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CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“First position, then plié.”I stood with my feet turned out and bent my knees. “Hands in front, remember? Like you’re holding a bouquet of flowers.” I positioned my hands. “Now relevé.”
Avery stumbled and huffed a breath, blowing a stray hair that had fallen from her bun. For months, I’d been working with her on her confidence. I even offered her private lessons. Avery was smaller than the other girls, so she tried harder to be perfect. I knew all too well what that was like—the need to be perfect.
I hated that she felt so out of place. Sometimes I wanted to lift her up, squeeze her in a hug, and tell her that size had nothing to do with talent. She could do this.
“It’s okay, Avery. Look. Watch my form.” I stood up with my back straight and tall. “See how my heels are planted on the floor?”
Avery nodded and the rest of the class watched in silence.
I slowly bent my knees until they were even with the tips of my toes, then I pushed myself gracefully back up. “Now, you try.”
Avery took a deep breath and mimicked my movements.
“Awesome job. Now relevé.” I lifted up on my toes.
The whole class clapped when she followed, then finished perfectly back in first position. Her smile lit up the room, even if she was missing one of her front teeth.
“Beautiful. Next, we’ll try a bourrée turn. Relevé.” I lifted onto my toes and arced my arms above my head. “Pull those tummies in nice and tight. If you can’t balance with your arms up, you can just hold your waist.” I demonstrated, then lifted my arms again. “Now, tiny little steps all around in a circle. Like you’re tiptoeing on Christmas morning before everyone is awake.” I stopped to watch ten little girls turn in a circle on their tiptoes and smiled.
And then I froze.
Someone was watching. I felt it in my veins.
I looked over the studio and out the windows. Sometimes I liked to leave the curtains open during class. People on the sidewalks would stop and watch with smiles on their faces. Some of them would even clap after a mini-performance.
This was not awareness caused by a crowd of spectators.
This was something else.
Caspian Donahue was close.
I knew it.
Anticipation and adrenaline sent goosebumps pebbling on my skin. Even though there was no one other than the usual sea of people streaming down the sidewalk, I knew it had to be him. No one else had ever made me feel this way. Four years and an ocean apart couldn’t erase the power his presence had over me.
My whole life, I’d grown to crave the sensation of knowing he was near, ever since I was a six-year-old girl playing pretend at someone else’s wedding. Somehow Caspian was always there, especially in the times when it felt like I needed him to be. Until he disappeared when it mattered most.
Over the last four years, I’d gotten good at not waiting for him to walk into a room or show up at an event. I’d trained myself not to hope for that feeling—thisfeeling. I’d convinced my mind it hated him, and aside from those moments when I was alone in my room with nothing but his custom-made cock and my memories of the way he’d fucked me, my body followed suit.
Until now.
I clapped my hands together then cleared my throat. “Okay, princesses, let’s put it all together.” I walked over to the window to pull the velvet curtains closed. But not before letting my gaze sweep the sidewalk one last time.
Just in case.
Nothing. Just a crowd of strangers and the unwelcomed sense of disappointment settling in the bottom of my stomach.
I straightened and focused back on my class. “From first position, we’re going to do four tendus, two pliés, one relevé, and end with a spin.” I demonstrated, and they followed. “Nice work, guys! Ready to put it to music?”
They all clapped their answer with a resounding “Yeahhhh.”
This. These were the moments I lived for.
After three repetitions, I shut off the music and faced my girls. “Time for a cool down.” I sat on the floor, pulling my legs into a butterfly position as I let out a breath. “Ready for some recovery stretches?”
Twenty minutes later, my studio was empty. My five o’clock class was my last class of the day. It was time to go home and disappear into a tub of bubbles.
