Bailamos? | Mark Owen [Take That]

Chapter 12

When the phone woke me up that sunny morning, I rubbed the sleep from my eyes before I would look at the alarm clock and actually get the call.

Ten years had gone by since I had left school and I was now living in a small flat in NYC. I had graduated from Juilliard after four long years of dedication, training and eagerness to become what I had always wanted to be: a professional dancer. Every morning I got up at the same time -nine am- and had a glass of orange juice and some cereal. I would watch the news and tidy the mess I lived in and then, before lunchtime, I would give my agent a call to see if she had got me any new auditions.

My agent was Stella, a crazy peroxide who dressed in colourful 80s clothes, big earrings and lots of make up. She was a little bit nuts but I liked her. Every time I went to her office I felt sick cuz she smoked one cigarrette after the other and she polluted both the room and our bodies. And even if it was ten in the morning she would be having a Scotch -without ice cuz it watered her whisky down.

Stella insisted I should start considering the idea of acting and singing but I didn't like that much. I knew it would be easier to become famous if I started a singing or even an acting career, but all I wanted was to dance. Nothing else mattered for me. I went to every audition Stella got me, no matter if it was a kids TV programme or a documentary or a crappy play... I just wanted to dance.

 "Heelloo" I said with a sleepy voice.

 "Morning sleepy beauty"

 "Who's this?"

 "Ah you already forgotten 'bout me?" 

"Baby what you doing calling this early?"

 "I wanted to wake you up so you have your nine o'clock orange juice

"Awww... you're so sweet baby"

 "I know... OK... Gotta go... the boys wanna start early today" 

"Alrite... talk later babe"

"Love you" 

"Me too... mwah"

 That was my boyfriend Jamie. He had a rock band and they were in Miami recording their first album. I didn't like the idea of him becoming a famous rockstar or anything but well... it was his dream, just as it was my desire to be as famous as Liza...

 Jamie and I met in Juilliard and despite he was in the music division and I was in the dance division we had classes in the same building. One day I was sitting outside the school reading some notes before an examination and he just landed at my feet. Literally! The silly had tripped on the stairs!

 It was love at first sight... I parted my sight from the book to see what was going on and that was when it happened: Wearing a black t-shirt which made his green eyes look greener and having his longish fair hair dishevelledlooked at me and we just stared at the other for what it seemed hours. Before we would even realize BAM! He invited me to have a coffee after my examination was over. And I accepted without any doubts. From that day on we were never apart.

 Everybody said that it was high time to take the big step but neither of us wanted to do it. Mainly because we didn't have enough money to afford a wedding and because we were just okay the way we were. I went over to his place twice or thrice a week and he came to mine the rest of the days. That was okay for us... we didn't want to invade the other's space.

 Jamie didn't like my current job -I was working at Jorge's club now. Four times a week there was a salsa show (and sometimes we added some other Latino beats, such as mambo or merengue). Those days I would get on the stage with Javier, my dancing partner, and we would dance til our feet and legs hurt. It was really fun and I enjoyed it a lot cuz Javier and me had been dancing for about five years and we knew each other as if we were the same person.