by Toni Aleo
“Yeah, can you? I’ll rent a car and drive her back.”
“Or we can all just ride back together. No big deal.”
He smiled. “That would be nice, but do you think you can keep your hands off me?”
He could tell she was smiling as she said, “Yes, I can, can you?”
He laughed as he fell next to Erik on the bench. “Maybe.”
“I don’t think you can.”
“We will see.”
“Yes we will,” he said, running his hand through his hair, a smile radiating off his face. She did things to him. Things he really liked. “Are you watching the game tonight?”
“Maybe,” she said, drawing out the word in such a sexy way.
He bit into his lip as he removed his shoes. “Just say you will.”
“No way.”
“Yes.”
“No, you’re so demanding.”
He chuckled. “You like it.”
“I do.”
“Good, so just say it.”
“Oh my god, yes, I will watch.”
He didn’t think his grin could grow any more, but it did as he said, “All right. Well, I got to go.”
She was still laughing as she said, “Okay, have a good day.”
“You too.” He hung up the phone and laughed as he removed his shirt. When he glanced over, he found Erik watching him.
“What?” he asked, throwing his shirt in his cubby.
“I’m curious. Did your new lesbian friend work?”
Phillip face broke into a look of satisfaction as he said, “Oh yeah.”
“So you two are together?”
“Nope, just friends… with incredible benefits. Super great ones. Mind blowing ones.”
Erik laughed as he shook his head. “And you’re okay with that?”
He shrugged. “I’m all right with it. I know that my charm and good looks will win her over, and we’ll end up being together for real. Just need a little time; she’s a tough nut to crack.”
“Okay, but what if you don’t?”
“Then at least I had her while I did. You only live once, Erik, and I’m gonna live life to the fullest.”
“But she is going to end up hurting you,” Erik said, lacing up his skates. “It’s your life, but I just don’t see this ending well for you.”
“It won’t end. I got her to sleep with only me, something she said she’d never do. She doesn’t want labels, and that’s fine. I’ll get her to fall for me, and then everything else will fall in place. She’s that forever kind of girl for me.”
Erik looked shocked as he pulled his girdle up. “What about Claire? I thought Claire didn’t want you two together.”
“She doesn’t, but she’ll adapt once it’s time to tell her. Right now, we are having fun. I know everything is going to be fine. I just know it.”
Erik shook his head, standing up and towering over Phillip since he was on his skates. “I hope you’re right.”
“I am,” Phillip said confidently.
“Fine, hurry up, don’t be late on the ice. Shea is in angry Adler mode.”
“Awesome,” Phillip said, but even that couldn’t dampen his mood. He believed whole-heartedly that things were going to work between him and Reese, and nothing could bring him down.
Nothing.
Not even Shea Adler screaming at him.
And boy, was he screaming.
“Anderson! Skate! Get that stupid grin off your ugly mug and skate!”
As Phillip restarted the play, and even with Shea and Coach Baxter still screaming at him, he was still smiling.
“Five, six, seven, eight!”
Reese leaned against the wall as Mallory and Brian moved perfectly together across the floor to “Endlessly” by the Cab like they always did. Chicago was coming up fast and as she watched Mallory and Brian, she knew they were going to be her winning couple. They were beautiful together. Even though their solos were breathtaking, too, Reese knew that Claire would probably take the title for the solos. She smiled at the thought of Claire, because thinking of Claire usually brought up the image of Phillip.
Mmm, he was so delicious.
Her body was still humming with afterthoughts of his touches and kisses. When she imagined him between her legs, her stomach clenched and she fought to find her breath. They left the club and went straight to her house, where they proceeded to have sex until the wee hours of the morning. He left around four and once he shut her door, she missed him. Her bed felt empty, but she quickly tucked those feelings away, refusing to think of them. Things could be light, could be fun, no reason to overthink. Like Phillip said, they were just going to have fun.
Lots and lots of body-numbing fun.
Throwing her hair up on top of her head since she was about to show Mallory a new part she wanted to add, she paused the music and came towards them. They watched as she showed them what she was altering to make the choreography more dynamic. She had been thinking a lot about their dance and figured this part would make them winners. Sometimes she had to make things a little less advanced because Mallory wasn’t the dancer that Brian was. Thankfully, Brian could dance to a dial tone and always make her stuff look harder than it was, but Mallory was another story. She was good, but she wasn’t great. That worried Reese, but they seemed to always bring the title home. So maybe it was Reese, maybe she expected more, she wasn’t sure. She showed them how to do it twice, they even did it with her, so when she started the music, she expected excellence, but that was not what she got.
She wasn’t sure how, or what happened, but the next thing she knew, Mallory was balled up on the floor screaming, holding her knee. Her heart dropped as she ran to Mallory’s side, yelling at Brian to get her mother. During the next few minutes, everything happened so quickly. Mallory’s knee was swollen, her mother was crying, she was crying, and even Reese was in tears. Brian was worried and carried Mallory to the car so they could take her the hospital, her mother promising to call once they knew something. Reese just prayed it was a twist and not a tear.
