The majority of the shooting is pretty mundane. The girls turn. The cameramen glide around, catching different angles. The director stops them, has the lights rearranged, and they do it again.
“How long is this video going to be?” I ask Danika. We’re in the corner with the other unnecessary crew.
“Three minutes,” a lighting guy says.
“An hour of shooting on two cameras to get three minutes?” I ask.
“That’s how it works,” he says. “This is a short one. I’ve had thirty-second commercials take twelve hours.”
The director motions to us. “I’d like the girls in a half circle around Blitz!” he calls.
The dancers who can power themselves or have motorized wheelchairs move forward. I can see Marissa is a little fatigued. When she doesn’t move, I jump forward to push her into the circle.
I figure someone will yell at me to stay out of camera range, but no one does. Blitz kneels before them, taking Gabriella’s hand. I’m so touched, seeing it, that my eyes instantly tear up.
The cameraman comes beside me to catch Blitz’s face. He’s smiling up at Gabriella, but when he glances a little higher, he sees me. His expression softens. His face is radiant, full of understanding and emotion upon seeing mine.
“You really love this, don’t you, Princess?” he asks me.
I nod, afraid to speak out loud since they are filming. I slowly back away so they can get the shot with Blitz and the girls.
“I know I love it!” Gabriella says.
“Me too!” the other girls chorus.
“And I have loved spending this day with you,” Blitz says.
He goes around the circle, hugging each girl. They seem to know it’s over and some of them start crying. I know how they feel. There is a definite crash after the high of being a part of Blitz’s world.
“That’s a wrap,” the director says. “Thank you all, young ladies. This was beautiful.”
The moms come inside the room to collect their girls. The crew is a whirl, breaking things down quickly and loading up bags. I stay out of the way in the corner.
Blitz speaks with the director for a few moments, nodding and listening. He catches my eye a few times and smiles.
I’m perfectly content to stand outside his limelight and watch the craziness. I can’t imagine living this sort of life all the time. But that was what he had to do on the show. Cameras in his car. His home. During his practices and his dates. Why had he done it? The Blitz I’ve gotten to know does not seem to seek the spotlight. I’ll have to ask him how it all happened.
He breaks away from the director and heads over to our corner. Hannah, who has been on the phone, hangs up abruptly and hugs him. “You were brilliant, as always,” she says.
“Thanks.” He turns away from her to talk to me. “Can you break away from here for a little while?”
I hesitate. On Tuesdays, I head home for lunch and then go do my work at the church. But I have an idea.
“I’m doing a lunch thing,” I say. “But after that I could make some time.”
Blitz turns to Hannah. “What’re my obligations?”
“I don’t need you until tomorrow night,” Hannah says. “The auction.” She looks around. “Honestly, I think now that we have this, you’re done here. I don’t see a point in two charity dance videos.”
My stomach sinks. “You’re done with Dreamcatcher?” I ask.
“I’ll finish out the week,” he says. “It was never meant to be a long gig.”
I feel flushed with panic. “I won’t see you.”
He turns to Hannah. “Did you get that phone for me?”
“She’s on her way back,” Hannah says. “Actually, there she is.”
They wave to the girl, who holds a box. Blitz takes my arm and heads over to her.
“Here,” she says. “It’s prepaid for a year.”
“Perfect,” he tells her. “Thank you.” He takes the box and glances around. I think I know who he’s looking for.
“Danika left before the shooting ended,” I say.
“Awesome,” he says.
We open the door and peer out into the hall just as the lights blink for the transition.
“Time to blow!” he says, grabbing my hand. We run for the storage room door.
When we’re on the other side, he laughs. “Princess, I swear you turn me into a high school boy every time we’re together. Sneaking around like the teacher is going to catch us.”
“But she is!” I laugh too and Blitz sets down the box so he can pick me up and twirl me in a circle. We spin between the storage racks and the door until I’m dizzy and breathless.
“I’m never going to feel the same way about a closet,” he says.
I don’t get a chance to respond, because his lips are on mine, hungry and demanding. I melt into him, our bodies separated by so little that I can feel each muscle, his hip bone. And before long, him erect between us.
“You make me so crazy,” he says, his hands tangled into my hair. “And you’re always in all this spandex.”
I laugh against his jaw. “I won’t be this afternoon.”
“Please tell me you’ll wear a skirt with no panties.”
I suck in a breath, shocked and excited by his sudden drop in gentlemanly manners. “Blitz!”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you.”
“No, no, it’s okay. I mean, it’s just funny.”
He holds me tightly against him. “I’m going insane for you. Did you say you could see me this afternoon or did I dream it?”
“I think so,” I say. “I have some volunteer work, but I could leave early.” God, this has to work. I have so little time away.
“Tell me when and where and I’m there.” His hands run along my back and side, across my shoulder blades, as if he’s memorizing the terrain of my body. It’s distracting and makes it hard for me to breathe or think.
“Two o’clock,” I say, “at our dystopian park.”
“I’ll be there,” he says. Then, in a whisper, “And I expect no panties.”
He lets go of me and hands me the box. “I’ll text you on this so you have my number.”
My jaw drops. “Wait. You got this for me?”
“Who did you think it was for?” he says. “Open it up.”
My hands shake as I lift the lid. It’s a shiny gray phone. I press the side button and the screen flickers on.
“Let me put my number in it,” he says. He opens the contacts and types in his numbers. In the name he puts “Love slave.”
“Blitz!”
He laughs. “Text me right away so I’ll have the number for it. Promise?”
“I promise.” My eyes smart with tears for the second time today. “Thank you.”
He kisses the top of my head. “Go to your lunch. I’ll see you in a few.”
We head out the door. The hallway is mostly quiet. One of the cameramen is pushing an equipment crate out of Studio 3.
He heads back into the room where Hannah waits. I wave and head on down the corridor, glad not to have been spotted by Danika. I shove the phone box in my string bag. I’ll have to ditch the packaging in the trash in the park on the way home, as Mom will notice that. And make sure it’s silenced.
The foyer is quiet. The makeup girls are packing their table and chairs and mirrors and boxes.
I push through the doors. When I’m past the parking lot, I pull out the phone and locate the texting feature. It’s a couple blocks of walking before I figure out what my first text to Blitz will be. My courage surges and my body feels hot as I type it.
Park. Check.
Skirt. Check.
Secret date. Check.
Panties? You’ll have to find out for yourself.