She was in big trouble.
Chapter Three
Leila had come to a decision. A tough one, which had had her, arguing with herself in the shower aloud like a loon. Leila let out an audible laugh, remembering how she had come out of her bathroom to find Marcia standing outside the door looking at her as though her last marble had just rolled away.
She liked G.K. He was cute, shy, a great dancer and from what little she saw of it, had a very nice body. He was also part of the group she now worked for and there would be all sorts of drama if she got involved with him. She’d witnessed firsthand what happened when a dancer or actor crossed the line from professional to personal, especially when such relationships ended badly. It had been bad enough that Michael had asked her to demonstrate part of the routine; if the other dancers saw G.K. paying attention to her, whatever solidarity she hoped to forge would be gone.
Of course, that would be easier said than done. In spite of her newfound resolve, Leila felt a bit empty. She knew the right thing to do would be to just be friends and co-workers.
But why was the right thing was always so hard?
***
G.K. had made up his mind.
Leila was going to be his first girlfriend.
He was still a little unsure of how to go about making that happen since every time he got within 3 feet of to her he’d end up tongue-tied, but somehow he was going to make her his.
***
On their way back to their hotel, G.K. decided to ask his group mates for advice. In retrospect it might have been a very bad idea.
Kai, the obvious voice of wisdom considering, suggested the subtle approach.
“Look cousin, women want to be wooed slowly. You just can’t march up to Leila and say
hey, I want you
!”
He looked sideways at Kai. “Isn't that what you did with Noel? It seemed to work for you just fine.”
The guys laughed as Kwan said, “He’s got a point.”
Kai gave them a sheepish expression. “I was on limited time, okay?
You
aren’t.”
Young chimed in, “Four weeks isn't limited time?”
“It’s not the same,” Kwan said. “And you aren't helping. We are talking about G.K. who can’t put two sentences together whenever he looks at Leila.”
G.K. reached back and hit his band mate on the head, which brought a fresh chorus of laughter inside the rented van that shuttled them to the hotel.
As Kwan rubbed the top of his head and said something rather uncomplimentary in Korean, G.K. looked at Kai. “That’s why I need to just come right out and ask her. If I think about it too much I’ll freeze up.”
Kai shook his head. “She just met you three days ago. You don’t want to freak her out and you definitely don’t want to make it look like her position as dancer is at stake.”
That brought them all to a start. While they’d been shielded by G.K.’s father and now Jin Yung from the more sordid side of the Korean entertainment industry, they all knew of young women whose careers had been at the mercy of avaricious managers and agents who insisted upon sex as payment.
Understanding dawned in his cousin’s eyes as Kai continued, “What you need to do is get to know her a little. Be subtle so that the other dancers don’t see it as favoritism.”
“How do I do that?”
The guys groaned. Boom slapped a palm across his forehead. “Are you freaking kidding me? Where have you been living, under a rock?”
G.K. grew defensive. “I’m sorry that I didn’t come into the world as some ladies’ man, that’s why I’m asking you and I’m beginning to wish I hadn’t.”
***
“Hey girl, ready for day two of torture island?”
Leila chuckled as Selena pulled up from a deep stretch. Two other dancers were in the midst of putting on shoes and eating an energy bar.
The afro-wearing dancer introduced himself as Terrance and was holding a tablet in one hand and his bar in the other.
“I downloaded some of their music last night and my roommate was like ‘when did Koreans get black on us?’ ” He played one of the songs and Leila started tapping her feet.
“And get this,” he continued as the music played, “That Kai whose with the sista, guess where he met her at? Some dive in Vegas. She was a waitress or something.”
Selena laughed. “I so need to quit Tribeca then, cause all I ever meet are stuck-up wannabes.”
The blonde dancer who’d been stretching overheard the conversation added, “I know the management companies over there usually make that stuff up, but I asked my younger sister about them and after screaming my damn ear off when I told her who I was dancing for, told me it’s all true. There was a bit of a management shakeup according to gossip because somebody didn’t like the idea of him being tied to a Black woman.”
Leila pulled off her sweatshirt, rolling it up neatly and stuffed it in the duffle bag. She was in the midst of stretching when the conversation suddenly halted.
“Good morning Leila.”
G.K. gave her a wide smile.
Ugh, why does he have to be so damn cute?
Her resolve to keep him at arm’s length was under assault and all he’d done was smile.
She coolly acknowledged his greeting. “And good morning to you, G.K.”
“Feeling better today? I know I was pretty sore last night.”
Leila sensed that they were being watched. She silently fiddled with her shirt sleeve hoping he’d get the hint. “Doing great, but yeah, yesterday was quite the workout.”
He just stood there, looking at her. His gaze made her feel tingly on one hand and nervous on the other. She knew the other dancers were paying attention.
“You look very nice today,” he said softly enough for her to hear.
She looked up at him. “Thank you G.K. You look nice too.”
Again silence. Leila began stretching again. “Well, better finish getting warmed up. See you later.”
