Strictly Come Women? (Cheryl Cole & Mariah Carey)

8: "Oh god..."

Mariah's PoV

"I know, Tommy, but I'm not doing this for the money or the publicity."

I was on the phone, talking to the manager of my record label, Tommy Mottola. He's a good manager and all, but sometimes he focuses too much on money or my record sales. It's a bit of a pain. I just make sure not to make him mad.

"You better do well, on this show, Mariah. I know you don't think you're doing this for the cash, but you are-" Tommy started.

"Look, thanks for the congratulations, and I'll talk to you later." I cut him off, "I gotta meet Cheryl for rehearsals, and I promised I'd be there at eleven, for her."

I heard Tommy sigh from the other end, "Okay. We'll talk later...bye."

"Bye." I said, before hanging up. I zipped up my bag, grabbed my house-keys and exited the celebrities house. Everyone else were already at rehearsals, at the same dance-studio; I had the job of locking the door, so no one broke in. I did so, and called my temporary driver to pick me up.

.........

Cheryl smiled, as I entered our practise room, "Oh, hi, babe!"

"Hi, Cheryl." I greeted her, smiling back, "Should we start warming up?"

"Yeah, sure." She nodded, as I dumped my bag by the wall.

We spent three minutes warming up, before starting with our new routine. It was a little bit easier this time, because I began to get the hang of things again. We are already on most of the British public's good side - there's a handful of people who are just ignorant and homophobic of us, but I don't care though. It's not like we're actually dating, so they need to grow up. It's only a TV dance-competition, so I don't know why they are making a big deal out of it. People go on it all the time, when none of them are dating, and no one ever complains.

Everytime Cheryl touched me, though, I felt the adrenaline coursing through me. She really was a good partner. I was glad the judges picked us to be together - even after the slight hiccup of lacking men, in the competition, this year. I felt comfortable with Cheryl.

Or am I just saying that because I like her?

Dammit, Mariah!

My heart was pounding inside my chest. This whole thing was starting to get frustrating. Somehow, I still managed to concentrate on everything Cheryl was saying. We had to switch roles a lot, so she could show me the moves I needed to do, from her perspective. Cheryl kept a close eye on the way I was moving, helping me out whenever she needed to. I appreciated that, because it's hard for me to trust people, and I like taking things slow.

Just like how you're gonna take this gay relationship slow?, my mind challenged me.

Shut up, I'm not gay!

"I know you're not."

S***, I just said that out loud!

Cheryl stopped and raised an eyebrow at me, "What's wrong, Mimi?"

And there she goes, calling me 'Mimi' again! This is just confusing me even more!

"Nothing, Cheryl...I'm fine." I lied, "Don't mind me, I'm just...I'm just going a bit crazy."

What the hell?! 'I'm just going a bit crazy'?! Really, Mariah?!

It's not my fault! I couldn't think of anything else to say!