Dancing With the Stars

*

It had been several hours since Chris sent Charlie the message. At the time, he knew it was probably a bad idea, but felt it would somehow deflect attention from his fucking her friend. They were friends, surely Maria would tell her? When she didn't reply, he devolved into a slow panic. Maybe Maria already told her? If he'd had a car, he'd have driven over to her apartment. He opened and closed the Uber app on his phone a few times. What was going on? Did she know? If so, is she mad?

It took some time, but eventually he found the note with Maria's number.

"Hey Maria. I had a great time with you earlier. Would you mind keeping it between the two of us... I just wouldn't want things to get awkward or anything!"

As soon as he pressed send he shuddered and actually felt like he needed to take a shower. He was engaging, or trying to engage, Charlie's friend in a conspiracy to keep secret the fact that he had fucked said friend while he was also... doing something with Charlie. He was uncertain what to call whatever was between them. "Fucking" felt wrong. He couldn't bring himself to call it that.

"Hey big boy! I had a great time too. I'm getting wet again right now just thinking about your cock. You made me cum so hard!!! I can't wait to feel you inside me again!! And sure, it'll be our little secret." The words were followed by a series of smiling, winking yellow faces and Chris grimaced a little at the volume of exclamation points.

OK. At least, he thought, I have some time to figure out how to talk to Charlie about this. Hell, she suggested it, maybe she won't be mad.

"Who're you kidding?" he said aloud.

He went to bed but didn't sleep.

*

Having eventually drifted off, Chris awoke to a text from Charlie on his phone the next morning.

"Hey Chris... sorry, I was pooped last night, went right to bed after rehearsal. I'll pick you up at the usual time."

He noted 'pooped'. Didn't sound like her. Sounded like when he was trying to make something up. Still, his general reaction was positive, maybe he was in the clear.

In the car and as they arrived, the conversation was notably normal. Maybe too normal, Chris thought. Small talk, the performance, his media appearance the previous day, her group rehearsal with the pros. Chris had an uneasy feeling nevertheless felt a deep confusion permeate his mind. He wasn't sure if this was normal or whether he was reading some uneasiness because he was feeling so guilty.

As they began rehearsing, Chris felt his confusion erring onto the side of there definitely being something wrong. Charlie felt distant. There wasn't the usual heat between them, the spark, the chemistry was obviously absent. She wasn't ordering him around and making smart ass remarks. She was being nice. They kept falling out of time and tripping over each other but she never made an issue of it.

They broke for lunch and she left for a meeting with some other dancers. Chris sat dejectedly on the floor of the studio.

She knew. She must know. How else could he explain this change in behavior?

The door to their studio was ajar and Mario walked in after some time.

"Hey bro! Cheer up, it's only Tuesday, you'll be ready by the weekend," he said, clearly noticing Chris' demeanor.

Playing along, Chris said "Sure, I know... it just feels like it gets harder and harder."

"Hey, I know man. I do this for a living. But hey, give her a break, Charlie might not be firing on all cylinders today, you know what I'm saying," Mario replied with a nudge and a wink. Chris genuinely didn't have a clue what he was saying.

"Right, yeah, she said you guys' rehearsal was pretty tiring last night."

"Damn bro, that bitch got stamina! I get home from rehearsal right..." Mario began to recount the tale of last night, in the way certain men do when among friends, or at least when among certain other men.

"...and I get the booty call man. No fucking kidding around bro, this bitch comes right out and says she needs some cock. So I go over there right, and she's fucking naked and ready man, I mean she jumps me right in the door, sucks me off before I know where I am..."

Mario was enjoying the recounting more for himself, he didn't seem that interested in Chris' reaction. Had he been, he - or a more emotionally intelligent person anyway - might have noticed Chris' clear discomfort, much as he tried to hide it.

