Page 53 of Bluebird

Adrien - Two years later

Jericho - Iniko

Worthy of Love - Luca Fogale

Philipp’s and Nika's Instagram account has gone through the roof in the last two years. With all the promo requests, they could probably do this for a living, but neither of them is interested in that. They consistently reject any kind of advertising partnership and only accept non-commercial collaborations. They want to keep the focus on dancing and, to be honest, I think that's why they’re so successful.

For a year now, their increasing popularity has also had an impact on the crew. More and more requests and invitations for events and competitions are coming in and their radius is increasing. Today we are at a big competition in Cologne. Crews from all over Germany are competing and Philipp has been a nervous wreck for four days. “Jericho” by Iniko playing on a continuous loop in our apartment.

Yes, we moved in together and it's fantastic, apart from the one sided choice of music that is. Well, I admit, the song is sexy and has a sensual beat and when Philipp moves to it... ah fuck, I'm hard in seconds. Like right now only thinking about it. It’s torture. My cock is trapped in my pants with no prospect of release.

As always, élias and I are standing to the left of the stage, directly in front of Nika and Philipp. The first part of the choreography is a fast HipHop thing. My gaze wanders further to the right to the other dancers in the group and gets stuck in the middle. I nudge élias with my elbow. "Hey, look! That must be the new girl!"

Philipp told me they had finally found a replacement for Joshua's partner Vicky. Which was quite difficult because they needed someone with a classical dance education for this position. Not that easy to find that in HipHop as is seems.

"I think so too! Micki, isn't it?" That's right, her name is Micki. "But she's good, very good in fact! She's a great match for Joshua!"

élias is right, the two look great together. Joshua is tall and toned, with muscular arms and a broad back, the complete contrast to Micki's long but petite stature. His dark skin perfectly complements Micki's olive complexion. There's something fascinating about her, I just can't put my finger on it.

The music changes and my gaze immediately falls back on Philipp. And Nika. Philipp is standing behind her. They are dancing the same choreography but mirror-inverted. Their hands meet again and again for short elements together until they turn away from each other in two quick turns and get back into position facing each other.

I love this part. Watching them feels like watching two predators ambushing each other. They carefully feel their way forward, come closer to each other, brief touches, nothing is gentle and flowing, everything is tense and powerful. It is a fight, a give and take, neither willing to give up their power, but the attraction is insurmountable, neither can break the connection. Neither can give up, neither can give in.

"They are so hot together!" élias shakes his head, still fascinated by their dynamic and chemistry on stage, even after three years. By now, we both can watch Philipp and Nika as relaxed as we should. But it took me a while to understand that the story developing on stage unfolds between the music and the moves and that Philipp and Nika are just the performing elements that breathe life into it.

In this case it's very sensual and I can only agree with élias, very hot. I inconspicuously try to re-position my cock, fuck that's tight and my favorite part is still coming. In a quick, powerful move, Philipp grabs Nika's hips and pulls her towards him. Not an inch between his chest and her back, his right hand on her breastbone for the next beat of the music.

As if to demonstrate the new balance of power, Philipp lets his upper body fall far back in a slow semicircle. In a quick movement, he then folds forward, Nika tightly enclosed between his chest and legs. She follows his movements like a puppet on strings. Her fight has turned into submission, but the connection is still the same.

The song comes to an end. Philipp grabs Nika by the back of the neck and pulls her upper body backwards. With her feet firmly on the floor, her back is stretched out parallel to the dance floor. Philipp's other hand is half a feet above Nika's chest. Matching the last beats of the music, he moves his hand up like a puppeteer. Nika's upper body follows, pulled by an invisible string, her breastbone arches up. Like a heartbeat. Complete surrender.

In the end, it was no surprise to anyone when they all jumped onto the top step of the podium together, cheering and accepting the big trophy. Technically, they can easily keep up with the other companies and with their individual style and partner elements, they have a unique selling point that makes them almost unbeatable. They really can only stand in their own way. As always, the winning group is allowed back on stage. It is customary to dance the winning choreography, but since last year they keep coming up with new ideas for this dance.

I'm surprised to see only three of the usual eight couples on stage. Philipp and Nika are in the middle. They have swapped places with Joshua and Micki.

Micki is now standing a little closer than before and holy shit, she is an absolutely fascinating woman. Chin-length, dark curls, striking facial features with high cheekbones and a narrow, straight nose. Full lips, dark eyes. Tall, definitely over 6’. Super skinny frame, no curves, almost androgynous, but only almost.

