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vannahfanfics · 3 years ago

Text

Two Left Feet

Word Count: 3350

Fluff, Romance, Romantic Comedy, First Dates, Modern AU

Summary: Tenya has been crushing on the cute cashier at the smoothie shop next door to the gym. One thing leads to another, and now they're going on a date to a club! But Tenya doesn't know how to dance! And now he's about to embarrass himself in front of the most gorgeous girl he's ever met...

Hello, everyone! Here is a piece I collaborated with an artist on! Please check out their wonderful art here!

Sweat ran in rivulets down Tenya’s face, dripping from his saturated hair that slicked against his damp forehead. It ran down the bridge of his nose and past the corner of his mouth to coalesce into a bead on the base of his chin; when it grew too heavy to remain suspended from his skin, it dripped down to absorb into the already drenched fabric of his muscle tank. The cloth clung to his skin with each pump of his arms at his sides, as did the spandex of his running shorts with each swing of his legs to run on the treadmill. The continuous thunk-thunk-thunk of his tennis shoes blended melodiously with the mechanical sounds of the treadmill, not that Tenya could hear it with the soft rock music pumping from the earbuds nestled in his ears.

His phone was resting on the display of the treadmill. Suddenly, the soft rock music was replaced with the beeping tone of an alarm. Tenya shut off the treadmill, jogging out the slowing of the machine, then grabbed his phone. While he used one hand to shut off the alarm, he used the other to grab the hem of his shirt and use it to wipe the sweat off his face. He squinted as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, momentarily blurring his vision, and quickly adjusted his glasses back so he could glance at the display of the treadmill.

“A new personal record!” he praised himself when he looked at the mileage he’d logged that day. It sent a flush of pride rushing through him, not that he liked to gloat. Tenya was a member of his college’s track team—on scholarship, actually—and was training for an upcoming meet. He mostly ran the treadmill for good cardio, but it was still a nice feeling to know that his performance was improving, too.

He snatched up his water bottle and drained it to the dregs as he hopped off the treadmill and began walking toward the showers and locker room. When he’d gotten the last drop, he crumpled it with his hand and tossed it into a nearby trash can. The air of the locker room was a bit warm from the steam drifting out from underneath the door to the showers; it made the perspiration still clinging to Tenya’s skin seem that much thicker, making him compulsively use his shirt to wipe at his face again while he fiddled with the lock on his locker. When it sprung open, he immediately grabbed his fresh towel and buried his face into it.

After dabbing as much of the sweat off his body as he could and drying his hair, Tenya slung the towel over his shoulder to grab his change of clothes. Tenya preferred to shower in the comfort of his own home, but he didn’t like walking around in gross, sweaty clothes—especially because he had a habit of stopping by the smoothie store next door for a post-workout snack.

Especially, especially because the person who usually worked the shift happened to be a very cute girl. Of course, Tenya knew next to nothing about flirting and probably could never court her, but he liked to at least smell halfway decent when he went there.

Besides, cool, cry clothes just felt extra good after spending so much time in sweaty, clingy ones. Tenya audibly sighed in relief after he peeled his tank top and spandex shorts off to replace them with a regular tee and some basketball shorts. The fabric was much more free and flowy, allowing the air to dance through and cool his still-heated skin. After walking out of the changing area, Tenya buried his soiled clothes in his duffel bag and then slung it over his shoulder, shutting the locker with a light clang!

He’ll admit, he had a spring in his step as he strutted next door to the smoothie shop. He’d like to pretend it was just because he’d changed out of his gross clothes, but when he clapped eyes on the bubbly caramel-haired beauty at the counter, his step felt all the lighter.

“Well, look who it is! My totally favorite customer!” Camie cried as soon as he walked through the door, a big grin lighting up her face.

“Good evening, Camie,” Tenya smiled as he approached the counter. He dropped his duffel bag on a nearby table as he passed it; he always stayed to chat with Camie in-between her working, and he wasn’t about to shake up what had become a pleasant ritual. He went to speak, but Camie quickly shushed him with an emphatic flap of her hands.

“Wait, wait, lemme guess!”

