It would've been too much to ask for her phone not to go off as she ate, but much to her surprise it wasn't some club promoter, it actually was an old dancing buddy from HS and Francesca would jump in her seat a bit as she answered the phone.
"Gina? It's been a while, how are you?" she'd ask cheerfully, and the two women would quickly begin to catch up with one another. Her former classmate stuck with dancing all these years and had been traveling with a well known company all over the globe, making communication between the two equally busy friends hard.
"It's been wonderful catching up with you Francesca, it really has. We'll be in the city for a month or so, I'd love to meet up sometime. Matter og fact, I was heading to the studio now to stretch and practice some - you should join me!"
If Francesca was honest with herself the idea of going to a dance studio with an old dancing buddy was exciting, but she couldn't quite shake the anxious feeling the idea gave her.
"Uh, no no that's okay, I don't want to get in the way of your practice. We can always hang out tomorrow...since I have plans tonight."
"Oh come on! I promise, I won't make you dance...well, not too much anyways!"
It would take Gina a few minutes of convincing to get Francesca to agree to meet her, and after the two hung up Francesca would sigh.
"Why am I nervous? It's just a dance studio, gees..." she thought to herself as she downed the last bit of her Coffee.
She'd spend a few minutes aimlessly staring out the restaurant window before eventually making her way back up to her room.
----
"Hey, I have an idea, would you like to come see Gina with mommy?" Francesca asked aloud in her room as she changed into matching sparkle print low rise work-out pants and halter top and a pair of black sneakers.
Her bubbly pup Roxie responded with a wagging tail and she'd take a moment to rub her favorite pal's belly before bending over to pull her long hair into a high ponytail.
"Come on girl, lets get your leash"
It took Francesca under a minute to find the leash and throw some stuff into an over-sized leather bag, and after grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge she was out the front door.
The taxi ride to the dance studio was relatively short, and as soon Francesca stepped out her friend would run over and give her a warm hug.
"Oh my, you brought this cute one here! I could just eat her up."
Gina lavished Roxie with attention for a brief moment before leading them both inside the studio.
The girls made their way to an empty practice room in the back, and as soon as they closed the glass door Francesca would take Roxie off her leash.
"You look great, but lets see how out of shape you are!" Gina teased, before turning the radio on.
The two stretched for about fifteen minutes before Gina turned the radio off, put in her own CD, and began to practice her routine.
Francesca was impressed and excited at the same time as she watched her friend dance. There was no denying she had missed dancing, and after watching Gina for nearly half an hour she'd reluctantly let her friend teach her part of the routine.
Within only a few minutes her nerves were out the window and Francesca was easily picking up the moves - better than Gina had expected, and the two would practice together for a few hours before finally calling it quits.
"You were great! Have you started performing again?" Gina asked as the two sat on a bench outside.
"Oh please, not even. I haven't danced in forever, and I couldn't find the time even if I wanted to."
"I'm not bullshitting you girl, you barely missed a step...you should start dancing again."
The two went back and forth for a few minutes on the subject before Francesca stood up to hail a cab.
"As much as I'd love to continue this silly conversation about me dancing I need to head home. I want to get a few hours of r&r in before my dinner date"
"Oh a date? Tell me more, how long have you two been dating? How cute is he? And if he's really hot does he have a twin brother that's single?"
As a cab came to a stop in front of her Francesca would laugh at the questions being thrown out by her friend.
"Seriously? Well to answer all of that - no, not long at all, he's hot, and no - I'm pretty sure he doesn't have a twin brother, but if I find out he does I'll be sure to let you know."
-----
After arriving back home Francesca would fill up Roxie's food bowl before stripping out of her clothes and stepping into a warm shower.
By the time she walked out of the bathroom in her red silk robe and Adventure Time sippers it was nearly 5pm.
Ben would call and double check that she'd be ready at 7pm and she reassured him that she would before hanging up and pouring herself a cocktail.
After drying her hair, rolling the ends of it up into rollers, and doing her eye-makeup Francesca would flounce down on her couch and turn on the TV. She already knew what outfit she was going to wear and figured she'd relax or a while, but the more comfortable she got on her couch the more drowsy she became, and within several minutes Francesca would doze off.
Roxie would eventually wake Francesca up by barking, and after a few seconds of trying to quiet the dog Francesca would hear a knock at the door.
"Oh no!" she whispered as her gaze shifted from the door to the wall clock, which read 7:04pm.
Knowing it was probably Ben on the other side of the door she'd pop up from the couch and run over to open it.
"Hey, please, come in."
Sorry was written all over Francesca's face as she stepped out of the way and invited Ben into the penthouse, but after closing the door she couldn't help but vocalize it.
"I am so sorry, I'm usually not this bad with my timing - I promise. Please take a seat, watch some TV, I'll be out in ten minutes flat!"
Francesca would turn and jog into her bedroom, and as soon as the door shut she'd drop her robe and run over to her bed where her red lace cocktail dress was already laid out.
In record time she'd slip into the fitted mini dress and matching lace heels, and it would take her only a few minutes to put a coat of lipstick on, remove her rollers, and brush her curls out.
"Okay, deep breath!" Francesca said to herself as she casually put her phone and a few other items in a small red clutch purse. She'd stand on the other side of her bedroom door for a few moments before opening the door.
She'd slowly make her way over towards the couch and again apologize for making Ben wait - explaining that she had dozed off by accident.
"You clean up pretty well by the way." she'd say with a smile before grabbing the remote and turning the television off.
Francesca would check and make sure Roxie's water was topped off before walking towards the door and opening it up."Lead the way, handsome."
She would wait for Ben to walk out before locking then closing her door and following him towards the elevator.