AllFreeNovel
Share Us
As I turned up the volume to the Bluetooth speaker I carried with me to the studio, I closed my eyes and allowed the heavy bass to thrum through my body as it vibrated from the sleek wood floors. I had already gone through my warm-ups, stretching, and barre routine. Now it was time to let go. I gave into the rhythm and allowed myself a minute to absorb the music into my core before I began to move. My thoughts weren’t on my steps, the position of my arms, or the pacing of my feet gliding across the floor. They were onhim.
I hadn’t yet fully experienced all of Elias but I had a pretty good idea of every dip, contour, and defined muscle that existed beneath the layers of his clothes. That was where my mind had gone.
Elias, naked.
While I worked my body, pushed and pulled until I felt the ache of my muscles, time elapsed. One song bled into the next and my body burned while I imagined the ache was because of him. The length and thickness of him, stretching me wide, pushing my limits, giving me things I hadn’t experienced.
My breathing was even, from years of training, but my pulse thundered loudly between my ears. The melody traveled through my veins feeling just as natural as the blood that pumped to my heart. I was alive.
There was freedom to my movements, nothing was choreographed or planned. This was when I was at my best and thoughts of him only made it that much better. A blaze of heat crawled over my skin that I imagined being his fingers. My thighs tensed with the urge to come together but instead I lifted into a pirouette, one, two, three then elevated to my toes, dragging one foot as I leapt with perfect form. I extended both legs until they were slightly angled upward into the perfect split, soaring until I landed with the lightest touch. I lowered until my palms met the floor, my back curved toward the ceiling then I collapsed.
My chest was heaving, my brain felt clouded, then came a slow dramatic clap that had me snapping my gaze toward the door.
“That was, wow…” Trini smiled smugly as she lifted away from the wall moving on her bare feet to bring my metal tin of water.
“Thank you,” I huffed, twisting the lid and taking down several large gulps. After a minute I was examining her toes, white polish that no doubt matched what was on her fingers.
“You went without me.” Her eyes lowered and she wiggled her toes.
“I owe you one. I was so over the French. It was a last minute thing, but I’m always floored when I watch you dance. The things that you do with your body, the way you move, the passion it’s just,wow.”
“You’re supposed to say that. You’re my best friend.”
“Which doesn’t mean a damn thing…”
I narrowed my eyes and she grinned. “Okay so I have been accused of being your most animated and dedicated hype woman but not with this, Cress.” Her expression softened. “You’re really that good. No hype required.”
I’d been dancing since I was six years old and countless people had watched me perform, had told me what an amazing gift I had, but coming from Trini, who I knew had nothing invested in my gift, meant so much more.
“You’re biased.”
“No I’m not but that was not classical dancing. Whatever that was you were doing looked like you needed to be on a pole instead of pointe shoes.”
“Trini…” My cheeks flushed. She was probably right considering where my mind was.
“Is that what you do down at Chapter House?”
“I was just dancing.” I shrugged and she arched a brow.
She knew about my guilty pleasure of dancing at Chapter House. I loved the thrill of being uninhibited with my body. She didn’t understand it nor did she question me. When I tried to explain the freedom I felt being on stage at Chapter House in comparison to dancing with my company, she said it made sense. I could tell she didn’t fully get it. Dancing for those pervs was what she called it. I was exclusive. No one touched me ever and I didn’t do private dances like the other girls there. It was art to me. Freedom. But she didn’t judge. She loved me enough to accept every piece of me. Which had my mind shifting back to thoughts of Elias. Would he?
“Mmmhmm, now go get pretty…” She flicked her wrist in my direction. “We have food to sample and cakes to taste .”
“Uggggggh,” I groaned, lifting onto my feet and stomping toward the private bathroom. I took a quick shower, moisturized, and yanked on a strapless emerald green maxi dress and gold strappy flat sandals. I accessorized with gold bangles, hoop earrings, and twisted my shoulder length hair at the back of my head and clamped it in place with a bold claw clip. Loose strands and flyaways fell around my temples, framing my face, giving me a naturally mussed hair look. It would have to do.
I shoved my dance clothes into my hobo bag then reentered the main area of my private studio.
“Twenty minutes and you look like that. You’re a superhuman. That look would take me two hours tops.”
I grinned and shrugged as I met her at the door. “Natural beauty is hard to come by. I’m a rare breed, friend.”
“That you are, boo because to be in my top three you have to bring it.”
“Top three?” I narrowed my eyes over my shoulder as we approached the elevator.
“Well yeah. Naturally I’m number one. Then there’s Klay and you. Pending the day you two swap places.”
“And today?”
