The Perfect Couple (5 page)

“What is this?” she asked softly, looking down at the red-circled advertisement.

“It’s a competition,” Daniel explained as Cara skimmed over the words halfheartedly. “A dance competition. After we talked about your future I did some searching. I don’t want you to give up on your dream, Cara, and I sure as hell don’t want you to leave the city. This is the answer to all of your problems.”

Surprised, Cara read into the advertisement a bit more, wondering how on earth this could get her out of the situation she was currently in.

Attention All Dancers,

Do you think you have what it takes to earn the title of ‘America’s Best Dancer’? We are looking for enthusiastic, energetic, dancing professionals in both street and stage to compete for top prizes in a nationally televised competition.

There was a website to visit for the auditions and requirements plus more information. Cara read the advertisement again, remembering a few of her friends watching the show and discussing who had left and who was still in the running for the prize money.

“I’ve already gone to the website, Cara,” Daniel continued, an edge of excitement in his voice. “They are looking for couples this time and the money, well, it’s $100,000 this time. Just think what that will provide for you, not to mention the top 12 tour if we make it that far.” He then reached across the table and laid his hand on hers, forcing her to meet his eyes. “This is what you needed, Cara, this is the big break that could open a wealth of doors for you if your name goes viral.”

“But, but this is a couples competition,” Cara stuttered, her mind now whirling with possibilities. Could she do this? The publicity of being on TV was on a larger, grander scale than any tour or production could be. The cash money was just an added bonus. Winning the competition would relieve the stress for a few months, even provide a better living situation but most importantly, it would keep her in the city, free to pursue whatever she wanted to. Having that title on her résumé would elevate her to another level.

“If you want to do this, I would like to be your partner.”

“Seriously?” Cara asked, seeing the determination in Daniel’s expression. “Why would you want to do that? What about the tour?” There was no way that he could go and do the show with her and then fulfill the requirements of rehearsing for the tour. Plus, if they won, there would be a tour in itself with the show.

“Screw the tour, this sounds so much more fun,” Daniel said with a grin. “Just think of it, Cara. We could take the dancing world by storm. All we need to do is get you caught up on the current dancing techniques and then nothing could stop us.”

“I don’t know,” Cara replied, thinking of all the styles she knew and all she would have to learn. Ballet had been her main focus for so long but she had some experience in others as most ballet professionals did. The newer, more popular styles like Daniel excelled at, well, she didn’t have a lick of knowledge in those. “I haven’t, I just don’t know, Daniel.”

“We have three weeks before auditions,” Daniel continued, ignoring her protests. “I can easily teach you everything in three weeks. You’re talented and a quick learner, Cara.”

Cara didn’t say anything but instead looked beyond Daniel, out of the window and at the city beyond. She loved it here but if she didn’t find work soon, even the money her parents had sent would run out and she would be forced to return home. Her very livelihood depended on her finding work and soon. This,
if
they could win, would give her enough money until she could find work. Could she do this? Could she put herself out there with Daniel and throw caution to the wind? “How long would the competition be?”

“Two months give or take,” Daniel shrugged as if he had all the time in the world. “Then you have the promotional tour after the show which is another three to six months if you make it into the top twelve.”

“So I would be taking a huge chance by agreeing to this crazy plan,” Cara finally said with a sigh. If they were eliminated right off the bat she would be no worse for wear, but the longer they would be in the competition, the faster she would blow through her funds just paying for an apartment she wouldn’t even be living in.

“If you had just moved in with me you wouldn’t be worrying about rent and such,” Daniel replied softly.

“You know I couldn’t do that. We barely know each other,” Cara reminded him gently, pushing the paper back toward him. “I don’t know, Daniel. This is a huge risk for both of us. What if we fail?”

“What if we win?” he countered, pushing the paper back toward her. “Just think about it, Cara. If you don’t want to do it, then we won’t but I think it’s your best option personally.” He then pushed out of the booth and leaned down, brushing his lips across her cheek gently. “And I will not allow you to dump me no matter what your crazy fool notion of ruining my life is. I will call you later and you can give me your decision.”

