Authors: Andria Large
"Roland,
this is Nicole Gionelli; Nicole, this is Roland Fitzgerald," I introduce.
Roland
stands and shakes Nicole's hand. "Nice to meet you," he says with a
smile.
"You,
too," Nicole says in return.
Now
the rest of the guys have taken notice and are making their way over. She has
just finished shaking Beau's hand, whom is the last one to introduce himself,
when our choreographer, Kara, walks in, followed by our manager and Beau's
fiancé, Lizette, and the last two male dancers.
"Good
Morning, everyone! Let’s get started!" Kara chirps, clapping her hands
together.
I
watch as Nicole walks away and drops her bag over by the windows and sits. She
opens her bag and pulls out a pair of black dance sneakers. A hand slides down
my arm, pulling my attention away from Nicole. I look over to see Hillary
smiling seductively up at me. She was my partner during a VMA performance last year,
that's how I ended up hooking up with her. I was drunk at the after party and
she was more than willing.
"Okay,
girls, I'm going to partner you up with one of the other male dancers for parts
and then one of the members of the group for other parts," Kara says with
a warm smile as she grabs a piece of paper from her back pocket. "Okay,
Renegade, come stand in your usual line," Kara says. We've worked with
Kara a bunch of times, so we know how she likes us lined up.
We
do as we're told, lining up in our usual line, putting Dean in the middle since
he's the tallest at 6'4”, then on either side of him are Everett, who is
6'3", and Beau, who is 6'2". Roland, who's 6'0", is next to
Everett, at the opposite end of where I am standing next to Beau. I'm
6'1".
Kara
studies us for a moment before she starts pairing us up with the women. It's
down to Hillary and Nicole, and me and Everett. I silently pray that I get
Nicole. I can’t stand the idea of having to go through the whole tour with
Hillary being my partner. Not that we do a whole lot of partner work, it's
mostly the woman dancing around us, but still. She's going to think that we're
going to sleep together again or something and that shit ain't happening.
"Nicole,
I want you with Ace, Hillary, you're with Everett," Kara finally says.
I
breathe out a sigh of relief. I glance over at Hillary who looks absolutely
furious and is glaring at Nicole like it's all her fault. Nicole doesn't seem
to pay her any mind, though, which is good. I like that about her. She doesn't
seem like the kind of girl to get sucked into the drama.
We
get started on some new stuff for songs off our newest album after Kara pairs
up the male dancers with each of the girls. By the time we take our first
break, I am sweating my ass off and in desperate need of a smoke. I grab my
pack and lighter out of my bag and head out. At the end of the hall is a side
exit with a little terrace where I can step out and not have to worry about
being rushed by any fans lurking around. I light my cigarette and sigh. Man,
that's better. I head over to the railing and lean my forearms on it. I'm
pretty much just staring into an alley, but whatever.
The
door behind me opens and I glance back, expecting it to be one of the guys, but
nope, it's Nicole. She jumps when she sees me, her expression one of shock.
"Oh!
Sorry, Ace, I didn't know that you were out here," Nicole says quickly and
starts to go back in.
"You
can stay, you know," I mutter around the cig between my lips.
Nicole
gives me a wary glance. "Are you sure? I don't want to interrupt your
alone time," she says.
"That's
sweet of you, but it's fine, really," I say with a small smile.
Nicole
nods gratefully and steps out, letting the door shut behind her. "I'm sure
you know that smoking is hazardous to your health, right?"
I
roll my eyes. "Yes, I know."
Nicole
comes and stands on my right, the opposite side of where the smoke from my
cigarette is blowing.
"Does
this bother you? I can put it out," I say, motioning to the cigarette.
"It's
fine," she murmurs quietly and waves a dismissive hand as she looks out
over the railing.
I
watch her for a moment, noticing the tension radiating off her. She put her
hair back into a ponytail about an hour ago. Her baggy t-shirt is hanging off
one of her slender shoulders, showing off her olive skin. I'm so tempted to
lean over and bite her. But, I refrain; surely that would scare the hell out of
her.
"So
what brings you out here?" I ask, pretty sure that I know the answer
already.
"I
need a break from the dirty looks. God, I feel like I'm back in high school."
Nicole scoffs.
"I
know. Just ignore them, they're nothing but a bunch of jealous, childish women
who have nothing better to do," I say, taking one last drag of my
cigarette before putting it out on the bottom of my shoe and flicking it over
the railing.
"Smoker
and a litterbug? Tsk, tsk," Nicole muses, propping her chin in her hands
as she leans against the railing.
"I'm
the wild one of the group, what can I say?" I joke.
Nicole
smiles and glances at me. "I don't believe that for one second."
I
bark out a laugh. "Oh yeah? You can tell that just by dancing with me for
a couple of hours?"
Nicole
snickers cutely and nods. "Yup."
I
chuckle and watch her for a moment. She is so fucking beautiful. I can so get
lost in those big brown eyes of hers.
"You're
not at all star struck by us, are you?" I ask curiously.
Nicole
straightens and smiles wryly. "Oh, I am, but I need to be professional. I'll
freak out when I get back to my hotel room tonight," she says.
I
throw my head back and laugh. This chick is gorgeous and funny, what a perfect
combination. The door opens behind us, Roland peeks his head out.
