The lights in the arena were nearly off, except for the glaring lights which blazed down on the two dance floors that took up the floor of Madison Square Garden. Who'd think that I, of all people, could possibly end up on television?

I glanced over at Carmen, who looked cute as hell in her short dress, a riff off Marilyn Monroe's famous white dress, except that Carmen's was in baby blue. Her hair was pulled back, the two of us were going for a look from West Side Story. I was wearing a sport coat like Tony from the movie, and while Carmen's dress wasn't quite the same color as Natalie Wood's, we still could have walked out of MSG and onto Broadway and people would know exactly who we were.

When I had first heard the song for the compulsory round, I laughed my ass off. First, any song with the title "Bounce Me Brother with a Solid Four" is pretty much proof that while music critics may claim, there isn't exactly a big drop off from the Golden Age of Radio to now. However, the beat was danceable, and as Carmen and I launched into the first movements, I felt the magic we'd started in Las Vegas wrap itself around us again.

There was only one flaw in our performance, and it was one that we knew we'd be unable to do much about. One of the last big movements of the dance involved me picking her and doing the classic 'legs to the right, legs to the left, throw your partner between your legs and snatch them back into a big lift' move that you can see in just about a thousand or so movies.

With my hand, a proper copying of the move was impossible. Carmen and I could either alter the grip on my right hand, which would make the twirl difficult if not painfully impossible for my wrist to accomplish, or we could keep the normal grip, and I'd be unable to check her rotation in the air properly. A flaw either way.

As it was, she landed a few degrees over, but we practiced for that, and pulling her back in for the twirl I tugged a little harder, bringing her back into my arms and onto the next sequence without losing a beat. When the three minutes were over, we were both damp with sweat, but grinning. The applause was thunderous, and I got another round of applause when I pulled Carmen in and gave her a kiss in the middle of the dance floor.

Waiting for our scores, I was shocked when they popped up. A ninety-three, while not as good as what we'd done in Vegas, was still a great score, and better than I thought we'd be able to get with my hand.

"You did it!" I yelled so Carmen could hear me. "Ninety-three!"

"We did it," she reminded me, returning the hug. "Come on, let's go get ready for the wildcard round."

"Don't you want to see how the scores end up?" I asked, but Carmen tugged me toward the locker room. "No?"

"Nope," Carmen said with a grin. "We did the best we could, and we're going to do it again. Let the judges sort out the rest. Come on."

We retreated to the locker room, exchanging thanks and good lucks with some of the other competitors. We were third in the lineup, the organizers figuring that putting the hip-hop dancers on last would be the best way to send the crowd home happy. A couple of them were raving about our moves, especially when they realized I was working with only nine fingers.

Finally, we were about as alone as we were going to get, and I looked into her eyes and took the plunge that had been on my mind for days. "Carmen, this is amazing. And except for a few unfortunate circumstances, every day since I met you has been amazing. But I haven't said the three most important words of all, the ones that I've been afraid to say until now. I spent my entire life since my father died looking for something, and I've found it. Carmen, even if we lose, even if you don't love me back, even if this is nothing more than a dance competition for you . . . I love you."

Carmen blinked, tears in her eyes, and hugged me. "Thank you," she whispered, kissing my cheek. "I . . . I just need some time to digest this. I don’t want to just say it back and not completely mean it. God, I thought last night was a mind trip, now this? I need to think. Is that okay?"

"Take all the time you need," I replied, smiling and taking her hand. "Either way, in about forty minutes, we need to be back on that floor for the wildcard round, so you do have to clear your mind for that. Unlike last time though, I'm in the zone, and could take on the entire world."

We went back to the locker room, Carmen quiet but not down as she took her second dress, the same purple dress she'd worn for the compulsory round in Vegas, into the screened off booth while I stripped down in front of the locker.

The competition organizers had turned the fans on high, so while the air in the locker room wasn't overly cool, it did seem to silently rush through at high speed, sucking away the sweat on my body, and I drank half a bottle of water before taking out my tuxedo for round two and putting it on.

"I'm ready," Carmen said, and I looked up, still amazed at how beautiful and elegant she looked in the ball gown. "Let's go kick some ass."

I pulled my coat on and handed her a bottle of water. "You good?"

Carmen opened it and took a swig, nodding gratefully as she recapped the bottle. "Actually, I'd forgotten that. Thanks. Bring it with you?"

"As long as you don't need to take a pee break," I joked, seeing the tension in her face and trying to ease it. "Carmen, if you're nervous about what I said . . ."

"I'm not," she replied quickly. “My nerves are just getting to me a little, that’s all.”

I nodded, taking her hand. "Like I said, I'm in the zone. We’re going to kick ass.”

We went back out to the arena, where we saw on the scoreboard the results from the compulsory round. Our ninety-three had held up pretty well, sixth place overall, with the lead couple having an amazing ninety-nine, but second through fifth all being no higher than a ninety-six. "The numbers are different, but we know how quickly the places can change. Like you said, we just worry about our dancing, and let the judges take care of the rest. Come on, the director's getting everyone lined up."

The television director got everyone arranged, and we walked out, Carmen trembling slightly as we made our way down the aisle toward the dance floor. With the end of the compulsory round, the real television theatrics were kicking in, and I was slightly dazzled as a spotlight hit me directly in the eyes. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Just ready to get it on," Carmen whispered back as we lined up on our designated starting position. "What do you want them to pull?"

