Page 30 of If Ever

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The press attention causes Dominic and I to arrive late to the post show party. We enter the restaurant to cheers from the cast for our perfect tens. I'm touched. The lights are low and the music pumping. Whatever's being served smells delicious.

As the group turns back to their conversations, I spot Tom smiling at me from across the room. I wave. Cassie, the redheaded pro dancer is leaning in, she touches his arm to draw his attention back to her. When Tom excuses himself, Cassie frowns.

He joins me, looking great in a pair of jeans and a button down shirt. "Thanks for the invite. You were absolutely smashing."

"I'm so glad you made it," I say, suddenly nervous.

"Can I buy you a drink?"

"I'm pretty sure they're already paid for by the show."

Tom laughs. "Yes, I know."

"Oh. Right." We wander to the bar and I order a rum and Coke.

He leans his elbow on the bar as we wait. "So how did you find my song?"

"A friend from college spent a semester abroad in England and watched the show you were on. She showed me on YouTube."

The bartender hands me my drink, and Tom leads us to a highboy. "It goes to show, you never know how one opportunity leads to another."

His accent is mesmerizing with its romantic lilt and I could stay lost in it forever. "I also saw your performance on the Tony awards."

"Yeah?"

"You were amazing. I can't imagine how you could stand up there by yourself, knowing you're in front of millions of people."

"I couldn't sleep the night before." He laughs. "But it's no different than you getting out there every week on national TV."

"At least I'm not alone. I have Dominic to make sure I don't mess up too bad." But Tom's right. I am performing in front of millions, and yet I don't feel like the world is watching, only the people in the ballroom and that's bad enough.

"Well, thank you for bringing me out here. As long as we're making confessions, you should know that I've been watching Celebrity Dance Off all season."

"Really?"

"One of my cast mates loves the show, and because Celebrity Dance Off airs on Monday nights, I'm free to watch. We always tune in on Tuesdays during intermission to see who's voted off."

"That's so weird that professional performers would want to watch a show about amateurs."

"Are you kidding? Live performances, amazing choreography, watching some schlepp with two left feet try to dance each week."

"Yeah, that's me."

"Not even close. I will admit though that at the beginning I didn't think you had a chance." He winces.

"You and ten million other viewers." I laugh.

"It made me root for you." He touches my hand. I smile. "You were the underdog, the unknown, and I know how intimidating this must have been for you."

"It still is!"

"Well, you've shown them all tonight." He raises his drink and we touch glasses. "You deserved every one of those tens."

A new song plays and several of the dancers from the show spin onto the dance floor. I'm not sure if they're doing a rumba or a samba. Tom's hand appears in front of me. I stare at him.

His smile is warm and casual. "Want to dance?"

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