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The Days of Dance

Following the Heart or Living the Dream

J. Steele

Copyright © 2017. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any way by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the author except as provided by USA copyright law.

All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

The opinions expressed by the author are not necessarily those of Publisher.

Book design Copyright © 2017. All rights reserved.

Published in the United States of America

Paperback: 978-1-387-03490-1

Hardcover: 978-1-387-03493-2

ISBN: 978-3-96028-934-0 Verlag GD Publishing Ltd. & Co KG, Berlin

E-Book Distribution: XinXii www.xinxii.com

Table of Contents

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Books by J. Steele

Day 1

Ellie nervously placed her nametag on her shirt, looking around the room at the other contestants. She took a deep breathe, having a hard time believing that she had finally made it. The National Art of Dance Competition, she thought to herself, excitement flowing freely through her. Over the next five days she would be matched with a partner, get lessons from famous choreographers, and end it all with a national dance competition.

Ellie looked down at her itinerary, scanning over her schedule for the week. She would be meeting her partner soon, and she couldn’t help but worry she might not end up with someone she liked. Ellie shook her head and reminded herself that she has had countless dance partners over the years, real talent doesn’t depend on someone else.

A woman walked onto a stage in front of a sea of tables that sat the contestants. She kindly asked everyone to take a seat at their assigned table. Ellie quickly walked over to the tables, searching for her name card. When she found her table she sat down quickly, there was another man and woman seated at the table. Ellie turned to her left, concerned that her partner had yet to reach the table. Her eyes flashed down to the name card next to her, Alexander was printed neatly in cursive. There was a heavy enigmatic weight to the mystery behind his name. So much of her dream dependent on a man she had never met.

A voice pulled Ellie from her internal musing. She looked up at the gorgeous blonde woman who sat across from her. Her features dripped with daunting beauty, with glowing blue eyes and a set of full rose-colored lips.

“My name is Julia, it’s nice to meet you.” she said sweetly, offering Ellie a kind smile.

The man next to Julia introduced himself as well. “I’m Chad.” he said nodding at Ellie.

She noticed that he was very good looking as well, with long dark hair pulled back and handsome facial features. Ellie also noticed that the pair seemed a few years younger, looking barely older than 21. Feeling inadequate in comparison she began to feel a bit self-conscious.

“I’m Ellie, it’s great to meet you guys.” She replied back, putting on a friendly smile and trying to calm her queasiness.

“I’m Alexander.” a deep timbre voice came from behind her. Ellie watched as the man slid silently into his seat, kindly nodding at the others as the introduced themselves politely. She stared at him, taken aback. If she thought that the others were good looking, she couldn’t even begin to compare them to Alexander.

He had a tall and lean frame, as most male dancers do, but the way he carried himself enhanced his gorgeous body. He had thick and rich dark brown hair that fell softly into his eyes, hiding the most beautiful sea glass colored eyes. Below that, his face was set with a pointed nose and a strong chin, complete with a dominant jawline.

He turned to her and gave a smile that shook her to her bones and said, “I look forward to working together, Elizabeth.”

The way he purred her name made her blush and she softly said, “You can call me Ellie.”

His smile widened and he said, “Okay, Ellie.”

Their attention was pulled back to the speaker at the podium, going over the schedules and guidelines for the next few days. As Ellie laid in her hotel room bed that night she felt exuberantly awake, the excitement of the contest making her feel giddy and a bit nervous. She had to it to herself though, that these feelings were also attributed to her new partner, Alexander.

Day 2

Sweat poured down Ellie’s face as the first lesson of the day came to a close. It had been good to stretch out her muscles and feel the rhythm of the fast pounding music. The choreography had been tough, but Ellie managed to keep up really well. She quickly revealed herself as one of the top competitors, and took mental note of who to watch out for.

Ellie walked over to where everyone was gathering their belongings and picked up her own bag. She pulled her water bottle out, guzzling the contents greedily. Ellie was mentally going through the rest of her day when she heard a smooth voice behind her say, “You looked good out there.”

