“Have a good class,” he said, squeezing my hand before we parted at the bottom of the stairs, him walking up to his office while I made my way to the locker room.
Inside the locker room, I walked along the two rows of lockers until I found mine along the back wall. In front of my locker was a large rock with a ribbon tied around it. On the top of the rock, a message was scrawled in thick, black ink.
For Arco Ballet’s newest anchor,
Hope your pack enjoys carrying deadweight.
Tears instantly welled up in my eyes. I couldn’t believe this was happening, yet at the same time, I knew this was how my reveal would go down.With a sigh, I grabbed the rock and lifted it out of the way, setting it down along the wall. I wasn’t about to move it out of here. I was going to earn the respect of whoever did this, and they were going to remove that rock themselves.
***
After class, I nervously walked over to the second studio where my first rehearsal was scheduled. Millie and Steven were assigned to work with Preston and me on a duet for the upcoming production.
Preston was alone in the studio, finishing his cooldown from his own class. Upon seeing me, he sprang off the floor and ran over to kiss my cheek, leaving me with a big smile. He looked so crisp and polished today, and the brightness of his intense yet elated expression sent my heart doing littleflips. Of course, my mind drifted back to our kiss this past Sunday. I wondered if he’d thought about it much.
“How was class?” he asked as his eyes bore into mine.
“Good,” I eked out, earning a half smile from him.
“Hey you two!” Millie walked in with her bright energy and set her bag down next to mine. “Are we ready to learn a duet today?” Steven followed behind her and made his way to the music player.
Seeing Millie brought a pang of guilt to my heart. During the recast, she was supposed to perform this duet, but got bumped so Preston and I could dance it together.At least she was recast in a separate solo role, but I hated the thought of her having to move because of me.
“Millie, I’m so sorry,” I apologized, feeling that weighted knot tighten in my stomach.
“You already apologized several times. Don’t be sorry. Demetrius already talked to me about it,” she waved me off. “I know this will be good for the company in the long run. Plus, I get to say I coachedtheomega couple with their very first dance together. I’m so excited for you,” she said as she eyed Preston and me dreamily.
I blushed a bit as Preston puffed out his chest, seeming to take the compliment with pride. He wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me close to him.
“Well, thank you for being understanding,” I said. “Preston already knows his part, but I need to learn the female role.”
“Right, let’s get to work,” Millie gestured me over to her.
The first half of the rehearsal was spent with Millie showing me the steps for each sequence of the dance while Steven reviewed the choreography with Preston. The entire piece was only a little more than two minutes, but it was filled with a lot of intricate footwork, quick lifts, and fast turns. After half an hour of reviewing the steps, I finally felt confident enough to try the dance.
“Should we run it?” Steven asked, returning to the stereo.
I motioned toward Preston. “Maybe talk me through some of the hand grabs if I miss a beat.”
Steven pressed play on the stereo, and music filled the room. Preston and I ran forward to the center of the room to start the piece, exactly as designed. While I focused hard on the choreography, the steps started to come easily to me as energy flowed between us. I followed Preston’s lead as he guided my waist and pulled me around the corner. The footwork sped up, and there grew an unspoken challenge between Preston and me. How precisely could we perform these steps with each other?
I reached for his finger as he spun me into tight turns, followed by a fun lift that tossed me behind him. The thrill of the movement brought a smile to my face. His scent wasall around me, subtle through the beta blockers but still present and pushing me to excel.
Next was supposed to be a double turn into his arms, but the momentum carried me into a triple. He pulled my hips around seamlessly, not even blinking as we rotated right into the next series of lifts.
The last set of intricate hand positions came as we shifted back and forth, hands reaching for each other while spinning between each grip. There were three turns now, my left hand reached to his, then I did one more spin under his arm. Preston struck the final kneel and pulled me down to his thigh, right as the last note of the music sounded.
We held that final pose, slightly out of breath, but both with large smiles on our faces. Steven and Millie exchanged a stunned glance, their eyes wide.
“Not bad,” Preston gasped, still catching his breath.His strong hands supported my waist as I stood up off his knee.
“I lost my rhythm a little there with my hands.” Turning to him, I practiced the sequence with him a few times until it came out more smoothly. I loved how quickly we locked in together while working. Once finished, we looked over to Millie and Steven, waiting for their input.
“Welp, my work here is done!” Millie joked as she waved to Preston and me. “I’ll head back to the other room and join the corps rehearsal now. See you both later.”
As Millie disappeared down the hallway, a small ache flickered in my chest. Her grace made me want to earn this even more.
Steven gave us a few details to work on here and there, but it was clear he was searching for corrections. We finished the rehearsal roughly ten minutes early and waved bye to Steven before collapsing on the floor to rest.