"...so she's all like, 'come on big boy fuck me with that huge cock' and all so I let her have it and she's all moaning and screaming like a whore man, you wanna hear this bitch, and I'm slapping her ass and she's asking for more. So I'm fucking her forever man, like I mean like hours, and she's cummin' all over me over and over and eventually, I say 'look bitch, my turn, where you want it' so she turns round and takes it all over her face man, puttin' it in her mouth..."

He went on a little longer, but Chris didn't really hear him. He felt sure he had managed to give Mario the high five he desired and had been fulsome in his agreement that Charlie was in fact a filthy, sex-mad slut. Mario gave him one last chummy fist bump and headed out.

Chris felt overwhelmed. It wasn't because of his guilt that she was acting weird, it was because of hers. She felt guilty because she fucked that prick. All at once, he felt jealousy, confusion and probably mostly rage. He didn't know what he was going to say when Charlie came back.

*

Charlie had a quick meeting with some of the dancers and left with Maria, who'd been smirking and trying to get her attention throughout.

"What's the matter with you?" she said as they left, knowing exactly what it was.

"I fucked him Charlie."

"Who?" She wondered how realistic a performance she was giving.

"Chris, you idiot. Yesterday, here at the studio after you left."

"You're kidding!" Charlie struggled now to show genuine surprise, she felt more was needed. "So how was he?"

"Oh. My. God. Sister, this guy had me cumming all over the place. I mean I thought Mario was good in bed, but Chris was just so... oh my god... attentive or something. I mean I had to give him lots of encouragement and all, but he really knew his way around a pussy I'll tell you that. You gotta try him for yourself girl!"

Charlie was sure she'd blush at this but must've managed to control herself. "Ha! You can have him, not really my type."

"You're damn right I'm going to have him again, as many times as I can. But there's no sense in me having all the fun. I'm telling you, you won't regret it, he's fucking dynamite!"

At this, Maria continued on to her own studio and left Charlie alone in the corridor near hers. She didn't notice Mario coming out of her studio and approaching her. He grabbed her from behind, one hand across her stomach, the other roughly fondling her breasts.

"Hey baby, you still hot from last night?" She worked to loosen herself from his grip, gave him a terse smile and a slap on the shoulder and said "Oh yeah, definitely" and went back into her studio and closed the door.

Inside, Chris was putting on his jacket and starting to make his way to the door.

"What's going on?" she asked innocently.

"I'm not feeling too good... gonna... take the rest of the day off..."he replied, doing his best to maintain control.

"Oh... ah, OK, I guess. Do you need a ride?"

"No, I'm good, I'll take the bus."

"That's crazy, come on, I'll take you... if you're not feeling well..." By now he has already passed her and was at the door.

"Really, I'll take the bus, it's fine," and he was gone.

Charlie sat down on the floor of the studio, more or less where Chris had been a few minutes before. She knew then where Mario had come from when he accosted her on the corridor and that he had told Chris everything. She wondered whether that's what she had wanted to happen? But why would she have wanted that unless she was jealous too?

The professional in her was worried that they had only days to prepare for a show and didn't, at the moment, seem able to be in the same room together. The person in her was worried that she might be responsible for ruining something - a better word eluded her - between her and a man she might have genuinely cared for, even begun to love if she was really honest with herself. She'd never been a crier, but she felt her eyes watering and a lump gathering in her throat.

*

Chris got about 50 yards from the door of the building before turning back.

Walking away felt cowardly, juvenile and stupid. This needed to be solved and he needed to be honest. He needed her to be honest as well. Underneath everything else, the jealously and the anger, he was hurt. On the last step before he turned around he came to realize that for him to be hurt, he must really care for Charlie in a way that he hadn't fully understood until that moment.

When he came back into the studio, Charlie was still sitting on the floor. He thought he saw a tear on her face. He closed the door behind him and stood there. He felt a strong desire to run to her and hold her and tell he was sorry and that it would be OK.

But he didn't. He just stood there.

She regarded him from the floor. Another tear joined the first. In other circumstances she would have tried to hide them, to avoid any show of weakness but here and now she did nothing. She wanted him to see her pain. She hadn't expected him to come back, but she was still somehow unsurprised that he was standing there now.

