Page 24 of Take the Lead

And then our score arrives … 7.1. Just .1 above Beth, which makes me feel even worse. How I wish I knew if it was our real score or if the producers have tampered with it. But I doubt I’ll ever know.

As we leave the stage, there’s a murmur in the audience as Merle and Emilia take our place. Kimberley hushes everyone as their video starts playing on the big screen. It starts with Merle talking, while Emilia strokes his arm and gazes adoringly at him.

‘As you know, it’s been a tough time for me recently,’ Merle says solemnly.

‘I started this week thinking my wife, Sofiya, and I could work through it, but after some difficult discussions we’ve made the decision to end our marriage.

It hasn’t been easy to accept that we’ve grown apart, but we both feel much happier now we’ve mutually agreed it’s time to move on. ’

So she really has told him to sling his hook – and is sticking to her guns this time. I’m glad for her. I’m sure she’ll be happier in the long run.

I can’t believe Merle is going for the sympathy vote though. He obviously knows he’s got some grovelling to do to keep the audience on side. In the video, he turns to Emilia and looks at her affectionately.

‘But this one has been keeping my spirits up,’ he says, taking her hand.

Yeah, I bet she has.

‘She’s been there for me every step of the way and has been such a rock for me these past few days. I can’t thank her enough.’

He smiles at her and she tells him he’s welcome, with a dreamy look in her eyes.

‘Life is sometimes full of surprises and we’ve become so close this week when I was least expecting it,’ Merle continues.

‘We didn’t plan it, and I know it will seem a little soon to some people, but I can’t imagine wanting to spend my time with anyone else right now.

I think this could be the start of something really special. ’

Then they kiss on the lips. And there it is.

Confirmation of what I suspected all along.

My fists clench so tightly I can feel my nails digging into my palms. There was absolutely no need to put me through the partner swap if he wasn’t going to work things out with Sofiya anyway.

And to then replace me with Emilia without so much as a blink …

am I supposed to just be okay with that?

‘So I hope I don’t let her down tonight,’ Merle says.

‘And I hope you won’t judge us for anything other than our dancing.

Emilia is a beautiful person and a beautiful dancer – and the best way for me to thank her for all the support she’s given me this week would be for my choreography to take us through to the next round. She deserves nothing less.’

They kiss again as they fade from the screen and I swear I can actually taste the bitterness his fawning monologue has left in my mouth.

It turns out it’s got nothing on how jealous their absolutely mesmerising bachata makes me feel, though. Merle and Emilia couldn’t look more like star-crossed lovers if they tried, as they start their dance with their foreheads touching and her arms round his neck.

Her hair sweeps the floor as he dips her backwards then pulls her back in with a series of body rolls.

I can’t take my eyes off them as he drops to his knees to spin her, pulls her down to execute a perfect head roll, then runs his hands up her legs, drawing her up with him and lifting her up into a spin with the splits.

They look like they’ve been doing this forever.

They end with her sitting on his knee, head tossed back, and his hands on her hips. Someone wolf whistles in the audience, then the judges are out of their seats, clapping, and Kimberley is fanning herself theatrically as she tells the audience it’s one of the hottest things she’s ever seen.

The audience responds by giving the dance a whopping 9.

5. But it’s Merle and Emilia’s celebratory kiss that rattles me more than their score.

My cheeks flush with frustration. Lied to, rejected, and to top it all off, this.

More than ever I wish I’d never, ever been paired with Merle.

Or Aleksis for that matter. A nice safe option like Tammy’s partner Elijah could have saved me a world of pain.

‘This couldn’t mean more to me,’ Merle gushes, his arms still round Emilia. ‘To us,’ he corrects himself.

‘You certainly seem to have melted a few hearts this evening,’ Kimberley beams. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, let’s hear it one more time for tonight’s winners, Merle and Emilia, who have guaranteed themselves a place on next week’s show.’

As they run off the stage waving, Kimberley invites Beth and Gabriel back out to join her and commiserates with them for coming last.

‘It’s been so much fun,’ Beth says bravely. ‘I feel really lucky to have had the chance to take part. And Gabe was an amazing teacher. I couldn’t have asked for more.’

‘It’s been short, but definitely sweet,’ Gabriel adds. ‘We’ve had two brilliant weeks, I just feel gutted for Beth that there won’t be a third. I think she did so well and she’s an incredible girl – I know I’ve got a friend for life.’

‘That’s so sweet,’ Kimberley says, a hand placed over her heart.

‘But sadly, folks, that’s all we’ve got time for today.

So thanks to our three judges, and to you, our studio audience, for helping us out with the scoring again this week – and to you at home, for tuning in.

We hope you enjoyed it as much as we have, and we’ll see you again next week here on Fire on the Dance Floor ! ’

The lights go up and the room instantly fills with the sounds of the audience preparing to leave. Minutes later, Tammy and I are hugging Beth in the reception room, grabbing glasses of the free wine and telling her how devastated we are about her exit from the show.

She assures us she’s fine and insists she won’t miss the stress of the live performances one bit, which at least makes me feel a fraction less guilty. If she’d said she was gutted, or worse, burst into tears, I think I would have had to tell her the whole ugly truth about my score and her exit.

I notice Aleksis commiserating with Gabriel on the other side of the room and wonder if he also feels like we’re to blame, knowing tonight might have been a different story without our secret guarantee to go through. But if he does feel that way, he’s very good at hiding it.

Meanwhile, I’m trying really hard not to stare at Merle and Emilia. Now they’ve admitted they’re an item, they’re making no effort to be discreet. She’s sitting on his lap on the other side of the room, taking selfies of them kissing and clinking glasses.

Noticing me watching them, Beth says, ‘I know it’s polite to stick around for a bit and be all pro-show, but why don’t we skip it today and head straight to the pub? The others will be there already, so what say we just go and get the party started over there instead?’

I suddenly can’t wait to ditch my pink and orange ensemble and get away from Channel 6. Even though I’ll still need a brave face for our gathering at The Golden Grape, I tell her I’ll see her out the front in fifteen.