Dancing With Aidan

Dancing with Aidan -Part 2

You decided on a small Pho restaurant in your neighborhood. You knew the owner, and were sure that you could have a quiet meal, without much paparazzi activity. Aidan drove as you sat in the passenger seat, giving out the occasional directions.

After ordering your noodle bowl, Aidan grinned at you. "So...why dance?" You blink a few times at his sudden inquiry and stare fixedly on your napkin as you nervously pull it to pieces. After all, this wasn't a question that came up often, and it was even more rare for the question to be directed at you.

"Oh, um... Well, my Mum was a dancer. She'd always wanted to be a choreographer and a professional dancer, before I was even born, and she managed to fulfill her dream. I remember watching her and dancing with her during practices." Your lips curved into a fond smile, as you remembered your mother teaching you all the dances she choreographed for her classes. 'If you can do this dance, baby, then so can my students.', she'd tell you. You missed watching your mother dance. Your smile slowly dimmed, until it was replaced by a gloomy frown.

"After my sister was born, though, it became more difficult for her to get away from work and school for it, so she just...stopped going. She looked so sad. When I started secondary, I decided that I'd join the dance team, if only to make her happy. Eventually, I came to love dance and kept it up after high school, but I wasn't as graceful as Mum. I mean, you saw what I did to Glenn." Aidan chuckled softly. "But, I keep trying and keep practicing because I love it. I feel...free. Alive. It's fun."

You hadn't looked at Aidan the entire time you spoke, so you were a little surprised when you looked up and saw him leaning forward, his eyes shining and a grin on his face. "That's what I like to hear from my students. What's your Mum's name?"

"Linda..." you managed to stutter out. Aidan looked down at your shreds of napkin, in deep thought for a few moments before his eyes lit up. "Linda? Not the Linda! You're Linda's child?!"

You leaned back and nodded vigorously, startled by his excited outburst. "I think we've established that I'm Linda's oldest child, " you tell him, still confused by his reaction to your mother's name. He clapped his hands together and laughed. "I knew your name looked familiar on the class roster! That's why you have such a natural ability! Oh, this is so cool!" You continued to stare at him, your eyes wide. "Sir...you'll have to forgive me, but I have no idea what you're going on about."

He waved his hand in front of his face, dismissing your apology. "Your Mum was one of my first teachers, when I started learning to dance. I believe it was right before you were born. I remember coming to school and watching her stomach get bigger and bigger, until one day, she wasn't there. At the time, I thought she had died because her stomach had gotten so big, that it had exploded." You giggled at the comment. "You must have been very young to think that." He nodded. "I was. I am, after all, only a few years older than you."

At first, you smiled, glad that an old student of your mother is still fond of her, after all these years. However, it suddenly dawned in you. "Wait, is that why you chose me?!" Aidan chuckled and shrugged. "You know, it honestly might be one of the reasons that I chose you, but it's not the only reason. While you are clumsy, you are also graceful. You have excellent body control, your movements are smooth, and it almost feels as if you're dancing in water. Your dancing is beautiful. I'm sure Linda is proud of you." You wished the heat rising in your cheeks would diminish. You'd never received so much praise before, and it was completely foreign to you. Your eyes glistened as you stared down at the napkin shreds and whispered, "Thank you."

The food came, and you both ate with enthusiasm, teasing each other over your messy eating habits. "It's the Pho," you exclaimed to him. "It's difficult to be clean and well-mannered when your noodles insist on getting everywhere!"

Despite having spent two hours talking and eating at the restaurant, whatever it was that Aidan had wanted to talk to you about wasn't brought up. When you asked if he needed to be going, he shook his head and asked, almost sheepishly, if he could go to your apartment with you, as he really did need to discuss the partnership with you. You told him it was fine, and he drove you the few more blocks to your home.

You walked up your stairs and led him to your apartment on the 4th floor. "You don't have a lift, here?" You chuckled and shook your head. "I asked that same question before I moved in, and was told no. On the bright side, it's great exercise!"

You unlocked the door to your apartment and were greeted with silence. It didn't surprise you; you did, after all, live alone. On your walls were a few photos of your family and a few friends, smiling and laughing. One wall was nothing but bookshelves, filled with a large collection of books and films. The room wasn't large, but it was a big enough space to dance around in. You placed your things on the tile by the front door and pulled off your shoes. "Make yourself at home. I'm gonna change, really quick." He nodded and sat on the couch, as you walked back into your room.

When you came out in some comfy shorts and a large comfy shirt, you found him standing in front of a photo of yourself and your mother, posing and standing back to back. You smiled and walked over to him. "That was after my first dance competition. I earned first place for my solo routine, and my teammates and I earned first place in Hip-Hop and Modern. She choreographed my solo."

Aidan continued to stare at the photo. "You look so happy. And tiny." You giggled. "Well, yes. I was 13. So, we needed to discuss the dance?" He glanced over to you and nodded, following you to the couch. "So, here's what I was thinking..."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Author's Note:

As always, constructive criticism is welcome. What do you think, so far? I hope you are enjoying it.

Watch for Part 3!

I hope you have a great day and remember to be awesome to each other!

PS - As always, the media is unrelated, because Aidan Turner is goofy.

3 July, 2017 - I was reading back through the chapters, taking care of some continuity errors in a chapter I'm working on, and I noticed that I had the reader's mother, Linda, call the reader "baby girl". I deleted the word "girl" as this story is supposed to be non-gender specific, to allow for the inclusion of all genders. I just felt that it was necessary to to tell you all why you had a random update from me on a chapter that was completed about a year ago.