" Dayton! How many times do we have to say it, passé is here." Linnea brings her foot up to passé settled next to her knee. "Not here." She drops it down to her ankle.
"Well, Warren can only do a spin once." He points at me. Brat. "Now me on the other hand, I can do 3." He flicks imaginary hair over his shoulder.
This is probably the hardest thing I've done, basketball is a cakewalk compared to this.
Dayton, Ty, Caden, Willow, and I stand here as confused as ever but Dayton seems to get the hang of it.
"Alright let's go back to leaps!" Maeve announces.
I try my best as I run across the studio floor jumping in the air and trying to get my legs into a split but I fail miserably.
I look to see Linnea trying to hide her laugh at my treacherous leap.
I probably looked like a flying squirrel.
Everyone else's leaps look okay to pretty good and mine looks like shit. "Does anyone need help with their leaps?" Naomi questions us all and everybody points their fingers at me.
"Oh come on! They weren't that bad."
"Shore."
"Whatever you say."
"O-kayyy."
"Here I'll help you." Linnea walks over to me as everybody else continues doing their thing.
"So first let's work on your prep." She demonstrates the prep for me. She steps, takes 3 or 4 runs then bends her legs and leaps effortlessly.
Yeah, no, I can't do that.
"Sunshine, you know I can't do that!" My voice comes out a bit higher probably because I'm scared shitless.
"It's okay Warren! Just try it okay here, look I'll do it slowly with you." We both take slow runs simultaneously and then keep practicing the leaps jumping motion.
"Did I do it?" I ask her excitedly to which she keeps her mouth closed smiling brightly holding two thumbs up.
My shoulders drop slightly.
"I'm just messing with you!" She wraps her arms around my neck giving me a hug. I immediately wrap my arms around her. "They looked perfect, me and you could do a ballet duet 100%" she giggles.
"That would be fun." I smile down at her. I would actually enjoy that, being able to participate in something she loves and is so passionate about.
"Good because the guy/girl dance is at one of your games and rehearsals start in 10 minutes." Her face goes blank as she says that.
"I am assuming you already signed me up?" I'm not upset at all, I think it's funny.
"And Dayton and Tyler!" She looks up at me all innocently.
"Did you just say we're doing the guy-girl dance?" Tyler asks from across the room. Linnea nods at him and instantly Tyler and Dayton start jumping up and down screaming and laughing sarcastically.
"Very funny boys but you won't be laughing once we start practice," Naomi says seriously.
.....
Naomi was in fact not joking. I've never done cardio like this in my life.
"YOU BASKETBALL BOYS ARE PATHETIC COME ON!!! DO I NEED TO CALL YOUR COACH AND TELL HIM HOW SHITTY YOUR GUYS STAMINA IS?"
"No Ma'am!" All of us basketball boys yell as loud as we can while we're on the verge of death.
"That's what I thought!! Now pick up the pace!" We jog faster around the gym. Once we are finally done with our dance workouts we spread out in the gym alongside our partners.
Dayton and I are stuck in the VERY front because Naomi and Linnea are the captains. I just hope I don't mess up while being in the front.
We learn the 90-second combo which takes about an hour because half of us boys can't comprehend the new steps. Linnea tries her best to help me but it's a lost cause.
"How do you do this every day?" I wheeze out as we're dancing.
She shrugs. " I don't know, I just got used to it, it's very relaxing believe it or not. My favorite times are late-night contemporary classes, by myself. Obviously dancing with the team is amazing but dancing by yourself is a whole other story." She's adorable.
"I love the way your eyes just light up when you talk about the things you love." I grasp her hand as I dip her.
"What? Like when I talk about you?" She smirks. I pick her back up, pulling her close to me.
"Among other things, yes." I tilt my head slightly "But I can tell and I know how much you love this sport. When I watch you dance you get this fiery look in your eye, I love every second of it."
"You sure know how to make a girl blush." She grumbles as she looks down at the floor as we keep dancing.
I'm surprised the coach hasn't yelled at us yet for talking.
I tip her chin up slightly with my finger. "Only you, sunshine."
.......
"Good evening gophers! Tonight's halftime will be an interesting one, to say the least with not only our lovely dance team performing but along with a partner dance between our basketball players and those dancers themselves."
The sports announcer's voice booms through the stadium just after the buzzer busses indicating the first half is over.
The score is 36-40, were behind. This time I don't think we can pull this off.
"Boys, come on, find your partners." The dance coach tells us in the nicest tone I have ever heard her speak.
Probably pity talking since we're losing.
I push away my negative thoughts and think about the positives in my life. More specifically, one special girl.
I scan the crowd of dancers and basketball players and spot her laughing about something Naomi had said.
I push my way through the crowd as gently as possible.
"You ready?" I ask her with my hand held out to her. She grabs it.
"Just don't drop me on that dip." She pats my chest two times.
I give her a quick kiss. "Never," I whisper into her ear.
"Let's go! Hurry!" a few of the directors practically shove us onto the court.
Linnea and I made our way to the center of the court hand in hand. Okay, this is way more nerve-racking than I thought.
When you're playing basketball you're focused on the game and don't really pay any attention to the crowd but this is way different.
I pull my hand from hers, whipping it on the front of my jersey. Why are my hands sweaty? I'm not even playing basketball. Oh boy. Oh boy. Oh boy.
"Hey. Warren, it's okay." She rests her hand on my shoulder just before we get to our spot.
"I can't do this, this is crazy. How do you always do this? Do you ever get scared? What do you do to stop it-" She cuts me off by putting her hand over my mouth. I poke my tongue out onto her hand.
"Ew gross! Reid, listen." She has not called me Reid in a while I don't think.
She means business.
"You go this okay? Just focus on me, not the crowd. I believe in you." She nods her head.
"Okay?"
"Okay."
"Good, now let's do this."
Halfway into the dance and this is the most entertaining thing I've ever done, the most fun I've had in a while.
Plus I get to do it with my girlfriend, but most of all I get to do it with my best friend.
It's so fun having your girlfriend also be your best friend and also having your best friend be your girlfriend. If that makes sense.
I pull her back up from the dip and I admire her beauty.
Her eyes, her nose, her mouth just everything about her is beautiful.
But above all her personality, she just has that kind of personality that draws people to her.
She's extraordinary.
"Can we go to Sonic after this?" Tyler puffs out right when the song ends.
Stepping between Linnea and me resting his arms over our shoulders as we walk off the court
......
Comment here any things you want to see in these last few chapters I'm thinking 3-4 more chaps till the end!