Page 35 of Stars Collide

She was about to head out on tour for six months, so now wasn’t the time to start anything serious. Anna had never enjoyed random hookups, but she enjoyed them even less now that she was becoming famous. She couldn’t stop worrying that the person in her bed was there because of her fame.

Ironically, even though Eden had pulled away in person, she was texting Anna more often. Always about random, safe topics, like what she was reading or a funny thing that had happened during rehearsal.

On this particular evening, Anna was tired and a little bit down after a frustrating day at the studio. In two days, they’d move to the arena for the final rehearsals before opening night, and Anna kept messing up her footwork during the last dance sequence in “Headfirst.” She’d gotten in her head about it, and now she was literally tripping herself up.

Her phone dinged with the opening note of “Daydreamer,” the sound she’d assigned Eden. Anna’s stomach clenched as she reached for her phone.

Eden:

Heard you took a hard fall today! Are you okay?

Anna:

Yep, just a few bruises, mostly to my confidence

Eden:

Those can be the worst kind!

Eden:

Talk me through it. What happened?

Anna:

Frustrated with a piece of choreography, and the harder I try to get it, the more I keep messing up

Anna:

I’m about to open for you on a world tour, and I think it just sunk in

Eden:

Okay, 1st of all, you are ten times the dancer I’ll ever be. And 2nd when I get stuck on something like that, I usually just change it.

Eden:

Ask your choreographer to modify the step, and it’s like a reset for your brain.

Anna:

That’s really good advice. Thank you!

Eden:

Anytime. Whatcha up to tonight?

Anna:

Binging some reality show about ugly houses. You?

Eden:

Reading.

Anna:

You read a lot