Cara sighed as she watched Daniel leave, nothing about this meeting going her way. They were supposed to break up, not get wrapped up in an adventure that Cara’s livelihood would hinge on.

“Ugh,” Cara whispered, looking down at the paper. Should she take a chance? Should she throw caution to the wind and take this chance by the horns? Did she dare?

***

“This is stupid. I should just walk away now.”

Cara muttered the line over and over again as she trudged toward the dance studio that Daniel had secured for their practices, her heart in her throat. She had given a great deal of thought to Daniel’s proposition, weighing her pros and cons but in the end, the thought of actually winning was just too much to pass up. Now though, her conscience was in turmoil. What if she failed? What if they didn’t make it past the auditions? What would she do then?

“Are you going to stand out there all day, Cara, or are you going to come in?” Daniel asked from the front door of the studio as Cara stood on the sidewalk out front.

Cara narrowed her eyes at Daniel’s grinning face as she stepped inside the cool interior of the dance studio, wondering if he had any reservations about this audition. By the looks of it, she doubted he had many reservations about anything.

“I’m glad you decided to do this, Cara.”

“I haven’t totally resigned myself to doing this,” she muttered, though the chance to back out had long passed. She had submitted her application last night online after giving Daniel the go-ahead to start scheduling training. Cara knew she could just not show up for the audition but she had never backed out of one in her entire career and she didn’t plan on doing it now. Now, she was in it for the long haul, however long that might be. “Let’s just get this started, okay?”

Daniel smirked but said nothing as Cara put her bag down and went through a series of stretches in order to limber up her body. Ballet she could do with her eyes closed but stepping out of the box was going to be a strain on her physical limitations.

“I think we need to look at both of our strengths and weaknesses,” Daniel was saying as he contorted his own body through a series of stretches. Cara would have had to be blind not to notice his shirtless form, dressed in only a pair of loose workout shorts. His shoulders and chest were well defined and Cara’s mouth went dry at the sight of his six-pack abs rippling as he stretched them. Had she gone through a small maniacal episode to ever think she could dump him? He was such a fine specimen of a man and the things he was putting aside to help her out, well Cara couldn’t imagine anyone else doing the same. It had to mean that he truly cared for her and she had been on the verge of throwing it all away.

“Cara, are you going to answer?”

“What?” Cara forced out, finding the quizzical eyes of the man in her thoughts looking at her intently. “Sorry, I wasn’t listening.”

“I asked what you knew,” Daniel chuckled, winking at her.

“I know classical of course,” Cara stated, a faint blush stealing across her cheeks. “I’m decent in some ballroom dancing and I have some knowledge of contemporary choreography. Hip-hop and street is my weakness.”

“Lucky you, that’s my strong point,” Daniel laughed as he fiddled with the CD player. “My weakness is classical. I am pretty well versed in ballroom and contemporary.”

“Really?” Cara asked, surprised. “I wouldn’t have pegged you as a ballroom type of guy.”

Daniel laughed as the rhythmic beat of a hip-hop score filled the air, motioning for her to come closer. “My mom started me out in ballroom. I was the tango champion two years running when I was in middle school.”

Cara giggled as she thought of Daniel marching down the ballroom with a rose in his mouth as she walked over to him, resisting the urge to make a tango move in front of him. Instead he pointed to his feet and turned the music up. “Watch my feet, Cara. The moves are simple. The whole point of hip-hop is to make it look flawless, which is no different than any other dance.” Cara stood back and watched as Daniel started some simple moves, making it indeed look flawless. Everything was timed to perfection with the music, his body movements quick but easily transitioning from one to another. It looked, well, pretty complicated and some of the hope of actually passing the audition dwindled inside. Still, it was pretty amazing watching Daniel dance.

The music ended and Daniel wiped his forehead, his entire chest glistening with sweat. It was enough to set Cara’s insides to quivering. “See, that wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“That was amazing,” Cara said, crossing her arms over her chest to keep from touching him. “But totally not something I can do, not even close.”

“Oh ye of little faith,” Daniel grinned, holding out his hands. “Come on, I will walk you through the steps.”

