"From the top!" Keith shouted the moment we finished our routine. We were just trying to catch our breath from the rigorous steps, and Keith's announcement didn't exactly lift our spirits. Instead of following him, complaints filled the room.

"Guys, if we want to win, we have to keep practicing," Keith reasoned, but to no avail. My teammates started to sit down and drink water. We were all covered in sweat, and repeating the routine one more time could be the death of us. It was past eight in the evening, and we hadn't even had our dinner yet.

"Tomorrow's another day. Give us a break!" Nikki countered, which was seconded by the others.

"Keith, she's right. I think we have done so much today already. Our routine now is a lot better than our first few days anyway," Vince said, and Keith had no choice but to give in. After sighing deeply, he finally called it a day.

One by one, my teammates left the practice room. I should have followed them out if I wanted to save myself from another round of humiliation, but for some reason, my feet were glued to the ground.

"Ivy, can I talk to you for a minute?" Vince asked before I could even take a step away from him. Even if it was against my will, I turned around to face him and waited for whatever he had to say.

"I hope you don't take this the wrong way. I know that you're struggling with the dance, and I'm just wondering if you would like to me to help you out," he said as he slid his hands inside his pockets. He was trying his best to make eye contact with me, but whenever our eyes met, I couldn't help but look the other way. Is it usually like this when the person that you like is suddenly talking to you? Gosh. I don't even know how to act around him! Should I act casually or should I maintain some distance?

"Well, I'm really not sure...Honestly, I'm still thinking about quitting the team. I'd probably talk to my friends from Marketing to swap with me. I could join the spoken word poetry contest for all I care. I really don't think I'm cut out for this."

"Hey, don't stress yourself out too much. Ivy, we weren't gathered here because we are great dancers. Let's face it. We are all here to get to know each other and to build camaraderie within the whole company. Let's just make the best out of this, okay?"

"Easy for you to say. You're a great dancer, Vince. I'm not," I told him, and at that moment, I wanted to strangle myself for acting pitifully before him. The last thing that I wanted him to think was that I was acting this way to get his attention. I didn't want to be like the other girls in the company who acted weak in front of him. I wanted to show Vince that I was not a girl who needed saving.

"That's why I'm here. I want to help you, Ivy. I mean, we're dance partners, after all," Vince said, and he did the unimaginable. He held my hands and gave them a little squeeze. My heart started to beat like crazy, and my breath got caught in my throat because of that sudden contact. It felt like everything was just a dream, but shit. What if he felt how fast my heart was beating just by holding my hand? Would he be turned off by that? A lot of questions were running inside my head, and it seemed like Vince noticed it as well. Before I could even give an answer, Vince started to negotiate again.

"Look, I know it's already late right now, but why don't we try to run through the routine one more time?" Just like what Vince asked, we did the routine once more, and just like what I expected, I failed miserably. My steps were all over the place, and I go right when we're supposed to go left. When the music finally stopped, Vince walked towards me and looked me in the eyes.

"I think I know what the problem is now. Sure, you're struggling with the steps, but before you could even focus on those, I think we need to be comfortable around each other first. We're dance partners, but it's as if we don't connect at all." How am I supposed to be comfortable around you? I like you, you moron! I wanted to tell him, but I knew better. I just kept my mouth shut and stood there like a shy girl in front of her crush. Oh wait. That really was the case, right?

"Come on, let's go get dinner first, then we'll think of a solution to your problem."

"What?" I asked, shock evident in my voice. Did Vince really ask me out for dinner, or was I just hallucinating?

"I said, let's go out for dinner. My treat." He smiled sweetly. I agreed and gathered up my things because really. Who could even resist that smile?

Dinner with Vince was surprisingly fun. We ate at a Japanese restaurant, and he had around three servings of rice. We were just eating our dessert—honey toast served with matcha ice cream and strawberry slices—when he decided to play the "getting to know you" game.

I found out that he was the oldest in his family. He had a younger brother and two younger sisters. He lived alone in his condominium unit a few minutes away from our office while his family lived in Batangas. He took up engineering because his dad wanted him to take over their company, but he decided to get some experience in Manila first.

"When you were studying, were you a part of the street dance club or just the dance troupe of your college?"

"I was a part of the street dance club. Why do you ask?"

"I have some classmates who were a part of the street dance club too. I was just wondering if you knew them." Vince's eyes widened upon hearing what I had to say. When he finally composed himself, he asked, "Wait. So that means you studied in the same university, right?"

"Yup, I graduated three years ago," I answered with a smile.

"Wow. It really is a small world." I agreed with Vince, and we continued to eat our dessert.

It turned out that Vince and I had so much in common. We both liked eating matcha-flavored food, going on out-of-town trips, and reading books. He didn't look the part, but he liked watching Korean series as much as he liked Game of Thrones. If asked, he preferred the second leads in dramas compared to the main leads. The list went on, but I was glad that we were actually more compatible than I thought.

"If I may ask, what was your first impression of me?" he asked out of the blue.

Handsome, cool, a gentleman, and my ideal type.

"Intimidating?"

"Seriously?" Vince asked, unable to believe whatever I just said. He was about to laugh out of astonishment, but I stopped him before he could even do that.

"As much as I hate to admit it, yes. Maybe that's why I was kind of hostile towards you when you suddenly talked to me, and I'm sorry about that. I shouldn't have acted like that."

"Apology accepted, but just so you know, I don't think any less of you just because you can't dance. I've seen you presenting for one of our clients before, and I'm sure I can't do as well as you in that regard."

"You saw me what?"

"What I'm saying is, we all have our strengths and weaknesses, but it's all up to us if we want to turn those weaknesses into opportunities." Vince didn't bother to answer my question and changed the topic immediately.

"That's why I'm suggesting, if you don't mind, to have special lessons with me. We could do it after our group practices or on days we don't have practice. What do you think?" I looked up at him to check if he was kidding. When I sensed that he was serious with these special lessons, I started to question my initial decision.

"I don't know..."

"Come on, it would be fun. Besides, I'm not as strict as Keith, and every time that you get the routine correct, I will give you a reward," he said with a wide smile. I wasn't quite sure if he winked after that, but I tried to shrug off its effect on me. Instead, I tried to tease Vince with a question that I was sure he wouldn't expect at all.

"Is this how you usually get your girls?" I asked, narrowing my eyes. His eyes, on the other hand, widened in horror. I tried my best to stifle the laughter that was trying to break free from me. Teasing him was a thing I didn't expect to be this fun.

"What? No! I just really want to help you out," he said defensively.

"Then why do you sound so defensive?"

"I'm not. But after having dinner with you today, I found out that you're really fun to be with. So yes, I also want to get to know you more," he said, rendering me speechless.

"You have my number, right? Send me a message if you have made up your mind," Vince said, and with that, we finally called it a night.