Lost Without You

Chapter 6

Sunday 21st November 2015

{Joes POV}
"Morning Zo." She had rung me at 9am on a Sunday, lovely.
"Morning Broseph, just ringing to check up on you!" Came her voice through the phone.
"Zoe, you are too awake for a Sunday" I groaned, rolling back over in my bed and, leaving my phone on the mattress, I turned it on speaker so I could still talk whilst I cuddled into a pillow.
"You're just too asleep. So anything new to tell me? Got yourself a girlfriend yet?" She chirped. My mind floated away from here to a hotel ten minutes down the road where a certain redhead was staying. No, she wasn't my girlfriend but I, for some reason, always referred to her as that in my head. Having only known her properly for a few days, it was all too soon but things were going from strength to strength with her everyday that I saw her.
"Joeeeeeeee" Zoe broke me from my trance.
"What Zo?"
"Oh my god, have you found a girl?!"
"Look, it's early days but I've met someone." I didn't want to go into detail. Zoe's undoubtably persistent questions would be too much for my half-asleep brain to handle.
"You need to tell me everything!"
"No" I replied, almost bluntly, "all I'll say is she's Australian and a professional dancer but that's all you're getting today."
"Joeeeeee."
"Zoeeeeee."
"You are so annoying" she huffed. A small smile flickered across my face.
"I know, now go away. I want to sleep."
"I want to know everything Joseph, talk to you later."
"Yeh bye!" I hung up gratefully. I brought the duvet up to my chin and got myself comfy...just as Dianne messaged me.
D- Hiya Joey, rehearsals have been cancelled for today. Fancy doing something? X
J- Would love too, I'll come get you from your hotel if you want x
D- Okay, name a time and I'll be ready x
J- 11am? X
D- Perfect, see ya then x
J- See ya x
I peeled myself out from under the covers and walked straight into my bathroom to sort the mess that I call my appearance, starting off with my face. After flicking on the tap, I splashed my skin with the run of crisp and cold water in an effort to wake me up. Zoe's question stuck in my mind. The more I thought about it, the more I could imagine Dianne and I walking along the Thames together like we did when we properly met for the first time but this time as a couple. I could imagine marrying her, starting a family with her, growing old with her. I'd never been able to even look at a girl and say that's the one. Maybe Dianne was different? Woah, woah, woah. Joe. She's only here for a few months then who knows what's going to happen. Just calm down, yeh?

{Diannes POV}
"Hi Joey." My face automatically tugged upwards into a smile as Joe came through the main door of my hotel. Both walking towards the other, we met in the middle and I felt Joes lips on my cheek before our arms were wrapped around the other respectively.
"How come rehearsals were cancelled?" Joe asked as we broke apart.
"I'm not too sure, I think Luba said something about Giovanni being sick last night." Shrugging, I turned around and lead Joe up to my room, needing my phone and bag. Once I had opened the door, Joe, seeing the bed had been made, pushed past me and ran forwards, eventually diving head first into the bed.
"How childish." I stood with my arms crossed over my chest and sat in my hip over one leg, the other straight out to the side of me. Joe rolled over from his front so he was staring at the ceiling. I watched as he tried to sit up without his hands, his abs not being quite strong enough for that.
"You are coming to the gym with me" I said quickly as he gave up and had to put his hands down at the sides of his body to push him upwards into a sitting position.
"You radiate sass" Joe smirked from the bed, "I'm not sure it's safe, I might get radiation poisoning. Do you emit beta or alpha?" He asked with a look on his face that told me he knew I didn't know what he was going on about.
I thought quickly, "yes I do!"
"Do you even know what alpha or beta is?" Joe asked, the same look on his face, already knowing the answer.
"I'm a dancer not a brain box!" I placed my arms into a ballroom hold and turned on the spot for a couple of seconds. Even without a partner there, I was always conscious of how I held my body. In my head, I went through the checklist. Head and eye line, shoulders, back, core.
"You are such a dancer" Joe laughed from the bed as he watched me.
"I mean, what did you expect. I know I was pretty much self-taught up until 18 but still!"
"You were what?!"
"I'm self-taught?" I stated again but it came out as more a question, "the dance school where I grew up could only take me to a certain level so I kind of had to until I could move away to Perth and get proper classes with my brother."
"Woah, you must be a natural." Joes eyes were wide and I could see him fighting the urge to let his mouth drop in shock. When I've told people I self-taught before, they usually just bypass the comment. I suppose that's not a thing that most people do.
"Come here, I'll teach you a ballroom hold." I dropped my arms and signalled for Joe to come over to me.
"No Di, I can't dance..."
"I'm not asking you to dance, now come here" I interrupted, more forcefully this time, clicking and pointing my finger to the ground. I narrowed my eyes as Joe rolled his until he pushed himself up off the bed with a sigh and moved over so he was stood in front of me.
"Right, put your left arm up like this." I grabbed Joes elbow and pushed it upwards, then moved his forearm so the inside of it was facing the wall. Joes eyes just followed my movements.
"Now this arm goes around my back, bend it but keep your elbow up" I instructed, this time taking Joes right arm and holding it up, moving it into the correct position.
"Oh close your feet." Joe joined his feet together and I took a step back to look at the picture.
"That's it, look to your left, keeping your head and eyeline up." Joe shifted his head.
"Better?"
"Yep, that's lovely. Now stay in that position." I stepped closer to him, pushing my body against his and lifting my right arm to join his left.
"When you hold my hand, imagine there's a small bird in between our palms." I placed my hand in his and clasped my fingers around it, him the doing the same to me.
"Now move your right arm so it's on my back, keep your shoulder down."
"How, my shoulder doesn't do that!"
"Don't even start." I used my left hand to push his shoulder down and correct his alignment before moving my left arm to rest on top of his right, arching backwards slightly and looking over my left shoulder.
"Go into your knees a bit more." I relaxed my knees and he did the same.
"Lovely, now spin keeping your head to the left and without moving your top half" I instructed, using my body to push him to turn. We did a couple of turns before we stopped. I didn't let go of his hand, just took the other into mine and held them out in front of me.
"That was quite good that, I reckon you'd be a good little dancer!"
"You're just saying that" Joe smiled shyly, a flicker of red appearing on the apples of his cheeks.
"Are you blushing?! But I'm not, I'm being deadly serious. Maybe Strictly is on the cards for you in the future?"