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Jade
Two weeks later…
Inever imagined I wouldn’t want to be present at the Winter Classic. I’ve been dancing all my life, and every year, the Winter Classic was the performance I looked forward to. It was the solo I prepared the most for with the hopes that by the time I was ready to leave school, these performances would help pave my way to getting out of this town. Tonight is different, though. Onyx is leaving.
For the past two weeks, I’ve put my heart and energy into my routine, polishing it up so it was worthy of the song. I’ve never had a dance come to me so easily, nor have I ever been this inspired. I know it's because of him, and he’s leaving when it's over. I glance around the curtain and find him in the front row, jacket on, checking his phone, while the other performers are on stage. His flight leaves two hours after I dance. I begged him to miss it. To return home as soon as he could, so he could come back, but he insisted on being here.
I should love him more for that. I’d rather be sitting with him though, than separated by a stage and a black silk curtain. I want his arm wrapped around me. I want to hear him tell me over and over again that he’s coming back. We aren’t ending, even though it feels like we are.
I haven’t told Harper or Corey. I don’t want to face the truth on their faces or be reminded that they were right. This was a dream, something that wouldn’t last, even though Onyx promises it will.
“Jade,” Patti calls my name and ushers me forward to the stage, “you’re next, hun.”
I nod and try to shove down the anxiousness in my stomach. I’m never nervous to perform. The stage is the only place I have ever felt truly comfortable and this mix of emotions is throwing me off-kilter. Inhaling deep and holding, I try to clear my mind before I exhale my breath out. I want him to love it. I want him to leave with the image of me dancing to his song in his mind. I want him to know how much I love him before he leaves me.
“And for our final performance of the night, a junior-level competitor, performing her own choreographed solo, Jade Lennon. Dancing to: ‘About You.’”
The lights fade and I force my legs to walk to centerstage before taking my beginning pose. I can hear my name being yelled from the girls at the studio. I can hear Harper’s obnoxious whistle and Corey’s howl. My attention focuses on Onyx, his eyes never leaving mine, when he mouths, “My Little Star.”
My skin tingles, but I suddenly feel powerful. The music starts and the spotlight finds me. It follows me across the stage with every spin, every leap, every move I make, following the beat of my heart in Onyx’s lyrics. In the song he made to express his feelings about me. Obsession. Loyalty. Love. By the time the music reaches the last chorus, my eyes are glossy with tears. I’ve listened to this song over a thousand times in the past two weeks, but suddenly, it hits differently.
I give the performance of my life.
I dance every feeling into that song.
The crowd is deafening when I hit my final pose. It’s a standing ovation.
I want him though. Our eyes connect in the crowd and I see everything I’m feeling mirrored back in Onyx’s gaze. I rush from the stage and throw on my zip-up jacket, knowing our time is precious. I duck from everyone and smile politely when they congratulate me. I just want to get to him. The side door is closest to the street, so it’s the one I run to first. I push the door open and run right into a brick wall.
Just like that first night, I stumble backward, only this time, strong hands reach out, grab me, and haul my body into his.
“Don’t leave,” I cry into his jacket. Onyx’s arms wrap around me tighter, he breathes heavily as if my words pain him.
“I’m coming back, I promise.” His gravelly voice is thick and I wonder how much he believes his own words right now. His grandfather is mean and controlling. “Trust me.”
“I do,” I tell him and pull back so I can see his face. I memorize it. His full red lips, the sharpness of his nose, the angle of his cheekbones, and the thick lashes around his nearly black eyes. “I do trust you.”
Onyx leans down and captures my lips with his. “You were amazing tonight, Star. I’ll never forget how you looked while dancing to my song.”
“I did it for you,” I whisper against his lips and he groans in response.
“I don't want to leave,” he confesses.
The pain in his voice pierces my heart. I’ve only been thinking about me, when Onyx has so much more riding on this trip home than I do. It’s about his career, his freedom, his identity.
“You have to,” I remind him and try to smile. “You have to so you can have your music, Onyx. Don’t let him win.”
He shakes his head, his jaw clenches. “I promise I’ll come back.”
The tears I’ve been holding fall down my face. The sob stuck in my throat bubbles up. I want to believe what he says. I do not want things to end this way. “I’ll be waiting.”
His fingers gently trace over my face and along my jaw. With one last kiss, Onyx fills me with warmth, need, and love.
“We got to go, Cuz,” Terrance calls from the car. Onyx and I both turn to look at him, our arms holding each other still.
“Go,” I tell him, forcing myself to step back, and my hands to drop to my side. “Text me when you get there?”
Onyx’s eyes stay on me even as he moves closer to the car. He nods. “I promise.”
