“T, switch places with Morgan.” Excuse me?
“I want you with Justin. Morgan, switch over to Ryan.” Again… excuse me?
I reluctantly move across the room and catch Morgan’s death stare. Trust me sweetheart; I’m not any happier about this than you are. It’s bad enough I’m struggling to hold my head up, but to have to adjust being on the left when for a solid month I’ve been dancing on the right? Marty is trying to kill me.
I hear the music start up again and I literally want to blow my own eardrums out. It was fine the first 20 times I heard it, but now I’m starting to pick up on the words and they’re really starting to grate on my nerves. Jesus, could the man sing any higher? And what the hell does “lovestoned” mean anyway?
My body moves the way its been trained to, and instead of focusing on the piercing falsetto voice booming through the speakers I tune in more to the music. The beat is reverberating in my ears and it feels good to just move naturally to the sound.
After a couple of minutes, I feel him tense up before I even realize what I’ve done. My brain suddenly clicks on and I am met face to face with Justin Timberlake’s crotch. The music has stopped and all my senses are jerked back into place. I feel the weight of his hands fall off my shoulders as I jump up and back away, trying my best to hide my flushed face and not bolt out of the room.
“Was she supposed to do that?” I hear Justin pant out.
Shit, was I? I can’t even remember. See, this is what happens when you finally get a routine down. You just stop thinking and your body moves for you. And to think I thought that was a good thing.
I look to Marty who has an arm wrapped around his body while he holds his chin in his free hand. His confused look is starting to freak me out and I’m almost positive he’s about to embarrass the hell out of me in just a few seconds.
“I’m not sure.” Wow, wasn’t expecting that.
Marty walks over next to Justin and takes a moment to faintly dance out the choreography. I watch him with eager eyes, praying that he gets down on his knees at one point. It sounds dirty but I’m desperate to know that I haven’t just unconsciously sexually assaulted Justin Timberlake.
A minute passes and Marty has yet to answer. He backs up again and squints at me.
“Did you add that?” Oh hell.
“I really don’t know,” I shrug. God, I probably look like the biggest idiot right now.
Marty moves his mouth to say something but decides against it. Good Lord in heaven, please don’t fire me.
“Well, I don’t know where the hell that came from but I like it. Let’s keep that in there.”
Oh thank you Jesus. Now the only problem is that I have no idea how I ended up in that position and exactly what Marty is talking about. Hopefully the music will be enough to remind me.
“You always dance dirty?”
It takes me a second to process what he just said cause I’m still on edge from what just happened. I decide to be daring.
“Only when the songs are,” I bite back. I expect a comeback but Justin just lets out a chuckle and moves back to his place and cues the music. Ha. I love being sassy.
I follow in his suit and move back in position. The heavy beats of Chop Me Up flow into the room and my ears perk up. Finally, a song in a normal and bearable key.
All sassiness aside though, the man really does have talent. In the short amount of time I’ve known him, Justin Timberlake has proved that he is a hundred and ten percent the entertainer he claims to be. His moves are effortless and that makes my job that much more enjoyable. If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s a crappy dance partner, i.e. my ex-boyfriend. Let’s just not go there.
Back to the situation at hand, Justin is now singing along to the music and I’m impressed at how well he holds his voice. It’s immaculately clear and steady, and it actually sounds better live, a little edgier than the voice on the CD if that’s even possible. Guess all those boy band years really paid off.
The music fades to a stop and Marty calls out to us to break before some final words before we can go home. I wipe my sweat and walk over to the corner of the studio, finally sitting after what seems like at least a decade of dancing. I’m immediately reminded of my aching body once I plop down onto the floor and my heartbeat starts to even out. I take a long, overdue gulp of my water bottle.
Is this day ever going end?
Have you ever had one of those days where you suddenly realize that you’ve taken on more than you can handle? I have and unfortunately, this is one of them. I know I told Marty that I wanted something hot for the new tour and though the choreography is tight, I’m having a hard time keeping up. It doesn’t help that this new girl is showing me up like crazy.
I’m excited though. I’ve been itching to get on the road ever since the release of the album. Finally be out of the public eye for a minute.
“J? You got it?” Note to self: stop zoning out.
“Huh?”
“The count,” Marty presses. “Do you get it?”
“Oh! Yeah man, I got it.” Fuck, it’s been a long day.
Marty moves to talk to the other guys and I finally feel like I can breathe. I don’t know how these dancers do it. This shit is brutal sometimes.
