Waiting to twirl

Vivi hadn't even climbed out of her car before her father barreled out of the front door.

"Vivienne Markov, where have you been?" he shouted, waving his arms as spittle flicked from his purple lips. "Do you know what time it is?"

Vivi rolled her eyes and pulled her dance bag from the front seat. She slammed the car door and turned to face her fuming father. The fuzzy tingle in her belly evaporated and the smile dropped from her face. The smell of Wade's shirt and the feel of his hand on hers as she twirled on the wooden floorboards seemed a million miles away.

"Well?" her father demanded, glowering down at her.

"I was dancing," she said, shoving by him on the way to the garage. "What else would I be doing?"

"Dancing?" he snarled, reaching for her loose curls. He wrapped his fingers around them and jerked. She cried out as her head smacked against his knuckles.

"What's wrong with you?" she cried, slapping at his hands. "What's your problem?"

"My problem," her father hissed as he released her hair, "is you. I know you're lying. I went to the studio and you weren't there."

"I went somewhere else to dance," Vivi said, slamming into the kitchen. "It's called cross-training." She thundered up the stairs. Her father glowered at the base of the stairwell as she rushed across the hallway to her room.

"That competition is important, Vivienne!" he called after her. "I've--I mean you've--worked too hard to fail. We'll talk about this in the morning before dance practice!"

Vivi bit her tongue to avoid replying with a curse word. She dropped her bag on the floor and flopped onto her bed, staring at the ceiling. Just an hour earlier, she had felt on top of the world. Now the only thing she wanted to do was cry. Her eyelids felt like they had been scrubbed with sandpaper. She looked at the clock and groaned. It was almost midnight and she had to get up at five for drill team practice. She thought about kick line practice and tears sprang to her eyes. If only all dancing could be like it was with Wade.

Smiling to herself, she slid her jeans off her tight-covered hips. She had to know about him. She had to know what he did, how old he was, what his favorite food was. The plan had come to her like a dream. She would sneak out of practice early and drive over to the dance hall. She'd grab a table in the back and watch him, maybe ask around a little bit. She'd learn all about Wade, then spend the next night dancing in his arms. She sighed and folded her jeans over her arm. A piece of paper hit the floor.

Wrinkling her forehead, she bent down and picked up the paper. Setting down her jeans, she unfolded the tight yellow square. Biting her lip with excitement, she stared at the tight writing across the paper: W. 786-3456.

Without another thought, she grabbed her cell phone out of her dance bag. She punched in the numbers and waited impatiently, her heart in her throat. What if this wasn't him? What if it was a mistake? In fact, how did the note get in her back pocket? Maybe she had grabbed it absently. Maybe it was a note for another girl. Her chest froze and she gasped when a warm voice filled her ear.

"Hey, Vivi."

"How'd you know it was me?" she squeaked.

She could hear his smile over the phone. "Just did. Besides, it's not like I slide my number into girls' pockets often."

"You don't?" she blurted out. "I mean," she amended, wishing she could stop sounding like a dork every time she opened her mouth, "I just figured you'd be popular with girls."

"Nope. Until you, stayed far away from them. Too much trouble, too much time. I got enough work to do."

"Why me?" she asked, her hand tightening around the phone.

The moment of silence felt like a eternity. "I guess the best way to say it is you captured my attention," he said, his voice sounding rough and embarrassed. "My granddaddy would say I'm smitten."

Smitten was only one of the words Vivi would have chosen to describe how she was feeling. "I need to know about you," she demanded. "What do you do? What do you like? Why are you so perfect?"

He laughed and Vivi felt her toes tingle. "I'm not even close to perfection darling," he chuckled. "What's your first question?"

Vivi knew exactly what she wanted to know. Plopping down on her bed, she held the phone to her ear and smiled.

To be continued...


Tomorrow--veggie beef soup and homemade wheat rolls!