“Again?” Tenya chuckled. She always insisted on guessing her regular customers’ orders, and she had an uncanny knack for it, too. Camie ignored his attempt to tease, instead putting the pad of her index finger to her lips while she scrutinized him. Tenya knew it shouldn’t, but the way her gaze swept over him made electricity jolt across his nerves.

“Hmmm… Let’s see, let’s see…” she hummed softly, her eyes slowly roving across his figure. If she noticed the way he compulsively straightened up and shifted his weight uncomfortably from one foot to the other, she didn’t comment. Instead, after a quick squint of her eyes, she chirped, “You’re totally feeling something, like, fruity today! My recommendation is the blueberry-açai-raspberry!”

“Right again. I was craving açai,” Tenya laughed. He really had been! He had no idea how Camie did it; it was equal parts jarring and intriguing. Camie flipped her hair over her shoulder with a self-satisfied head waggle, then flounced over to the register so she could ring him up for his smoothie. She didn’t even bother to ask anything else; she knew by now that he always ordered a large smoothie with protein powder. Her fingers skipped over the screen, and as Tenya slowly walked to the edge of the counter to stand near the wall, she asked without looking up, “So, you’ve been coming by a lot more these last couple weeks; training for something?”

Tenya really ought not be surprised. Despite her seemingly airy personality, Camie was frighteningly observant.

“That’s right,” he smiled. “I have a track meet coming up at the end of the month.”

“You’re, like, totally gonna kill it!” Camie said, looking up at him with a beaming smile. She had such a beautiful smile; it practically lit up the room, and it always made Tenya feel fuzzy when he saw it.

“Thanks, Camie.”

Still smiling, she gestured for his payment. Tenya handed her his credit card, and with a quick and fluid movement that really shouldn’t be as attractive as it was, Camie swiped it in the machine. She handed it back, then whirled around to begin preparing his smoothie.

Tenya leaned against the counter, resting his cheek in his hand as he watched her. He just couldn’t help it. Even the way Camie moved was beautiful. She always bounced along to the pop music playing from the speakers overhead, swinging her hips and sometimes holding one of her arms up while pouring the fruit juices into the blender. The sheer vivaciousness she exuded made all the weariness drip from Tenya’s bones, like it was infectious. Camie was just a breath of fresh air, and though it always did him well to come see her, more and more he was wishing that he wasn’t just relegated to these post-workout visits.

He wanted her around all the time. But every time he gazed at her like this, doubt began to prickle at the back of his mind. Camie was so fun, lively, gorgeous—and Tenya was just, well... Tenya .

Their moments together were always so dreadfully short. Camie was efficient at her job, so she was handing Tenya his smoothie in a matter of minutes. He thanked her, then took a sip of the fruit blend; as always, it was delicious. It was just a smoothie, really, but Tenya always thought they were better when Camie made them.

“So, like, I have a question to ask you,” Camie said, propping up her arms on the counter while she leaned against it.

“Anything.”

“Will you go out with me?”

Tenya had made the mistake of taking another sip of the smoothie. He reared back from the straw, and as he compulsively gasped, he sucked a few chunks of the smoothie right down his windpipe. He slammed his free hand down on the counter as he doubled over, lurching wildly while his lungs heaved big, wracking coughs. Through his watering eyes, he could see droplets of the purple-blue smoothie splattering across the clean white counter. When he finally recovered, he looked suspiciously at the smoothie.

“Silly! I totally didn’t put anything in your drink!” Camie laughed, waving her hand dismissively at him. “I mean it, like, really! I want to go out with you!”

“I-I’m sorry,” Tenya said as he straightened up. As the blush rose to his cheeks, he fidgeted with his glasses. “It was just very unexpected. To tell you the truth… I thought that you were way out of my league.”

“Um, like, why would you think that?” Camie asked. She seemed genuinely surprised, her caramel brown eyebrows shooting up her forehead to disappear under her swooping bangs. “Like, you’re totally hot, you know! And, like, super considerate, and a great listener. Like, what’s there not for a girl to love, you know?”

Tenya’s blush deepened under the praise. She thinks I’m hot?

“So, whadaya say, stud? How about it?”

