Page 51 of Take the Lead
‘O ne day to go! ’ Liam has written in the Fire Dancers chat when I check my phone over breakfast. ‘ Hope your routines are coming together, K&T. Can’t wait to see them. ’
I’d been hoping for news from my sister, but I know it’s too early, even though she’s an hour ahead in France. I just want to know the camera bag has been successfully reclaimed. It would be nigh-on impossible to cobble together a new video montage now – there’s not enough time.
Beth wants help deciding what to wear on Saturday. Aleksis was right – all the eliminated dancers are going to be back on set to create a party atmosphere, but as they’re not competing, they’re not going to be dressed by the costume department.
Tammy tells us her mum and sisters are fighting over who’s going to come and watch the final. Her sisters think they’d benefit more from being on TV, while her mum says it should be her and Tammy’s dad cos they’re older and might not get another chance.
‘ Can’t the show make an allowance and squeeze a few extra people in for the final? ’ Liam asks. ‘ If they’re worried about it giving you an unfair advantage, they can just not give the extra people a keypad. ’
Tammy admits she hadn’t thought of that and says she’ll talk to Olivia to see if she can sort something out.
I put my phone away then, so I can focus on the day ahead, but it’s a struggle not to keep checking it every five minutes on the way to the studio.
I’m not going to be able to relax until I’ve heard from Dee.
I’m desperate to know if her airport mission has been a success, but my phone remains stubbornly silent.
By mid-morning, when there’s still no news, I buckle and impatiently dial her home number. She’d have to be back by now if it had all gone to plan. But it rings out with no answer, and there’s no response from her mobile, Pete’s mobile or Mum’s mobile either.
‘Where are they all? Why are they torturing me like this?’ I moan to Aleksis.
Even Sarah hasn’t been in touch, and she must be having kittens about the AWOL footage by now if it’s not back in her possession.
‘I’m sure we would have heard from her if there was a problem,’ Aleksis says. ‘They’d have to be talking to us about replacement footage by now if they hadn’t got hold of it. Your sister is probably just busy doing all the uploads and Sarah’s probably talking her through it.’
He sounds calm and rational – the exact opposite to how I feel. My body is jittery from the stress.
When the phone finally rings, I nearly jump out of my skin. I break away from Aleksis mid-dance and sprint to my bag, praying for some good news. But it’s Aleksis’s phone, not mine, and his sister’s number is on the screen. His eyebrows shoot up as he listens to what she has to say.
‘I’m putting you on loudspeaker,’ he says eventually. ‘So Kate can hear this too.’
‘I was just letting Aleksis know that Stella has come up with an event tonight that’s guaranteed to get you back in the headlines,’ she explains. ‘It’s a good one.’
This momentarily puts the brakes on my growing panic about the camera. ‘What is it?’
‘Eden Shay is putting on an exclusive gig at a pub in Brixton ahead of the launch of her new album and there are lots of celebrities going, so there’ll be lots of cameras. You’ll need to be there at six-thirty sharp if you’re going to make the red carpet, but it’s really close to your studio.’
‘As in the Eden Shay?’ I check, thinking I must have misheard. ‘Like, bestselling artist of the last decade Eden Shay?’
‘Exactly,’ she confirms. ‘Stella was still feeling bad about my interview getting bumped for Merle’s, so when she spotted Merle’s name on the guest list that gets circulated to the press to make them want to send photographers, she called in a favour to get you two an invite.’
‘Are you serious?’ I didn’t think it would be possible to top last week’s film premiere, but I love Eden Shay.
‘I am. And this would even the playing field somewhat, so I hope you’ll agree to go. The last thing you want is Merle and Emilia splashed all over the internet tomorrow instead of you.’
‘Just try and stop me!’ I gush. ‘And please pass on a massive thank you to Stella from me. This is a dream come true.’
I look up at Aleksis to check he’s as keen as I am, and he confirms it with an enthusiastic grin. Then he hits his sister with such a cheeky request that I’m surprised she doesn’t decide to keep the tickets for herself.
‘Any chance you could swing by the apartment to pick up some clothes for us and bring them down to the studio this afternoon? It’d save us having to trek halfway across London and back and cut our rehearsal short. You know where I hide the spare key.’
Amazingly this makes her laugh. ‘I suppose so, seeing as you asked so nicely. But you’ll owe me big time.’
‘Don’t I know it,’ he replies.
‘I’ll chuck in some towels and soap as well, if you like. I presume there are sinks there that you can use to freshen up. And do you want me to bring a couple of my dresses again, Kate? In case there’s something you like the look of.’
I’m sure she’ll have something gorgeous. ‘I’d love that, thank you.’
‘Great, then I’ll see you around five-thirty.’
Aleksis tells her she’s a legend, then puts his phone back in his bag. And our rehearsal goes much better for the following couple of hours. With the gig to look forward to, Dee and the camera bag are temporarily forgotten.
It’s nearly two by the time my own phone pings – this time with the news I’ve been waiting for all day. I whoop as soon as I see the text from Olivia.
‘ We’ve got it ,’ I read out to Aleksis. ‘ Your sister’s really gone the extra mile. We’ll organise a little something to say thank you. ’
‘Thank goodness for that,’ Aleksis laughs, high fiving me then pulling me in for a kiss.
‘I think I might cry. It’s such a relief.’
‘Don’t do that,’ he says. ‘Let’s celebrate with a quick lunch break, then we’ll switch to the salsa again. You’ve been brilliant this week by the way, in case you didn’t already know. Despite all the disruption, you’re picking up both routines really well.’