She whipped around quickly to find her partner, Alexander, who was watching her with a bemused smile. Ellie hesitated, unsure of what to say, caught off guard by his compliment. “Thanks.”, she mumbled.

“What did you think of my moves?” he asked, his voice sounding a bit egotistical. He swept his hair out of his face, which was covered in sweat. He stepped closer to her and Ellie’s heart began to race, his smell was intoxicating.

Ellie turned her nose up at him, raising her eyebrows she said coolly, “I wasn’t paying attention to you, I was focused on the instructor.” This was a lie of course, as Ellie had watched Alexander out of her peripheral the entire morning, relieved to find that he was a very good dancer, easily one of the best.

“Too bad.” he said with a hearty laugh, walking past her to exit the room. He looked over his shoulder before exiting, and checking Ellie out in a quick glance said, “Don’t worry, I think we’ll make a good fit.”

Ellie was shocked by the boldness of his sentence, and blushed at his obvious innuendo. She let out a deep sigh, feeling conflicted as to whether he had annoyed her or flattered her. Ellie decided it wasn’t worth wasting time on and quickly left the now empty studio. She hurried on to lunch her stomach rumbling fiercely, her body was in desperate need of nourishment.

After lunch the women and men would break off into separate groups. Tonight held the first two competitions of the week, Solo Female and Solo Male. Everyone was told to have a dance prepared, but they were still given a few hours to practice. Ellie was nervous, she knew that winning this would give her an advantage over the rest of the girls. Out of the 15 or so other competitors she knew she would have to really work hard to win this one.

After a long and grueling practice, Ellie headed off to her room to get ready for tonight's competition. She entered her room, and tossed her bag onto the bed. She went into the bathroom, peeling off her sweaty clothes and turning the shower on. The water felt good on her sore muscles, it helped her calm her nerves and clear her head.

It took Ellie almost an hour to get ready, but she felt satisfied by the time she was done. She had pulled her long red hair up, twisting and braiding it into a well-fashioned bun. Ellie had done her best on her make-up, working on concealing all her freckles and playing up her honey brown eyes. She had decided to go bold and donned bright red lipstick on her pouty full lips. Her costume was one she had recycled from one of her previous competitions. It was a short and tight black dress, which completely conformed to every crevice and curve on her body. The bodice was decorated with red and silver gems, swirled in intricate designs.

Ellie realized it was time to head downstairs, so she threw on her high heels and left her room. Her heart was racing with anticipation, she was anxious to get it over with. She headed down to where the competition was being held and she made her way over to a table to get her number. Ellie looked around at all the other girls as she pinned a piece of paper with a large black number 11 on her dress neatly. The other women had gotten very dressed up as well, Ellie noticed.

A heavy knot sat in her stomach as she stood near the edge of the marked dance floor. The lights dimmed and the chatter silenced as the woman running the competition walked out on the stage, giving a small introductory speech before the first dance began. The knot seemed to grow heavier as each dance ed, she breathed in the music, her eyes glued to each performer.

Finally her name was called, and Ellie felt the same nervous and nauseating feeling she had whenever she performed. As she began to make her way onto the floor, someone touched her arm and she looked up to see Julia, the girl who she sat at with dinner the night before.

“Good luck!” Julia said with a genuine smile, her eyes dancing with excitement.

Ellie let out a relieved breath and quickly replied, “Thank you.”

She took her place in the center of the dance floor and closed her eyes, bowing her head as the spotlight focused on her. The music began to swell and Ellie let it carry her across the floor in sweeping deliberate moves. Slow and beautiful, the song reached her deep in her center, soft ionate waves ing throughout her body. As the song reached its climax it sped up, and so did her limbs, flailing and twisting into a whirlwind of hot and heavy intensity. Her performance was

true art, her body screaming words of love and pain, of desire and loss, all at the same time.

As the song ended, she finished her routine and descended back into reality. Ellie opened her eyes and smiled at the cheering crowd. Her chest heaved with ragged breathes as she exited the stage, euphoria flowing freely through her. The other women were ive as she reached the crowd, giving her compliments before the next dance began. ‘

Ellie watched as the other women performed their routines. She felt impatient, and she was practically shaking with anticipation as she waited to hear the results of the competition. As the last performer left the stage, they waited for the judges to discuss. Ellie was standing alone nervously. Julia approached her and said, “Incredible performance, Ellie. I hope you win!”