But an hour later, Reese found out that it was a ligament tear. Mallory was out for the rest of the season. Maybe longer. Reese was heartbroken for her because there was a good chance she was going to lose her scholarship to NYC but, instead of telling Mallory that, she guaranteed her that she would be dancing in no time. Sliding down the wall, she closed her eyes, her elbows resting on her knees and her hand falling between her legs, holding her phone. She was insanely worried about Mallory, she was, but ever since opening her studio, she had always had each category at the competitions filled and this time, she might not. This wasn’t that big of a deal but, at the same time, it was. This was Brian’s senior year. He wanted to go into college with the best competition record possible and having a win in the couple’s category meant he was a team player.
Fuck.
When her phone dinged, she looked at the screen to see that it was Phillip.
Busy?
She smiled as she typed back.
No, can I call you?
Before she could call him, her phone rang, signaling that it was him.
“Hey.”
“Hey, I am on break after a very long meeting,” he said. He sounded tired, and she had no doubt that he was. A flutter tickled deep in her stomach as he said, “What are you doing?”
“Sitting against the wall of my big studio, worried sick about one of my dancers. She tore the muscle in her knee.”
“Oh shit, that sucks.”
“Yeah, so now I am freaking out because my senior dancer, Brian, won’t compete but once, his solo, and I didn’t put him in the group because I felt his duet was so strong. Now I am freaking out, and I sound crazy, don’t I? Do you even care? I’m sorry,” she said, ending with a laugh before covering her face.
“No, not at all. This is important, and it sucks. I’m sorry that happened.”
“Yeah, it blows. I am having a hard time trying to make a decision on what’s right. I guess I c
ould throw him in with the group, or maybe let him do it as a solo.”
“Yeah, or can’t you put him with someone else? Have them learn the dance and hope for the best? I mean, you’re pretty amazing and can probably teach a whole team of hockey players how to dance, so it should be cake for you.”
Why didn’t she think of that? And wasn’t that sweet of him?
“When did you get so smart?”
He laughed, and it made her smile. It felt good to have someone to talk to. Usually she talked to Piper, but she had been so busy with her new family and moving into their new house. Reese felt horrible bothering her with her issues.
“The only problem is that the only girl that could step up is Claire. She is doing a group, a duet with Skylar, and a solo. I don’t know if she could handle another dance.”
“Yeah, I don’t know, ask her. I haven’t even seen the girl dance yet, except when I catch her dancing in her room, but then she screams at me and I run and hide.”
Reese snorted with laughter as he laughed. “I’ll call her, and why don’t I try to convince her to let you see her dance since you helped me? She had mentioned it a while back, but I haven’t heard anything since.”
“That would be great, thanks,” he said. She could tell that this meant a lot to him, and she wanted to make it happen.
“Okay, well, let me let you go. I’m gonna call Claire.”
“All right, I’m about to go take a nap.”
“Sweet dreams,” she said, wishing that she could nap with him, which was completely against everything she believed in. She hadn’t slept, like go to sleep, with a guy in years. So weird, that must have come from him being there for her.
“They will be if they’re about your sweet ass.”
She giggled as she shook her head. “Bye.”
“Bye,” he said.
She hung up, dialing Claire’s number. Claire answered on the fourth ring and after explaining what happened, Claire was all for doing it.
“Are you sure you have the time?” Reese asked. “Can you handle it all?”
“Yeah, no problem. The only thing is… don’t take this wrong, okay?”
“Ok,” Reese said wearily, not sure what was going to be said.
“But, the dance isn’t challenging enough for me. I’ve seen it, and I know that you did it that way for Mallory, but I am better than Mallory. I need better stuff.”
God, she was well past her years. This girl was going to blow people away one day.
“Claire, Chicago is in three weeks. I have a lot going on, and it would be hard for me to make up an award-winning dance and teach it in that amount of time. I could do it, but it wouldn’t be my best work.”
“I get that, but Brian and I actually have something.”
“What?” she asked, confused. When did they see each other but in rec? Even in that class, they didn’t even talk.
“I did a dance for us. We hang out sometimes and we were messing around. I came up with this dance. It’s amazing, really. I bet he’ll come in. I can call him. He’ll come get me, and we can come up there.”
“Y’all hang out? Huh, I’m so confused. I didn’t even know you two talked.”
“Yeah, we are kind of dating, I guess.”
What. The. Fuck. When did this happen? Did Phillip know? But, wait…
“I thought he was with Mallory?”
“No, they broke up. We started talking but Mallory freaked, and now we are keeping it on the down low.”
Reese was speechless. She always knew the ins and outs of the studio. How did this slip by her, and why did it bother her so much?
“Reese?”
“Yeah, sorry, I’m a little surprised by this all but yeah, call Brian and come on down.”
“Awesome! You won’t be disappointed!”
The line went dead, and Reese laid the phone on the floor. She had the urge to call Phillip and tell him, but she knew he would flip and that would end really badly. Instead, she sat back and closed her eyes, hoping that what Claire said was true.
That she wouldn’t disappoint.
