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

Chapter 20

Maxime

The bus doors open with a scraping sound. I push myself off the wall of the bus stop shelter, shielding my eyes from the autumn sun with my hand.

There is Aurora.

She exits the bus with a beaming smile. Today, she's wearing simple jeans, canvas shoes, and a T-shirt, yet she's the most beautiful woman around. Without hesitation, she walks toward me and wraps herself in my arms.

"Finally," she whispers in my ear.

I stroke her back. "The fact that we even traveled here separately is a bit crazy, isn't it?"

She grunts in agreement against my chest even though we both know it's necessary. "From now on, we can just be Maxime and Aurora," she says.

Fearlessly.

"Come on, Giverny is waiting to be discovered by us."

Here, in the heart of Normandy, we're about forty miles away from Paris. It's early October, and Giverny is still bustling with activity, although the peak tourist season has passed. Besides, I've asked everyone at the academy about their weekend plans. No one should be here today unless they decided on a spontaneous trip, at least not from our group.

Aurora kisses me passionately. "Did you get the bikes?"

"Of course," I nod toward the two bikes leaning against the bus stop shelter behind me.

The path we turn onto a few minutes later is lined with stubble fields. The warm autumn air carries the scent of harvested wheat to us, and the sun bathes our surroundings in golden light.

About fifteen minutes later, we reach the entrance of Giverny. The fairy-tale-like stone facades of the houses are overgrown with lush greenery. Red, blue, and yellow flowers stand out vividly against the ground. Even the road appears enchanted with its bumpy surface. We head toward the famous water lily garden, where Claude Monet created numerous masterpieces. As we pass through the entrance with our bicycles, I immediately understand why.

This place is like another world.

The sea of flowers is wild and untamed, everything flowing harmoniously into one another. It feels as if nature itself painted this idyllic scene for us to lose ourselves in.

Nevertheless, I keep looking around attentively, scanning the numerous park visitors, searching for familiar faces, typical movements, and certain voices until Aurora places her hand on my shoulder.

"Have you spotted anyone?" she asks breathlessly.

I force the corners of my mouth to lift so she can't see how much I'm worried. "No, we're safe," I assure her.

Once we lock our bikes, we walk arm in arm through the enchanted garden. The gentle sound of a stream reaches us. I notice Aurora suppressing a yawn.

"Wonderful." She leans her head on my shoulder as we walk. "Getting out was much needed, don't you think?"

Oh yes. In the past few weeks, we've hardly done anything other than train, and it will likely continue that way for some time. After all, in two weeks, we'll be competing in the French Championships in Paris.

I kiss her forehead. "After the tournament, we should slow down a bit."

Immediately, she shakes her head so vigorously that her long hair falls into her face. "If we push ourselves, maybe we can do show dancing in Manchester in November." She takes a deep breath. "It would be our first international performance."

A big step. Yet my instinct tells me I should slow Aurora down a bit.

In the past days, she has been very exhausted. The training, her part-time job at the café, and the sleepless nights are taking a toll on her. She doesn't want me to see it, but I notice it every day.

Today, there's a weary glimmer in her eyes as well.

"One thing at a time," I say lovingly, glancing around again just to be sure, but I only see unfamiliar faces. "Today, our only plan is to live in the moment."

"But only today," a warm smile graces her lips. "I love you, Maxime Rousseau."

It's not the first time I've heard those words from her, but each time, they still hit me right in the heart. "And I love you," I reply, then take a deep breath because we're not done yet. I've been contemplating whether I should bring this up for days, and today might be the right time. "Listen, I'm worried about you."

She stops abruptly. "I'm fine." Her expression is filled with determination. Typical Aurora.

"You're tired," I observe. Very tired, in fact, but I prefer to keep that to myself. Her condition is no wonder. Our workload is enormous, and she must have trained much less before. Her body needs time to adapt to the new strain.

She rolls her eyes and turns away. "I'll be fine, don't worry."

Hopefully, she's right. Lovingly, I cup her face in my hands. "Just let me know if you need a break, okay?"

"That's sweet of you, but it's unnecessary." She deftly slips out of my affectionate grasp. "I know what I can handle. Honestly, I have it under control."

Is that an indication that she herself has already thought about her health? Dancing is a competitive sport, and Aurora is well aware of what it entails.

"You're risking getting injured," I reply because that's the last thing I want. Herniated discs are quite common, especially among women. "If you don't take care of yourself, you might end up with a forced break." That's not my main concern, but I know her well enough to believe that this argument might convince her to reconsider.

"I know," she grumbles, stepping next to the tall flowers on the side of the path and pulling one of the deep red flower heads toward her. "Okay, I admit it. I'm damn tired," she finally confesses, and I can see that it was worth bringing up the topic.

Carefully, I step up next to her. Knowing her, admitting this wasn't easy. So I say nothing for now and wait to see if she'll share more.

She traces the outer line of a petal with her thumb. "But besides that, there's nothing else, I swear. My back is fine, so is my neck." She looks at me earnestly, her gaze urging me to trust her. "I would tell you if it were different."

Although technically, I can't know for sure, I want to believe her. There's no need to conjure up problems where there don't appear to be any.

Relieved that we can leave this topic behind us, I wrap my arms around her and pull her close. "I'm sorry if I seemed overbearing."

With a tender smile, she rises on her tiptoes. "Thank you for caring," she says before we lose ourselves in a long kiss.

As I open my eyes again, Aurora starts humming a melody.

"Had... the time of..." she sings softly, swaying her hips against mine.

Instantly, the song plays in my mind. I place my hands on her hips and follow her as we both crouch down.

Grinning, we dance the dance that started it all. And I feel that that the mambo will forever belong to both of us.

It represents everything we hope for in life, and I enjoy every step of our little dance performance.

Afterward, I feel reborn. Aurora is fine, the sun is shining from the sky, and the autumn transforms Monet's garden into a true spectacle. We should explore every corner of the park and simply enjoy the day.

Just as I'm about to let go of Aurora, she stops me. "Wait," she whispers excitedly and takes her phone out of her pocket for a selfie. While she takes the picture, I plant a kiss on her cheek. "Come on, let's find the water lilies. They absolutely need to be in our memory box." Aurora grabs my hand and pulls me along.

"What memory box?" She hasn't told me about that before.

She grins mysteriously. "You'll see."