Step By Step| 'Celli

[Dr. Theo Atwell]

[ follow up from Stronger than Coffee ]



Now that Theo was completely sober he was having second thoughts about this. All the reasons he had before seemed to have vanished into thin air, like they had never been. Why had he even taken the offer! He had never been a good dancer when Noellia was alive, and he didn't think that thtat was going to change now. It was ridiculous to expect this to come to any fruition. He would never be more than the man who stepped on people's feet when he danced.

Of course, Aracelli had been so kind. Maybe it was the fact that they were both rather intoxicated, and he wasn't snapping at her that made him seem...likeable. He had never really though of himself as a likeable person anyway. Not for a few years now at least. Somehow though, he was a little excited. For the first time since moving to Pilot Ridge he was going out to do something fun, other than drink and mope over his life, which really wasn't that bad at the moment. He had a great job, he lived in a quiet house..what more could he want? Well, other than someone to share it with.

Stop. Don't do this now. He thought to himself. Theo just shook his head. Okay. So he needed to just relax and enjoy trying to dance. The thin man just stood in the studio, wondering if Aracelli was even here. He glanced at his watch, seeing that it was noon. That was when he was supposed to be here, so he wondered if he had imagined the whole thing. Not likely, but in a community full of meta-humans it was entirely possible. But for some reason he doubted that. The memories from the night before were just too.....real. Too much his own to be fake.

So the man just sighed. It was then that he caught the sound of a door opening. It was very quiet, so much that only he heard it, thanks to his enhanced senses. Again, Theo he had a useful power and was thankful for it.

[Aracelli de Rosales Salamanca]

The door opened with a quiet squeak of the hinges, a noise that had the Spanish girl wincing. She was still a bit hungover, but she had promised Theo, and it was a chance to show Reece that she was serious about getting to work on time and doing better. She had told Theo to meet her at noon and it was just a few minutes after. It wasn't all that late. Celli walked quietly into the studio area, offering the cup of coffee held in her left hand to Theo with a bright smile.

"Hi! Sorry, I stepped out to get coffee and tea before you arrived." Celli held up the other cup in her hand and then set it down at the edge of the stage. "I thought we'd try a simple box step, and then move into an actual dance in case you want to twirl some pretty thing around the floor." She flashed him another smile as simple canvas shoes were slipped off and low heeled shoes were buckled on. The thought had crossed her mind to dance barefoot, but that could lead to more injuries. Especially if Theo were as hopeless at dancing as he'd claimed the previous night.

"Alright, so you are going to put one hand on my hip, and the other in my hand, then we are going to step in a box. You step forward with your left foot, then to your right, then back with your right foot, then to the left, in a box. Look forward, not down, and let the music guide you." Celli walked to the small stereo accompanied by the click of her heels on the wooden floor. As they came together for the dance, she adjusted his hold slightly and then made sure to keep her feet out of the way. She'd picked a slow, stately waltz to get them started, and softly whispered the steps as they began to dance.

[Dr. Theo Atwell]

When Aracelli came through the door Theo was hard pressed to not let a grin slpit across his face. He was happy to see her despite his misgivings. And the had brought coffee. That made her an instant angel. He carefully took the cup from her and deeply inhaled the rich scent. The black coffee was bitter against his tongue, but that was how he liked coffee most of the time. Dark and bitter. A bit like himself really. Now, Theo had been thinking ahead of time for this. He had worn loose dark jeans and a simple button up shirt. On his feet he had his moccasin like shoes, softer than the normal dress shoes he would wear. That way when he did step on her toes [and make no mistake, it would happen at some point], it wouldn't hurt quite so much.