Smiling Ellie replied, “You were amazing too. You deserve to win, seriously.” Ellie wasn’t bluffing either, Julia was incredible.

Julia and Ellie stood together as the judges sat back at their table, handing an envelope to the speaker. The woman smiled at the crowd and said, “In third place for the Solo Female portion of the Traditional Art of Dance Competition, we have Ms. Cecilia Weber!”

The crowd clapped as the girl walked to the center of the floor and was given a small trophy. The crowd quieted as the woman continued to read from the paper held in front of her, “In second place we have Ms. Elizabeth McMann!”

The crowd applauded loudly and Ellie realized her name was called. A huge

smile formed on her face as she ran up, a man handed her a blue trophy. Excitement rose up in her as she looked out at the others as they cheered her on. Her face flushed and her cheeks hurt from the crazy smile on her face.

“I would like to congratulate all you incredible dancers on an amazing job tonight.” said the speaker, “With that being said I would like to announce our winner of the Solo Female portion of our competition, Ms. Julia Summers!”

Ellie felt happy for her friend, but as the perky blonde bounced up to grab her trophy she couldn’t help but feel envious. Julia beamed at the crowd, her eyes watery. She walked over to Ellie and they congratulated each other.

Ellie shrugged off any jealousy or self-pity she was feeling, and felt glad to have won second place. Besides, she reminded herself, the competition isn’t over yet. Ellie took a deep breath, feeling confident and determined. It was her dream to win this competition, and nothing would stop her now.

Day 3

It was the third day of the competition, and Ellie couldn’t believe how time had flown by. Today was completely dedicated to working on a routine with your assigned partner. As Ellie got dressed she reminded herself to stay focused, and not to let her obvious attraction to Alexander get in the way. She’s always seen her partners as objectively good looking, but Alexander was different, he was practically the embodiment of the word handsome.

She had heard from Julia that Alexander won first place last night against the other male dancers. With their chances looking so good Ellie smiled to herself as she headed out to the studio she and Alexander would be working at, just down the street from the hotel they were staying at. A portion of the day they would be working with famously trained choreographers and instructors, and she was excited to see how well her an Alexander would do.

When she arrived at the studio Ellie realized she was the first one to arrive and she began to stretch. It had been a good 15 minutes before anyone else showed up. A petite dark haired woman entered the room, looking a few years older than Ellie. She smiled at Ellie, shaking her hand she introduced herself, “Hi, I’m Anna. I’m your assigned choreographer. Are you excited to get started?”

Ellie nodded and said, “I’m very excited. Thanks so much, I look forward to learning from you.”

After a little more small talk, Anna began to show Ellie some moves as they waited for Alexander. Ellie began to get nervous, her eyes constantly flashing

from Anna to the door to the studio. Finally he arrived and she let out a sigh of relief.

In an annoyed tone Ellie said, “We were supposed to be here at 8.”

Alexander was wearing a pair of tight workout shorts and a loose white shirt. Ellie pretended not to notice how well shaped his body was beneath his clothing. He slipped his head phones out of his ears, oblivious to Ellie’s hostile comment.

He introduced himself to Anna, and figuring there was too much to get done Ellie quickly dropped the subject. Anna began to explain to Alexander what she had already showed Ellie. Figuring it best to leave them alone for a bit, Ellie headed over to a corner, practicing what Anna had shown her. Ellie couldn’t help but watch the other two in the large studio mirror. They seemed to get along well, like really well.

After two or three hours of Anna instructing them, Ellie and Alexander were left alone. Ellie felt the tension of the room change, and the space suddenly seemed smaller than before.

Ellie decided it best to get straight down to business and said, “Okay so we have the final competition Friday. That only leaves us a little time to come up with a routine and music and then perfect the entire thing. What do you think we should work on first? I mean, it’s probably important we at least form some sort of plan as far as a song goes, but then again we still have to pick out a genre of dance. There’s just so much to do!”

