way I want to start and end everyday. He is both my morning coffee and my sweetest lullaby. Kissing him takes my breath away and leaves me floating on air. I pull away feeling a sense of euphoria take over my body as I revel in his presence.
"If you keep kissing me like this we'll never watch the movie and we'll both starve."
"We can eat later. Room service closes at 10."
"No, I had a bad day and I'm hungry."
"What made it a bad day?"
"Yesterday they learned the last half of the dance. Today we worked on smoothing out the transitions but they didn't finish the stage so it doesn't look right and they keep getting confused trying to picture the stairs."
"I thought they said it would be done yesterday."
"They did but they lied. At this point we might not even get to practice with them. I just really want this to come together."
"It will, mama. You've still got time." I put my head on his shoulder and we settle in for the movie.
"What'd you pick?"
"Footloose."
"Isn't that a dance movie?"
"Yea, have you seen it." I shake my head. "Me either but, I've heard it was good."
"What about food?"
"You had a bad day. Why don't you pick?" I think for a moment and try to decide. Last time we were here we ate out the whole week. Nothing but upscale restaurants and fancy dinner parties. I wouldn't even know where to begin.
"You pick just make sure its good."