The Dance We Remember (Love and Other Dreams #4)

Chapter 16

Maxime

I lean forward, resting my elbows on the conference table. "Yes, we've only been training for three weeks. Nevertheless, Aurora is ready," I say confidently.

David nods in agreement. "What you showed in yesterday's group training was impressive."

Great. If the dance director of the academy is on my side, I'm practically there.

"No. We must not act hastily," Madame Durand reminds us. "Cyrille was clear: Dance competitions and show performances are only an option when the couples have a high probability of winning."

We all know that as we sit around the oval wooden table in the opulent meeting room. Our sponsor is concerned about the academy's reputation. I meet Madame Durand's gaze directly. Sitting on her red velvet-covered chair against the finely grained wooden paneling, she looks like a ruler on her throne.

"Not only can she win, she will definitely do it," I say convincingly.

"And who will dance with her?" She looks at me expectantly. "As far as I know, you haven't found a dance partner for her yet."

David raises his hands in a calming gesture. "We could look for someone in the academy. Maybe Thomas? He has excellent ratings for all Latin dances. Also, he would match well with Aurora in terms of proportions," he says thoughtfully. "But can he handle double training?"

The boss grunts in annoyance. She probably realizes by now how shortsighted her decision was not to take in a dance partner for Aurora. She felt hurt when Cyrille overruled her during the final discussion after the audition.

This is what she gets now.

Under no circumstances should Aurora suffer because of the boss's mistake. With all the calmness I can muster, I place my palms on the table and stand. Internally, I tremble with tension, but I ignore it. We've been dancing together almost every day for three weeks. During breaks, she tells me about her family or makes me laugh with stories from her part-time job at the café. And although we often come dangerously close to each other, I have not lost control even once.

She is just a student like any other.

"I will dance with Aurora," I say firmly. After the boss has already broken her own rules by making me Aurora's dance partner, this should be possible too.

David clears his throat. "That's not a good idea..."

I raise my hand to immediately shut down his objections. "Why not? We make a great team."

My legs become restless, and I need to move to shake off the tension that now weighs heavily on my chest. Nevertheless, I manage to stroll leisurely across the expansive Persian carpet as if I am completely relaxed on the inside.

In reality, however, I couldn't be more unsettled. I should have better control over myself, but with each passing day, Aurora makes it harder for me. I fight against my feelings, yet I can't help but stand up for her.

Because she deserves it, that's all I tell myself firmly once again.

"You last danced in Class S, Aurora in Class A," David counters with frustration. "According to the association's statutes, you would both have to compete in Class S together. That's too much for her."

Madame Durand taps her fingers on the table. By the way she presses her lips together, I know she's annoyed because she doesn't have solid arguments against it. "If there's even the slightest risk that you won't make it to the finals, I say no," she says, her expression hardening. "And from what I see, there is a risk. We can consider a show performance, maybe in the fall."

I take a step closer to her. "There are still three weeks until the tournament in Bordeaux," I point out. "Aurora learns incredibly fast, as you've seen with your own eyes." Besides, she deserves to showcase her skills at this tournament. Because she started dancing quite late, she is still stuck in class A despite her comparatively high age. If we ever want to dance together at the World Championships, we don't have much time to advance our careers.

This is about nothing less than her big dream, which I want to make come true together with her. Oh God, she's far too important to me. Or is she?

David fiddles with his pen. "I'm not sure..." His questioning gaze meets mine, holding the same essence of concern he had when he looked at me during the week of auditions.

He doesn't believe this is solely about Aurora's talent. Although that's nonsense, I feel caught. I look away, cross my arms in front of my chest, and pace beside the table. "Let's do this. Aurora and I will train six times a week from now on."

"How will that work?" Madame Durand interrupts me, exasperated. "You are employed here as a teacher. You're supposed to teach, not train like a student."

"Don't worry, my work won't suffer," I say even though I'm not sure how I'll manage it. But it has to work.

No one objects, so I continue with my plan from earlier. "We will train and sign up for the tournament," I state firmly. "Two days before the tournament, both of you will join our training. Then you can decide if Aurora and I are good enough to win the trophy."

It's the perfect proposal. They can't refuse it. However, neither Madame Durand nor David agrees.

Time to play my last card. "We can also invite Cyrille to join the decision-making process." If he is involved in the decision, he can't blame our boss afterward if it goes wrong.

Which it won't. Hopefully.

Can Aurora and I really win?

David lets out a heavy sigh. "Are you sure that... both of you...?"

He can't be serious about discussing his concerns with the boss here, can he? Is he out of his mind?

I shoot him a warning glance, but he holds his ground.

"Well, alright," Madame Durand says in the midst of my staring match with David. "I'll register you, and in three weeks, we'll see. That would be... " She glances at the wall calendar behind me. "The ninth of August. I'll make sure Cyrille is there too." It was evident that she would invite him. I would do the same in her position.

"Alright, that settles it for today." The boss briskly closes her files. "The next meeting is next Wednesday at 4 p.m. And Maxime"—she stares at me intensely—"if I hear that you're neglecting your teaching duties, the tournament will be off the table for you."

"Don't worry, that won't happen," I quickly reply. Then I take out my phone to note the date in my calendar. When I look up again, Madame Durand has already left.

Only David remains, studying me intently. "Do you really expect me to believe that nothing is going on between you two?" he asks directly as if he knows more than I do.

Nonsense. "We've already discussed that topic. Why are you bringing it up again?"

He leans back in his chair, intertwining his fingers at the back of his neck. "The way you advocate for her... It's a bit too fervent, if you ask me."

Really? Have I been too zealous? No, I would do the same for any talented student. "She's an incredible dancer. With her, I can reach the top. Why would I miss out on this opportunity?" Internally, I pat myself on the back for this quick-witted response.

He presses his lips together. I wish he would stop staring at me, but he shows no signs of doing so. He should just accept it. Many dance couples seem like they can't keep their hands off each other on the dance floor even though absolutely nothing is happening between them.

David is fishing in troubled waters.

Suddenly, he breaks from his posture and stands energetically. As he passes me on his way to the door, he stops and puts his hand on my shoulder. "I hope you know what you're doing," he whispers.

I don't have time to react. He disappears from the conference room so quickly that I even believe he didn't want a reaction from me.

With my heart pounding, I watch him leave. He steps through the doorway, and in the blink of an eye, he's gone.