Ellie looked up bashfully, realizing that she had been babbling. Alexander

looked at her with a strange smile on his face. Then in a sudden and sweeping move he grabbed her around her waist and dipped her, their bodies pressed firmly together and their faces just an inch apart.

“I’m really good at the tango, baby.” he said with a chuckle and a devious wink, his arms holding Ellie close to his body.

Ellie was breathless for a moment, her body radiating from the heat his was giving off, hot against her own. She stared into his eyes a moment, caught off guard by his touch. Quickly coming back to her senses, she removed herself from his embrace, doing her best to seem poised and professional.

“Okay then.” Ellie said stiffly, “Do you have any preference as far as what we perform?”

Alexander shrugged and leaned against the wall, “What are you best at?”

Ellie considered this for a moment and said, “I’m good at almost anything, but Ballet is my favorite. What about you?”

Alexander smiled and walked closer, looking thoughtful he said, “Yeah okay, a contemporary ballet could work well.”

Ellie and Alexander began discussing strategies for moves for their routines. Time flew as they talked, discussing music and dance for almost an hour. Ellie found it so easy to talk to Alexander. He made her laugh, and she was surprised

to find he had a lot of good ideas.

“Okay,” Ellie began, finishing mapping out their dance on a sheet of paper, “So all we need to do is figure out our finishing move and we’ll be done.”

“There is this local competition near where I live, and one year they had this group that did a really amazing lift towards the end of their final performance.” Alexander said, his face lighting up as he described the move to Ellie.

“Yeah, I saw something just like it at the Elmwood Dance Festival in Ohio!” Ellie exclaimed excitedly after Alexander fully explained the move to her, “It was incredible.”

“Wait are you from Elmwood too?” Alexander asked excitedly, his green eyes lighting up with a childlike excitement.

“Well I actually live in the suburbs but wow, what a small world.” Ellie said. She beamed up at him, and their eyes locked, making her feel a bit woozy.

Ellie looked at the clock on the wall and realized what time it was, and said, “Oh my god, we have to get to work!”

She and Alexander danced for the rest of the night, working endlessly for hours. Ellie was surprised to find that she adjusted to his body easily, their movements flowing together fluidly. Time flied as they moved together in harmony, their bodies moving to the music like they had been dancing together for years.

After they finished Ellie practically floated back to her room. She was walking on clouds, and Ellie found it hard to explain but she had never felt so in sync with a partner like that. Ellie felt connected to Alexander physically and spiritually, her body feeling empty without his moving effortlessly with her own.

Day 4

Practice was grueling that morning. Despite her excitement from seeing Alexander, Ellie felt exhausted and her body was aching. They had been practicing their dance all morning in preparation for the competition on Friday. Both of them wanted to win desperately, and expectations were high.

They continually made mistakes, stepping on each other’s toes, and bumping into each other. Ellie was getting frustrated with Alexander, but mostly with herself. This was basic stuff, she reminded herself impatiently, not understanding why everything felt so off.

As they attempted to complete the routine, Alexander went to lift and spin Ellie, but dropped her, her body crashing to the floor. “Ow!” she cried, pain radiating up and down her spine.

With tears in her eyes, Ellie pushed herself up off the floor. She looked at Alexander angrily and said, “What the hell? Why did you drop me?!”

“Look, it’s not me, okay?” Alexander defended himself quickly, “I know what I’m doing, and I’ve won countless competitions and contests.”

Ellie stepped closer to him, getting in his face and clenching her fists against her side angrily she yelled, “Well apparently you forgot how good you are because right now you suck!” Her face was flushed, hot with rage. She was annoyed with his cocky attitude, he had no right to treat her that way.

Alexander didn’t back down from her angry screams and he stepped even closer, his face only inches apart from her own. In a quiet but angry voice he spat, “Get your shit together, second place.”, and then he stormed out of the room.

Ellie watched him storm out, feeling wounded and hurt. She collapsed on the ground, hot tears pouring down her face as she cried softly into her hands. Ellie felt angry and defeated, she was over worked and over exhausted. Maybe I’m not meant to win after all, she thought bitterly.

