Chip laughs. “Of course.”
To my delight, rather than just showing him the steps, he takes hold of my partner again and physically walks him through the routine we’d learned the other day.
Once they’ve gone over it, Brendon and I walk through the new extended version. And from Chip’s reaction, apparently, we do a pretty good job. “Fuck, you guys are awesome!” he crows excitedly, “Sorry, pardon my French.”
We both laugh. “If swearing offended me, his little sister would have given me a coronary by now,” I remark, pointing with my thumb at Brendon, who nods in agreement.
His younger sister Carly is notorious in the family for a mouth that would make a sailor blush.
“Okay, good. But seriously, that was great, you guys really do have a natural talent for this.”
“Thanks,” my face flushes with pleasure, and the rest of Brendon’s face reddens to match the shade on his nose.
“Let’s keep going,” he urges.
We keep dancing for another hour or so, until my feet are starting to ache and Brendon’s looking a little wilted. Chip talks us through a cooldown before shutting off the music and giving us a one-man round of applause. “Great job, you guys, this was an absolute blast.”
“Thanks, man, it was pretty fun,” Brendon agrees, “You’re a great teacher.”
“Thank you, means a lot to hear that,” Chip says sincerely.
“I’m serious, dude, I mean, I’m not trying to be a dick, but you’re too good to be teaching newbies like us,” he says, “Have you thought about getting back into the more serious stuff?”
Chip hesitates. “I’m too out of practice,” he says, shaking his head, “I couldn’t cut it in the professional world anymore.”
Brendon shakes his head. “I don’t think that’s true; I think you’re underestimating yourself. And I’m not saying you need to jump back in and apply to go teach atJuilliardor anything, but I think you’re wasting these skills on beginners.”
“You know,” I muse, chiming in, “Maybe if you wanted to stay out here on the island, you could offer private dance lessons online or something. You’d lose some of the personal touch and all, but I think there’s ways to do it, right?”
Chip eyes me for a long moment. “You know, that’s not a bad idea,” he admits, “Might be a way to dip my toes back in.”
Brendon nods in agreement. “I think that’s a great idea.”
“I appreciate that, I’ll definitely have to think about it,” Chip says, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
“But seriously, I think any studio in New York would be lucky to have you if you ever wanted to come back,” I tell him, “Brendon’s right.”
A shadow passes over his face, and for a brief moment, he looks so tragic I want to pull him into my arms and comfort him, but he quickly recovers the cheerful poker face. “Thank you, Hazel. Both of you. Really, you don’t know how much it means.”
A silence falls over the three of us, but it’s surprisingly comfortable. “So,” Brendon says finally, “We’re still here for another week and a half, do you think you’d be interested in teaching us a little more?”
“Really?” I ask excitedly, looking up at my boyfriend with surprise.
“Yeah, why not? It’s pretty fun, and it’ll give me some flashy moves to show you off at all the office parties,” he teases.
“I would absolutely love to,” Chip says sincerely, “I’ve got classes pretty back-to-back tomorrow from nine onwards, but I could work with you guys after my last one ends at five.”
“Are you sure?” I ask, “We don’t wanna pile on, we can pick a different day if you’re busy.”
“I insist,” he says firmly.
“Well, then, we’ll see you tomorrow at five,” Brendon says, “Should we meet you back here again?”
“Nah, we can go back to the studio tomorrow,” he shakes his head.
We bid him goodbye and head out. “What should we do now?” I ask Brendon, looking at my watch, “It’s only about five now, we could grab some early dinner or maybe go back to the room and chill for a bit.”
“I could eat,” he says, “Worked up an appetite.”