I take a couple minutes to make sure I got everything down right before walking to the back of the room and taking a seat on the couch with my water bottle. My eyes gaze across the room and I catch Morgan staring at me. She winks and I fight the urge not to grimace. Don’t get me wrong. Morgan is a pretty girl, which is the reason I slept with her on the last tour. But that’s all she’s ever been. A pretty girl who served my male needs when it was convenient. I’m not proud of it but I was young. It probably wasn’t the best idea to invite her back for this tour, but she’s a great dancer and I would’ve been an idiot not to.
I wave back to Morgan with a forced smile and push my eyes elsewhere, finally landing on Caylee. She’s talking to the new chick and they seem to be getting along pretty well. This doesn’t surprise me considering Caylee’s probably one of the friendliest people in the world. The girl could make Satan himself shit rainbows and sprinkles.
It only takes a minute before I’m caught staring as Caylee and the new chick both turn their heads towards me. Caylee tilts her head and gives me a smile so bright that for a second, I think her face might break in half. I laugh, giving her a smile just as big. Silly girl.
My eyes slide over to the new chick and I offer her a nod with a smile. She flashes me a quick smile back before turning back to Caylee and I’m left beside myself again. As soon as she turns away I realize that I don’t even know her name. I’ve only heard Marty call her ‘T’ and unless her parents were too unoriginal and lazy to think of an actual name, I’m pretty sure that it’s short for something. Maybe Tia. Or Tyra. Definitely something saucy judging from the way she was dancing earlier. Almost gave me a damn hard-on by the way she was rubbing her ass against me. What? I’m a 25-year-old male. I can’t help that shit.
It doesn’t help that things between Cam and I have been strained. We had a long talk last night and as much as it hurts, we both know it’s coming to an end. With me going on tour and her doing her own thing, it’s just not gonna work out. I’m just happy we’re both on the same page about it.
“Alright guys, circle up!” Marty calls. I rub a hand over my face and walk over to stand next to him. I hope he makes this quick.
“Okay, so great rehearsal today. Everyone looks pretty solid and now we can work on brushing up the little stuff. We got about a week before the first show and we’re goin’ to be spending all of next week rehearsing on stage, getting familiar with the layout. So rest up, and I’ll see ya’ll Monday. Noon sharp, alright?”
I feel a nudge on my arm and I look up.
“You got anything to say, J?”
“Uh, yeah… just um, good work. I really appreciate ya’ll being here. So thanks.” Fuck, could I sound any more insincere? Nice, Timberlake.
“Alright. See ya’ll Monday.”
Marty and I share a couple words before he takes off to talk to some of the other dancers. I make my way to my bag and start packing up. God, I can’t wait to get home.
“Hey J!” an unmistakable and perky voice greets from behind me. Fuck.
“Hey, what’s up girl?” Just be polite.
“Oh, not much. You know, same old,” Morgan giggles. What the hell is so funny?
“Yeah? You look good.” She giggles again and I kick myself for even opening my mouth. I really need to learn how to turn off the fucking charm every now and then.
“Aw, thanks J! You look good too. You excited about the tour?” What the fuck do you think? It’s only my fucking tour.
“Of course I am.” Okay, that came off a little harsh but fuck it, I’m tired.
“Alright, well I have to get going.” Thank God. “I’ll see you Monday. Bye!”
She leans in for a kiss and I luckily turned my head quick enough for her lips to barely graze my cheek. Clearly she hasn’t gotten the point that I’m no longer interested.
“Yeah, see ya’,” I say less enthusiastically. I roll my eyes and pick up my bag as she walks away. I’m definitely going to need to set some ground rules before the tour starts.
“Hey, sorry about earlier.” The voice catches me by surprise and I turn around to see the new chick.
“Sorry? For what?”
“For that move. I just, I got into the routine and I guess I lost myself for a second. I wasn’t trying to…” she trails off. I grin. Watching a girl blush never gets old.
“It’s okay. No harm done. It was actually pretty hot. Definitely gonna give the audience something to talk about.”
“Yeah, guess so,” she laughs. She’s got a cute laugh. “Listen, I don’t want to keep you. I just wanted to make sure-“
“It’s all good.” Oh Jesus, did I just say that?
She nods and purses her lips into a smile. With a wave, she heads to the door and I remember I never got her name.
“Hey, do always go by ‘T’ or do you have a name?” I call out with a grin.
“Tanith,” she smirks.
Tanith. It’s no Tia or Tyra but it’s cute. Very cute.
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