Right in Time (13 page)

Chapter Twenty
Six

A week following Caleb’s accident, his friend Danny came in to town.  Danny LeBlanc was a professional dancer from a small town in upstate New York and met up with Caleb during a competition a few years back and they stayed friends.  He was in town for the competition himself, as well as to hang out with Caleb who he hadn’t seen in a while. 

On Friday night, Maggie and Caleb were at the studio waiting for Danny to arrive.  Caleb had called him before he left to see if he would do the routine and of course, he agreed.  Although Maggie had agreed to dance with him as well, she still wasn’t 100% keen on the idea.  Her nerves were beginning to get the best of her again.  She was stressed about having to do the routine in front of others.  The fact that she wasn’t being judged by the professionals did make it easier and going in to it, that helped calm her, but now that she had to do the routine with someone she didn’t know and have him watch her made her very much aware of the fact that while she may not be getting scores, she would be judged.

“Are you sure that this is the best idea?  I mean, no one will miss it if the dance doesn’t happen at all.” Maggie said, trying to reason with Caleb.

“Are you still hung up on doing the routine with
Danny?  You admitted you loved the dance, so stop trying to get out of it, okay?”

“Fine.”
Maggie huffed just as the door to the studio opened and in walked Danny.  Caleb immediately walked over to him and they gave each other a quick hug, asking each other how they were doing in greeting. 

Maggie took this time to size him up.

Danny was a bit shorter than Caleb; closer to Maggie’s own height.  He shared Caleb’s dark locks, but had his styled in a faux hawk and that, along with his eyebrow piercing, added to the rock edge he had.  Caleb often let his stubble grow in for a day or two, but was more so a clean cut type of guy, classic features that contrasted with those of Danny.  Maggie noted his fit, muscular body, but what really drew her in were his eyes.  The pale blue color was visible from across the room and she couldn’t help but connect with them.  Caleb and Danny started walking towards her as she shifted her attention back to her boyfriend.

“
Maggie, this is Danny.  Danny, this is Maggie, my girlfriend and your new partner.”

Maggie
smiled at him referring to her as his girlfriend.  Sure, it had been a little while, but the use of the title and knowing that he was hers made her happy inside.  “Hi, nice to meet you.” Maggie said, extending her hand to shake.

“You too.”
Danny said shaking her hand, the slightest bit of a New York accent coming through.

After the introductions were made, they got down to business right away.  It was like starting over completely as Caleb had to teach Danny the dance from the very beginning.  It was a process slowed by Caleb’s inability to dance it out in instruction, but Danny was able to pick it up quite quickly and they were able to get one complete run of the routine from start to finish.  To say dancing with him was awkward for Maggie would be an understatement.  This routine was filled with passion, or so it was supposed to be, but with not knowing Danny, as well as having her boyfriend watching and instructing them on such things as how tight to grasp each other and such didn’t help.  Noting the awkwardness from Maggie, Caleb suggested going for drinks after rehearsal in hopes of having the two get to know each other better and to become friendly and comfortable around each other.

They grabbed a booth
in the back of a small pub nearby and Caleb, despite hobbling along, went to the bar to order them their drinks, leaving Danny and Maggie at the table in the most awkward of silences.  When Caleb had failed to return five minutes later, Maggie took it upon herself to try and break the tension.

“So, how long are you in town for?”

“Too long.” Danny replied bluntly.

“Oh, okay.  So you don’t like it here?”
Maggie questioned, trying to feed the conversation.

“No.”

The sound of crickets chirping could have been heard had the music not been so loud.  Trying to think of something else to say,
Caleb saved her when he returned with a waitress following, tray in hand, carrying their drink orders so he could work his crutches.

“Sorry, the
line-up was long at the bar.  What’d you two talk about while I was gone?” Caleb asked.

“Not much.  Just the fact that
Danny doesn’t like Vancouver it seems.” Maggie replied dryly, taking a sip of her drink.

“Dude, you told me you love it here!”
Caleb said, playfully punching his friend’s arm.

“I know.
I was just playing with her.”

“What?!”
Maggie asked confused.

“Ah, never mind.”
Danny countered, brushing her off.

With that,
Caleb and Danny swelled in to steady conversation, while Maggie sat there with her drink, only joining in every once in a while when Caleb turned to her for confirmation on something he was talking about. 

Being an observer, Maggie watched Danny and just knew that there was something about him that put her off completely.  It wasn’t just the fact that he had tried to be smart earlier and then brushed her off; it was also the fact that he had done so with apparent callousness.  With Caleb, he seemed like a different person, laughing, enjoying the conversation.  Sure, he was still the blunt and direct person that Maggie had gotten a glimpse of, but he was different.  She had tried to be nice to him and he didn’t return the favour.  She was confused by this and that confusion led to frustration, especially when thinking of the next few weeks of rehearsals.  As much as she loved him as a friend, all that ran through her head for the rest of the night were random curses aimed at Bryan for dropping that damn amp!

Chapter Twenty Seven

Maggie didn’t see much of Caleb the weekend following Danny’s arrival.  The two had gone out with friends for guys’ night out and then were apparently too hung over the next day to function.  It’s not like Maggie minded, she was happy he was hanging out with his friends, but the one thing she didn’t really like is that the next time she saw him it would be with Danny; their Tuesday and Friday classes having been turned in to rehearsals for the routine. 

