Kaycee ran out of her front door, yelling a quick 'I love you' to her mother as she rushed into the truck waiting on her driveway. "You're early, I barely had time to finish getting ready," Kaycee said, closing the door to Sean's car and setting her bag on the ground.
"Sorry, I'm just excited," he said, pulling out of her driveway and onto the street.
"I know me too. I can't wait to see what Tessandra has for us," Kaycee exclaimed, rubbing her hands together in excitement. Sean smiled at his adorable best friend next to him. They were on their way to the studio to rehearse with Tessandra, someone they both looked up to. She hadn't told them anything about the choreography in advance so they were completely in the dark.
Kaycee cranked up the volume on the radio and starting singing wildly, no regard for tune or pitch. Being the singer that he is, Sean would normally cringe at the noise but when it was Kaycee doing it, it seemed like the cutest and most beautiful sound in the world. He watched for a few seconds, lost in her presence, before remembering he was driving and focusing again on the road.
The ride wasn't long, filled with laughter and music, and too soon, they pulled up to the studio and made their way inside. Tessandra was waiting inside with Ashley and Zack who were stretching in front of the mirror.
"Hey guys," Tessandra said, greeting them both with a hug. "You ready for today?"
Sean looked at Kaycee before answering, "I think so since we have no idea what we're actually doing, I guess we're as ready as we can be." Kaycee nodded in agreement.
"Well you will soon find out," Tessandra said, a borderline evil look in her eyes. She shared a conspiratory glance with Ashley and Zack as they joined them, hugs being passed around between the four dancers. "Why don't you two get stretched out and warmed up and then we'll get started."
Sean and Kaycee nodded and started their stretching routine in front of the mirror where Ashley and Zack had been a moment ago. They broke into an easy and comfortable conversation while stretching out until Kaycee looked up at what Ashley and Zack were doing. She stopped talking mid-sentence and Sean looked up at her confusedly.
"Is that what we're doing?" She asked, pointing at Zack who was currently holding Ashley behind his head and upside down by her hips so that they were back to back. He slowly turned her over and lowered her down to the ground where she regained her footing and turned around to face him, her arms going around his neck and legs around his stomach before arching her back as he guided her around his body. Tessandra was next to them, counting the beats and offering notes.
Sean looked at Kaycee and saw the nervousness in her eyes. She had never been super comfortable with intimate choreography, no matter who it was with. They had been dance partners for three years now, and Sean was the only one she remotely trusted in situations like that.
Kaycee had done slightly mature choreography when she was very young and she didn't think there was anything wrong with it until people online would make comments about it, telling her she wasn't old enough or that she wasn't a good role model because of certain routines. Sean had spent years trying to help her understand that she was allowed to do whatever choreography she wanted, it was her body, after all, not anyone else's. She had just turned eighteen, making the two of them the same age for about a month, and people their age were frequently doing more provocative choreography. While she didn't think there was anything wrong with performing routines like that, she was hesitant to start doing them herself, nervous about how people would react.
Knowing all of this, Sean put his hand on her shoulder, squeezing it slightly, trying to calm some of her nerves. "We won't do anything that you're not comfortable with," he told her, looking her in eyes.