"I had sex with Maria yesterday, after you left, in the shower and in the night room," he said. He didn't know why he felt the need to add details about time and place.

"I know," she replied, faintly. "I heard you, or her anyway, saw you too," she forced a little chuckle and stood up, crossing her arms in front of her. His honesty had disarmed her a little. She no longer wanted him to see her in pain. "I left my notebook behind and when I came back I heard you two going at it like dogs. She thinks you're really good by the way."

Chris felt sick. She'd been there. She'd heard it. Seen it.

"I'm... I'm sorry..." he began.

"Hey, no big deal dude, you fuck who you want. Besides, I told her to fuck you. You said you thought she was hot, and she was interested so I told her you'd probably be up for it, and you were, so... And I told you to invite her back this weekend so I guess I saved you the wait..." She kind of trailed off and attempted another chuckle. She'd turned away from him now and started walking slowly towards the windows at the far side of the studio.

Chris' confusion and sick feeling grew. "You told her to... you wanted her to?"

"Hey, what do I care right? Besides, I fucked Mario yesterday after rehearsal in case you wanted to know. Just felt like I needed a good fuck and you might be worn out, so..." she trailed off again, still facing away from him.

This was a poor performance, Chris thought. She was clearly hurting too, clearly regretted encouraging what had happened between Maria and him but was too bloody-minded and stubborn to admit it, too focused on looking strong and in control.

His heart melted. He felt like he understood. Understood why she'd called Mario over to her apartment and slept with him last night. He didn't believe any of the details of Mario's story, they weren't her. He didn't believe what she'd said about it just now either. The jealousy and the rage faded away and something else poured through him, filled him to overflowing. He'd never felt anything like it before.

The urge to go to her and hold her was almost overwhelming now.

"I know about Mario, he told me."

"So," she replied, turning around and heading for the rail to look busy, "no big deal, we each got some last night. Good times." She reached the rail and held onto it with both hands. She was grateful for it, the support it gave her and the fact that he could not now see her face or how her hands were shaking. She was really crying now, the tears were dripping off her chin onto the floor.

A long pause filled the room.

"Do you... love me?" The question caught her off guard and she had a rare moment of speechlessness.

"What the... I don't... Who..." was all she could manage. She was aware that Chris had moved closer to her although there was still some space between them, she could see him in the mirror. Her face was pointed towards the floor to hide her tears.

"I think you regret encouraging Maria to sleep with me and regret encouraging me to sleep with her. I think you were so focused on looking like you didn't care, like you were in control that you didn't realize until it was too late how you felt. I think you called that brute fucking asshole to your apartment last night and had sex with him to try to make yourself feel better, to make me jealous and I think you regret that as well. I think you love me, or at least, maybe, like me kind of a lot."

Charlie remained dumbstruck, except for a single loud sob that escaped her lips despite her best efforts. She lifted a hand to her face to cover her mouth to prevent another. Chris desperately wanted to hold her now but still feared she'd push him away. So he went for broke.

"I don't know. Maybe I'm wrong about that. But I do love you. I know that. Now."

As Chris continued talking Charlie's hand fell away from her face and her expression turned to a kind of amazement. Slowly, she turned to face him.

"I know I regret sleeping with Maria. I knew you didn't really want me to and you said that just, so... I don't know, to protect yourself or something. But I didn't really know until it was too late either. I'm so sorry Charlie. This is all my fault. I don't care about the show. If you want me to walk out and never come back I will, but I know how I feel about you and I think you feel... something too. Please, can you... forgive me? Is there any chance?"

She said nothing for a long time, regarding him. Her expression was more neutral now. She did a bit of a sniffle. Inside, she felt something like joy and relief mixed together. It was completely new to her. She had no way to adequately describe it or to express it so she reverted to type to give herself more time to figure it out.

