Page 12 of Wrecked By a Devil

“You’re welcome!” He shouts as I’m walking away in a rush. “My name is Cohen, by the way. Feel free to reach out if you need help with anything.”

“Thanks.”

Just as I’m about to walk into the changing room, my phone buzzes with another message from Mia.

This is a lot of fun!

I don’t get a chance to respond before she sends another one.

Okay, but seriously… How far away are you?

No, don’t respond. It will only take up more of your time.

Xx

“You’re one of the new girls, right? Everything okay?” I get pulled back into reality when another dancer in the changing room speaks. I look up from my phone to see her analyzing me with a kind but worried look in her eyes. “Sorry, you just look super pale.”

“Oh…” I smile back at her. “Yeah. I’m just late, I was rushing to get here and I’m a little out of breath.”

She nods, turning around in her chair and continuing to do her makeup. “Don’t worry, they’re pretty understanding here. Just don’t let it turn into a habit.”

“Thanks,” I place my things on the empty chair. “I don’t need to do my makeup for the rehearsal, right?”

“No, you’re good,” She responds. “But hurry before they reprimand you for being late.”

“Right,” I’m already exhausted, and the day is nowhere near over.

A heartbeat later, I’m in the same room where I did the audition last night. To my surprise, the place is crowded with staff. Everyone is focused on their job, so no one is really paying attention to the girls rehearsing, aside from someone wearing a black t-shirt that has ‘rehearsal coach’ written on it.

“Can I get a glass of water?” I ask the bartender.

“Here you go,” he hands me a tall glass with a polite smile on his face, not seeming to care in the slightest about anything that is going on, which is a great sign.

Maybe no one will pay attention to me dancing and things will go smoothly after all.

You can do this, Riley.

“Hey, girl!” As soon as I approach the stage, I’m greeted by the rehearsal coach. “Riley, right?”

I glance at Mia, who’s the next in line waiting to join the other two girls on stage, and she gives me a thumbs up. She’s wearing a short black skirt and a sports bra, fitting right in with the rest of the girls. Suddenly I feel overdressed.

“Yes,” I reach out to shake hands with the tall, incredibly sexy woman speaking to me.

“I’m Jena, nice to meet you.”

“You too,” I smile.

“You’re right on time, Riley,” she pulls her long hair in a messy bun, and picks up the note pad from the table. “Right after Mia finishes her set, you’ll be up on stage, joining Diana and Hana.After the group dance, you’ll do a solo, but don’t worry, I’m here to guide you through all of it.”

“Okay.” My hand grips tighter around my belt and Jena seems to notice how nervous I am.

“You don’t have to take your clothes off during rehearsal,” She adds, as if she can read my mind and I release a breath I didn’t know I was holding.

I’ve always loved dancing and I’m not someone who’s afraid of their body or their sensuality. But what freaks me out is the thought of being naked on stage. Dancing is the only thing that allows me to fully be present and free and that’s the part that I’m really excited about when it comes to this job.

When I was ten years old, I won a dance competition at school and was gifted a month of free dance lessons at a professional studio. That’s how Mia and I met and became inseparable. “Oh, here comes Diana,” Jena’s face lights up as another dancer joins us.

I recognize the senior dancer to be the girl I met in the changing room earlier. Just as she joins us, I spot a familiar figure at one of the tables. The lights are low and I wasn’t scanning the room for him when I walked in, thinking he wouldn’t be interested in watching the rehearsals.