Page 77 of I Don't Need Your Love

“Wait, like right now?” I ask.

“Would you rather practice next month, after the competition?” she asks with a laugh.

“Heh,” I say nervously as I glance at Ryder. He doesn’t seem anxious at the prospect of doing this, but I know from experience that he’s good at putting on masks. Then again, he’s used to being that close with girls. I’m sure I’m just another member of the opposite gender in his eyes.

We step forward and just stand before each other. He looks at me and I look at him.

“Um, what are we doing?” he asks.

“You know any pair dances?”

“No. Do you?”

“Not really.”

He grins. “I’m sure you can improvise, Miss Amazing Choreographer.”

His words cause my face to burn. “Okay…let’s go.”

I have no idea what I’m doing, but I draw inspiration from my favorite dance numbers from movies. I place one hand in his, the other on his shoulder. He puts his free one on my waist. And I spin us around the room.

It doesn’t take long for Ryder to catch on, and before we know it, we’re getting really into it.

It’s not at all a romantic dance. In fact, our bodies barely come into contact with each other, except for our hands. Still, this feels pretty amazing. As though he and I are on a huge stage all by ourselves, with every single pair of eyes of the audience glued to us like we’re the most mesmerizing things they have ever seen.

“Beautiful!” Moreno claps. “You guys are perfect together. Now, how about you try lifting Carly, Ryder?”

“Are you sure about that?” he asks as we continue to dance. “I think her parents would murder me if I damaged a single hair on her gorgeous head.”

I will not react to him calling my head gorgeous. Nope.

“The judges will love it if we can pull it off,” Moreno tells him. “Just try it.”

“Permission to approach, m’lady?” he asks me as we stop a few feet away from each other.

“You may,” I say as nonchalantly as I can, though my insides shake.

He steps closer, causing his warmth to bounce onto me and making my hair stand on edge. He hesitates for a second before placing his hands on my waist and hoisting me up in the air.

“Great!” Moreno says. “How about a little higher?”

“Sure.”

Ryder stretches his arms upward, lifting me higher in the air. It lasts for a few seconds before his arms crumble and he and I crash to the floor.

“Are you guys okay?” Moreno asks as she rushes over.

Somehow, we landed with our limbs tangled in each other’s and most of my body underneath his.

“Feels like a fridge collapsed on me,” I pant.

“Sorry!” Ryder makes a move to roll away from me, but because my arms and legs are intertwined with his, I roll along with him. I end up sprawled on top of him, my chest on his, and our faces nearly fused together.

“This is quite the predicament,” I mutter.

“No kidding,” he says.

“Sorry about this, guys,” Moreno says. “Are you okay?”