I shook my head, still in the zone. "Don't matter. We're going to rip this floor up and set the roof on fire with anything."

Carmen gave my hand a squeeze as the last of the couples in our floor filed in, and the head judge stood up. We waited while he spun the big brass drum and pulled out the envelope, opening it and smiling. "Ladies and gentlemen . . . Oh, Those Dark Eyes by Tango No. 9."

I felt joy take hold as I lifted my arms and Carmen came into position, resting her hands right where they were supposed to be. The tango was my favorite of the smooth dances with Carmen, mainly because of how the music reminded me of her, but also because it was so intimate. After telling her how I felt about her, there was no better dance.

Our steps were perfect as we whirled around the floor, keeping in perfect time with the music as I steered us. All that work in the big dining room paid off, as I felt like I had radar in my mind. Every little pressure from Carmen brought just the right adjustment, and I didn't have to lead her as much as think a direction, and we were moving that way. Our will and movement became one, and as the last of trombone faded away, I knew we nailed it.

"We have to wait," Carmen reminded me as I stepped toward the exit. "Part of the pageantry, remember?"

"God bless the television camera," I said softly in reply, both of us turning back to the head judge as he rattled off a little speech about the AADP and a new era for dance while the scores were tabulated. "Here we go."

The big screens on each side of the arena lit up, and I felt my jaw unhinge. "First?"

Carmen was silent, and I looked over to make sure she was breathing too as I looked again at the other scoreboard, convinced someone had fucked up. But there it was. Floor A, first place: Esperanza & Degrassi. Carmen took a breath, but still her voice was barely above a husky whisper. "Oh my God."

The scores stayed up for about ten seconds, before the new combined scores were displayed. We'd jumped, from sixth to third, only four points out first.

Leaving the dance floor, we made our way back to the locker room, and I sat down, my hands shaking as I opened a bottle of water. I looked over at Carmen, and I could see worry written on her features. “What’s wrong? We just got first that round!"

“Just worried about the next round. That's all," she said, not meeting my eyes. She had something else on her mind, and I sat next to her, letting her think. "You know what I'm not worried about though?"

"What?" I asked, sipping some more water.

"Us," Carmen said, turning her head to look at me. "Because I've been thinking about what you said, and I realized it was just fear holding me back too. I love you, Dante. I want us to be together for a long time."

Carmen leaned in and kissed me, and I forgot the rest of the locker room as I felt her lips on mine, our first kiss after we finally put words to our feelings.

"Ballroom dancers, forty-five minutes," a competition assistant said, coming around. I looked at Carmen, who nodded and smiled.

"Let's get ready." Carmen got her outfit, retreating again to the women's booth while I peeled off my tux. I unpacked my matador outfit, pulling on the toroeo shirt and pants, glad that the rules had forced us to modify what I'd worn at Regionals and not go the traditional route of knee length pants and high socks, and instead wearing tight but full length trousers. I finished up my tie just as Carmen came out from her dressing area, nearly ready herself.

“Need help with your hair?" I asked her, and she nodded, handing me the headpiece that I knew was a pain to pin in. It took nearly five minutes just to attach the twenty bobby pins that held the whole thing together. When I was done, I pulled on my jacket, and we were complete.

"Ten minutes, ballroom!"

"You ready?" I asked, and Carmen nodded, smiling. We walked back out to the arena and did a quick little parade with the other finalists, bowing before walking off the floor. We had fifteen minutes while the couples in front of us did their showcases, and we retreated into the hallway, holding hands.

"Can I ask you something?" Carmen asked as we waited. "Just to get our minds off things?"

"Anything."

"When did you know?" she asked. "You know, about us?"

"About halfway back from Vegas. Nobody has ever gotten under my skin the way you did when I got angry at you, and I knew the only reason it could have happened was because I was already falling for you. What about you?"

She thought, then shook her head. "It's been so organic, so subtle and slow, I can't pinpoint an event when my memory says 'yep, you were in love with him right here.' If I had to pick a certain time, it was seeing you in that clinic that I couldn't fool myself any longer. At that moment, I didn't care about dancing. I didn't care about the trophy or the trip or anything. I cared about you. It wasn't until I'd been there a while and Luisa said something about your hand and the finger that dancing flashed through my mind."

I nodded and pulled her close. "I love you."

"I love you too."

A production assistant came by and interrupted us. "Three minutes, guys. You are up next."

Carmen and I went to the base of the tunnel, where the couple in front of us was in the middle of their routine. I turned to her and let my heart ask the question that had really been burning inside me since the night before. "Carmen, one more thing."

"What's that?" she asked, tilting her head.

"Before we go out there and dance the dance of our lives, I want to know one thing." I bent down and took a knee. "Carmen Esperanza . . . will you marry me?"

"One minute!" a production assistant yelled back, and I ignored him, my eyes fixed on Carmen. She nodded, tears of happiness forming in her eyes as she tried to find her voice.

"Of course," she finally said after three attempts. "Yes, I will marry you."

The production assistant turned back, calling, "You're on."

I stood up, and took my life partner's hand. "Come on. Let's dance, not for a title, not for the people watching . . . just us. Let's go dance for us."

Carmen nodded and wiped under her eye, carefully not smearing makeup. "For us."

The lights were dazzling again, but I didn't care as Carmen and I walked out, taking our positions on opposite ends of the dance floor. Before turning around, I saw her smile and mouth, I love you.

I love you too, I mouthed back, and I turned, taking my opening position.

The music started, and my new life began.