Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 75983 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75983 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
“Ideas for the future sound exciting.” My mother nudged my other side. “I’m so proud of you and Alexander.”
“Shush,” I said as the house lights lowered. Thank goodness. We certainly didn’t need our mothers in cahoots with Melody. “The show is about to start.”
The performance was the world premiere of a ballet from a newer, rising choreographer with a custom score, and anticipation for the debut swept through the theater as the orchestra sounded the opening notes. The production featured white minimalist but inventive sets with geometric shapes, ramps, and multiple levels. The energetic opening featured multiple dancers from the Corps de Ballet, a swirling group number full of movement and activity.
I held my breath waiting for Alexander’s entrance in the second scene. As the corps retreated, he emerged alongside one of the female principal dancers for a stunning pas de deux, which featured a longer and more complex solo than the variation he’d performed in The Nutcracker. He was fire personified, complete with a flaming red-and-orange tunic, a part he owned from the first commanding step onto the stage. The crowd thrilled to his every movement with audible gasps of delight with each jump.
Somehow, my nerves and I survived until intermission, where I declined a cocktail and nibbled a few pretzels to try to make it to the end of the show. Alexander wowed the crowd with another solo before the finale, and the roar of applause after the final curtain was due in no small part to his electrifying performance. The crowd gave him a rousing ovation, and I finally let myself fully exhale.
He’d done it. He’d returned to the stage better than ever, an utter triumph, and I had no doubt that the critics would be raving about his performance. His reputation among the best of the best was secure yet again. My mind flashed back to the first time I’d spied him in the studio at Hollyberry, how tentative he’d seemed as he worked through his recovery. What a difference a few months made—for him, for me, and for us as the entire course of our future had shifted.
I allowed a moment of nostalgia for those first icing and game sessions we’d enjoyed, just the two of us, as I joined our parents and Melody in the crush of people with backstage passes looking to greet Alexander and other dancers.
Alexander leaned against a wall, sweaty, breathless, and utterly transcendent, a portrait of an artist at rest. I let everyone else greet him first before making my way forward. Ten years had passed since I’d first seen him like this, an untouchable ballet god. But now, he was mine with a smile that was for me alone. What had started as a simple crush had become a dream transformed into a reality of a love far beyond my greatest hopes. Emotion clogged my throat and made my eyes burn as I stepped between our mothers to greet him.
“How was it?” he asked me with a weary smile. “I trust you to be honest.”
“You were splendid,” I assured him. “Your lines in your variation were perfect, especially in the pas de deux.”
“You paid attention.” He offered a small smirk.
Our gazes met, a private moment in the thick of so much backstage activity. The fondness in his eyes made my breath catch. That this man, this legend, loved me was a wonder beyond words, and gratitude filled my chest, making it even harder to speak.
“Truly, darling,” Elaine assured him, filling the silence. “You’d never know you had a year away.”
“I owe a lot to Isabella and my PT team.” He gave a humble shrug.
“And your own hard work,” my mother added. “Your Cavalier for us was one of your finest moments, but you were incredible tonight.”
“You are all much too kind.” Alexander demurred, but his eyes revealed how pleased he actually was.
“Are you showering here or at home?” I asked him.
“Say that again.” He grabbed my hand, pulling me another step closer so my legs brushed him.
“Home.” My chest lifted with the word, an almost indescribable happiness filling me. I could be that for him, be the home he needed and wanted, create that space for both of us.
He smiled slowly, a genuine grin, all for me. “I’ll take a fast shower here so as to not frighten our driver. Or you.”
“I’m not afraid of a little sweat.” Knowing our mothers were close behind us, I made it a light tease, but Alexander wasn’t shy about giving me the most heated of looks.
“I know.”
After another round of praise and congratulations, he took his leave to go shower and change. I’d walked to the theater, but Alexander was exhausted enough that I ordered us a driver on the rideshare app for the trip back to his apartment. We held hands the whole way back and in the elevator on the way up to the apartment. He sagged against me as I unlocked the door.