“You know, I was thinking…” Claire says, walking into the living room dressed for The Christmas Extravaganza wearing a thick pink sweater, a silk skirt that hits her mid-shin, and ankle boots. Her hair is down.
When she looks up at me, she must see what’s written in my face. “What?” she asks.
“You look beautiful.”
She smiles and walks over to where I stand. Pushing up on her toes, she plants a chaste kiss against my lips.
“I like your turtleneck.” She smirks.
“Are you going to be cold in that skirt? It’s freezing out.”
She lifts the bottom hem, showing off her legs that are covered in opaque tights. “Fleeced-lined tights,” she says. “They look like I’m just wearing tights, but I’m very cozy. They’re like magic.”
“Ha! So what were you thinking?” I ask.
“Oh, right. In the ballet, after “Waltz of the Flowers,” which will be Aster’s entry, the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier dance, and then all of the Kingdom of Sweets characters return for the finale before sending Clara and the Nutcracker Prince home.”
“Okay, so what does that mean?”
“I don’t think the ballet will be finished once we judge Aster’s cocktail. I think we have to see it through all the way to the end.”
“So, you think Stella needs to dance?”
“Maybe, but it depends on the version. In some of them, when Clara isn’t played by a child, she and the Nutcracker Prince share the final dance.”
“So which one do you think we’re living in?”
“Well I’m not a child, so I think maybe we need to dance tonight just to be sure.”
“Dance?”
She nods her head. “Yeah. Dance.”
“What kind of dance are we talking about? Like the devil’s tango?” I tip my chin toward the bedroom and wiggle my eyebrows.
“No, like a proper dance.” She swats my chest and begins walking toward the coat closet.
“I don’t know,” I say, following her. “Maybe we should try it just to be sure. Don’t you think so?”
I wrap my arms around her waist, flipping her around to face me.
“You can never be too careful with these kinds of things,” I whisper against her neck, and her whole body shudders against me.
“You’re ridiculous. We’ve already had sex twice since we woke up.”
“We could do it again. We have time…”
She shakes her head, letting out a giggle.
“We actually have no time. Stella said to be there at one, and that’s in less than ten minutes.”
I let out a groan.
“Stella might be my least favorite person ever.”
“Come on,” she says, grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the door. “We have a ballet to finish.”
Claire and I walk into town with our crowns and sashes in hand. Nerves ripple through me. If this doesn’t work, and we don’t wake up in New York City tomorrow, I don’t know what Claire will do.
