Page 91 of If Ever

I want to cry because my whole body aches and I have no more gas in my tank, but I remind myself there's only forty-eight hours left and I'll be done. During the break I call Tom, but he's on stage at this point. Missing him, I send a text instead.

By the time I get home at 10 p.m. I'm so exhausted, but desperately need a shower. I rest my hands against the shower wall to make sure I don't accidentally fall asleep. Crawling into bed with my phone, I read a couple texts from Tom and smile, then realize it's two in the morning in New York and too late to call.

Sunday morning Dominic calls at seven to make sure I'm up. "Walking out the door," I lie, and decide it's time to get moving. We fit in an hour of rehearsal before heading to the sound stage. Somewhere in the middle of working around the impressive new set pieces, consulting with hair and makeup on styles, and getting my final spray tan, the rest of the cast arrives. Everyone from my very first week meanders the ballroom and trailer area like a college reunion. I get hugs from Vicky & Grant, but my highlight is Hank.

"Lookie who made the finale!" He pulls me into a bear hug.

"I've missed you. How've you been?"

"Happy as a tick at a nudist camp. And what about you? Is that English boy still sniffing around?"

"Hank!"

"What? It's all about pheromones. So?" He eyes me with a knowing glint.

I grin. "Yeah, I saw him in New York last week, but our visit was short."

"No need to fret. I have a feeling he'll be waiting for as long as it takes." He winks.

Once all the staging, blocking and meetings are finished, Dominic and I head back to the rehearsal studio. There's still awkward parts of our freestyle that Dominic's determined to fix. Before we start, I call Tom, but get his voice mail and remember he's performing at some big deal New York Gala. I send him a good luck text and turn my phone back to silent so I can concentrate. Dominic and I rehearse for three hours until we're dog-tired, and he calls it a night.

My muscles are like jelly, my feet are throbbing, and my stomach is grumbling for food. There was never enough time today to grab more than a banana or a yogurt. I sit against the wall. "I can't believe we're in the finals. I was hoping for two or three weeks tops. This is insane."

"It's awesome. You're the one who got us here."

I turn to him in disbelief. "Hardly. It's all you!"

"No. I can teach dance 24/7, but if I don't have someone with a huge heart, willing to put in the time, they'll never be any good. You're fearless, Chelsea. No matter what happened you refused to give up. Whether you were injured, or frustrated, or tired, you always give it your all."

"I didn't want to." I bemoan. Glancing at my friend, I can't believe how far we've come considering we could barely tolerate each other in the beginning.

He knocks his foot into mine. "Sure you did. When you set your mind to something, there's no stopping you."

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