***
G.K. walked back slowly to where the guys waited for him, feeling upset.
He looked behind him hoping for maybe a smile but Leila was in the midst of a conversation with another dancer. Whatever they were saying must have made her laugh.
I wish I could make her laugh, G.K. thought dejectedly. Am I
that
bad at flirting?
“Well?” Kai asked once his cousin was in their midst.
G.K. shrugged. “It didn't work. She didn’t even seem interested.”
Kwan asked, “Well what did you say to her? I’m going to admit you looked a little creepy when you were just staring at her.”
Boom punched him the other man in the arm. “Ow! What was that for?”
“For being an idiot,” Boom told him. “We’re supposed to be helping G.K. remember?” He looked at his forlorn band mate. “Don’t worry. Just act natural.”
“All right y’all,” Michael breezed into the studio in a close-fit tank and a pair of loose-fitting basketball shorts that hung low enough to show off a bit of V-shaped abs and firmly muscled calves. “You’ve got five minutes to warm up then its back to the grind. I hope y’all practiced the steps in your dreams because after today this is it.” The room was filled with collective groans. “You’ll also be working on the beginnings of another routine today. Are you ready?”
***
Michael had all of them line up into three rows. Somehow Leila wound up in the middle row in the ‘window’ between G.K. and Young who stood in front of her. He turned around quickly and smiled.
It was less than ten seconds but her heart flip-flopped in her chest.
So much for ignoring the attraction.
The first couple of hours were spent polishing up the routine they learned yesterday. Apparently what Michael said about practicing in their sleep was true because everyone seemed to be hitting the mark. She partnered with Terrence who seemed to know how to make her laugh and have fun without feeling awkward.
Still, it was nothing like the excitement she’d experienced the day before dancing with G.K. With Terrence, the steps were just a performance. With G.K. it was something personal, intimate.
“A’ight y’all, that was off the damn hook,” Michael shouted appreciatively. “You guys all brought your A-game today. Take ten then we’re onto the next routine.”
Leila took a few swallows of water and a bite of energy bar. Serena sided up to her, before lifting her chin in G.K’s direction.
“Boy seems to be all up into you,” she teased. “Why don’t you hit that? I know I would.”
The dancer almost choked on her food, but she played it off “He’s just being nice. Besides, even if he really were interested like that, it would cause all sorts of drama. No thanks.”
Thankfully there was no more time to talk because Michael was back on the dance floor.
“Okay y‘all, we’ll show you this next routine. We’ll do a run through once so pay attention.”
Surrounded by T4L, they broke out into an up-tempo mix of hip-hop, popping and some jazz elements. The dancers were snapping their fingers, clapping and bobbing their heads in time to the music, but Leila in spite of herself only had eyes for G.K.
While she was glad there was none of that stuff from the first routine which required way too much contact, Leila hated to admit she missed dancing with G.K.
Still, watching the band work, she realized the man really could dance. Unlike some, he just seemed to feel the music. It seemed effortless. He wasn’t that shy, tongue-tied guy but confident and sexy and she found her body reacting in a way she knew it shouldn’t.
The music ended and Michael called them all to attention. “So that’s it. Line up like before and let’s try to nail this one today. A’ight and one…two…”
***
A little over a week. That was how long G.K. had been trying to get closer to Leila. He might as well have been trying to climb Mount Everest without equipment, he mused disgustedly as he paced around the empty studio. He’d have a better shot at reaching the summit.
The rest of the group had gone back to the hotel, but G.K. had opted to stay a little while extra, he was too wound up. He didn’t want another interrogation and/or advice session. His way of dealing with confusion was to just dance.
No matter what he did or said, Leila was cool to him. Not mean or dismissive, just treated him like a friendly stranger. In practice she was the consummate professional, but she also went out of her way to not be paired with him. She often partnered with Terrence or with a spiky-haired blonde whose name was Cory. It galled him to no end to see the two men holding her so damn close, and worse, for her to behave as if she enjoyed it. Worse, after each practice she would virtually disappear.
Either he was doing something terribly wrong or she just wasn't interested and from their earlier interactions he was sure she was interested, but something had happened. While he was no romantic hero, he couldn’t have been that bad at attracting a woman. He’d noticed some of the dancers--both male and female--had been eyeing him like a hungry bear in a butcher shop.
***
Leila was surprised to see the studio still occupied.
It had been an entire 7 days of ignoring G.K. or hiding from him and she felt miserable. She worked herself into exhaustion so that when she got home, all she wanted was a shower and sleep deep enough not to dream about a cute guy with a great smile and a funny little ponytail.
Unfortunately, not thinking about G.K. and the rejection she clearly saw in his eyes was playing hell with her focus. They were on their fourth routine, another one of those “get your freak on” dances as Michael had called it, and Leila found herself struggling with it.
She had made a last minute decision to come back and get in a little extra practice. Maybe dancing alone with just the music and her image in the mirrors would help. She had been doing so well and there was no way she wanted to blow this once-in-a-lifetime chance.