Ellie sat on the floor for a while, drowning herself in self-loathing thoughts. After she cried out all the tears she had left in her body, she grabbed her cell phone from her bag. Quickly dialing the phone she placed it to her ear, desperate for kind and comforting words.

The other line clicked and an older woman’s voice answered, “Ellie?”

“Hey, Mom.” Ellie replied back, feeling immediately comforted by her mother’s voice. They spoke on the phone for a while, and when they hung up Ellie felt better. When Ellie turned around she saw Alexander standing at the entrance of the room watching her.

He walked over to her quickly, remorse clear on his face, “Ellie, I’m so sorry, I had no right to say that to you.”

Ellie quickly shook her head and replied, “No really, it’s okay. We both said things we shouldn’t have. It happened in the heat of the moment. Dance is

ionate, sometimes it gets explosive.”

Alexander looked down at her, and Ellie got lost in his green eyes for a moment. His body was so close to hers, all she wanted to do was grab him and pull him closer. He lowered his face towards hers and she could feel his breath on her face, and she inhaled his scent, her body craving his.

They quickly broke away, both getting lost in the moment. Ellie couldn’t help but notice that after that the air in the room seemed to change. Their touches seemed to linger, their embraces a little closer than necessary, almost as if they were finding reasons to touch each other. It grew late and the sun set as they danced again and again. Finally when it reached 9, Ellie had figured it was best to leave, feeling disappointed that she would have to leave his presence.

“We did a lot better, I think.” Ellie mused, feeling proud of their perfected performance.

“I told you we’d make a good fit.” Alexander said, nudging her shoulder softly with his own as they left the studio.

They finished the short cold walk back to the hotel which ended too fast for Ellie’s liking. As they rode up in the elevator together it took all of Ellie’s willpower not to touch him, the small space basically cramming together.

She reached her floor and the elevator opened with ding, she turned wistfully to Alexander and let out a soft, “Goodnight.”

She headed off to her room, and set her stuff down on the floor of the empty hotel room. Ellie was exhausted physically but she felt so awake, her brain filled with a million thoughts. Mostly surrounding one person.

There was a knock at the door, and Ellie walked over curiously opening it. She was shocked to find Alexander, who had a wild look in his eyes. Confused Ellie opened her mouth beginning to ask what he was doing here, she said, “Alexander? Wha-”

She was interrupted before she could finish her question he grabbed her face with his hands, and kissed her deeply. Ellie immediately kissed him back, pressing her lips against his roughly. She was desperate for more of him, a hot and burning desire taking over her body fast like a wildfire. Her hands reached up and twisted in his thick hair, pulling his face closer, deepening the kiss.

Alexander’s hands slid down her back, pressing his body into hers. They kissed like that for a few moments, barely coming up for desperate ragged breathes, their lips moving against each other’s roughly. Alexander finally pulled away, and Ellie’s swollen lips pulsed as she looked into his eyes, her heart beating fast.

“Sorry.”, he breathed, “I just had to know what that was like.”

He slipped from her embrace, and Ellie was silent, stunned by the kiss, by her feelings, by the strong need she felt for him. He turned going to leave, but Ellie reached out to stop him, saying only “Stay.”, in a soft whisper, her eyes pleading.

Alexander said nothing and just nodded gently, the silence between them speaking volumes. He shut the door behind him, and Ellie’s hand slid down his

arm gently, taking his hand in her own. They stared at each other for a moment, lost in the eyes of the other. He reached his hand out, cupping her face. He leaned in slower this time, more deliberate with his actions.

Alexander’s lips finally pressed against her own, but softer than before. They took their time exploring the way their lips fit together, the way their bodies molded to each other’s. Eventually the kiss became hungrier and deeper. Suddenly time seemed too short, the distance between them too far. Their bodies slammed against one another’s as they kissed, grabbed, and felt.

Ellie’s heart was beating fast as she pulled Alexander onto her bed. She had lost all reasoning and logic, the only thing she could seem to focus on was his hot and burning touch. They made love the way they danced, moving together fluidly, with burning touches and long embraces. They greedily devoured each other into all hours of the night, desperation deep in their bones, yearning laced into the hot breaths and moans that escaped their heaving lungs.

