Our rehearsals continued for a couple of weeks. Thanks to the special lessons that Vince were giving me, I was keeping up with the rest of the group. Keith was pleased to see that I didn't commit as many mistakes as before. Sure, my body waves and swaying were still kind of awkward, but he noted that there was a big improvement with how I danced. My feet didn't trip as much, and I could follow the steps better.

We were two days away from the contest when Keith did the most unexpected thing in the universe.

"Guys, as you all know, cariñosa is a courtship dance. The reason why we are all divided into pairs is to show romance through the dance steps that we are using. The steps are quite simple, if you have noticed, but the emotions must be felt throughout the routine, whether it may be the cariñosa itself or the modern dance that we have incorporated."

"So what are we supposed to do, then?"

"Today, we're going to do an exercise that would make things more romantic," Keith declared, which piqued all of our interests.

"Okay. I'm not sure if this will be romantic or downright awkward, but here goes nothing. I want you all to stand up and face your dance partners. Hold hands and tell your partner the things that you like about them. All right, let's start!" The moment Keith told us what we were supposed to do, my stomach sank. Talking to Vince and facing him were fine, all right, but telling him what I like about him and him telling me what he liked about me? That just might be the cause of my death.

Since Keith were giving us scary looks for not doing the exercise yet, Vince and I turned and faced each other while holding hands. We were looking each other in the eyes, and it was the most excruciating feeling in the whole wide world. My heart was beating very rapidly, and it's too far from normal.

"So who will go first?" Vince asked. Thinking that I might go insane if I heard what he had to say first, I volunteered to start.

"Vince, I'm not sure if I already told you this, but I'm happy whenever I am with you. You always make me feel better, and you listen to whatever I have to say. If it weren't for your lessons, I might still be all over the place. I'm glad that you became my friend."

I decided to keep things as safe and as short as possible. God knows how I wanted to tell Vince everything that I liked about him—the way he smiled, how he made sure that I was okay, how he would catch me whenever I slipped or fell, and even all of the times when we just hung out and talked to each other. But I don't know. I just felt like that it wasn't the time for me to tell him those things yet. Vince, on the other hand, decided to go all out.

"Ivy, I like the fact that you're different from all of the people that I'd known before. Even if you're struggling, you still continue to try. You didn't give up at once. I like how the way your eyes become small every time you smile. I like the sound of your laugh. I'm happy to know that we have a lot in common. Before, I thought it would be difficult to be with you, but I got that wrong. I'm glad I got to know more about you. I like the feeling that I need to take care of you and that I need to protect you. Ivy, I like everything about you."

Upon hearing those words, my world came to a stop. How Vince could say those words while looking at me, I had no idea. But my head was spinning from all of the things he said. I didn't know how to react. Damn it. Is there a manual on how to react to your crush's confessions or something? I need one right now!

"Okay, stop. You can't talk to your partners now. I want you portray your emotions through your dance. Let's start," Keith said, and he played the music for our routine. I may not be the best dancer here, but because of the things that Vince told me, I let out all that I was feeling at that moment. When I looked at him, I felt different. It was as if I were the only person that he could see. Honestly, I was feeling that way too. If I could just stop time at this very moment, trust me, I would.

~

"This is our last session together, so let's try to get everything right on the first try. You can do that, right?" Vince asked, and somehow, I had mixed emotions. I was glad that I got to spend as much time as I could with Vince, but the fact that everything was ending in a few days, sadness and regret overpowered the happiness that I was feeling. At the same time, I was kind of feeling pressure to show him that I'd really improved because of the lessons that he had beengiving me. It was pretty much a make-or-break situation for me. Him thinking that his lessons were useless was the last thing that I wanted to happen.

I sighed deeply, unsure of what to say to him. When I'd gathered enough strength and confidence, I looked up at him. "All right. Let's do this."

"Right! Left! Sway and turn around!"

"Oh my god!" I screamed the moment I realized that I slightly twisted my ankle and was falling towards the floor. I was already prepared to meet the cold, hard ground when Vince caught me before I crashed.

"Are you okay?"

"I guess so." I tried to avoid meeting his eyes, but it felt like I was hypnotized. I stared right into his eyes, and I couldn't look away.

"Why do we always end up like this?" he asked with an amused smile. At that moment, I couldn't even find the right words to say.

"What do you mean?" I asked as I tried to feign ignorance. Ever since that incident at the bus stop a couple of weeks ago, for some reason, my clumsiness started to kick in even more. It wasn't intentional, but I'd had a number of slips and wrong turns and Vince had to catch me, or else I would've kissed the floor.

"This. Me catching you as you fall," he answered as he helped me stand back up.

"Ever since I pulled you close in that bus stop, I've always wondered what it would like if we could get even closer to each other. I have been trying my best to stay within my boundaries, but you're making this hard for me." Before I could even express my gratitude, Vince suddenly pulled me closer to him, making my heart beat like a drum being played ata cheering competition. It was loud, wild, and unhealthy for someone like me.

"Huh?" I asked as I looked at him in the eye. I wanted to check if he was just fooling around, but the look in his eyes right now was different. Flustered, I immediately averted my gaze.

"Can I tell you a secret?" Vince asked. When I didn't respond, he continued, "I like you, Ivy. A lot." And with that, he closed the gap between us. My eyes widened when it finally sunk in. Vince likes me! And. He's. Kissing. Me. Right. Now.

Vince pulled away when he realized that I wasn't moving at all. Upon the loss of contact, it felt like my whole world just came crashing down. I didn't know what to do, and the kiss was so goddamn awkward. It wasn't how I imagined my first kiss. Yes, sure, the butterflies were there, but I don't know...

"I shouldn't have done that, right? Let's take five, then we'll resume," Vince said, and he left the studio in a rush. Everything that happened just felt like a dream, only to find out that I screwed it up and made it a nightmare. I then touched my lips and mentally slapped myself for playing the part of a lamppost really well.

I was in the middle of my self-reflection when Vince returned. Because of what happened, I realized that everything between us had changed. He wasn't his usual jolly and cool self anymore. He tried to be nonchalant about it, but it was pretty obvious that the kiss createda barrier between us. So before I could make our situation worse, I did what I do best at times like this: I ran away.

"I don't think I can do this. I'm sorry," I told him and gathered all of my things. I left the studio in a hurry and hailed the first cab that came my way.