5 minutes till showtime. My heart pounds thinking about my rumba with Bethany tonight.
If we perform with as much passion as we did the past few runs, we're sure to do amazing.
I glance at Beth, who is sitting on one of the lovely red couches on the balcony talking with Janel. I smile, thinking about how beautiful she looks tonight. She catches my eye and smiles at me. I grin even wider.
Damn did I get lucky this year.
Suddenly Bethany shoots up from her seat and skips over to me.
"So remember that haunted house we were talking about going to with Janel, Val, Mark, and Sadie?"
A laugh escapes my mouth at how excited she is. I also seem to notice that her hands are on my forearm that is resting on the balcony railing. "Yes, I remember."
"Well Janel told me they officially got tickets, so we're going!!" Her eyes are wide and she opens her mouth in excitement.
"Yay..." I say, trying not to laugh.
She rolls her eyes. "Oh come on, Derek! You're excited. I see right through you."
"Oh do you?" I remark, stepping closer to her without thinking.
"Yes." She looks up at me with those big brown eyes and our gaze locks for a moment before we are distracted by the famous Dancing With the Stars theme song. The show is starting.
----
"And after our break we are joined with Bethany and Derek and their very beautiful and passionate rumbaaaa, stay tuned." Tom Burgeron's voice echoes through the theater as Beth and I wave for the camera that will send the audience to a brief commercial break. When the camera man indicates that the shot is over, I turn to Beth.
"You ready?"
She grins. "Hell yeah, I am."
A smile spreads across my face. "Good. Just like we practiced. Let's kill it!"
I lift my hands and she slaps them, high-fiving me before we walk down the stairs to the dance floor.
We wait for the cue to start, taking a moment to breathe and get into character. This character is easy though, since a boy who has feelings for the girl he's dancing with isn't something I have to think too much about. It's already pretty accurate.
I glance over at Beth who has her eyes closed, with her head up, getting into the zone. I wonder if she thinks about me while she dances the way I think about her.
The lights dim and I hear Tom's voice announce mine and Beth's names. The music starts and our dance begins.
I think of the steps, obviously, but I mostly think about her. Every time we touch, I feel a rush. That sounds cheesy, but somehow it's true. We come together towards the middle of the dance and pause for a second, locking eyecontact. I feel my heart race as she gives me a small smile.
We move on through the rest of the dance, and by the time we reach our last pose, with our bodies pressed together and my hands on her cheeks, I feel the adrenaline and chemistry between us at an incredible high. I momentarily have the urge to kiss her again, but brush the thought aside when I remember we're on live tv.
The audience errupts in applause and Bethany and I look at each other, grinning from ear to ear. I pull her into a hug and kiss her temple without thinking. That felt amazing. I'm sure we did well. We nailed it, as far as I know, and the emotion and chemistry was most definitely there.
Grabbing each other's hands, we walk over to the judges.
"What a passionate and silky smooth performance!" Bruno proclaims, with his Italian accent, standing up and using his arms to gesture grandly, as per usual. "Your emotion and chemistry was perfect. You became a woman tonight, darling." He looks at Bethany and winks. The audience yells and cheers, and I squeeze Beth's hand. I'm so proud of her.
Carrie Ann raises her arms. "All hail to you, Miss Mota, that was incredible!" The audience screams and Beth covers her face with her hands. I laugh, throwing my arm around her shoulder and shaking her in congratulations. "The dancing was there, the character was there, the chemistry between you two... the CHEMISTRY, was... wow. I don't know what... happened between last week's performance and this week's but your chemistry level just went OFF THE CHARTS!" The audience cuts her off with cheers and applause and I try my best to hide my grin. I know what happened, Carrie Ann.
Beth glances up at me and we share a small smile. Wow.
"Very well done, Bethany. And very nice choreography Derek... very beautiful." We mouth 'thank you' as the audience once again screams behind us.
