FALLING FOR SHAWN

Chapter 7 - Nothing Going On

It was more difficult than Shawn had expected. The dancing part was actually more fun than he thought it would be, and Camila had been right, Sara was amazing, and she helped him to relax and taught him to dirty dance just like in the movie, even though most of what they did didn't end up making the final choreography. She had them do some screaming therapy and the loud yelling turned out to be great at relaxing them both. He paired with Sara and she with Sara's partner Calvit, and they watched in the mirror to make sure they were doing it properly. And then he had to do the same thing with Camila. He tried hard, and succeeded for the most part. Touching her in that intimate way, being pressed against her, having her legs wrapped around him, sliding down his body, these were all familiar to them both, and he knew she was thinking of particular instances the same as him. But they got through it, and in between, they sat and talked, about television shows and movies and food and music and people they both knew, and it was relaxed and fun, but every now and then they caught each other's eye and it was a wordless exchange, sharing the knowledge that they had done a lot more than talk before.

The first night, he went home, had half a bottle of tequila and crashed. In the morning he called a car service because he didn't trust himself to drive, and by the time he got there he felt a bit better and more prepared to continue the choreography. She was standing out the front when he got there, alone, and he couldn't enter the place without pushing past her.

"Hi," he said quietly as he approached her. She spun about with a small yelp of surprise and he laughed. "Sorry, did I scare you?"

She pointed to her ears, she was wearing AirPods and listening to something, which is why she hadn't heard him approach.

"OK Mama," she said, followed by a lot of Spanish he didn't understand except for telling her she loved her at the end. She tapped on her ear to end the call.

"Hi," she smiled. "How are you? Whoa, you look a bit seedy. Big night?"

He gave her a rueful smile. "Needed something to help me sleep...."

"Like what?"

"Like tequila?"

"Wish I thought of that. I didn't get a wink of sleep." She looked at him squarely and he felt it all the way down to places he had been trying to keep under control.

"We're ready for you guys!" Sara called, and they walked in together, but quite distinctively apart. The exchange out the front was interfering with their working together now, just like they had feared, it was all going to shit. Sara was getting frustrated with them, and in the end she called a halt to it.

"What's up with you guys? Neither of you look like you slept last night, your energy levels are zero, and the chemistry is shot. Go have some lunch, have a chat and try and find whatever it was that worked yesterday. I'm not happy with how some of the choreo is going, we're going to have a play with it, come back in about an hour."

She had given them no choice. There was a coffee shop within walking distance and since Shawn didn't have his car, they walked to it. They didn't speak, and stood well apart. They ordered at the counter and Shawn insisted on paying and then they found a table out on the sidewalk.

The drinks arrived just as they sat down. They fiddled with them and then sat there, a huge bubble of uncomfortable silence between them.

"I'm sorry..."

"I don't know what...."

They both spoke at the same time. "You go first," he said with a crooked smile.

"I don't know what's come over me, I'm so sorry, I've got two left feet and I'm totally off."

"No, I'm sorry," he said. "I'm hungover, and tired, and every time you come anywhere near me I just..."