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“I wasn’t the one wasting time with selfies,” Bryn pointed out.
“You took them with your phone, dear.”
“Pay rise. Definite pay rise,” he said as we finally began to move towards the door.
“What was that? I can’t hear you. There must be something wrong with my hearing aid.”
We reached the box office counter without further incident, and Bryn presented three tickets to the student volunteer while G announced to everyone in earshot that her superstar grandson was performing tonight. She was so proud, so happy, and if I’d had any doubts about my actions earlier this evening—which I didn’t—seeing her like this would have wiped them all away.
The LSU theatre itself had two levels of fixed seating wrapping around the back of the room and down each side and a ground-floor level of removable seating to allow for a variety of performances. As G had already told me, our seats were in the front row, closest to the stage. We made our way down the aisle to the front of the theatre, and as I drew closer, I noticed several of JJ’s dance students seated a few rows behind us. A few of them gave me shy smiles and nods, obviously recognising me from the class I’d attended as a spectator, and I returned their greetings. As the theatre filled, more familiar faces joined us. Niccolò, Dexter, Ander, and Elliot slid into the row behind me, along with a few of their friends.
Ander leaned forwards to speak low in my ear. “JJ told us you were going to be at an important work thing tonight. But me and Elliot both thought you’d come.”
“Some things are more important than work,” I murmured, and he gasped.
“Please, please say that again, and let me record the business school’s principal lecturer saying there are more important things than work.”
“No.”
He huffed but was thankfully distracted by even more of my students joining him. I had no idea JJ knew so many people in the courses I taught. It would make next week’s lectures interesting, that was for sure.
If I had lectures to teach next week. The vice chancellor wanted to meet with me on Monday, after all.
Whatever happened, it was worth it to be here tonight, supporting the man I loved doing something he’d worked so hard on.
The house lights dimmed. The curtains opened, revealing an empty stage lit by spotlights.
Then, the showcase began.
I’d seen JJ’s group dance a couple of times already, but seeing the three of them up onstage, the atmosphere electric with a full theatre audience, accompanied by all the lights and professional sound system…it was breathtaking. They danced so fluidly, and although JJ had confided in me that he was worried about Leo’s nerves, no one watching would ever be able to tell. The three of them were confident and graceful, perfectly in sync.
When they finished, there was thunderous applause, and as they took their bow, I rose to my feet, cheering and clapping until my hands ached.
The next set of dances flew by, Leo and Alyssa blowing me away with their solo performances, and then it was JJ’s turn. I’d never seen him perform his solo dance all the way through before, only a couple of short sections he’d practised when I was with him, but I knew just how many hours he’d put into it. This was the culmination of months of dedicated effort, and I couldn’t wait to see all his hard work come to fruition.
Everything went dark, and then a single spotlight lit up the centre of the stage, revealing JJ dressed simply in black dance tights, on his knees, with his head bowed. When the first notes of the song began, he moved.
Softer beams of golden light swept across the stage, caressing his beautiful body as he undulated through a series of graceful, sensual movements, extending the long lines of his legs in what looked like balletic movements to my untrained eye. His torso shimmered with a subtle gold sheen, a muted version of the way he looked at Sanctuary, giving him the otherworldly vibe that had captivated me the very first time I’d seen him.
Extending his body into an upright position, he danced across the stage, so fucking poetic and beautiful that I forgot to breathe, caught in the spell he was weaving with his movements. He used every inch of available space, leaping and dipping and spinning, then dropping back down to the floor. Another series of fluid movements across the stage floor, and then he rose again to finish the final steps of his dance.
As the last notes sounded, the spotlights winked out until only one remained. JJ stood still, stretching out his body, extending his arms towards the ceiling and closing his eyes as he raised his head to light up his face with the final spotlight. There was a stunned silence in the audience when the final note died away, but then the applause came, and it was deafening. Leaping to my feet, tears filling my eyes, I clapped and clapped and clapped, completely overwhelmed by JJ’s pure fucking talent.
“Oh, Josh. He shines onstage, doesn’t he? Like a bright star.” Smiling, G dabbed at her eyes with a tissue Bryn had whipped out of a small bag I hadn’t even noticed he’d been carrying.
“Like sunshine,” I said softly, aching.
My sunshine.
32
Iwas too impatient to take the time to shower and change. I was buzzing, high on adrenaline, eager to see what G had made of my performances. Most of the other dancers were of the same mindset, wanting to see family and friends. Backstage, I pulled on a soft canary-yellow zip-up hoodie, leaving it undone, jammed my feet into comfortable padded sliders, and then made my way back into the theatre.
There was G, beaming at me, her hand outstretched. I headed straight for her, wrapping her up in a hug while she told me how amazing I was and how proud she was of me. When I released her, she gave me one of her enigmatic smiles.
“I mustn’t monopolise all your time. Not when someone else came all this way to see you.”
“My friends can wait. They know you’re my number one, G.”