As they lay together in the bed that night, Alexander held her tight, their bodies intertwined together into one. He kissed her forehead softly as he held her, and he whispered, “Get some sleep, tomorrow is the day your dream comes true.”

Day 5

Ellie awoke that morning with Alexander’s arms holding her. She moved closer to him, feeling safe in his strong embrace. For a moment there was an eerie peace surrounding her, and she relished in the silence of the morning. As her brain began to wake up, she sat up quickly, everything hitting her at once. She scrambled out of her bed, and out of the safety of Alexander’s touch.

She looked at the clock, horrified. It was almost 11 am, and she was still asleep. Her worrying only increased when she realized she had a naked dance partner in her bed, last night playing back in her head. She groaned, fearing that she had ruined everything.

Alexander rolled over his green eyes open and giving Ellie a smile. Realizing she was still undressed, Ellie quickly snatched her cover form the bed, wrapping it around her body. She felt ashamed and embarrassed for letting the charming and elusive Alexander get the best of her. You know better, she scolded herself.

“It’s late.” Ellie told him stiffly as he looked at her with a confused look.

Alexander looked at the clock and lazily said, “Oh well.”

Ellie rolled her eyes and decided there was no time for arguing. “Look just go up to your room and get dressed, meet me at the studio in 20 minutes.”

She didn’t give him a chance to reply, Ellie ran into the bathroom and shut the door quickly. Hoping in the shower, she got ready fast and was on her way to the studio in 15 minutes.

Alexander showed up a few minutes later, Ellie was stretching and she greeted him with a curt, “Hello.”

Alexander opened his mouth to say something, but Ellie held up her hand and said, “Listen. This contest is important to me. Let’s just forget about last night, and move on.”

Alexander clenched his jaw tight, not revealing that he was hurt by her words. “Fine.”, he responded. Ellie pretended not to feel hurt by his lack of emotion. She took a deep breath and pushed all of her emotions away, focusing on practicing for tonight.

Ellie and Alexander parted ways after rehearsal, and Ellie was nervous as she got dressed. She took several deep breathes, but knew that it was more than preshow anxiety that was bothering her. Ellie was disappointed in herself for letting Alexander get into her head so easily, and even worse, into her heart.

She let out a morose sigh as she took one last glance in the mirror before leaving. Her long red hair was set in loose curls, and she was wearing a white dress, the skirt flowing softly down to her mid- thigh. She placed her ballet slippers on and was out the door.

Ellie waited in the packed room nervously, there was a large audience, which only made her all the more anxious. She spotted Alexander across the room, she

noticed he looked incredibly handsome dressed in black. He looked up at her catching her gaze and gave her a small smile.

The competition began and she was quickly ed by Julia, and they watched as pairs performed together. When Julia went up, her and Chad did amazing, and received the loudest round of applause. There was a couple after them, and then it would be time for her and Alexander to go.

Alexander came up behind her as they waited behind stage. He grabbed her hand, and she looked up at him, surprised. “Before we go out there, I need to tell you something,” he began, “I know it’s crazy because we have only known each other for a few days, but I have feelings for you, Ellie.”

Ellie stood there, dumbfounded. This was the last thing she expected to hear from him and as he continued on she could feel tears begin to well up in her eyes. “I feel like I’ve known you for so long,” he told her, “I truly believe we came here, destined to meet one another. You can tell me I’m crazy and you can tell me you don’t feel that way, but I just had to tell you that Ellie.”

There was a moment of silence between them as Ellie looked into his eyes which were pleading and hopeful. She smiled at him and said, “I feel the same way.” He gave her a soft kiss before they descended out to the dance floor, but Ellie knew she didn’t need to win anymore. Alexander reminded her of why she loved dance so much in the first place, because of that strong desire, the heat of the moment, and the ion between two people that burned white hot, down to their very souls.

Books by J. Steele

The Bodyguard

The Days of Dance

Gideon’s Late Night Secret