He set his coffee down, having already drunk a sizable amount of it. The man didn't give a toss how hot it was right now. He needed it to shake the last of list nights little coffee party. Which didn't make sense, but did. Then he followed 'Celli onto the floor. The music was slower, and for the first few moments he felt very awkward. He had to bite back painful memories, those of when Noelle had started to teach him how to dance. It seemed like oh so long ago now. Slowly though his feet and legs remembered what they were doing enough to where he could move the step and manage not to step on the dancer's toes. As he moved a smile slowly lit his face, because while it was painful there were so many good memories associated with dancing. 'Celli was whispering the steps as the moved, and he internalized her voice right along the voice of his deceased wife, the two voices together telling him how to make the movements.

Theo hadn't enjoyed something like this in a very long time. Dancing that is. Besides the lack of ability he'd always been afraid to. Tough to think that this ornery man could be afraid, but it was true. He was afraid to tarnish the memories he had. But he realized that maybe it was time to make new memories and not hold so tightly to the old. They were good to keep but he couldn't let himself wallow in sorrow the way he was used to.

[Aracelli de Rosales Salamanca]

She'd seen the emotions flicker across his face as they danced, but chose not to ask about them. Dancing was about emotion, if you danced without emotion, you might as well be walking. It was just senseless. It was something she and Reece had been struggling with, he was blocking his emotions, and she kept trying to get him to quit. Finally, they'd had a good dance the other day, but how long that would last, no one knew. Aracelli kept her thoughts quiet, and a smile on her face. The smile faded in that moment as Theo found her toes. A wince took the place of the smile and she disengaged from the dance.

"Oh my. Alright, that was really well done." Aracelli thought for a moment while she shook off the slight pain from his missed step. "Why don't we try again, and try to remember the rhythm of the steps. It becomes second nature after a bit, and then you won't have to think about it so much. Same box step, ok?" She walked over to the stereo and reset the music, returning to him with a broad smile. They quickly re-engaged in the dance and this time got through it without any problems.

"Good job! Do you want to try once more, adding a twirl for your partner in?" Aracelli knew it was a lot to add for a beginner, but he'd only stepped on her foot once, so he should be good enough to incorporate it. They still had another half hour before any of the other classes would start, and that was plenty of time to go over the dance again, with or without the twirl. While she waited for his answer, she picked up the tea and took a few sips, letting it calm, cool and restore before resetting the CD that was providing them with the music.

Her thoughts drifted to Reece, as they normally did when things were quiet. What was he doing? Did he miss her? Was he even thinking of her? Inwardly, she rolled dark eyes at herself, and attempted to shake off the distressing and addictive thoughts of her ex-boyfriend. What she really needed to do was find a new guy, show Reece she was over him. But that wasn't likely to happen. She was simply to attached, and what new guy was going to accept that four or five times a week she'd be busy practicing salsa routines? None. She was just doomed to remain single.

[Dr. Theo Atwell]

Theo felt really bad when he did step on her feet. Although he was a thin person of average height for a man it still had to hurt like hell. 'Celli's face told him that when she grimaced. She called a halt to it for a few moments, moving away from him to drink some of her tea and reset the disc they were using to practice. When she walked away Theo found himself using his senses to know where she was, even though for the moment his back was turned to her. In all his years his extremely strong senses had become so accustomed to people that it was natural for him to follow them. The scents, the heartbeats.... it was just how he was. The was slightly emabarrassed though because of it. Quickly as they moved apart they were dancing again.

This time Theo remembered the steps perfectly. When dancing, Aracelli really reminded him of of is Noelle, the fire in her eyes and just how much she loved it. Dancing had been one of her passions, and it was the reason he knew any steps at all. They got through the short routine without any mishaps or stepped on toes, for which Theo was extremely happy. Somewhere inside a little voice congratulated him, not only on the fact he was relearning how to dance, but that he was socializing and moving on. It's what she would have wanted.....right? The thought left him conflicted inside, but for the moment he would ignore that, like he almost always did, in pursuit of other things.

A twirl? He was pretty sure he could manage it. It was something he didn't really remember, although Noelle had surely tried to teach it to him. She must have. While 'Celli was resetting the CD he took a the moment to finish off his coffee, now slightly cold. It was only coffee though, so it didn't worry him too much. He'd have more of it soon enough.

