I was new. I didn't know what to do. I’d been in Michigan for two weeks now and my classes were great. I was working, slowly, towards that English degree. But the thing is, I needed to dance. I hadn't danced for nearly four months. So, I figured I might as well try out for the dance troupe at CMU, Orchesis. But the thing was, I was scared. The dancers before me were completely amazing, and nevertheless, we had to dance with a partner. We didn't know the dance, nor did we know each other's dance style. We were supposed to just move.
The team before me finished with an amazing set of perfect fouette turns into an attitude turn, landing perfectly. The whole audience of three people burst into applause. I saw the director jotting down notes and nodding affectionately. Oh no, I thought, this is not going to go well.
Nervousness built up in my gut. Butterflies went wild, and I was unwillingly pushed on stage as my name was called. Another name was called, Wesley, and a boy was pushed on stage opposite me.
"Get to know each other for about 5 seconds, then dance for me!" the director commanded.
I slowly made my way over to him. He was tall, muscular, and as my gaze drifted up to his face, I thought, holy shit, he's HOT.
"Hi, my name's Wesley. I've danced for ten years now." He said.
"Uh, hi. I'm Tia. I've danced for 15 years."
"Wow. That's a long time."
"Yeah, I know..."
"TIME'S UP! Let's see you dance!"
My heart pounded fast, but I ignored it, knowing it would only distract me. The music started to play, and I almost lost my composure to a fit of laughter. We were supposed to dance to "California Gurls." Yeah, right.
But it just happened. We move like no one else moved before. Our bodies managed to work in nearly flawless synchronization, and we never missed a step. When the song finished, we stood in our final pose. I was wrapped in Wesley's arms while he gazed away from my face, our breath coming out in bursts.
The audience of three was dead silent. Oh no, we were bad... I began to think.
Then, a single clap echoed. It suddenly ricocheted into a thunderous roar of applause. Everyone was clapping hard, the audience, the director, and the dancers, even the random spectators who were just passing by and became interested in the dance.
Nothing could have prepared me for that moment. The director told us she's never seen two strangers dance so well together the first time. She said she wants us both on the team as a duet. We would dance in the large numbers, but we would always have a duet for every show. I stood there, open-mouthed as Wesley and I were told all about what went right. Our technique was "lovely," our posture was "superb," and our stage presence was "simply outstanding." She said she is so excited to have us on the team. We are to report to the stage at 8 am on Saturday for our first practice as a duet. Great, I'm not a morning person.
"Um, ma'am?" Wesley said.
"Yes?"
"I'm not too much of a morning person. Could we move it back to like, 10?"
"Well if the lady says yes I suppose it wouldn't be a problem."
"YES!" I burst out.
Wesley raised an eyebrow at me, and the director chuckled. "Looks like your partner isn't much of a morning person either." She said.
As I left the theatre, I heard footsteps behind me. I turned to see Wesley jumping down the stairs two at a time to catch up to me.
"Wow... That was tiring. Anyways, Tia, I was wondering if, since we're going to be partners, if you maybe... wanted to.... you know.... get a coffee or something?"
He is SO cute. "Sure, Wesley. I'd like that."
"Oh, you can call me Wes. I like that better anyways."
AHHH nickname already! "Okay, Wes."
So, we stopped by the Java Hut in the library. He brought his books with him, I guess to study. I snuck a peek at what he was studying, and I was surprised to see he has the same calculus homework as me. Professors don't usually share their homework with other professors.
"What calculus class are you in?" I asked as casually as possible.
"Oh! I'm in 10 am calc, Monday thru Thursday."
"Wait, with Professor Zheng?"
"Yeah."
"WEIRD! I'm in that class too!! How did we not recognize each other?"
"Whoa! I have no idea! That's awesome!"
So we talked for a while about antiderivitives and integrals and the differences between the two. He started getting bored of the math lingo and preceded to ask me on another date, Saturday night. Of course I said yes, because I was already half in love with this guy.
We talked more about ourselves. I found out he played guitar, wrote songs, danced, sang, and majored in English. He was like me, in boy form! I couldn’t keep my excitement down.
"No way!! Wes, seriously! You're like me, in boy form!" I said to him.
"I was just thinking you were like me in girl form!" He replied, and smiled.
Wow, that smile is so HAWT. Stop it Tia, keep your cool. "This is so funny! We even think alike."
"Yeah!" He chuckled at my excited behavior.
But we didn’t have all day. It was Friday night, and I had a party to go to. My first college party, actually. So we packed up our things and exchanged phone numbers. Might as well, since we were partners. But I was so happy to have his number. He was pretty much the best thing that happened to me at school so far. And I wanted to keep that going for as long as I could.
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