Old, But Not That Old [Motough]

25. yours [derek]

"I still can't believe we're in the finale!" Bethany exclaims, squeezing my hand. I let out a small laugh.

"I can. I knew you had the potential to make it here," I admit, glancing at her out of the corner of my eye. I see her try to hide a grin as she leans her head on my shoulder.

Our first dance is a remake of our week 1 jive. Beth is dressed in the same outfit she wore the first time we performed this dance weeks ago. Seeing her looking like she did one of the first times we danced together makes me think about how far we've come. I lean over and kiss the top of her head.

Except for a minor set glitch during our performance, Bethany does really well. Honestly, even though I wasn't lying about knowing her potential, part of me is still in awe that we're here at the finale. It's always crazy to be so close to winning the ultimate win: the mirrorball trophy.

As we prepare for our final dance of the night - the freestyle dance - I start getting sappy.

"Beth, this might be one of our last dances, if not our last dance on this show," I tell her as I stand next to her stylist who twirls her hair up into a bun. "So we gotta give it our all."

"I know," she says, with a slight eye-roll and a laugh. "We're gonna kill it, I know it."

"Me too..." I pause, swallowing hard. "I'm gonna miss dancing with you." My voice is quiet, and I see Beth look up me out of the corner of her eye. Beth's stylist tries to hide a smile.

"I am too, but don't get all sad now. We got a competition to win."

A grin spreads across my face. "Hell yeah we do."

Minutes before our freestyle dance, Beth gets really antsy.

"What's the matter?" I ask as she shuffles around, seemingly unable to keep still.

"I'm just... nervous," she admits with a shy smile.

I wrap my arm around her waist and smile as I gently kiss the top of her head. "Don't be. You're gonna do great."

When Tom announces our names, I grab Beth's hand and prepare to nail our freestyle. After I give her hand a light motivational squeeze, we break apart and get into positions. As soon as the music starts, I feel the adrenaline pulse through my body. When Beth and I meet, as per the choreography, it's almost as if I can feel the energy radiating from her body. This is one of my favorite parts of dancing: feeling that passion fill not only every fiber of my being, but also encompass the entire body of my partner. It means they're completely invested in the dance, and as a teacher, nothing makes me more proud.

The audience erupts in applause as we finish. Our final pose has me dangling Beth upside-down, and I jokingly leave her there for a few seconds, just to feel her squirm under my grip. She laughs as I finally help her back to her feet. She throws her arms around my neck and I can't help but smile as I lift her up and hold her tightly while everyone cheers for us and how amazing this beautiful girl did.

As we walk over to the judges, Beth clearly cannot wipe the smile off her face, and that makes me uncontrollably grin as well.

The audience noise dies down a bit to hear the judges, but explodes in cheer again after Len says that our dance was a "5-star freestyle".

Julianne tells Beth that this dance is a perfect representation of how she has been a leader for her fans throughout this competition, and through her youtube career, and the audience once again roars with applause. I hold Beth around the waist and rest my head on hers, so genuinely proud of her.

Bruno stands up and makes some reference to Beth being like Katniss Everdeen leading a revolution and I laugh as I feel Beth giggle in my arms. After Bruno's praises, she glances at me, and I can't help but pull her in and kiss her on the forehead.

Carrie Ann adds to the other judges' comments, saying how proud she is of Beth and her journey. My mind flashes back to the first dance, the first rehearsal.... Beth was so shy and insecure. Now she is confident, proud, and an incredible dancer. I couldn't be happier for my baby.

As I begin to get sappy in my thoughts, the audience roars once again, and Tom sends us up to get our scores. I lift Beth and carry her up the stairs, unable to shake the excitement I am feeling, not only for myself, but for her.

After our straight 10's, Beth and I jump up and down. I say something cheesy about how proud I am of her for overcoming the little set mishap in the first dance and killing this one, and then I pull her into a hug and kiss her cheek as I hear applause behind us.

****

It's not a lie that this is one of the tightest finales we have had on the show since it has started. All four finalists are incredibly talented and personable and wonderful, and tonight's elimination no doubt has everyone biting their nails.

One of us is leaving, and it isn't even somewhat obvious as to who that will be: it could be any of us.

I stand behind Beth, with my hands around her waist, as we await the results. Silence fills the air as all four finalist couples stand in front of Tom, Erin, and the results envelope.

When Alfonso and Witney are called safe, I smile, happy for them, but feel my heart race, knowing we are one step closer to a possible elimination.

Sadie and Mark are called safe next and Beth and I glance at each other and grin. Sadie is no doubt one of the sweetest girls I have ever met, and I am genuinely happy and proud of her.

Knowing that one of us will be eliminated tonight, Beth and I hug Janel and Val.

My heart starts to race as silence once again fills the room and the spotlight suddenly seems to get hotter. I tighten my grip around Bethany and wait for the words to come out of Tom's mouth.

"The couple leaving now is.... Bethany and Derek."

The audience claps as Beth and I hug. We walk down and talk to Erin: Beth expressing how she has grown through this competition and how thankful she is for me (I try not to blush), and me gushing about how proud I am of Beth and all she's accomplished and developed since I met her.

The show ends as Mark and Sadie, Janel and Val, and Alfonso and Witney come down to hug us. Despite the fact that we won't be fighting for the mirrorball trophy tomorrow, I truly am proud of how far we've come.

As I walk Beth back to her dressing room, I sigh. "We did well."

She nods. "Yeah, I'm proud of us." After a pause, she glances up at me. "Sorry I couldn't get us to the top 3."

A slight smile forms on my mouth. "Stop that."

We walk a bit further in silence and then Bethany speaks again. "I'm really glad you were my partner."

"I'm glad I was yours too," I mutter, with a smile. I lean over a give her a quick kiss on the lips.

"I'm upset, but I'm not," Beth admits. "I think it's cause I know that this isn't the end of us dancing together."

"That is true," I tell her. "Now that we're not in the competition anymore, we can spend tonight just dancing freestyle... Or, if you want... perhaps we can learn the 'Thinking Out Loud' dance..."

I wait for Beth's reaction as I casually drop that sentence. Sure enough, it is exactly what I was expecting. Her mouth drops and she begins jumping up and down.

"Oh my God, yes! Can we??"

I nod. "We most certainly can."

She leans into me. "I love you."

"I love you more," I say, kissing the top of her head. Hand-in-hand, we walk into her dressing room and close the door behind us.