" Let's try the twirl then." He said to her at last. There couldn't be any harm in it. Could there?

[Aracelli de Rosales Salamanca]

They ran through the dance again, adding in a very slow twirl, and Aracelli smiled. Theo was not nearly as bad as he had claimed. He had an innate grace, and she was willing to bet that he only stepped on her toes because his mind had wandered. It was understandable. When the body did something practiced, sometimes the mind wandered. She knew that she often thought of—Aracelli cut off that thought before it even finished. She was not going to think of him, not now. She had better things to do. Better things to think about than him.

“That was excellent, Theo! I think you were lying to me!” She hugged him and teased him playfully. “Apparently, whoever taught you before was a good teacher, you dance very well. Let’s try it at full speed this time though. Last dance, I promise.” Aracelli knew that she sometimes pushed too hard. This would be their fourth dance, and likely it was time to wrap things up anyway. The new class would be coming in, and she still needed time to discuss future lessons and what not with Theo. So this would definitely be the last dance of the day for them.

The CD clicked over to a soft jazz song, one that brought on memories of a date with Reece from a year or so back. Aracelli closed her eyes as they danced, her feet seeming to float across the floor without any real effort. Theo spun her out and brought her back in, a move she wasn’t completely ready for, and she stumbled, falling against his chest. Her head lifted up and his came down to ask if she was alright, and their lips met for a heartbeat. It was over almost before either of them realized what was happening, and Aracelli stepped back, sucking in a deep breath.

“I…um… That was …. “ She was at a complete loss for words. She’d never done that before, with anyone she taught, and a deep red color began to show beneath her tan skin. Aracelli turned off the CD player and pressed her hands to her blazing hot cheeks. Not talking about this was the best route. Just pretend it never happened. “You did well, Theo. I’ll …” She cleared her throat, desperately sipping at the tea she’d gotten to help lubricate her throat. “I’ll cover this first lesson, and if there are others, then we’ll have to work out a payment for those.” She hoped he’d want more lessons, not because she was attracted to him, but because she needed the students

[Dr. Theo Atwell]

The steps were deceptively simple as they moved to the music and his body found patterns it wanted to follow that he had long forgotten. Noelle had been an excellent dancer, and he remembered those time with a fondness that so far comparable to nothing else. The man smiled widely as they went through the dance, happy to be moving. When 'Celli remarked that he was lying, and had had a good teacher he just ducked his head, looking to the side and not saying anything. The man was pretty sure if he said anything...well....he'd fall to pieces. And that wouldn't be good for him. At least, not at this point anyway. He was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to stand himself. So she started the music again and they went through the soft jazz song. Of course, Theo remembered dancing to this song a few times before, but not with Celli, oh no. With Noelle. Unexpectedly his body threw him for a loop as he brough his dance teacher for a twirl he was remembering from a different dance, too early for the dance they were doing right now. Happiness bubbled through him as he thought he had done the dance right, pulling on an old memory. When he realized he had done it to early he brought his head down to ask her what happened.

For an instant thier lips met, but for the man it was like electricity flowing between them. Every nerve in his body was on fire with emotion, made stronger because of the fact he was feeling every little breath and noise in the silent room. He backed away, as did she. For a moment Celli tried to stutter out a few words while Theo kicked himself mentally for his idiocy. This was exactly what he'd been so afraid of. The man looked away when Celli blushed, and only nodded numbly when she said she'd cover his first lesson. He would be back...most likely after he recovered from such a stupid thing, but most likely not for a bit.

" Uh.. thank you for the lesson."

[/i] For several lessons.[/i] was his after thought. Quickly as he could he grabbed his coat and made his way out, red hot embarrassment pulsing through him. It wasn't like him to run away from anything, but this was an exception. There was something to run away from here. Mentally he apologized over and over, not that it would do any good now.[/justify][/blockquote]