The Open Door - Sean and Kaycee

14. Mirror Image

Sean

I find myself counting the minutes until the end of class today. 30 minutes. 15... 10... 5... 1 minute until I get to spend the rest of the day with Kaycee Rice. On a purely dance-related anti-date, of course.

"ALRIGHT EVERYONE," Will shouts, "THAT'S A WRAP! Remember that Build a Beast is coming up just 2 days from now, so get excited!"

Everyone cheers. Build a Beast is a huge deal for the company. It's basically a platform for publicity, and it gets a lot of attention from the dance community. And I'm going to be teaching there. Which is freaking insane.

"Hey, Sean Lew!" Will says, coming over to me. "Are you doing alright with your choreo?"

"Yeah... I'm doing just fine, thank you." My gaze drifts over to Kaycee, who's packing up her stuff. Her cheeks are tinted pink from exertion after class, and it gives her entire aura an energized and lively feel. Not to mention that her eyes look particularly luminous and dreamy, lighting up her face so that she looks almost angelic. Just fine? Honestly, I'm doing better than fine.

Will follows my gaze and stifles a laugh. "Well, I'm glad to hear that. I trust that you don't need any help finding an assistant for your dance?"

"Uh... no. I've already found the perfect one." Crap. Did I just call Kaycee perfect?

Will raises an eyebrow, but thankfully doesn't say anything about it. Instead, he grins at me. "Good luck, Sean. I know that you're going to do very well."

"Thank you, sir."

"Call me Will, Sean."

"Thanks, Will."

I go over to meet Kaycee. To my chagrin, my face is already warm. I can feel my heartbeat pulsating wildly. Get it together, Sean. Or else, there's no way you're going to last a whole evening.

"Ready, Ricebowl?" I say, trying to sound cool and confident.

She laughs, her beautifully effortless and airy laugh. "What's up with you, Shamu?"

"N-nothing. I'm just nervous. For Build A Beast." But even more nervous about what will become of me after spending an extended amount of time with a goddess. Will I blow up? Spontaneously combust? Who knows?

"Don't worry about it," she says with a kind smile that makes my chest twinge. "you're going to be amazing. I mean, your choreography is SO incredible, it's actually insane. Plus, I'll be up there with you... so you have nothing to worry about."

She blushes a little bit after saying this.

"True," I say, chuckling. "Everyone will be so distracted by your inexplicable charm and insane dancing skills that they won't notice if I mess up."

She turns red. "Stop teasing, Shamu."

"Sorry," I say. But I'm not really sorry at all.

*****

I pull into the driveway. It's almost an out-of-body experience walking into my own house with Kaycee Rice. I feel like a stranger to my own surroundings. There's something about her that makes every environment feel fresh and enlivened.

"Nice garden," she remarks, "don't tell me you're a master gardener too!"

I laugh. "No, that's all my mom's work. She's crazy about that garden. You better not step on the azaleas," I caution her.

"Whoops, I'm such a clutz," she says, proving her point immediately by walking into a ginkgo tree. I can't help but laugh at her, and she slaps me playfully on the arm. "Not funny, Shamu."