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( CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: DANCE FLOOR BLUES ) June, 1990
❝ Keep your head up, Dev. ❞
◯
Not being able to dance was just like Devon expected it to be, it sucked. The young man was never good at sitting still for a long period of time. If he needed to unwind, he normally danced his way to relaxation. That, or the young man would go to Janet to forget about his troubles. Unfortunately, Devon couldn't resort to either of these things. Janet was busier than ever with her newest single closely approaching. It made sense that they didn't find time to see each other, but that didn't stop the young dancer from missing her.
Although Tina and Jimmy were kind enough to keep him busy with random jobs and surprise outings, the black male still felt like a nuisance. So, when it came time for the concert, Devon did everything he could to assist everyone backstage. "Go and kill it out there, aight?" Devon said, offering encouraging words to his fellow dance mates as they waited behind the curtain. The roar of the crowd was shaking the bass of the entire stadium, and Devon fought back his jealousy since he wanted nothing more than to perform alongside his friends.
"We always do Dev," one of the dancers said, offering him a smile. "Yeah, we'll miss you out there," another one added, causing for the said man to force a clenched grin. He wanted to gorge his eyes out at the thought of sitting backstage while the others got to feed off the exhilaration of the crowd. It was almost unbearable to think about. "Guys, get in position!" One of the stage managers said whilst peaking around the corner.
A sigh heaved out of Devon's chest as he stepped back, allowing the dancers to slip passed him and move around the wings of the stage. "You know, I wanna say break a leg..." Jimmy said, popping in front the young man, "But I think I should say break an arm," he said, causing for Devon to let out a charming train of laughter. "Oh, you got jokes now?" Devon asked, causing for his friend to heartily chuckle in response. "Get outta here," the black male said, playfully laying a punch on Jimmy's shoulder before he pranced away.
Devon shook his head, appreciating Jimmy's light-hearted jokes, since it seemed to be one of the few things that kept him afloat through this horrid time. As the male slowly twisted his body to hide deeper into the wings, he immediately froze once he saw Janet swivelling around the corner. Once her eyes levitated to meet his gaze, she too stopped in her tracks. Those large brown eyes dilated upon seeing Devon standing in front of her, his taller frame always managing to make her feel more piete than she really was.
Just looking at her, Devon felt his body pulsate from his sprouting sexual frustration. "Hey," Devon said, cocking a clumsy grin. Janet pursed her lips, nodding soberly at the male despite his welcoming demeanour. "How's your wrist?" She asked, her voice filled with steeled ice. "Ok I suppose," Devon responded, glancing at his battered arm with a casual shrug. The young man then looked up, watching as Janet busied her frantic eyes by adjusting her earpiece, flicking back her curtain of satiny black hair as she tried her best not to make eye contact with him.
