"I Hope You Dance" by Lissa Bryan

Posted by Anonymous

I hope you still feel small when you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens
Promise me that you'll give faith the fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

I hope you dance

Manual writer Bella Swan is coaxed by her sister to take tango lessons at a local dance studio. Full of concern, Alice watches how Bella hardly ever leaves the house and has as good as no friends. She hopes that by convincing her to learn how to dance, her sister will eventually be forced to socialize with others and live a little. Not able to deny Alice, Bella agrees and goes to the studio. There she runs into dance teacher Edward Cullen, who is not just ridiculously handsome and talented but also tells her that she would be given individual classes with him. Carefully he manages to get a nervous Bella to relax and starts showing her some easy yet still intimitate dancing steps. Edward notices right away that Bella, as beautiful as she is, likes to withdraw from the world and is more than insecure about herself. He immediately decides to not only teach her how to master the art of dancing tango but also how to enjoy and live her life. Because he himself had to learn the hard way how short and volatile life can be. When his boss and friend Jacob Black (Edward used to be the chief financial officer in marketing company) is killed in a car accident, Edward is responsible for making all the necessary arrangments regarding his death. As he is listed as the only emergency contact, things like organ donation and funeral arrangements have now to be decided by the young man. It is then that he realizes how much he doesn't enjoy his job and lifestyle and that life is too short to not do what you really want. So he contacts his old friend Tanya and begins working as a dance teacher. He definitely had no idea that fate would soon introduce him to true love - in form of a brown-eyed beauty...

I Hope You Dance is a sweet yet tame little one-shot that portrays Edward and Bella very realistically. Both of them have had their fare share of difficulties in their lives but learned to deal with them in a very different way. While Edward took the death of his friend as an incentive to really start living, Bella hides from the world, afraid of never being enough. When they finally meet in the dance studio, sparks fly, and Edward can't help but slowly show Bella that there are things worth living out there, including love. He acts very sweet toward her and though he tries to be careful not to overstep his boundaries, Bella more than once runs away from him out of panic. But gradually, she realizes that she can trust her handsome tango teacher and loses herself in his arms, literally. The story is completely written from a third-person narrator, who focuses on Bella's feelings but also has some insight into Edward's mind. There are no grammatical mistakes and the plot is more than entertaining. A wonderful little one-shot that will leave you yearning for more Dancerward!

I Hope You Dance is a one-shot and consists of 18,296. The story is rated T some foul language.

Note: The story title is based on a song with the same name by Lee Ann Womack. A wonderful cover has also been made by Ronan Keating.

If you know any other platforms this story has been published at, please let us know by either sending an email to swansbookstore@gmail.com or leaving a message in the comment section. Thank you!