It was the next morning and Sharna could not get what had happened out of her head. She had gone out that night with Bonner. It had been fun, but she had been distracted the entire time. When one of his friends was trying to hit on her, she had accepted his drink and nearly earned herself a second kiss that night. But she slipped away just in time and found herself at home where, after a shower, she lay awake for an undeterminable amount of time staring at the ceiling and recounting the moments of that afternoon. He had kissed her. Val had kissed her.
Val. Her best friend Val. The guy she'd known for seven years. The guy who was like her family. He was her family. The guy that she told the second most amount of secrets to (Peta would always be the go to in that department). Val, the guy who had danced so many dances with her. Who had held her up into the air and spun her around. The guy she'd almost kissed dozens of times for the cheers of the crowd. The guy that winked onstage. The guy that tore his pants during the closing number on tour and had to take his shirt off to cover it up. The guy that kissed her forehead whenever something was wrong or was right. The guy that had been there to cheer her up after her breakup with Paul. The guy that had been there to hold her when her Nan died. The guy that was the closest thing to a brother she'd ever had. Val.
But was he like a brother? She'd always thought so but now she was confused.
Of course he was hot. All of her friends were hot. Not by choice necessarily but it was the nature of the entertainment business to be surrounded by attractive people. But it had never bothered her. And he was nice. Of course he was, he was Val. And he was always looking out for her. But now she started to doubt even that. Was he just being nice to get closer to me? Had he liked me this entire time and I'd just been completely oblivious? Had I led him on? Most importantly, how does this effect us?
She turned on her side to stare out her window and onto the city below. She remembered back to one time, it was just the two of them in the studio. They were working late, of course. On separate dances. But somehow they'd ended up in the same room. It was early in the morning, a bit too early to think clearly, which was prime time for choreography, and he reached for her hand. His dance for the week was a jive and he wanted to work through a part with her. They started without the music, just counting steps. They went over that part a few times, but then kept going. She wasn't sure how long it had been but eventually she learned the entire dance.
They ran through it a few times. While working with a celebrity was an experience, it was always enjoyable to dance with someone who, frankly, knew what they were doing. Someone you didn't have to constantly lead and worry about. This jive was fun, challenging. They danced around again and again and again, enjoying the creation that their art enabled. After the music ended, he turned to her.
"Now your turn."
She had the rumba. It was going to be challenging for her celeb. There was a certain level of hip action that was required that she didn't quite feel he had. At least not yet. But of course, with Val, that wasn't a problem. Within minutes he knew the dance. Within minutes he was leading her around the floor. Each movement passed smoothly. Each step was in-sync. Even their breathing was together, which was a technique only advanced couples learned to appreciate. It was perfection, simple perfection. Perhaps they were only in workout clothes. Perhaps neither one was wearing makeup. Perhaps both were covered in sweat and bruises and were exhausted from day after day of waking up and dancing 'til long after the sun set and the birds recanted their cries. But there, in that moment, they were perfection. Pure and simple. They swayed together until long after the music ended. Sometimes it was just better to dance.
But now she was doubting that. What had they been doing? It was stupid, quite stupid. They should have left the studio and gone to sleep. But sometimes, with Val, she didn't need sleep.