Len's turn. Oh boy. He looks at us with intense eyes and I prepare for his harsh British-accented criticism. "The rumba is a very hard, and incredibly passionate and romantic dance. It takes true maturity and true... honesty to be performed well..." The audience is silence waiting to see what he will say next. I feel Bethany tense up next to me. Len smiles. "...and you nailed it, young lady."
Bethany turns to me, with her mouth slightly dropped. I can't believe we got... positive feedback from Len. She throws her arms around my neck and I hug her back.
"Very well done." Len finishes, smiling. I thank him, grinning from ear to ear. I can't believe this.
"Well, Julianne, we're going to skip you in the interest of time..." Tom says, putting his arm around Bethany. I glance at my sister at the judges' table, who winks at me and gives me a thumbs up and a proud smile. "We're gonna send these two lovely people up to get their scores. Great job." Tom gestures for us to head to the stairs, and we shuffle over, hustling to Erin Andrews, who is waiting to quickly interview us before scores.
"Wow! Bethany and Derek, that was incredible! How did it feel?" Erin asks as Beth and I reach her. She puts the mic in front of Bethany, who breathes heavily after the dance and the hustle up the stairs.
"It felt amazing," Bethany exclaims. "I was a hard dance but it became very... natural, so it was a lot of fun to just... get into and really feel. I had a lot of fun."
"Very nice, very nice," Erin says. "Now, Derek, Carrie Ann commented on your chemistry. Did you... feel that, or..?"
My heart starts beating. Watch what you say, Derek! "Yeah, I definitely think we had good chemistry. I had told Beth that this dance requires a lot of chemistry and passion and she was able to really focus on that I think. She did well listening to my instructions," I chuckle to hide the incredible awkwardness I am feeling right now. "I'm really proud of her."
I tighten my grip around Bethany's waist and she leans her head on my shoulder, grinning.
"Sweet," Erin cooes. "Well let's get your scores."
Bethany and I turn our attention to a screen that will show our scores.
"Carrie Ann Inaba" "10!" My eyes go wide as I take in the '10' score sign that Carrie Ann raised. I look at Beth who is covering her mouth in excitement.
"Len Goodman" He grins as he lifts his sign. "10." The crowd roars. Oh my God.
"Julianne Hough" "Tennnnn," my sister says, smiling wide. The audience yells loud. I grab Bethany's hand and squeeze it.
"Bruno Tonioli" "Gorgeous: TEN!" The crowd erupts in cheers and Bethany screams, turning to me. We make eye-contact and pull each other into a tight hug.
I'm so overwhelmed. A perfect score. I'm so damn proud of this girl.
"You're amazing, Beth! I couldn't be prouder," I say into her ear.
She continues to squeeze me in a tight hug. "Thank you, Derek! Ahhh, I'm so happy!"
We pull away from the hug and Erin speaks. "Wow, congratulations, guys! Your first perfect score of the season; how does it feel??"
She puts the mic in front of Bethany, who is beaming with joy. "It's amazing. I feel like I'm on such a high right now," Beth giggles. "I couldn't have asked for a better partner." She glances at me and smiles warmly. That smile...
"Derek?" Erin asks, offering me the mic.
"Ditto.." I say, with a huge grin, leaning over and kissing Bethany on top of the head.
I pause for a second, realizing that I just kissed her, but it was only on the head. Mark does that to Sadie all the time. Other partners do that all the time. It's fine. Right...?
"Well these two did get a perfect score, but they're gonna need your votes to help them stay in the competition so vote away. Tom..?" Erin sends the attention back to Tom who sends the audience on a commercial break.
The other dancers run towards us, congratulating us and hugging Bethany. She looks so happy, and to be honest, I am incredibly happy as well. Seeing her so proud of herself makes me feel amazing. We make eye-contact and grin at each other.
I watch as Bethany receives her praise, and can't stop thinking of how proud I am of her. The only thought that tops that one is how much I want to kiss her again.