Page 47 of Take the Lead

M onday flies by in a whirl. We get to the studio at eight, our earliest start yet, stay till it closes at six and are tucked up in bed by nine-thirty, because we have such an early start for our morning flight.

Not that we go to sleep right away. Theory has it that people sleep a lot better after an orgasm – and we’re both more than willing to test that theory.

‘Ugh, make it stop,’ I groan, when my phone alarm starts ringing at four-thirty a.m.

‘Five-minute snooze?’ Aleksis suggests.

‘Can’t we make it fifty?’ I snuggle closer to him.

‘If you keep doing that we’ll miss the flight,’ he warns.

We reluctantly drag ourselves out from under the covers when the second alarm goes off.

‘Still think this is a good idea?’ I ask through a yawn.

‘Come on, cold shower and we’ll feel much more lively,’ he suggests.

I settle for lukewarm – I can’t face an icy blast this early.

It doesn’t take us long to get ready. Other than our dance shoes and our phone chargers we don’t have anything to pack, and neither of us wants breakfast at this hour.

‘I quite like having no luggage,’ Aleksis says as our taxi whisks us through the deserted streets of London to the airport. ‘I’m so used to having to cart a load of suitcases around with all my dance gear inside.’

‘It does feel liberating. I can totally see the appeal of having a little place abroad and having everything you need there so you don’t have to lug a bag back and forth.’

‘I’d better make sure you win that final then,’ he laughs. ‘We can practise on the plane if it’s not too busy. I can’t imagine anyone else is crazy enough to be travelling this early in the morning.’

But the flight is almost full and the aisles are too narrow, so instead we pass the time watching dance videos on his phone.

Sarah is first out of the car when we get to my sister’s house, so she can film us arriving.

The dog bounces round her feet while my parents smother me in a hug.

Then my niece and nephew charge me and knock me right over, which looks even more fun to the dog, who weaves among us trying to lick our faces.

Mum is left to introduce herself to Aleksis while Dee tries to rescue me from the kids, Pete shoos the dog away and Dad grabs Sarah’s camera bag from the car.

‘I’ll return at five,’ the driver tells us before pulling away, probably relieved to be escaping from the chaos that’s unfolding.

Nathan and Daisy shriek with excitement and try to get Aleksis to dance with them in the driveway. Pete herds the dog back into the house and Mum sets about getting drink requests from everyone. She gets a bit teary as well. ‘It’s so lovely to see you. I’m so sorry we haven’t been there for you.’

‘We’ve been through this, Mum. It’s absolutely fine. I’ve got Lucy and Aiden, plus Beth and Tammy, and Aleksis of course, so it’s all good.’

‘I know, but—’

‘Mum, it’s fine. Come on, let’s get inside and show Aleksis and Sarah around.’

The kids are already tugging Aleksis towards the stairs and arguing over whose room he should see first.

‘And then we’ll show you the garden and you can go in our swimming pool,’ Daisy says proudly.

I turn to look at Dee. ‘Swimming pool?’ I’m sure she would have mentioned it if they’d had one installed.

‘Paddling pool,’ she clarifies. ‘They do like to exaggerate.’

Once the kids have finished giving Aleksis a tour, they turn their attention to Sarah. They want to be filmed, then shown how to use the camera, then have a go at filming themselves. Sarah takes it all in her stride.

Mum and Dee have really gone to town with lunch. There’s a delicious selection of salads, quiches, cheeses and cold meats, with Mum’s traditional apple tart for afters. I’m completely stuffed by the end of it.

‘Will you come in the pool now?’ Daisy asks Aleksis.

‘I’d love to, but I don’t have any trunks with me,’ he smiles.

‘You can borrow Dad’s. Dad, Aleksis can borrow your swimming trunks, can’t he?’ she pleads.

Pete looks from Aleksis to himself. ‘I’m not sure they’re going to fit, love.’

‘I’m not sure I’m going to fit, either,’ Aleksis points out, looking at the water-filled inflatable ring in the garden. ‘But I can sit at the side while you go in. How does that sound?’

‘I think that will be okay,’ Daisy says in that serious voice children put on when they want you to know who’s boss.

She grabs his hand and half leads, half drags him outside. He shrugs at me as he goes, but he’s laughing at the same time.

‘He’s very handsome,’ Mum observes when he’s out of earshot, which makes Dad roll his eyes. ‘I hope he’s treating you nicely. Not like that other one.’

‘He couldn’t be nicer.’ Then I tell them about the premiere and our rehearsals, and show them some photos of his flat on my phone.

‘Looks like you’ve landed on your feet there,’ Dee grins.

‘It’s only temporary, but yeah, no complaints.’

When our lunch has settled, we clear the dining room furniture to one side so Aleksis and I can get a bit of tango practice in.

The floor is tiled so it’s not bad for dancing on, but it gets pretty cramped when everyone piles into the room to see us in action.

There definitely isn’t space for us, six spectators and a camerawoman.

The kids quickly get bored, though, so Pete takes them back out into the garden.

When I mess the routine up for the fifth time, Dee realises I’m struggling to concentrate and herds our parents out of the room, too. Out in the hall I hear Mum say, ‘But they’re only here for a few more hours.’