Cara blew out a breath and placed her hands in his, gasping as he pulled her close, kissing the tip of her nose. “Now this is a nice way to dance,” he said.

“Daniel,” she started, her body heating at the feel of his bare chest rubbing against hers. Daniel silenced her by pressing his lips to hers, his kiss hungry and hot. Cara found herself melting against him, her own resolve weakening as he molded his lips to hers, tasting every inch of her mouth. She had missed his touch.

“Cara,” he mumbled against her lips. “God, I missed you.”

Cara sighed and pushed away, trying to gather her bearings and focus on the reason they were here. “We need to get started on this dancing thing.”

Daniel sighed heavily and released her hands, turning back toward the music while Cara gulped air into her lungs, her body on fire for the man before her. She couldn’t allow this relationship to cloud this shot at redeeming herself and moving her career forward. There was too much on the line.

Daniel turned around, his lips in a tight line as the music filled the air. Cara knew he was mad at her and a twinge of guilt ran through her body at what she was putting him through by trying to help her. He could have walked away. If only he had just walked away when she had asked. “Come on, let’s do this then.”

***

“Dammit, Cara, not that way, this way. You aren’t transitioning into the next step correctly. It has to be smooth. You aren’t trying hard enough.”

“God, you should have been a drill instructor,” Cara muttered as she tried the step again, hearing Daniel cluck in disappointment once again. She wanted to take his tongue and shove it down his throat. This was day two of complete and utter torture and Cara didn’t think she was going to survive many more. Her legs ached from the awkward bending and movements, her head hurt from the pounding of the music instead of the soft, dreamy music she was used to. She had officially decided that she hated hip-hop.

“Dammit, I can’t do this,” she said for the thousandth time, collapsing on the floor wringing with sweat. “I can’t do this, Daniel. Are you sure we have to? Can’t we just do the ballroom dancing instead?”

“I’m positive,” Daniel said firmly, coming to sit beside her on the floor. “I watched some of the previous competitions. Ballroom dancing doesn’t usually get loads of compliments during the auditions. We need to wow the judges, not bore them to tears. Besides you have to know a wealth of dancing variations or you won’t win. You do want to win, don’t you?”

“I want to walk tomorrow,” Cara muttered, rubbing her aching calves. She wanted to put on her ballet shoes instead of these sneakers. She wanted to be preparing for her final dance performance before graduation instead of trying this fool plan of a television competition. She wanted to be a success instead of a complete and utter failure. “I’m sorry. I’m just frustrated and I’m taking it out on you.”

“God, Cara, it’s okay,” Daniel said, running a hand through his wet hair. “I know this is a lot to throw at you and I’m sorry. I haven’t been easy either. I just want to give us every opportunity to win this thing.”

“We have to get through auditions first,” Cara sighed, picking at the lint on her yoga pants. How were they going to do that, unless… “I got it!”

“Got what?” Daniel asked as Cara jumped up from the floor. “Cara?”

“We need to mix it up,” Cara explained, her mind rolling with ideas. “Hip-hop is your strong point, ballet is mine. What if we found a song that incorporated both? I think I could transition from a ballet move to hip-hop easier instead of learning a full-on hip-hop routine.” Spinning around, she looked at Daniel, who wasn’t looking at her like she was crazy. That had to be a good sign. “Well, what do you think? Do you think you know enough ballet to make it happen, Daniel?”

“Hell yeah, I know enough to get by.” Daniel grinned, pushing himself off of the floor. “That’s brilliant, Cara. It would show both of our strengths but also the ability to transition into another genre.” Daniel then grabbed her by the waist and spun her around. “You’re awesome.”

Cara giggled and grabbed his shoulders as he gently set her down, her fingers burning under the heat of his bare skin. She could see the desire in his eyes and felt the hint of desire running though her own veins. “Yeah, well, shouldn’t we start working on a routine then?” she breathed, her internal core wishing he would never let go of her. She loved it when he held her close.

“Of course,” he said politely, dropping his hands and stepping back, his jaw clenched. They were never going to survive this without internally combusting first, Cara thought as she gathered herself back together, tamping down the feelings running amok in her body. The sexual tension was almost too much to bear.