All for the Mirrorball

Chapter 25 - Terrible at Being Subtle

When Ilona opened her eyes, she was warm and as comfortable as she'd ever been, head nestled on Alan's chest. She looked up at his face and saw him sleepily blinking at her, a sly smile coloring his features.

"Morning, Lo," he said softly.

"Morning," she whispered back.

"You skipped the gym."

"Mmm," she replied sleepily, feeling a flash of guilt at the thought. Totally worth it.

"What if we get our own workout in?" he said with a smirk.

Every last trace of sleepiness left her body as she climbed on top of him.

—

The day's rehearsals were going well despite the fact that they were both exhausted from the two nights of restless sleep... well, one-and-a-half nights of restless sleep.

When she missed a step and almost fell on her face, Ilona looked up at Alan, panic stricken. "I need to get this together before tomorrow."

"You've got it. You're just tired. I think maybe -"

She rushed to speak before he could finish. "Maybe we stick to our normal workouts tomorrow? Yeah, I'm with ya."

He smirked at her, one eyebrow raised. "You think that was the problem?" He shook his head. "I think it had more to do with the fact that neither of us can sleep alone."

She shot him a guilty look, but remained on the defensive. "Don't be dramatic. It's one night."

"One night until the show... and then what?"

She knew it would be easier to tell her sisters. She wanted to tell her sisters... but the thought of bursting their perfect little bubble terrified her.

"It'll be fi-" she started before he cut her off.

"Need I remind you that you're the one who snuck into my bed this morning, Lo?" he said, meeting her eyes as he gave her his most devilish grin and took a step closer to her.

Just then, the door banged open as Chandler walked into the room and announced, "Snacks!"

Ilona jumped back, surprised by the intrusion. Chandler tossed her a pack of Starbursts, apparently oblivious to the heat between them.

"I didn't forget you, weirdo," she said to Alan as she walked over to hand him a baggie of carrots and a thing of cream cheese. "I've never met anyone who eats as much cream cheese as you."

"She's not wrong," Ilona said shakily. "Thanks! We were just talking about hitting up crafty."

"My snacky senses were tingling," Chandler said as she headed back towards the door. "Back to dancing. See ya!"

"Thanks, Chan," Alan said over his shoulder. He and Ilona shared a look. They hadn't been doing anything, but it still felt like they were about to get caught.

—

By the time camera blocking rolled around, their quickstep was feeling good. The camera crew was coordinating angles, the producers were running through lighting notes, and Alan and Ilona were finally finding their groove after a week of rehearsals that felt both exhilarating and exhausting. After a quick runthrough on stage, they reset for the final run. "Ready to finish strong?"

She took his hand, her nerves buzzing. "Always."

They ran through the routine one more time, nailing the footwork and timing as they danced and hopped across the floor. When they hit their final pose, Ilona threw her arm up, her smile dazzling, her chest heaving from exertion. One second, she was looking at the grin lighting up Alan's face, and the next, she was being assaulted by... confetti?