Page 83 of If Ever

"The good news is you might get to see a certain sweet talking Brit again soon."

"Really?" I perk up, my exhaustion forgotten for the moment.

"The bad news is that not only is our flight officially canceled, so is every other flight today. We're going to have a hell of a time getting out of here even tomorrow."

But all I heard him say was that I'd get to see Tom.

The line for a cab winds around like a mile-long serpent. After shivering in the blizzard conditions until I no longer feel my fingers, L.A. is sounding pretty good. We finally climb into a warm cab and limp back to the city in snowy traffic.

Dominic is still in business mode on another phone call, but I'm hoping for a nap. I'm grossly disappointed when we pull up in front of a building in an area I've never seen before.

"Why aren't we at the hotel?"

Dominic ends his phone call and pays the driver. "Because we have a show to rehearse for." He gives me a fake cheery smile, but he's got to be dog-tired too.

"And where exactly are we?"

Dominic pushes his door open, and a bluster of snow whirls in as we climb out. "At the Gotta Dance Studio. It belongs to Nathan, one of the pros from a couple seasons ago. He's got an extra space where we can rehearse."

"Lucky us."

"We take the elevator up a couple floors and enter the studio. Photos of celebrity dancers line the wall and a shelf of awards lines the other. I trail after Dominic like a toddler, nodding and smiling to people as we pass.

Nathan gives us a rehearsal room with a lovely view of a brick office building. It's cold and bare and I'm hungry again.

Dominic makes himself at home, cueing up music on his laptop and spreading out his choreography notes on the windowsill. I dig through the lost and found boxes for something a little more suitable to practice in. I score a gray tank top and a pair of yoga pants with the words hot stuff on the rear end.

With a bracing breath we start on the next sequence of our dance. Dominic pauses a lot to rub his chin and rethink things. I'm on autopilot from hunger and exhaustion, not really taking in the meaning of this dance. At the moment it's just one more obligation before I'm free. His phone rings. It's a production call. I jump on the unexpected break and call Tom.

"How's it going?"

" Dominic is holding me hostage at the Gotta Dance Studio, rehearsing a number I don't understand because I'm too tired and hungry to think straight."

"I'm sure he knows what he's doing."

"Since when are you so buddy buddy with Dominic? He's a slave driver keeping us apart."

He laughs. "Only for a few more days."

"I suppose. What have you been up to?"

"I worked out earlier and my appointments for today got canceled, so right now I'm laid out on the couch watching a Mad Men marathon."

"That sounds heavenly."

"When do I get to see you?"

"I wish I knew. We haven't even finished the first number. Every few measures, he says, ‘insert cool lift,’ which makes me break out in a cold sweat. We still have a lot of work." I'm exhausted, and the thought of more hours of rehearsal makes me whimper.

"I'm sorry this is so painful, but it's your last chance to dance. And personally, I love watching you."

"Well, if you like it..."

"That a girl. A week from now it will all be over."

Dominic is finally off the phone. I dig in my bag and find a squished granola bar at the bottom to share with him. He takes that as a sign I'm ready to get back to work.

An hour later, we've been working on a sequence of lifts where I go from his shoulder, swing down his arm with my head barely missing the floor and land in the splits.

"Again," Dominic says.

My muscles are quivering from fatigue. "Why are we doing so many lifts and tricks?"

"Because once you learn what to do, you're really good at them," he says with a pointed look.

"I am?"

He shakes his head as if I already knew that. "Yes, now again."

---