“O-of course!” Tenya stammered, nodding emphatically. He’d be a fool to refuse! He looked at his wrist, then realized that he didn’t wear a watch. While he flushed, Camie giggled cutely. With a nervous laugh, he pulled his phone out of his pocket to look at the time. “Wh-what time do you get off…?”

“Six p.m.”

“Th-that’s great! I’m going to go home and, you know, um, shower, and then I’ll be here to pick you up when your shift ends.” He was so excited that the words tumbled out of his mouth in a jumbled mess, and it was a wonder that Camie was even able to understand him. But she did, and she leaned across the counter to affectionately pinch his cheek. A strange gesture, but it still made Tenya flush from head to toe and steam to billow out of his flaring nose like a bull.

“All right, stud. I’ll totally see you then!” she said with a wink. “I like, totally have a fun idea of where to go! We’ll have so much fun!”

“R-right. I’ll see you in a few hours!” Tenya whirled around to go grab his duffel bag, but his sheer giddiness made him uncoordinated. He slammed into the table with an “urk!” and he heard Camie giggle behind him. Moving more slowly, he retrieved his bag and started walking toward the exit. Suddenly, Camie cleared her throat.

He turned around with an expression of confusion, and Camie pointed at the smoothie that he’d left on the counter while trying to hide her amused smile.

“O-oh… Thank you.” He sheepishly walked back to the counter to retrieve his smoothie, and again, Camie gently pinched his cheek.

“You’re so cute!”

“Th-thank you…” he smiled bashfully, adjusting his glasses to try and dissipate some of the giddy, nervous energy that was making him so spastic. A girl asks him out and he turns into a blundering fool! How mortifying… Oh, well. He would have plenty of time to compose himself for their date!

Or so he thought.

***

“A… A disco club?”

“Totally!” Camie squealed beside him, throwing her hands in the air with delight. She’d changed out of her work uniform; multicolored bangles jingled on her wrists, matching the loose scarf around her neck. It was almost like she’d intended to go dancing today, given she was dressed in a tank top and a snug miniskirt and boots. Yeah, Tenya’s jaw had nearly hit the floor when she sashayed out of the employee break room. He’d never seen her in anything but her work uniform, and it made his stomach twist up into knots. He was going on a date with this girl? This beautiful girl?

Yeah, he had not managed to collect himself at all in the few hours they’d been apart. If anything, he’d only managed to further convince himself that he was not worthy of Camie, and worse, she would realize that by the end of the night. And now this…

“We’re gonna have so much fun~!” she trilled, doing a happy dance beside him in tune to the music bleeding out onto the street.

While Camie seemed totally toked by her choice of venue, Tenya could only gaze at it apprehensively. There wasn’t anything necessarily daunting by the building—bright neon flashing signs and gaudy paint job aside. It was just… Tenya couldn’t dance to save his life! And he was expected to do so in front of the girl of his dreams? However, when he looked at Camie and her sunny smile, there was no way that he could refuse.

“All right… Let’s go…” he said, trying to sound more enthusiastic than he felt.

Oh, she’s definitely going to dump me after this, he lamented while he followed Camie inside.

The music hit Tenya like a tidal wave. It pumped from the speakers mounted on the walls and ceiling, vibrating synth tones and bubbly lyrics blending in the air. The building was square; a bar stood on the left wall, and the back and right wall were lined with booths. Most of the space was occupied by a dance floor made of squares of colored flashing lights; strobe lights also shone down from the ceiling, refracting off the disco ball suspended overhead to scatter dots of light everywhere. They fell down like snow on the large crowd of people crammed on the dance floor. As Tenya looked at the sweaty, gyrating, slightly debauched movements occurring on the dance floor, he began to consider maybe he should cut his losses with the pretty girl and escape.

“Come on, come on!” Camie urged, grabbing his hand and yanking him towards the dance floor. He yelped as he lurched forward, stumbling over the zig-zag-patterned carpet. The lights splashed over her face, illuminating her always blinding grin. “Let’s like, totally work up an appetite for drinks, you know?”

She pulled him into the fray. Tenya had never been claustrophobic, but as he became squished in the mass of dancing people, he felt himself growing a little light-headed. Or was it just the startling realization that he could not escape the embarrassing situation that he had landed himself in?

