Be Harsh

You purse your lips and furrow your brow. Liz stands there patiently waiting for your response.

“I’m not sure it’s the best idea,” you say. “I definitely agree that this is being bold. And sure, the worst thing that can happen when you get onstage is that people won’t like it. But don’t forget that you’ll be baring a lot of yourself. And I don’t just mean skin. Is this performance specifically for beginners?”

“No, it’s open to all levels. You kind of need an invitation from the organizer, though.”

“And you got that from your new friend?” I ask.

“Yeah.”

“So it’s also her reputation on the line.” You see your friend start to fidget with her hands and look away from you. “I want to be clear, I don’t think you’ve made a mistake. Your coordination is excellent and you take great care of your body.”

Liz smiles weakly. “Thank you, Connor, that’s nice to hear.”

{if benefits=true}“I mean it. I’ve seen what you look like with a lot less on. And I’ve also seen the way you can move when you’re mid-fuck. You just need to carry that intensity into your performance and then you’ll have the audience eating out of your hand.”{else}“I mean it. If you can follow through on this like you follow through on your workout routines then the audience will be impressed by what you can do.{endif}

Liz is looking at you again and her hands have dropped back to her sides. She looks less nervous but still unsure about the whole thing. You decide to check with her true feelings before pushing her one way or the other.

“But dancing and performing on stage will take more than just athleticism. The good news is we’ve got lots of time to rehearse. It will be tough, but is that what you want?”

Liz takes a moment. She moves over to the couch she has pushed against the wall and sits on its wide arm. Eventually she answers, “Yes. I’m committed. I’m not chickening out. I’m doing this.”

“That’s great! Now lets start to put in the work. Your routine sounds good when you talk it through but right now it’s just an outline. Let’s add some specifics.”

The rest of your allotted hour is spent with you sat in the chair once again and Liz walking through the routine while the song plays. She focuses on getting the timing of each moment to match the song and you add in your thoughts as they come to you. When it’s time to say goodbye Liz thanks you again and says that she’ll work on it during the week and show you her progress next Saturday.

You can’t wait.