Joe and Dianne's Strictly Stories

Jive: Take On Me

Joe felt a combination of excitement and apprehension as he disconnected the call. His agent had managed to get him a deal with A-HA, a new fashion company. Joe really liked their range; all of their resources and materials were sourced locally, and their production techniques really impressed him. Although Joe's dress sense was quite simple, he did have a soft spot for their quirkier designs, and was delighted to be working with them.

The owners of A-HA wanted to produce an advert with Joe, including him modelling their newest range of party clothes, which the younger man was eager to be involved in. They intended for the trailer to be released on his channel so that his subscribers could get a first look at their stock, then for it to be broadcast on national television afterwards. Joe was ready to agree to it immediately, until they revealed that they wanted him to dance in the advert. He had never danced sober before, let alone been paid to dance for everyone in the country (and possibly beyond) to see! It was a fantastic opportunity, but Joe wasn't sure whether he was up for the challenge.

Fortunately, Joe found out that he would be working alongside one of the company's models, who used to be a professional dancer. Although that didn't completely alleviate his nerves, Joe felt slightly more reassured that he would at least get a little bit of training before he potentially made a tit of himself publicly in the name of fashion! 

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Joe could practically feel his jaw hit the floor when he was introduced to Dianne. Of course A-HA hired her as a model: she was absolutely stunning. She had bright red hair, sparkling hazel eyes and a figure that even Joe was envious of! He was only able to make eye-contact with her for about a second before glancing around the studio bashfully, worried that she was somehow able to read his less than pure thoughts.

"Are you okay?" the Australian woman asked, noticing his awkward demeanour.

Joe nodded distantly, "Yeah, I'm just nervous, I guess".

Dianne smiled, "That's understandable," she replied, "But don't worry, you're in safe hands!"

Like the creep that he was, Joe's gaze fell to Dianne's perfectly manicured hands, "Yep".

"So, am I right in thinking that you've never danced before?" she asked.

Joe nodded, "Unless jumping up and down in a nightclub counts as 'dancing'!"

Dianne sniggered, "Not really, but it's a start!" she replied, "In that case, we'll do a little warm-up to get your blood pumping and your brain working; then we can get started on the routine. How does that sound?"

Joe was so disorientated by this whole situation that he would have agreed to anything, so he just nodded. However, he soon regretted it when 'a little warm up' turned out to be five minutes of consecutive Star Jumps - or 'Jumping Jacks', as Dianne called them! Joe must have become delirious with exhaustion and thought that he was playing 'musical bumps', because he fell to the floor as soon as the track ended.

"Are you warmed up now?" Dianne asked.

The younger man nodded, breathing deeply, "I think I'm melting!"

Dianne put her hands on her hips as she studied him, "Note to self, work on his fitness".

Joe glanced up at her in outrage, and she grinned, "Just kidding; that was a lot of Jumping Jacks, to be fair," she giggled, "Though you will need lots of stamina for the routine I have in mind!"

Joe frowned, "I thought I had loads of stamina," he remarked, "I can usually last ages!"

Dianne smirked, and Joe grimaced at his faux pas, "Good to know," the redhead retorted, "But maybe save that for the next time you're looking for a hook-up".