Don't Walk Away (A Michael Jackson Love Story)

Chapter 16: Rehearsal Day One

I woke up alone. I sat up, alarmed. Michael was sitting in the windowsill with closed curtains. His head was in his hands. 

"Mike," I called out. 

He looked up. "Lily, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to get drunk. I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing because I was talking to Brooke." He walked over and kneeled beside the bed. "I didn't hurt you, did I?" 

I watched as he took my hands in his and inspected my arms. "No, you only hugged me and fell asleep," I sighed. 

Michael climbed into bed with me. "I'm sorry if I scared you. I had stopped drinking before that. I'm changing. For you." He kissed me, his lips barely touching mine. 

I deepened the kiss. He'd dragged me to too many places lately. I needed his body now. 

His hands rubbed my back slowly and moved down to my hips. He pulled me closer. I sat on his lap, my fingers grasping at the front of his shirt.  

Mike broke away from me suddenly. He cleared his throat. "What day is it?" he asked. 

I blinked in surprise. He was usually more than willing to take his clothes off. "Uh...Thursday." I gasped. "I have rehearsal today! Shit!" I leaped off the bed to put on my dance clothes. 

"You don't dress like most dancers," he commented when I was done. 

"I know. I don't like wearing spandex for rehearsals. I don't understand why other dancers do that." I stood up after tying my sneakers. "Are you coming?" 

"Did he ever say yes?" But Mike was already grabbing his jacket. I laughed. "Who cares? I'm his best dancer," I bragged.

I walked into the loft studio, closing the door gently behind us. "Hey guys," I said cautiously 

Prince walked in from a side room. He took his sunglasses off. "You brought him?" He spoke as if Michael wasn't there. 

"He won't be a bother." I elbowed him. "Right?" He nodded. 

Prince clenched his jaw. "There's a chair over there. The choreographer will be here in a minute or two," he explained. He grabbed my shoulders, "I missed you, baby," and kissed me. 

Mike dragged his chair from the corner of the room rather loudly. He sat down emotionlessly, his aviators covering a large part of his face. 

I pulled away blushing. "Missed you too," I mumbled.  

"Dear god, the taste of your lips..." 

I shoved him back by the chest. "I'm here as a dancer only. If you really want me on the tour, you have to respect boundaries," I said firmly. 

He nodded and backed off. "Sorry." He slid a glance toward Michael before winking at me.  

I walked away to other side of the room to stretch. 

"You better be hittin' them splits, girl!" Prince called after me when I started doing a wall split. I giggled and tried to concentrate again. 

Minutes later, the choreographer walked in. "You girls better be stretched, because I am not wasting my time with that," he said. "My name is Aaron. First song is Lady Cab Driver." 

Aaron inspected each dancer. His intimidating glare lingered on me. "You're the lead girl. What's your name?" 

I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes. Of course I was the lead girl. "Lily." 

"Beautiful," he complimented. "Prince, come stand by her." 

Prince came over and slung his arm over my shoulders. He smirked. "Beautiful," Aaron repeated. He turned on the stereo and we all listened to the song. 

I'd heard this song before. Just as expected, about 4 minutes in, came the sexual part. "This is what we're choreographing today," Aaron yelled over the music. I bit my lip anxiously. 

On the track, a girl moaned and groaned while Prince sang angrily. I knew where this was going and I didn't like it. 

The song ended after what seemed like hours. Michael stood up. "Lily." 

I hurried over. "Mike, it's just dancing. Don't worry about it. I won't let it go too far," I assured him. 

"I know. I wanted to tell you I'm going down to the studio to finish that duet with Paul," he murmured. He kissed my forehead. "Love you too." 

He seemed a little bothered. It was probably the blatant sexual theme in the song. 

I gripped his face in my hands and kissed him right there in front of everyone. My fingers dug into his cheeks lightly. He separated from me, smiling. "I'll see you later." 

With a wave, Mike stepped out of the loft. I turned and walked over to my position. 

Aaron paused. "Prince, put your arm around her waist. Pull her toward you." 

I felt Prince's arm slip around my waist. Our hips connected. 

"Now, that wall would be the audience...Turn so the audience would be able to see both of you." 

We shifted awkwardly. 

"Lily, at this part of the song, you're the girl moaning. I want you to make your best sex faces," Aaron explained. The other dancers snickered. 

"Right now? Why can't I save them for performances?" I demanded. 

"Because I need to make sure I won't need to replace you," he retorted. 

"Oh, I don't think she'll need to be replaced," Prince hinted with a knowing smirk on his face. "She'll be great." 

"For the rest of it, just improvise. If that goes well enough, we won't have to spend the entire time on one part of one song," Aaron said. He turned on the music. 

The first part of the verse began. Prince pulled our hips back together quickly. I tried to look as pleasured as possible. 

"This is for the cab you have to drive, for no money at all," he sang along with the track. "This is for why I wasn't born like my brother, handsome and tall. This is for politicians, who are bored and believe and war." I played along for the next few lines.

"This one, ooh!" He turned me around and slammed me back into him. "Yeah, that's the one, that's for, that's for the creator of man," he cooed into my ear. I pantomimed the moaning girl on the track. Truthfully, it wasn't much acting anymore. I had to constantly think of Michael to keep my mind from wandering.

"This is for the sun, moon, stars, the tourists at Disneyland." I grabbed Prince's shirt and leaned back on the nearby prop table, bringing him over me. "This is for the oceans, the sea, the shore."

He leaned down between my legs. "This is for...that's for you, that's who that one's for." I struggled to keep acting. He was really pushing limits with this dance. "This is for the women," his hand touched my face, "so beautifully complex."

Prince yanked my legs toward him. "This one's for the love...without sex." I sat up and began grinding on him as the music went back to the fading chorus.

The last "Lady cab driver..." was barely audible. I sat there breathlessly and realized how incredibly sexual that just was.

I hopped off the table easily. Prince watched me chug a water bottle. "Was that good?" he asked.

Aaron stood up very slowly. "That was...wow. The connection between you too...I was right to pick you, Lily." He looked at the clock. "Oh. Rehearsal's over. Sorry, girls. At least you got some deep stretching in. You're dismissed."

I scooped up my bag and ran out the door. "Lily, wait!" Prince shouted. I didn't even stop, just kept jogging until I leaped into the waiting limo. "Let's get back to the hotel," I gasped to the driver.