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It terrified me as much as it made me bloom. I trusted Asher with my body. He would never let me fall, even if it meant falling himself.
Dion kept making faces at me when Ian wasn’t looking, nearly making me laugh. I had to glare at him to tell him to knock it off. The last thing I needed was Ian pissed at me fortwothings. Especially if he was still annoyed at me being late.
But mostly, I floated through the day, time marked only by the time Asher was touching me and the time he wasn’t. I couldn’t keep my head straight because he had hishands on meand it was what I wanted.
My body ached, and my toes weredefinitelybleeding, but I found it hard to care when I spent the whole day wrapped in warmth and the scent of baking chocolate.
Still, by the time we finished, the sun had set and every part of me hurt.
Ian looked at all of us, sweating just as much as we were, considering he’d displayed most of the choreo. “Well done. I know this isn’t easy, and I promise this will be the hardest rehearsal period of the year. But if we can make it through this, it will be a whole new way of working for SCB. More shows means more income, and the more we can do with it.
“I know this isn’t ideal, and I know no one here was happy with the speed. But I’ve seen your work, and I wouldn’t have chosen this path if I didn’t think we could be successful. I plan on being here with you all for a long time. Good work. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He was fired up and passionate. Despite not being his biggest fan, even I was impressed by his work ethic and the belief we could actually do something which seemed impossible.
Dion grabbed my hand. “You were on fucking fire, you know that?”
“What do you mean?”
He snorted, which made me laugh. “I mean that you made that look effortless. If everyone in this company didn’t love the shit out of you, I’d tell you to watch your back.”
My eyebrows rose into my hairline. Before I could say anything, an arm snaked around my waist. “He’s right. I would have said you performed this yesterday.”
“I just reviewed the choreo notes from a couple seasons ago. I was the understudy for Giselle and Myrtha.”
A low laugh vibrated through my entire body. “You were still incredible.”
Dion looked back and forth between the two of us, his eyes landing on mine in question. I nodded, and he smiled. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow?”
“Sure thing,” Ash said, arm still around my waist. “Now—”
“Not here,” I said quietly and pulled away.
He followed me when I grabbed my bag and left, weaving through the building to where I knew no one would be. Down a couple levels, in the dim, black-painted halls behind the theater’s main stage. The light was low, spilling out from a couple of the rooms down here, and somehow it made it easier than standing in full brightness.
I dropped my bag on the ground and kept going a bit before I wilted against the wall. Asher’s bag hit the ground next to mine. His eyes told me there was no way to avoid this any longer. As much as I wanted it over with, I wanted to hide from him and that gaze.
Bracing one hand on the wall, he slipped the other behind my neck, gently tilting my face up so I could see him. “It’s just you and me, blue. Help me understand.”
Nowhere to run now.
CHAPTER EIGHT
________
SLOANE
Ididn’t say anything at first, overwhelmed by the closeness of his body and mouth. After a whole day of dancing and being teased, it was almost too much.
Fingers squeezed the back of my neck once. “Talk to me.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Want to start with why you disappeared? Why I’m just finding out aboutthis?” He released me to gesture between us.
The memory was so fucking clear, even now. Looking through the studio window and seeing Asher with Vivian. A true, genuine smile on his face before he pulled her in and kissed her. The warmth that filled me, knowing he was finally happy.
And then everything else.
