All Bets Are Off

Chapter Ten - Ella Fordman: The Most Wanted Girl In School

~~~~

Dedicated to mischevioustw for the awesome banner to the side! Thanks so much; I love it!

~~~~

~Chapter Ten - Ella Fordman: The Most Wanted Girl In School~

“No, Phoenix, sway your hips. Sway them!” I commanded, watching Phoenix as he swore and tripped over his own feet for the hundredth time. I’d called off the girl’s dance practice Monday afternoon for a training session with Phoenix. Thankfully Leslie hadn’t minded, and neither had the girls or their parents once I had informed them of the reason I’d had to call it off: because of Alessandro.

            Now we were in the dance hall on a Monday afternoon, the sun setting in the horizon and turning the sky to honey-gold hues, and I was attempting to teach Phoenix some fancy footwork we’d be using in the ballet routine that crossed into the tango. I had infused some Latin hip swaying with some twisting ballet footwork to create the perfect liaison into the tango. So far he couldn’t get the hang of it, though. We were both covered in a thin layer of sweat and breathing heavily, getting increasingly frustrated as our time in the studio wound down.

            It still grinded in my mind that right now Phoenix was ahead of me in the competition, having embarked on a lunch date with Tia and putting himself one point above me. I hadn’t had time to find someone today, but I was going to have to find someone tomorrow if I had any chance of catching up. For now I had to focus on the dance routine, though.

            “So, how was your date with Tia?” I asked innocently, grabbing his hands and placing them on my waist so that he could feel the way I was moving. For me, having danced for fifteen years, it didn’t seem that hard, but Phoenix was struggling to keep pace with me, despite his best efforts.

            “Fine,” he replied through gritted teeth, working to move his hips the way I was moving mine. He still looked like a grizzly bear attempting the chicken dance, though.

            “Is she The One?” I mocked.

            He snorted. “The One doesn’t exist. That’s just something they tell people to give them something to look forward to.”

            I frowned. “How do you know? Our parents found the one they were meant to be with. So did Marley and Noah.”

            “I don’t think there’s such a thing as soul mates. I think we just find someone whose just as weird as we are, and we fall into a mutual weirdness together and call it love.”

            I supposed that was a different outlook on it. Not one I’d approach, but he was entitled to his own opinion. But I couldn’t imagine not believing in heat and fireworks and true love. What was there to look forward to in the future if not love? Why bother to get married and have kids if it wasn’t in the name of love?

            “No, Phoenix,” I said, groaning as he stepped on my foot once again and sent a hot rocket of pain up my leg. “Like this.”