Crave (Harlequin Teen)

hidden.
    “And your right splits, please.”
    I stood up then slid down into my right splits, landing flush with the floor and pointing my toes as Captain Kristi had taught us.
    I hadn’t been nearly this flexible before the change, either. Wasn’t I already sort of cheating? And what would one quick little glance into their eyes really hurt? No one would find out about it.
    I gritted my teeth against the temptation. No. I would either make the team fairly like a normal dancer, or not at all.
    I saw movement at my left. I’d almost missed the cue to perform my center splits. Oh, crud. I had to focus.
    Maybe I didn’t want to be a Charmer badly enough, after all. If I did, wouldn’t I be willing to do anything it took to make the team?
    I stood up with my group and waited for the kick routine’s music to begin, my heart pounding for a new reason now.
    I did want to be a Charmer. More than anything else in the world. I’d practiced countless hours twice a day every day for this moment, for this chance to prove I belonged on the team. I’d even argued with my father for the right to keep dancing, something I never would have done before this year. I had to make the team. Otherwise I would forever be the school freak, an outcast who would never fit in anywhere. Heck, I didn’t even fit in with my volleyball-obsessed friends!
    But if making the dance team meant I had to cheat…
    Too soon, before I could decide what to do, the last routine ended. We hit our basic standing pose once more, and I knew this was it. Last chance to sway two of the judges. Just one quick meeting of the eyes with two guys I’d never see again. The effects would only last a day, just like with the algebra boys, just long enough to convince them to give me a better score and help me make the team.
    At least, I hoped so.
    My gaze slid over the table toward the male judges. They were even sitting beside each other. It was too perfect, too easy. My gaze found their hands, the space separating their bodies, flicked over to the one on the left, slid up his shoulder to his chin…
    And then over their heads to the bleachers behind them.
    I couldn’t do it. What if the gaze daze wouldn’t be temporary this time? Both wore wedding rings. If the effect lasted longer than a few hours, could it mess with their families? Their marriages? I hadn’t dared meet any male’s gaze since that one disastrous mistake last month. Even when I’d wanted to look Tristan in the eye, wrong as that had been. I had no idea if it had gotten stronger with time. All I knew was that my gaze still made my friends look away after a few seconds. And I didn’t want to have to cheat in order to be a Charmer.
    I’d just have to hope my dancing had been good enough without it.
    “Okay, ladies, thank you,” Captain Kristi said. “You may exit through the doors now.”
    It was over.
    The line turned, and now I was the one leading the way out of the gym. My chance to sway the judges was gone. Dazed, I left the gym, heard the metal door slam shut after the last group member exited, and then silence.
    Wrapped in invisible cotton, I shuffled back upstairs, deaf to all sound.
    I slumped down beside my duffel bag. I’d had the perfect opportunity, a real advantage today. Had I thrown it away in some naive attempt to do the right thing?
    An hour later, Head Manager Amber dismissed everyone, reminding us to be back at the gym that evening for the new team announcement, and to wear blue jeans and a plain white T-shirt with our audition numbers pinned to our chests.
    Lost in thoughts and doubts on my way out, I wasn’t paying attention in the foyer and stumbled into someone. Ice-cold hands on my bare arms both shocked and steadied me as I mumbled an apology and looked up at the man I’d run into. He was a stranger, dressed in a tailored, dark-blue suit. His face was expressionless as he stepped away from me toward the gym doors where the judges were inside tabulating scores. I blinked in surprise as he strode right into the gym like he owned the place.
    A woman’s voice called out from within, “I’m sorry, but no parents are allowed in here right now.”
    The door swung shut behind him as he continued in, cutting off any further sound.
    Amazing. Apparently being a Charmer was an honor big enough to make a father try to sway the judges for his daughter’s sake.
    Sway the judges unfairly, just like I should have done. I was so stupid. I shoved open the foyer doors, the