“Loosen up !” Camie laughed. She grabbed both his hands and gave them a squeeze, prompting Tenya to look at her. And then… he only wanted to look at her.

The light fell on her in just the right way, shining down on her like Heaven itself was highlighting her beauty. It threaded her caramel-colored hair in hues of white, yellow, green, blue, and red; it kaleidoscoped in her eyes, making them shine like iridescent opals. She seemed like a goddess. And Tenya had never felt more unworthy.

He pulled his hands away from hers, and the warmth of her touch leaving his palms just accentuated the way his face twisted in pain.

“Tenya?” Camie asked worriedly. “Tenya, honey, what’s the matter? Is this too much for you? We can totally, like, go somewhere else. I get this isn’t everybody’s kind of scene—”

“It’s not that, Camie,” he sighed. He lifted his glasses to run his hand over his face, feeling like they were suddenly weighed down by iron. “I… I’m sorry. I’m just… I’m just nervous.”

“Why are you nervous, sweetie?”

He cracked an eye open to look at her. She really seemed so curious, so concerned—did she really have no idea?

“Camie, I don’t think you realize how serious I was when I said that I felt like you were out of my league.” He just pouted pitifully at her. He didn’t have any will left to pretend like it wasn’t eating him up inside. He’d never really struggled with poor self-esteem, but Camie was just… so perfect . He just couldn’t fathom that he’d caught her eye. Sure, he was athletic, and he’d always appreciated himself to be at least a little bit handsome, but he was no God’s gift to men. And that’s what Camie deserved.

“Tenya,” she crooned, and when she laid her hand on his cheek, he couldn’t help but lean into it. If it was not meant to be, he at least wanted to soak up as much of her touch as he could while it lasted. “Sweetie, I was also totally serious. You are not out of my league. Do you know why I like you?”

“No…” No, he really didn’t.

“Because you aren’t like a lot of other guys. You care ,” she said firmly. “You, like, ask me about my day, about what I like and don’t like—the little things, you know? I don’t need some Greek god of a man. I just need someone who, you know, likes me for me! Not just because I’m pretty and they wanna hop into bed with me! And you do. There’s no one else I would rather be with right now.”

A shy smile slowly spread over Tenya’s face. She really meant what she was saying. I really am worthy of her… This time, he believed it, too. He didn’t need to be perfect. He just needed to be genuine. And genuine was something Tenya Iida was good at.

“What, like, made you bring this up again, anyway?” she frowned. Tenya flushed, realizing what had sent him into the mental spiral in the first place. He looked down at his feet. He mumbled an honest answer, but too low for Camie to hear. “What?”

“I said… It was because I can’t dance…” he admitted louder, but still stared at his feet in mortification. “I thought you wouldn’t bear to be seen with me after you saw how bad I was at it.”

“Oh-em-gee, Tenya!” Camie cackled. His head snapped up to see that she had thrown back hers, her whole body shaking from the force of her laughter. She continued for several seconds, leaving Tenya to just gape, until she finally let her head flop forward. She used her hands to wipe tear from her eyes, still spluttering giggles as she tried to speak. “You are, like, totally the cutest guy ever, you know that? You thought I wouldn’t go out with you anymore because you can’t dance? That’s like, so silly!”

He prepared himself for her to pinch his cheek again. Instead, she swooped in to give him a peck, leaving behind a splotch of her lip gloss. He raised his hand to his face to run his fingers over it; he wouldn’t believe it had actually happened if he didn’t feel the smear of lip gloss on his skin. Camie pulled back just a little, gazing at him through lidded and adoring eyes.

“But, it’s totally flattering that you like me so much that you would worry about silly little things like that,” she said with a pleased hum. “But don’t worry! Not being able to dance is, like, totally fixable!” She grabbed his hands to yank him closer, a mischievous glint joining the flashing lights in her eyes. “Let’s get to it, stud! We aren’t leaving until we fix the problem with your two left feet!”

Tenya could only smile wanly. Maybe they could solve his dancing problems, but he felt like it would be a while before he got over his other problem—the two left feet in the delicate dance of romance. But that was all right. He didn’t need to be a dancing star to impress Camie. He just had to love her as she was. And he could totally do that.

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