"Hey,
we're ready to start," he informs us.
Nicole
and I head back into the studio where she is immediately met with dirty looks
and whispers from the other dancers. I would just love to punch every single
one of them in their bitchy little faces.
After
another five hours of rehearsing, we call it quits. I've had enough dancing for
today and just knowing that I have to do it all again tomorrow makes me want to
groan. I'm exhausted and in desperate need of the three "S's" -
shower, stroke, smoke. Being so close to Nicole all day with her touching me - and
me touching her - has me all hot and bothered. I'm not at all surprised because
she is smokin' hot when she dances. She is naturally sexy in the way she moves.
I don't even think she realizes it. Even though the next seven months are going
to be long and grueling, I am kinda looking forward to it now that Nicole is
here.
~Nicole~
As
soon as I get back to my hotel room, I collapse on the bed. What a day! The
guys are so nice. The girls on the other hand – complete bitches.
Whatever, I don't have to like them to be able to work with them. I'll mostly
be working with Ace and the male dancer, Chris, anyway. And hot damn! Ace is
seriously sexy! Definitely the most stunningly handsome man that I've ever laid
eyes on. I think he takes over Sebastian's number one spot. His eyes...oh my
god...those eyes are out of this world. They are crystal blue, framed by long
dark lashes and
dark eyebrows, which makes
them pop.
They are the first
thing
that I see whenever I look at
him.
I
have to be professional, though. There will be no drooling over Ace Vaughn. I'm
here to work and build up my experience for my resume. Not to make googly eyes
at a member of the group.
I
take a nice long, hot shower to wash away the layer of sweat before changing
into some sweatpants and a tank top. I pile my hair on top of my head in a
messy bun and flop down on my bed to watch some TV. I'm watching some stupid
reality show when there is a knock on my door. I sigh and head to the door. I
can't even imagine who could be knocking on my door. It's not like I made any
friends today.
I
look through the peephole and see Hillary and one of the other girls, Lisa
maybe? I don't know, she's not really anything special, so I don't really
remember her name. She does have bright red curly hair. Almost looks like clown
hair. What the fuck do these two want? I pull open the door and give them my
best “bored” look. I don't bother saying anything because I'm sure Hillary has
something she needs to say going off of the look on her fugly face. And really,
she's not cute at all. She's got too much makeup on for starters. Second, she
looks kinda like a pig. Her nose is turned up and it seems to pull her upper
lip up, showing off her teeth even when she's not trying to. I stifle a
shudder. She brushes her curly brown hair over her shoulder and tries to give
me a hard look. It just doesn't work when I think she should be saying,
"Oink, oink."
"I
just want to let you know that even though you are dancing with Ace, he is off
limits to you. If you even think about him in the wrong way, we're gonna have
problems," she threatens.
"You
know, you shouldn't threaten people you don't know," I drawl, gripping the
edge of the door to keep from socking her right in her snout.
She
cackles and rolls her eyes. "Puhlease."
The
other chick laughs, too, and it seriously pisses me off. This is not what I
want to be dealing with while trying to work.
"Is
that all?" I snap, glaring at them both.
"For
now. Just keep what I said in mind," she says with a snotty ass attitude
before her and her butt buddy walk down the hall.
I
shut the door with a grunt of aggravation and go back over to my bed. I just
get comfortable when there is another knock on the door. I swear to god, if
this bitch came back to say something else, I'm gonna freak out. I stomp over
to the door and throw it
open
without looking through
the peephole.
"What?"
I bark, realizing too late that it's Ace and Dean standing there.
They
both take a step back, their eyes wide. Ace puts his hands up as if to calm the
beast.
"Whoa,
everything okay there, killer?" he asks, eyeing me warily and slightly
concerned.
I
sigh heavily. "Shit, sorry, I thought you were going to be someone
else."
Ace
frowns. "Like who?"
"Hillary
and her sidekick, Sideshow Bob, stopped by for a little chat," I mutter
before waving them in.
Both
men glance at each other and hesitate for a moment before walking into my room.
I let the door shut on its own. Ace settles down on the end of my bed while
Dean remains standing. Both men are ridiculously handsome - Ace with his dark
hair and light blue eyes and Dean with his blonde hair and dark blue eyes. Dean
is a few inches taller than Ace. They are both dressed fairly nicely in dark
jeans and button down shirts. Other than the Beck brothers, I've never been
around a more gorgeous group of men in my life. Dean is just plain beautiful
but the whole bad boy thing Ace has going on with the tattoos, goatee, and
whatnot is more my type.
"So
what did Hillary want?" Ace asks as he leans back on his hands, getting
comfortable.
"Oh,
you know, the usual, warning me off the guy she has the hots for," I say,
waving my hand dismissively as I grab a chair from the little table in the
corner and turn it around to sit on it.
"And
who's that?" Dean asks with a smirk and a knowing glance at Ace.
I
look at Ace and raise an eyebrow pointedly. He groans and flops back into the
bed. "Why won't she leave me alone?"
I
bark out a laugh. "She basically threatened me. I'm not even allowed to
THINK about you," I huff and roll my eyes.
Dean
starts cracking up. "You really know how to pick 'em, bro."
"I
was fucking drunk and horny! Goddammit!" Ace says in exasperation.