‘It’s because I’m enjoying it. This salsa might even be my favourite dance. I wouldn’t have said that four weeks ago.’
Four weeks ago, I would have dug my heels in and flat-out refused to dance it again in the final. How different things are now. How different I am.
Sofiya arrives bang on time, and drops off a suitcase full of the things we need to get ready.
After we’ve splashed ourselves clean in the sinks, got changed and I’ve speedily done my hair and make-up, we check ourselves out in the mirror – and I have to admit, I’m impressed.
You’d never guess we’d thrown it all together in under an hour.
I’ve selected a short white prom dress with a sheer embellished layer over the top.
The white underlayer has a strapless bodice and a flared skirt, while the sheer layer adds delicate streaks of silver to the skirt and an intense swirl of silver to the bodice that creeps up onto each shoulder.
It’s stunning. Aleksis has opted for pale grey trousers and a crisp white T-shirt, which complement the dress perfectly.
‘Your sister has such good taste,’ I smile.
‘It runs in the family,’ he says and pulls me towards him for a kiss.
It’s only a ten-minute walk to the gig and when we arrive we’re instantly swept up in a flurry of camera flashes and fans calling out to us for selfies. We pose with a few, then stop in front of the waiting paparazzi, who ask us to turn this way and that so they can all get their shots in.
There are more than I expected, but when I later spot high-profile models, Premier League footballers and TV stars inside the pub, I realise why. We’re among red-carpet royalty. I can hardly believe my luck.
I catch a brief glimpse of Merle and Emilia on the other side of the room, but it’s a big enough venue that we don’t cross paths. And once Eden Shay walks out onto the makeshift stage, no one is looking anywhere but at her.
There’s something mesmerising about her as she thanks everyone for coming along.
It’s that stage presence you just can’t explain.
And even though she only sings six songs, chatting in between about what inspired each one, it’s one of the best gigs I’ve ever been to.
I’ve never been so close to the front before. I could almost reach out and touch her.
I can’t stop raving about it when we find ourselves back out on the street just over an hour later. ‘I wish we could go back in and watch it all again. That last song has brought me out in goose bumps.’
Aleksis puts his arms round me when he sees me shivering.
‘I don’t want to go home yet, do you?’ I ask, as we watch a soap actress slip out of the venue and climb quickly into a waiting car.
‘Not really. It’s too early for bed and we won’t gain anything by trying to squeeze in any more dance practice now.’
My eyes follow the car as it speeds away. ‘Where do you think she’d go, if she fancied an after-party?’
‘Mayfair?’ he suggests. ‘We could always head that way too and treat ourselves to some fancy food at Nobu.’
It feels like a fitting way to round off such a brilliant evening.
But there are no free tables at short notice on a Friday night, so we end up squeezing into an Italian restaurant close by, for a less extravagant but equally tasty feast.
Still on a high, we kiss all the way home in the taxi. And back at the apartment our upbeat mood continues. We pour ourselves a nightcap and take it to the sofa, still jabbering on about our favourite parts of the evening, as well as the other bands we’d like to see in such an intimate setting.
Aleksis idly traces the hem of my skirt with his fingers while we’re talking, until eventually they find their way under the folds of material. A knowing look passes between us and we both put our drinks on the coffee table without another word.
We move closer together and he runs his hand up my thigh. When he reaches the lace of my knickers, he hooks them to one side and reaches inside. I lean back and smile, impressed that he always manages to find just the right spot.
After I’ve raised my hips so he can help me wriggle free of my underwear, he swings me up onto his lap so we can kiss while he touches me. As our tongues meet I can feel him stirring through his trousers beneath me.
He tucks his hands under my bum and lifts it until I’m kneeling in front of him, his mouth now level with my clit, and I pull my skirt out of the way so he can open me up with his tongue, the waves of pleasure instantly making me light-headed. He grips the backs of my thighs to hold me steady.
I lean my arms on the back of the sofa so he can let go of my legs to undo his trousers, and somehow he manages to push them just far enough out of the way with his mouth never leaving me.
I lower myself onto his lap and he enters me from below, his hands caressing my breasts through the material of my dress, his trousers caught up round his ankles, neither of us wanting to interrupt the flow to finish undressing.
As we rock against each other he brushes his lips across my cheeks and I kiss his neck. Then our mouths meet again, his tongue seeking mine hungrily.
I push myself up into a crouch, plunging him deeper inside me and he uses his hands to help me bounce.
I can feel how hard he is inside me, but just when I think he’s about to come, he lifts me away so that I’m standing between his knees, wriggles closer to the edge of the sofa and puts his tongue back on my clit, the bliss all mine again.
When he feels my legs wobble, he spins me round and brings me back down onto his lap, this time unzipping my dress and tossing it aside before he reaches for my breasts and then enters me again. I watch his toes curl each time I rise and fall above him.
‘Oh Kate,’ he gasps, his body starting to buck under me. He clings to my hips while he comes.
Barely recovered, he moves a hand to my clit, and my orgasm isn’t far behind his.
‘You’ve made me hard again,’ he murmurs, as my jerks slow to quivers. Which won’t get any complaints from me.
We move to the rug, and if I ever thought multiple orgasms were a myth, I don’t any more. The first one has barely subsided before the second one is ricocheting through me, courtesy of his tongue. I couldn’t have asked for a better end to the night.
When we finally curl up in bed and he pulls me into his arms, I realise I’ve gone the whole evening without giving a second thought to the Fire on the Dance Floor final tomorrow. In fact, there’s only one thought racing round my head as I close my eyes – I think I’m falling in love .