"You've figured it all out," she began, a mite sarcastically, "congratulation-"

She was about to go on, but her lips were stopped by a kiss. Chris had closed the remaining distance between them with impossible speed and his arms enfolded her tightly and his lips were pressed passionately against hers. It took a second or two for the shock to pass. When it did, her hands that had hung at her sides drew up slowly to cup Chris' face and hold it as she returned his kiss. It lasted only a few moments. She turned her head to the side and buried herself in his embrace. He held her tightly to him.

"If you'd let me finish," Charlie began, "what I was going to say is, I think you might be right." She remained unmoved from her position in his arms.

"Well you should know by now I usually am. About what?"

She leaned back again so she could look into his eyes.

"I think... I might... love you a little bit too."

They laughed gently together and she lifted her head and kissed him softly once more.

"Let's get out of here."

As they left the building hand in hand, they passed Mario. At first he looked a little confused before seemingly coming to a conclusion.

"Hey bro, you going to get some? Bitch you are just crazy for dick, ain't you?" Whether it was meant as a provocation or whether Mario misguidedly thought this an appropriate remark, Chris - despite Charlie's efforts to keep walking - rose to the bait. He let go of Charlie's hand and smilingly approached Mario.

"I am not your fucking bro. And if I ever hear you talking like that about her - or any other woman for that matter - I will use all of my influence to make sure you never work a day on television again. In fact, I might just do that anyway, you dinosaur, misogynist, pig fuck. Understand?"

"Fuck you man, who do you think you are?" Mario said. His features were contorted, his brow furrowed in a vain attempt to understand the turn of events. At this he swung high and wild with a fist for Chris' head. Seeing it coming, Chris ducked and countered with a sharp knee to the stomach that left Mario doubled over and heaving.

"I had some training, you know, for a role a few years ago," he observed casually to Charlie, who was smiling broadly, as he took her hand again and resumed their path to the door.

"Oh yeah, my hero," she jibed.

"Fuck you," he replied, releasing her hand so he could drape an arm affectionately around her shoulder as they walked on.

When they reached her apartment, they made straight for the bedroom without any discussion. Their clothes littered the route there from the door. They were careless and free. Chris was following behind and noticed the redness on Charlie's ass.

"Did he do that?" he asked as he arrived behind her in the room. She stood at the foot of the bed facing away from him and his arms enfolded her from behind.

"Let's not talk about that asshole."

At length, they explored each other's bodies on Charlie's bed. It wasn't rushed or fevered. It wasn't base or dirty. Chris finally found himself with his head between her thighs. Her head and upper body were supported by a mound of pillows. Her legs were planted on the bed, bent at the knee. Chris paid gentle and thorough attention to her pussy and clit with his mouth and tongue. Charlie, still a little sore down there after Mario, appreciated his gentleness and showed him with soft moans. Her hands roamed through his hair. As she felt herself get close to orgasm, she told him what she wanted next.

He moved up her body and kissed her long and slow and full. Almost without any direction, his cock found her pussy and he entered her slowly. They breathed together. When he was fully inside her they began a rocking motion, their bodies grinding together. It didn't take much of this to send Charlie over the horizon into orgasm. She wrapped her legs tightly around Chris and pulled him close to her, kissing him. Feeling her spasm around him was enough to send Chris to his own completion and he came long and deep inside her.

As they lay there breathing heavily, they looked deeply into each other's eyes for a long time and didn't say anything.

*

"And the winning couple this year is.... Charlie and Chris". The audience's cheers were ecstatic. Confetti appeared. Chris and Charlie turned to each other and kissed passionately...

*

"Showbiz news now, and everyone's favorite celebrity couple, dancer Charlie Hanson and actor Chris Mason are reportedly engaged. The couple, who shockingly revealed their love to the world with a passionate kiss as they were revealed as the winners of last year's Celebrity Dancing show, are reported to be planning to tie the knot in Italy next summer. It's more good news for the couple after Chris' recent Oscar win..."