The way he had treated her the first time they met still stuck (and stung) in her mind.  She wasn’t one who couldn’t take sarcasm; she was friends with Taylor after all. But no, there was something else there.  Something about him and his attitude that completely turned her off.  And it was something she couldn’t shake.

When the studio door opened and Caleb came in, with Danny following not far behind, he headed straight for Maggie who had been daydreaming at the window waiting for them.  He gave her the biggest hug and kissed her deeply, but quickly.  Putting her down, he whispered in her ear that he missed her this past weekend, bringing a smile to her lips.  Still maintaining her hold on him, she opened her eyes which landed on Danny who was staring in their direction with a slight smile on his own lips. 
Creeper.
  Maggie thought to herself as she turned her attention away from him and back to Caleb.  That didn’t last long however when he pulled away and posed the question, “You ready to dance?”

Maggie was purely going
through the motions when dancing the routine.  She knew the steps at this point and was doing them perfectly, but there was nothing behind it.  When the music ended, she dropped out of his hold quickly and stepped away.

“You might want to try putting some emotion in to the dance.”
Danny stated.

“What?”
Maggie asked, offended.  Hey, she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of admitting that he was correct.

“You were just doing the steps, nothing else.”

Maggie’s face just started to grow angrier and angrier.  Noticing this, Caleb took it as his cue to step in.  “Okay, how about we take a bit of a break and then try it again?”

Danny
just shrugged his shoulders and headed out of the studio to get some water, leaving Maggie and Caleb alone.

“What the hell was that?”
Maggie asked to Caleb and no one at the same time.

“He didn’t mean it in a bad way.  He just wants you to be the best at the routine that you can.”
Caleb countered.

“Are you seriously defending him?!”

“No! I’m just saying that maybe you could put more emotion behind the moves, that’s all.  You’ve got the steps down perfect already.”

“You are so not my favourite person right now.”

“Maggie...”

“No!  I hate him.  Ever since I met him, he’s been nothing but cold to me.  He’s a wannabe hard ass, a smart ass, a pain in my ass...notice a theme here?”

“You barely know him.  You’ve only hung out like, twice.  He’s not that great around people he doesn’t know, I’ll give him that.  He’ll warm up to you, I promise.”

“You don’t see it because he’s your friend.  He’s different with you.  It’s like...it’s like he can’t be bothered with me.”

“Baby, come here.” Caleb said, motioning for her to come in to his embrace.  When she did he continued, “I’m sorry you two didn’t hit it off.  Think of it as a job though.  You don’t like every bride that’s walked in to your shop for a cake, have you?  It’s just work.  You put on your happy face and your friendly persona that everyone who knows you loves and you just hunker down and do it.  Please?  For me?”  Caleb added the last bit with the puppy dog face that he knew she couldn’t resist.

Groaning she let out a muffled “
fine” just before Danny re-entered the studio.

“We good?” he asked, looking at them.

“Pretend you’re dancing with me.” Caleb whispered in her ear before letting her go.  “Yep, all good.  Let’s take it from the top.”

Maggie and Danny began to run through the routine again and again.  Each new time, Maggie found herself getting more and more in to the piece.  She took Caleb’s words to heart and put on her happy face and dove right in to the task at hand.  Apart from that, she also let herself get immersed in the music and the routine and she remembered why she agreed to dance with Danny in the first place; the piece was absolutely beautiful.  That was a plain and simple fact and one that she kept in the forefront of her mind as their rehearsals went on.  In order to maintain any remnant of sanity.

Chapter Twenty Eight

Caleb had a show Thursday night with Bryan and the rest of the band.  They were hired to play the opening of a new venue downtown and everyone was planning on going.  Despite not being able to really help set up due to the fact that he was still on crutches, Caleb insisted on being at the venue early with the rest of his band, leaving Maggie to go with Taylor, Callie, Alexis, and Paul.  Jake and Scott were arriving in town for a few days that night and were planning on meeting them at the venue.  The girls took this as an opportunity to get ready together and have a few drinks before Paul came to pick them up.

When they arrived, they enjoyed their VIP access as they were granted entry immediately, avoiding the line-up.  As they walked in to the club, they were in awe of the decor.  The large stage that housed Thriving Drive’s equipment anchored an equally large dance floor.  All around it were bright red leather sofas that offset the black and white theme that was everywhere else.  Candle light was the main source of illumination, sitting atop the bar and all the tables that were scattered around.  As the group looked around, drinking it all in, Jake and Scott arrived and greeted their girlfriends and everyone else before they all headed towards the bar to get drinks.  As they approached the bar, Maggie saw the one person she wished would just go back to New York.  His back was to her, but Maggie would know that faux hawk anywhere.

“Hey, isn’t that
Danny?” Taylor questioned Maggie in a hushed tone.

“Yeah.  But wait, how did you know?”

“Google.”

“You’re insane, you know that?”
Maggie laughed at her friend.

When the guys bellied up to the bar, the girls hung back and continued to observe their surroundings.  Danny noticed Maggie, but chose to go back to his drink instead of coming up to say hi.  Taylor, ever the observant one, took notice and scoffed at this act, knowing full well how he had been acting around Maggie courtesy of their late night phone calls after rehearsals.

“You must be
Danny.” Taylor said to him, wanting to size him up herself.