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Chapter 18

  I let out a deep breath and looked in the mirror one last time. You can do this. You have this. I put my head in my hands and let out short breathes, not being able to control myself. Feeling hands wrap around my wrist, I looked up and met Chres’s gaze.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” His face was laced with concern and I knew I couldn’t lie to him.

“I’m freaking out Chres. I had no clue it would be this big. No one said it would be on national t.v.” I looked around and saw numerous dancers running around the room, trying to get prepared to go on. The contest had finally come and I was scared to say the least. As soon as I stepped into the building the nerves had set in. I’ve never been nervous to perform before but just the thought of messing up in front of the whole country was causing anxiety. A very small, petite girl came off stage crying minutes ago and I couldn't help but freak out even more after that. Chres let out a sigh and kissed my hands.

“It’s OK Destiny. You’re here with me. No one else. I’ve got you and you’ve got me. It’s just us out there. Don’t think about messing up or the other dancers. Just do you. You’ve got this and you know it. You know the dance inside and out. You can do it.” Chres gave me a reassuring smile and I gave him one back. I heard a loud voice call our names and I jumped in response. Chres stood up and walked me to my side of the stage. “You got this Destiny. Trust me.” He gave me a kiss on the cheek and I nodded in response. I watched as he headed to the other side of the stage and get in his position.

  I let out deep breathes and walked out on stage as they called our names. I was immediately blinded by the bright lights and all I could see was moving black blobs in the audience. I walked over to the center of the stage and spotted Chres. He gave me a small nod and I smiled back at him. I heard the music start and I zoned out.

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“And the winner is Destiny and Chres from Gotta Dance L.A.!” I popped my eyes open and I let out the breathe I was holding. Chres quickly turned to me and lifted me off of the ground, spinning me around.

“We did it!” Chres yelled, excited. He grabbed my hand and led me out onto the stage. Unlike earlier I was finally able to see what was going on in the crowd. I saw Tara, my mom, Dave, and all of our friends up on their feet, cheering for us. I laughed and grabbed the trophy the host was handing to me. I held it up high and cheered out. Chres gave me a hug and kissed my cheek.

“I love you Destiny.” I heard his deep voice whisper in my ear. I closed my eyes and smiled.

“I love you too.” I pulled away and looked at his smiling face. We finally left the stage and were bombarded by our friends and family. Congratulations and compliments went around and I couldn’t help but smile even more. My mom pulled me into a huge hug and I held onto her.

“I’m so proud of you baby and you too Chres.” She gave Chres a small hug and pulled away to look at us. I was about to say something when I was interrupted by Dave.

“You guys looked good up there. How about we go celebrate? My treat.” Everyone agreed before me or Chres could even answer.

“Actually we were.....” I started to say but was again cut off by Dave. He had this gleam in his eye and I stepped closer to Chres.

“I insist. Let’s go.” His tone had a stern edge to it and I knew there was no changing his mind. Giving me one last sideways glare, he led my mom to their car, followed by our friends. I let out a sigh and grabbed my bag, heading out with my hand in Chres’s. After much debating, we ended up at a small restaurant downtown. It took us a while to find a table considering how many people we had but we eventually squeezed into two tables. The table was loud to say the least, everyone having their own conversations. After our food arrived, Dave stood up and everyone immediately went quiet.