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Story Notes:
Thanks to Dottie and Terri, my bad girls!!!! LOL! I couldn't do it without the two of you. Thank you for encouraging me to step out of the box and challenge myself. (You know what I mean!!!!) This is my first all NKOTB story. I hope you enjoy! Love it or hate it, let me know! Feedback is so important.

Big Girl Now

Chapter 1

Marley’s Point of View

My life didn’t turn out quite like I expected it to. When I was eleven I wanted to be a prima ballerina. Over twenty years later and my dream never came true. I never set foot on the stage as a ballerina.

“We’d like to see the following numbers perform the combination. Five, seventeen, sixty-two, seventy-three, eighteen, eleven, ten, and forty. The rest of you are free to go.”

I was excited that my number got called, but at the same time I was nervous. If I landed this dance job I would finally feel successful. My whole career was riding on this one audition. At thirty-four I was a has-been in the dance world. So making it this far was an honor.

I took my position on the dance floor. I made sure to dance with energy and pizzazz. I was dancing with girls still in their teens. I nailed the turns and got into the hip hop sequence.

“Thank you girls. If you make it for the job you will receive a phone call no later than Friday.”

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I walked into the studio where rehearsals were set to begin. I set my bag down and waited for the others to arrive. Slowly they started trickling in. I saw four other girls from the audition. I was clearly the oldest, but I was okay with that.

When I saw him walk in the room my heart melted. I had the biggest crush on him back in the day. That was so long ago, but things had changed. I wasn’t the little girl he’d remember. I had lost my innocence years ago.

“Hello, beautiful. What’s your name?” He came right over to me. Thank goodness he didn’t recognize me.

“I’m Grace. It’s nice to meet you Donnie.”  I smile as I shake his hand.

“Stop flirting with this pretty woman. It’s time to start dancing, and I want her all to myself.” Joe walked up to us. He gave me an unsure look. It was like he remembered me from way back when. I hoped I could play it off.

“You boys are just too sweet. Maybe you should spread your love around to the other dancers.” I smiled at them. “I’m going to go stretch.”

I left the men standing there. I knew they were watching me. I didn’t know Joe as well as I knew Donnie, but they were both charming.

 

Summer of 1988

I was sitting on the porch reading a book about ballet. Someday I was going to be the prima ballerina of some big ballet company. I spent all my time studying ballet.

“Hey, Marley. Is Chad home?” Donnie sat beside me.

“Yeah, he’s in the garage.” I didn’t even look up from my book. Sleeping Beauty was more interesting than my brother.

“What are you reading?”

I looked up. “It’s a book about ballets.”

“You, going to be a ballerina some day?” He smiled at me. I didn’t understand why he was being so nice. Most of my brother’s friends were jerks to me.

“I plan on it. I want to dance and make people love ballet as much as I do.” I closed my book. “It’s kind of like your music career.”

“I guess you’re right.” Donnie stood up abruptly. “Keep working hard, Mar.”

Before I had a chance to respond, he was gone. My brother’s friends were so weird. I guess they had to be if they were friends with my brother. Even at eleven, I knew that.

I hated the fact that I had to keep my identity a secret. It was easier that way. I don’t think I could go back to being Marley Grace Sutton again. She didn’t exist anymore. It was easier being someone else.

After two hours of dancing, the choreographer let us break for lunch. I planned on going to the local coffee shop, but the guys had other plans. They had ordered lunch for everyone. So, I was stuck eating lunch with him.

I placed some salad on my plate. “Is that all you’re going to eat?”  Donnie asked.

“Yeah, I’m trying to watching my girlish figure. I’m not as young as the rest of these girls.”

My appearance couldn’t be more different than the other dancers. They were tall and thin. Me, on the other hand was medium height with curves and boobs.  I stuck out like a sore thumb. It could be the reason Donnie was paying so much attention to me.

“I have a secret to share with you, Grace.” He leaned close and whispered in my ear. “Sure those girls are pretty and younger, but I can’t stop looking at you. I love the way your body moves when you dance. You have a passion that they don’t have.”

His breath on my skin gave me the chills. His words haunted me. If he only knew what I had to do to get myself to this point in my life. The worst part is I felt like a liar. I wasn’t telling the truth. What happened down the line if he found out? He would be disgusted by my past.

“Umm…thank you Donnie. You better go pay attention to some of the other dancers. They keep looking at us, and I don’t want to be hated on the first day.” I took a bite of my salad.

“There’s just something about you Grace. I can’t put my finger on it, but I plan on figuring you out.” He got up and moved over with the other dancers.

I sat by myself and watched the guys interact with the other women. I was content to sit by myself and watch. The less everyone knew about me the better. I was here to dance, not to make best friends. I would be friendly towards everyone, but I wasn’t going to let anyone break my wall down.  Over the past decade I learned to not trust anyone. My heart had been broken one to many times. I wasn’t going to let it happen again.