In no way shape or form was Reese disappointed as she watched as Brian and Claire move across the floor as if they had been dancing together for centuries. Reese would have preferred a different song since “Use Somebody” was the very first song her and Kevin danced to, but this one was by Boyce Avenue and it honestly fit them. Skylar sat beside Reese, cheering them on, as Claire impressed and wowed Reese completely. It was crazy, but Claire made Brian a better dancer. He was stronger, and the chemistry between them was phenomenal. Breathtaking, even. They reminded her of Kevin and herself, but that could have been because of the song. But then Brian lifted Claire in the air and she wrapped herself completely around him and, instantly, Reese was taken back to a moment with Kevin.
“Tell me you love me.”
Reese laughed as she shook her head, trying to detangle herself from him. He had pinned her to the ground when they should have been dancing. “No way, maybe once we land this lift.”
“It’s your fault we aren’t landing it,” he accused, smacking her ass playfully. She glared as she smacked him back.
“Thank you, Captain Obvious. Tell me what I’m doing wrong.”
“Just let go. Just be you,” he said, his face so serious. He was always so intense, so serious about dance, and she loved that. She loved his work ethic. She also loved him, she just hadn’t told him yet. “Be beautiful, amazing, and just fling yourself at me. I’ll catch you… I’ll always catch you,” he said, getting closer to her, bringing her tight into his arms. “Because I love you.”
She smiled as she went up on her tippy toes, kissing him softly. Pulling away, she smiled as she walked away. “All right, let me try again.”
Going to the side of the room she needed, she pulled the remote from her pocket and hit play, the music starting. Both of them hit all the beats the way they were supposed to before Reese turned, running towards him and completely letting go. She landed perfectly, wrapping her legs around his waist as he dropped her down and then back up against his chest. Her face broke into a grin because she landed it and, when he looked up at her, pride and love shining in his eyes, she felt like she could fly. Her heart felt like it was going to explode, and she never wanted this moment to end. She never wanted to be apart from this man because he was it. He was her guy. Her forever.
“I love you,” she declared. “So much.”
He brought her down and kissed her hard before whispering, “Not as much as I love you.”
When the music stopped, Reese looked up, her eyes full of tears because of what a bunch of bull that moment was. It was moments like that, that just reiterated why falling in love was a load of shit. Taking in a deep breath, she looked out at Claire and Brian, nodding. “Perfect.”
Claire did a little hop of joy before wrapping her arms around Brian. He smiled, kissing the top of her head, before looking back at Reese. She stood up, coming over to them. “I want to fix a few things but after that, y’all are ready. This is going to win, and I am so freaking proud of you two.”
“It was all Claire. She did it all,” Brian said, squeezing her tightly.
Reese smiled, reaching out to squeeze Claire’s hand. “Completely blown away. Great job.”
Claire beamed up at her, but then away when her phone went off.
“It’s Phillip, he is wondering where we are,” Skylar said, reading the text message back.
Claire went over and grabbed her phone. She hit something and then said, “Hey, I had to come into the studio for a minute. Yeah, I’ll get a ride to the arena. I’ll be there, on time. I promise. Okay, cool, try scoring tonight, you’ve been sucking.” She laughed and then said, “Whatever, okay, good luck!”
She hung up the phone, turning back to Reese. “Can we come in tomorrow or maybe Monday? Phillip has a game I have to get to.”
“Sure,” Reese said, because she wanted to go upstairs and watch the game.
“Oka
y, cool. Brian, can you drop us off at the arena?”
“Yeah,” he said.
“Awesome. I guess we’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Yup, y’all be safe,” she said as they gathered their things, and then they were gone. Reese stood in the same place, still trying to catch her breath. She usually kept those memories of Kevin locked up and hated when she let them out. It was like ripping old wounds open and pouring a jar of salt in them. It burned. Letting out a groan, and pushing thoughts of Kevin far, far away, she decided that she wanted to change, get a tub of Ben and Jerry’s, and cuddle up with… Oh fudge, she was about to say Phillip.
For fuck’s sake.
PHILLIP SAT back on the bench, reaching for his water bottle, squirting a mouthful of water before spitting it out and then refilling. He did this twice more before swallowing his mouthful and replacing his water bottle to its spot in the boards. He looked over his shoulder and saw that Skylar and Claire were there, both girls screaming and dancing along with the music that was playing while the ice team cleaned up the ice during a TV commercial. They both were sporting Anderson #33 jerseys, with little Assassins’ tattoos on their cheeks. It brought a smile to his face; he loved the jubilant look on Claire’s face.
Looking back up at the jumbotron, he cursed under his breath. They were down by one against the Wild. He had so many chances to score but couldn’t seem to get it to the back of the net, and it was driving him insane. He was better than this. He was a fucking winner, damn it! Psyching himself up, he almost flew over the board to get back on the ice when the coach tapped his shoulder. Skating out, he flanked Erik, receiving the pass before sending it to Karson King, who redirected it to the goal, but the goalie swatted it away like it was a fly. Phillip rushed the net, going around it and taking the puck from the Wild’s defensemen, before passing it to the slot where Erik was. He missed but, thankfully, it came right to Phillip and he wristed it right to the back of the goal, causing the lights to go off along with the horns. He threw his arms up in the air, screaming out as the guys wrapped him up in a tight hug, congratulating him.