‘Yes, but they need to rehearse, just for a bit,’ Dee says. ‘Let’s give them an hour or so then we’ll drag them back out for tea and cake before they have to go.’

‘Your mum’s so sweet,’ Aleksis says as we listen to their retreating footsteps. ‘It’s a shame we can’t stay longer. I think she’s loving having you here.’

‘Careful what you wish for,’ Sarah says from across the room. She walks towards us, holding out her phone.

‘What’s this?’ Aleksis asks, taking it from her.

‘It’s a text from Olivia. Our flight home’s been cancelled. She’s trying to find us another one, but there might not be anything till tomorrow.’

I look at Aleksis in alarm. ‘But we have to get back – we can’t miss any more rehearsal time.’

‘She says she’ll call as soon as she’s managed to sort something out,’ he says.

‘I guess we just carry on practising here till we hear from her.’

But my concentration is even worse while we wait for news, and I know I must be covering Aleksis in bruises while I try to get my leg flicks right. Not that he complains.

‘Just remember to wait till your knee is touching mine before you kick up,’ he advises.

‘Got it,’ I nod, though I’m not sure I have.

When Sarah’s phone finally rings, she puts Olivia on loudspeaker so we can all listen in. Olivia confirms that she can’t get us on a flight back till the same time tomorrow evening – which means we’re going to lose another whole day in the studio.

‘I’m sorry it’s not better news,’ she apologises, then tells us we don’t need to worry about finding somewhere to stay – she’ll look for a hotel nearby and text us the details when she’s booked it.

Aleksis thanks her, then does his best to stop me freaking out.

‘We can make this work, Kate. We’ve got our makeshift studio here, we’ve got our shoes, we’ve got our music, Olivia’s sorting us out a place for us to sleep.

All we need is a couple of toothbrushes.

So why don’t we go and see if your sister has any spares and if not we’ll nip out to buy some.

Then we can come back here and practise for as long as we need to.

It’ll be fine, I promise. What about you, Sarah?

Is it going to be a problem for you not getting back till tomorrow? ’

‘They’ll have to send Steve and Andy out on their own to film Dean and Jessica, but other than that no, no problem.

I might have to put in a few extra hours in the editing suite when we get back, but if it means I get to sit in the sun with a beer all day tomorrow while you rehearse, I can’t say I’m too upset about it. ’

‘We might start wondering if you sabotaged the plane,’ he laughs. ‘Okay, let’s go and ask about those toothbrushes. And maybe Dee can recommend a local restaurant we could all go to for dinner later. If we’re going to be sticking around, we might as well make an evening of it.’

We find Mum and Dee sitting in the shade on the terrace, watching Dad and Pete having a water fight with the kids.

‘Are you done already?’ Mum asks hopefully when we join them.

We tell them about the flight cancellation and I can tell Mum is trying not to look too pleased that we no longer have to dash off so quickly.

‘You don’t have to stay at a hotel, though,’ Dee says. ‘You should all stay here. We could do a barbecue.’

‘You don’t have any spare rooms,’ I point out.

‘You two can have mine and Pete’s room, Mum and Dad are in the guest room, Sarah and I can have the kids’ rooms and Pete can pitch a tent with the kids in the garden. They’re always going on about camping out here overnight. They’ll be ecstatic and we’ve got the weather for it.’

‘Pete might not be so keen,’ I point out.

‘And it wouldn’t feel right kicking our hosts out of their own bed,’ Aleksis says.

‘Pete won’t mind at all. It’s only for one night and the kids will think he’s Superdad for the rest of the week. I’ll be perfectly comfortable in one of the kids’ beds. What about you, Sarah?’

‘Sounds good to me.’

‘What time is it now? Three-thirty. Perfect. Mum, why don’t you and I pop down to the supermarket to pick up some nice meat and salady bits, and I’ll get Pete to dig the tent out.

Dad looks happy chasing Nathan and Daisy around, and Kate and Aleksis can get some more practice in.

Then I’ll get Pete to fire up the barbecue around sixish – that’ll keep him happy.

What does everyone reckon – does that sound like a plan? ’

‘If you’re sure you don’t mind,’ Aleksis says. ‘It would be nice for Kate to get to spend some more time with you.’

‘Then it’s decided. Pete!’ she calls, and when she’s got his attention, she says, ‘Can you grab the tent out of the shed please, love? There’s a problem with the flight so everyone’s staying over. Me and Mum are going to nip to the shops to get some stuff for the barbie.’

‘Oh right, who’s sleeping in the tent?’ he asks, before the penny drops. ‘Ohhhh, I see. Right, come on then, kids! Who wants to help me put the tent up?’

They squeal with delight when they realise what this means.

Sarah disappears off to let Olivia know we don’t need hotel rooms after all, leaving Aleksis and me alone back in the dining room, where we finally make some progress with our tango.

By the time the first wafts of barbecue smoke catch our attention, I’ve memorised the first half of the routine and we’ve started working on the second.

We’re a bit behind schedule, but our cancelled flight no longer feels like a catastrophe.