“Oooh I’m so nervous for you,” Hazel rubbed Lee’s arm as she clung to him walking into the competition arena.
It was her first time attending one of his many competitions, it seems like something she will be doing a lot from then on. Lee competed in almost every dance competition that was held in Chestnut or other regions, sometimes even the international ones.
Lee curved his lips, he was calm and relaxed. He’s entered hundreds of competitions he was so used to it. He even comes alone, his parents didn’t accompany him anymore since he could drive a car.
But having Hazel there was a boost to his confidence, more than ever before. He walked her to the audience and found her a seat. He hated that she couldn’t come backstage with him.
“Well … wish me luck,” he said to her as they stood facing each other.
She gave him the warmest hug, her bun brushed against his face. He loved the smell of her hair, of her sweet-scented perfume that lingers on his shirt whenever they hugged.
“Good luck dimple,” she said sweetly and touched his cheek.
It made him laugh and something pulled him to give a peck on her forehead, his lucky charm, the person he danced to ever since they first met. He found himself giving his ultimate best whenever she’s around.
“You’ll be okay by yourself?” he made sure.
“I’m fine … go ahead … do your last-minute practice with Mischa, I’ll be right here.”
“Okay … I’ll see you later,” he kissed her on the cheek.
He ran backstage and was caught up with Sam at the doorway.
“Hey Champ … are you ready for it?” she greeted him and looped her arm around his waist.
“Hey … yeah … ready as I’ll ever be,” he hung his arm on her shoulders and walked on.
“That’s the spirit, you got this Lee, I’m sure of it … by the way … have you kissed her yet?” she was being cheeky.
“What?” he laughed lightly.
“You guys look so cute together, have you kissed her yet?”
He blushed, his dimple was deep in his cheeks, “No … she’s my best friend, that’ll be awkward.”
Sam pressed his cheeks together with her hand, “She is not just a friend … anyone can see that … what’s wrong with you? Do you need advice? I’ll take you step by step.”
He felt cornered. Sam was like a big sister to him who knew everything about him. He couldn’t hide anything from her.
He had been wanting to kiss her for some time, God knows how badly he wanted to do that. He stopped at his feet and faced Sam, “What if she doesn’t like me like that?”
“Awww … you’re so cute … what if she does? What are you waiting for? Some other guy to sweep her off her feet?” she rested her hands on her waist.
The thought of that had crossed his mind too, he pressed his lips together. “Should I tell her?” he hesitated.
“Yes! Yes you should tell her … what are you going to tell her?”
That she was always on his mind, no matter what he did he couldn’t stop thinking about her. That he wanted to be with her all the time. That he had played it a thousand times in his head how he was going to kiss her. That he wanted more to be just her ‘best friend’ and that he didn’t want any other guy to be close to her.
“You know … that I like her,” he said.
Sam giggled, “You make me miss being a teenager, you know that? Yes you should tell her how you feel … that’s the first step, … but now … you better get your ass ready for the stage,” she slapped his butt and told him to find Mischa.
**********
The crowds went crazy when they announced his name, and then quiet when the lights were slowly dimmed. He was quite famous within the dancing community, almost like a celebrity dancer in the teenagers league. To be his dancing partner was an accomplishment.
He emerged from the darker side of the stage to the spotlight. The moment he took a step on the stage he was a totally different person. He was shirtless and barefoot with only a skin-colored legging tight around his legs. They styled his hair in a wet look that made strands of his long black hair fall on the sides of his face. His face and body were polished with makeup. His expression stern, his stare was deep and far, he was in character and the music started to play.
The sight of him took her breath away. She had never seen him in that light before. Every curve of his muscles was vivid, he looks almost nude and his beautiful body was moving gracefully yet firm with the music. Mischa came from behind him with a matching color costume, the minute she entered it was clear that she was an equal partner for him on that platform. And when they locked eyes, there was an invisible explosion, a glimpse of how strong their connection was in that relationship.
Hazel had missed many of their rehearsals prior to that night. The transformation was astonishing, if she thought they looked like lovers on the first time they rehearsed the dance, that night they were making love on that stage, undressing each other with their eyes, and erupted in a cosmic orgasm through the art of dancing. It gave her goosebumps.
Mischa’s fingers dug into his hair and tugged them back and forth. His hand slid down from her chest to her stomach down to her crotch. There was nothing sexual about it, but it was very sexy. The way he carried her with his strong arms as if she was weightless, and how she wrapped herself around him like she was his. Hazel let out a long exhale and a faint smile.
She heard people talking around her. It was a winning performance, everyone was sure of it. She was sure of it too, she had never seen anything as beautiful as that. And at the end of their performance, in their breathlessness and dripping sweat, they bow to the audience and got a standing ovation.
He couldn’t find her in the midst of the crowd in the dark, but he was searching for her. She saw his wide smile, those irresistible dimples were even visible from where she stood. He looked so happy and satisfied with how he did. Their arms were around each other’s waist, they bowed down a few more times before Mischa finally turned to kiss him on the lips. The crowds went wild. “I knew they were a real couple … it wouldn’t be that convincing if they’re not.” Hazel heard one of the visitors said.
She was stunned by it, she didn’t realize they were already together. Lee had never said anything, why wouldn’t he tell her about it? She was clapping her hands but her thoughts were scattered all over the place. The kiss lingered. When they broke away, Lee was staring at Mischa in the eyes as she blushed away from his gaze. Hazel was confused. Why would Lee hide something like that from her? She thought he was her best friend.
Their performance was the closing of all the categories. Even so, the wait for the winner announcement felt like ages. When all the performers finally sat down on the stage waiting to be called, Hazel was exhausted from thinking about that kiss.
Mischa was holding Lee’s hand and leaned her head on his shoulder, her face was glowing with anticipation. Of course, they won it by a landslide. They’ve won the competition from the moment they stepped on that stage, their performance was close to perfect. They took the medal, the plaque, the prize, and the flowers. One more achievement to put up on display at the dance studio. Another bump on his social media followers that had reached the 30 thousand mark on Tik Tok. He was having a moment.
A small victory from his many other victories. But it was the first time Hazel was there with him even though she was in the audience, he felt her presence throughout his performance. He believed he couldn’t have performed that well if he knew she wasn’t there with him. That was the thing with Hazel that he never had with anyone else, she brings out the best in him and he loves the way she made him feel. As his eyes were searching for her in the crowd, he was surprised with another kiss.
Mischa … he didn’t want to admit it, but she had been very flirtatious with him throughout the preparation. He tried not to respond but it was useless, their dance required them to be intimate at least for the sake of the dance. He avoided her plea to practice at his house, somehow he had a feeling she will try to be more than dance partners. But that night was unavoidable, it was in the spur of the moment when she kissed him. If only she knew it was his first kiss that he desperately wanted it to be with Hazel. She stole it from him and he was too nice to reject her.
He pulled away this time. He can’t lead her on to think he was responding to her advances. She was beautiful and a wonderful girl, but she wasn’t the one he wanted.
“Don’t forget the party next week at my house … it’s my birthday and we have something else to celebrate,” she held him before he walked away to go home.
He hesitated, he didn’t really want to go but celebrating their win was a given. He smiled, “Sure, I’ll bring Hazel … I hope you don’t mind.”
Mischa pouted, she couldn’t say no to that, “I’ll see you then.”