My eyes fall on Philipp again and I realize he is nervous. He makes eye contact with the others on stage and they all nod. The music begins. Soft piano sounds. This would be typical for an impro by Philipp and Nika, but not for the crew. When the singing starts, the three couples begin to dance. No impro. It's perfectly choreographed, everyone is in sync. The smooth movements, the flowing turns, the interwoven bodies so beautiful and so sensual.

I look to my right and see élias grinning. "Did you know about this?"

"Maybe." His eyes flash. "Do you recognize the song?"

Yes, I recognize the song. It's been playing in the studio from time to time recently, but they've never danced to it. It's "Worthy of Love" by Luca Fogale. The very first impro I saw of Nika and Philipp was to a song by Luca Fogale. “Bluebird.” I'll never forget that song. They have been dancing to other songs by Luca Fogale. His music has such a deep-rooted melancholy which suits Philipp and Nika and their dance style so well. "Worthy of Love" has never been one of them.

Everything around us is quiet, everyone stares spellbound at the stage and the dancers, who tell a love story of closeness and distance, joy and pain, hope and fear, longing and intimacy. Every single emotion is so tangible in every movement they dance. The girl next to me wipes a tear from the corner of her eye and I can well understand why.

At the beginning of the second verse, Ilkay suddenly appears on stage, another dancer in the crew, holding a large sign. He is followed by seven more dancers, every one of them with a large sign.

The words make no sense to me at first, until I realize that it's the chorus of the song. Line for line the most beautiful declaration of love I’ve ever heard.

I follow the signs through the music. It's really beautiful. Suddenly Philipp steps out of the choreography, the couples break up dancing solo. Mira and Sam, who haven't been on stage yet, join them. With long, elegant steps, Philipp dances to the first sign and taps Ilkay, who turns it over.

"You did that for me..."

I no longer understand anything. The next sign follows.

"... you showed me that I am worthy of being loved."

Shit. Oh my God. Tears well up in my eyes and I slap my hand over my mouth.

"Unconditional, uncompromising, irrevocable."

"You hold me when I fall and pull me out of my darkness when I can't find my way."

"I can be everything I am. Loud and quiet, happy and sad, demanding and reserved, cheeky and sweet, tender and passionate."

"You showed me what it means to love and be loved."

"I know we're young, but I still know you're my person, my other half."

"And I know I don't want to spend my life without you."

I have an idea what's coming, but my head is no longer thinking clearly. Never in my life would I have thought he would do something like this. A marriage proposal, yes, but not in front of so many people.

Philipp dances to Nika, who hands him a sign. How long did it take them to practice this so precisely? Philipp turns over the last sign in time with the last beats of the music.

"Adrien, will you marry me?"

The entire hall goes wild. Clapping and whistling. The spotlights are aimed at the crowd and Philipp is looking for me. Then the first shouts echo through the crowd.

"Adrien!"

"On stage!"

"Adrien!"

I've never seen a situation take on a life of its own like this. Within what feels like thirty seconds, the entire hall is calling my name. Rhythmically and again and again.

"Adrien! Adrien! Adrien!"

élias pushes me from behind. "Go! Don't keep him waiting! He's nervous enough!"

I push my way through the crowd and then our eyes finally meet. Philipp smiles shyly and bites his lower lip, tears are still running down my cheeks. On his confirmation, the security lets me pass to the stage. And when we’re in each other's arms, it gets so loud that I feel the need to turn around and see if Taylor Swift has just entered the stage.

"I'm not finished yet." With these words, Philipp pushes me away and gets down on his knees in front of me. He holds a small box in his outstretched hand. He really has thought of everything.

"Wow... they're so beautiful!" Nika admires, I think a little enviously, our engagement rings. And rightly so, they are perfect. Stainless steel with a black ceramic inlay. Philipp's idea was to get them engraved for the wedding and not to buy new ones, and I'm more than happy with that. We wouldn't find any more beautiful rings anyway.

"I still can't believe you've planned all of this."

"We. It would’ve never been possible without the others."

"Okay, you guys. That was absolutely amazing. Thank you!" I shout through the locker room and get back whoops and whistles.

"I love you and I wanted to do something cool to show everyone. I'm just relieved you said yes!"

I love that shy, mischievous smile with that cheeky twinkle in his eye. Philipp has become so brave in the last couple of years. "I love you too. How could I say anything but yes when you smile at me like that?"