Dancing So Hard the World Bends

Jules was tired of how meals worked on this show by the third day.

Apart from the first night’s dinner, the men were left on their own for meals. The kitchen had been stocked with what you’d usually get from a run to the grocery store. Fresh fruits and vegetables, yogurt, eggs, a small selection of meats… but you were on your own to cook your meal.

It made for some uncomfortable moments. Akira kept nuking fish for lunch until he’d been booted from the show. Christian kept stealing the good cuts of meat. Kyle had always ordered a pizza from a place whose pies were just too large for the refrigerator. Not to mention Zach always ate bananas in a way that made Jules wonder if there was something on Zach’s mind.

It was the worst of cooking at home and sharing an office kitchenette put into a single package.

With most of the contestants eliminated it was getting easier to scrounge together a decent meal. But an omelet with some Canadian bacon topped with a dollop of salsa? He could cook that anywhere!

After scarfing that down he started back towards his room. Tonight was do or die for him.

He stopped only because the door to Kristina’s room slid open. And out stepped an exhausted Ryan, wearing what remained of a suit and tie. Her hair was all over the place. And Jules noticed she wasn’t wearing her chest binding.

She leaned forward, kissing Kirstina on the lips one last time before the door finally closed behind her. That was when Ryan saw that Jules was there and had seen it all. Her look of satisfaction gave way to looking like she wanted to die.

It didn’t matter to Jules much. He gave her a quick thumbs’ up and went on his way.

“Before you go.” Ryan held up her hand and stopped Jules. “Christian and his stupid minions tried to derail my date last night. Be ready for that.”

That was insane to Jules. Running interference on dates felt like it was against the spirit of the ‘competition’. If this wasn’t against the actual rules then what the hell kind of show were they running?

----

The costume and makeup crew had been given some oddly specific instruction.

They’d been asked to put Kristina in a smooth red dress. It was one she recognized in an instant. Skylar Linear’s films might have been among her favorites, but Seven Nights a Sinner was the film that had changed her life. It was romantic comedy with some musical elements. Mostly some dance sequences where the two leads would square off.

The shoes were the only part of her outfit that weren’t a dead ringer for the movie. Kristina was given some comfortable shoes. These were apparently another in-show advertisement, but these were some higher-end athletic shoes. They were comfortable. But what kind of exercise was she going to do in this dress?

Even in the limo she was left in the dark. She had always been given an idea of what date was coming her way. But this time, not even Diane really knew what the plan was. She was sitting in the car with her, staring at her tablet in bewilderment.

Kristina wasn’t sure what kind of restaurant she expected to arrive at. But as she walked in, she saw all of the tables were surrounding a dance floor in the center with a live band playing music off to the side.

She took a quick peek at the menu. This place looked like it served upscale American classics. Your cheeseburgers, cheesesteaks, hot dogs with cheese on them. This must have been a nightmare for the lactose intolerant.

The chair across from her squeaked. Time to get this started. But before she could give a witty remark to Jules, she realized that wasn’t who had sat down across from her.

It was Christian. “Hi. Sorry, I needed to talk to you.”

“Christian?” Kristina looked around. “What are you doing here?”

“I had to do something.” He leaned in.

Kristina was shocked but not for the reasons she assumed Christian hoped. “This isn’t the time, Christian. I’m supposed to be on a date.”

Christian sighed. “I know. But Jules is leading you on.”

Him? Everything Jules had done was so low-effort that she found it hard to believe. It was almost admirable how much he did not care. At this point she wanted to see what happened when he had to try.

She stared at Christian’s hand as he reached out to take her hand in his. “Please. I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”

Which is what you’d say either way.

Everything grew quiet as a violinist stood. He rosined up his box and began to play. And from the first notes, Kristina was no longer there.

She was in her family’s living room, sitting under a thick blanket and holding a soiled tissue. Kristina couldn’t sleep from all the coughing she’d been doing and had snuck out of her bedroom to watch a movie. Her dad had hidden away his action movies after he caught her brothers watching R-rated movies past midnight so she was stuck picking out something she assumed her mom had bought.

It was a lovey-dovey movie that her brothers couldn’t stand. But something about this one was sticking with her. And a ten-year old Kristina watched enraptured as a woman sitting alone at a table was approached by the man on her dreams, reaching out his hand, and saying…

“Would you do me the honor of a dance?”

She blinked and was back in that restaurant. And there standing next to her table, reaching out his hand, was Jules.

“Would you do me the honor of a dance?”

Kristina’s heart stopped. Her hand reached out on reflex, taking his as her other slipped out of Christian’s. The look of shock on his face went unnoticed. She thought she saw Jules wink at him before being spung around onto the dance floor.

Jules’s hands rested on the side on her hip and on her shoulder. Then she felt him take the lead. In all her time on this earth, she’d never had a man take the lead in a dance with her.

She looked down at Jules, whose entire world looked to only be her and this dance. He didn’t break his stride. Jules didn’t break eye contact once, giving a little smile the whole time.

There were so many questions. But the one that came out was perhaps the least important. “How did you get so good at dancing?”

“I had to be a dance partner for my best friend when he wanted to learn to dance for his boyfriend.” Jules spun Kristina around again, his feet never stepping on hers. “Which meant I had to learn to take the lead.”

In the back of her mind she knew the song was coming to an end. But it still caught her off guard when she was dipped and her face was mere inches from Jules’s. It hung there as everyone applauded and –

There. There was that stupid grin of his.

“I told you,” he whispered, “if I’m leaving this game then I’m doing it my way.”

That insufferable, annoying, knife-twisting monster! She could see him slowly lift his head away from hers. He was going to fulfill a desire she’d almost forgotten for years and just walk away? To leave her hanging and wanting more? No. No no no.

If he was going to go this far, she’d step up to meet him. Her hand went to the back of his head and pushed.

She didn’t care if everyone was hollering with excitement as the two kissed. In that moment, the look of shock on Jules’s face was everything she needed.