Sway with Me

Chapter Six: Getting To Know You

“You're doing very well,” Isabelle said as they finished for lunch, Cristiano looked at the red head who smiled at him as they collected their stuff.

The Portuguese thanked her as they headed out of the dance studio; it had been a week since they had been introduced and the two were slowly starting to get to know one another.

“So what are you doing for lunch?” Cristiano asked as they exited the building, Isabelle bit her lip as she looked at him; she was surprised how well that she was getting along with him.

“I’m heading to a small café that’s down the road,” Isabelle replied as she looked at him carefully, she had to admit that the image that the media had of Cristiano was completely wrong.

“Do you mind if I join you?" he asked nervously, he knew that he would be spending a lot of time with Isabelle over the next few weeks.

The first show was coming up and no one got eliminated in the first week and then he would have to learn a new dance for the second show where there was a chance that he was going home.

“Of course not,” Isabelle said making Cristiano smile at her as they dropped their training bags off at their cars before they started the short walk to the café.

The two talked about the show as they walked down the street until they reached the small café, Cristiano politely opened the door for her; making Isabelle smile at him as she stepped inside with him following closely behind.

After ordering their lunches, the two found a table at the back so that they wouldn’t be disturbed; Cristiano took a moment to admire the red head that sat across from him, she wasn’t like any of the women that he was usually associated with.

Isabelle had insisted that she pay for her own lunch when he had offered to pay for her and she didn't seem to care about his bad rep; Isabelle cared about the real him.

“So where are you from?” Cristiano asked making the red head glance at him as she wrapped her chicken, bacon and lettuce sub.

“Here in Madrid, but my parents are American…  I’ve only just settled back here actually,” Isabelle said making the Portuguese nod as he started to eat his own sandwich; he was starving and hadn’t expected rehearsals to take so much out of him.

The red head watched him curiously for a moment wondering why he wanted to know.

“How come?” Cristiano commented; he found Isabelle interesting beyond belief. Isabelle munched on her sandwich.

“For the show… I only finished competing internationally two years ago and started to compete on Más que baile instead,” she told him making Cristiano nod as he tried to remember what he had read about her.

***

The rest of lunch was spent getting to know each other and Cristiano was surprised by how much he learnt from Isabelle.

The red head had competed in competitions around the world in places like San Francisco, Las Vegas, Lisbon, London, Moscow and Brazil and that she had been doing so since she was a little girl.

“I was thinking that we do our Foxtrot to ‘Just the Way You Are’by Bruno Mars,” Isabelle said as they returned to the building back Cristiano look at her, he nodded as he tried to recall the song wondering if  he had heard it.

The red head laughed softly as she handed him her iPod which had the song on it, Cristiano looked at her gratefully before he popped one of her headphones in and listened to the song.

“Sounds good,” Cristiano said as he agreed with the song making Isabelle smile as they entered their dance studio, they could hear some of the other pairs rehearsing.

The two dance’s for the first show were the Foxtrot or the Salsa, so it was interesting to hear the variation in music through the building.

Isabelle put the song on the stereo allowing music to fill the room before she walked back to Cristiano and placed herself in his hold, allowing them to start rehearsal.

The Portuguese was slowly getting better with only a couple of mistakes, and he was quick to get back on the beat as they rehearsed.

“Remember… it’s slow, slow, quick, quick,” Isabelle said making Cristiano nod as they moved about the room; he was surprised how quickly they were progressing with their routine.

“I didn't think it would be this hard or this technical,” Cristiano said making Isabelle laugh softly as they separated for a moment to take a small break before they moved to their starting positions for the dance as the song started over again.

“No one does… but people always underestimate ballroom. They think it is easy flying around on the dance floor, but it takes a lot to look effortless,” Isabelle said with a shrug as they started their routine again.

Cristiano nod as he focused on what he was doing; he had a new found respect for what Isabelle did, he had always laughed about how easy Ballroom seemed but now he realised how much worked went into the routines they did.

***

The next few hours seemed to pass with easily as they rehearsed their routine a few more times; Isabelle smiled at Cristiano warmed down before he headed to training for a match that weekend.

“Isabelle… how many hours do you plan on practicing with me?” the Portuguese asked, he knew that they had been doing about four hours at a time the last week and he knew that as the show went on the more competitive people got.

“It's up to you, really. Most of the previous contestants have started out on four to six hour sessions, but it can escalate up to ten or more hours,” Isabelle said with a shrug making Cristiano stare at her shocked making the red head laugh as she put her stuff into her bag and stretched.

“The competitive drive kicks in after a while,” she explained making the Portuguese nod as he took in what she was saying, he knew that with his football training that he would have to find a way of making sure he didn't fall behind the others as the competition progressed.

Isabelle shouldered her bag and smiled at Cristiano who opened the studio’s door for her to exit; she thanked him as she stepped out into the corridor.

“So I guess I will see you Monday,” Cristiano said making Isabelle nodded, she knew he had a game coming up that weekend and since there was no rehearsals that weekend; she wouldn’t see him again to Monday.

“Good Luck with your match… try not to injure yourself until then,” Isabelle said making Cristiano stop walking and look at her, he was surprised that she knew about the match since he hadn’t mentioned it.

The red head laughed softly as she approached her car and put her training bag inside before she turned to face Cristiano who smiled at her.

“Obrigado… have a good weekend,” Cristiano said making Isabelle nod before he hurried away towards his car, Isabelle watched him go with a smile; she couldn't believe she had gotten lucky with a partner like him for the next few weeks.