by Toni Aleo
The girl was a showstopper.
When the song ended, Claire dropped her arms, her chest rising and falling with each breath as she looked at Reese for her critique. “The part is yours.”
Aria threw her hands up. “That’s not fair! I am the other senior in the dance! If Mallory is out, I should be in! I don’t know it all, but I can learn. It’s not hard.”
“If it wasn’t hard, you’d know it. If you want to ever succeed in this business, you learn everything at every moment. You never know when the chance of a lifetime comes up, but you can’t take it because you don’t know it, and the girl beside you does. Let this be a lesson to you all.”
Everyone nodded but Aria. Her eyes clouded with tears as she screamed, “I can’t believe you are giving the part to her! I am a senior!”
Reese shook her head. “I’m sorry, Aria, but Claire will take the solo.”
A tear rolled down Aria’s cheek before she turned and rushed out of the room. Looking out at the girls, Reese shrugged her shoulders. If Aria needed a minute, that was fine, she could have it, but there was no way in hell Reese would go out and coddle that girl. No one coddled her when she was in the industry, and no one would Aria when she left this studio. Call it tough love, but Reese was preparing these girls for the dance world… and it wasn’t a pretty place to be in. It was cutthroat and scary, and Reese did her hardest to prepare the girls for it.
Letting out a breath, she said, “All right, let’s do it again. Hopefully, Aria will be back in a moment.”
The girls all nodded in agreement. Her gaze met Claire’s, and she smiled. Claire smiled back, getting in position, but before Reese could hit play, the studio door slammed open. Judith Chapmen stood there, looking like a mama bear coming out of hibernation to find that you ate her baby bears.
Shit.
“Are you kidding me?” she screeched.
Reese stood up and came towards her but, before she could even say anything, Judith was in front of her, her finger in Reese’s face. “You’ve got to be kidding me! Aria is a senior and the best in the class. How dare you put some sophomore in her spot?”
As calmly as Reese could, she said, “It wasn’t her spot, Judith. Can we please take this to my office?”
“No!” she screamed. “It was! You are playing favorites with this girl! We all know it! She is not better than my daughter, hell she isn’t anywhere near the caliber of anyone in this studio!”
Oh, to be able to punch this bitch’s teeth in and get away with it, but since that wouldn’t happen, she shook her head, pointing to the door. “Judith, that is enough. I will not have you talk down my students. Let’s go to my office and continue this.”
“I don’t want to go to your fucking office. I want to get this over with now. Aria will have the lead.”
Reese scoffed. “With the way you are acting, you’ll be lucky if you guys are still in this studio.”
“What? Are you kidding me?”
“No, I’m not kidding, haven’t been since you waltzed in here.”
She glared as she took a step towards her. “That’s how you are, huh, Reese? Cold, a bitch, you don’t joke, you don’t even care about any of us. All you care about is winning. That’s all it is here. Strictly work. What do I have to do to get through to you that my daughter is the best? She has the heart, the technique, and she is the fucking best. What do I have to do… sleep with you?”
Reese took in a harsh breath. No, she fucking didn’t. “That is enough.”
“What? Is that how this girl that has only been here for a couple months has solos, duets, and now leading a group of senior and juniors? Are you sleeping with her dad? Is that how she is getting all this? We all know how you are.”
Her throat was tight, and she had to look away to collect herself before she decked this bitch in her face. “I don’t have to explain myself to you because if you didn’t know, the sign outside says, ‘Reese Allen Company’. I’m Reese Allen, and you are no longer a client here. Take your daughter and get out, or I will call the police.”
Reese guessed that Judith didn’t expect that, because her mouth dropped as Aria cried out behind her. This obviously wasn’t what they wanted. They wanted to steamroll Reese into doing what they wanted, but that wasn’t going to happen. “Leave now.”
“You fucking bitch. Let’s go, Aria,” she said, turning and grabbing Aria roughly by the arm.
“But Reese, please, I don’t want to leave,” Aria cried. That almost did Reese in, but she kept strong before turning to the rest of the class. Claire stood with her arms crossed across her chest, looking down at the ground. Even though Reese wanted to run to her and comfort her, she wouldn’t. She couldn’t. Or she’d lose it.
Clearing her throat, she went to the iHome and then looked out at the girls. They were off, the lines looked like shit, but Reese didn’t want to deal with it. It was taking everything out of her to hold it together because, not only was she hurt, but she was embarrassed. Was that what people really thought of her? That she was a cold, heartless slut? She cared so much about each of her dancers, trained them to be stars, and she tried her best to keep her shenanigans out of the light.
Damn it.
Taking in a deep breath, she turned towards the iHome and looked down at her phone. She wanted to reach for it so bad and dial Phillip’s number. She wanted to hear his voice. Damn it, she wasn’t going to be able to pull it together. No, she had to. Pulling her hair up, she took in another deep breath before turning to the girls.
“Okay, let’s fix this dance.”
After doing what needed to be done to the lines, Reese was happy with the final product. It was a tad bit rough, but the girls would pull it together before Chicago. Releasing the girls, Reese reached for the phone and then slid down the mirror until her butt hit the ground. She needed to talk to Phillip. She didn’t understand why him and not her sister but, before she could stop herself, she was hitting his name and sending a text.
Busy?
“Reese?”
Reese jumped, not realizing that she wasn’t alone. Putting her phone in her lap, she looked up to find Claire looking down at her. “Hey, I thought you left.”
“I wanted to apologize for all that.”
Reese raised an eyebrow. “Huh? Why are you apologizing? You did nothing wrong.”
“Yeah, but Aria should have been the lead because she is the senior.”
“You’re better. We are a winning studio—we go for platinum. Maybe I am a cold-hearted bitch like she said, but I put the best on the front because they are the ones that are going to succeed. You can have all the heart in the world but if you aren’t good, you won’t make it. It’s how hard you work and you work hard, Claire. That’s why you are where you are in this studio. Everyone is going to hate you. Get used to it, but know it’s because you are the best.”
She looked down and took in a deep breath. “I know I’m the best, but I was worried you’d be mad at me because of the claims she made about Phillip and you, and playing favorites.”
“I’m not. It’s nothing to me. I’m used to being hated. It’s nothing new,” she said and even though it was true, this time it hurt. She was used to people hating her for how great of a dancer she was, not for the reasons that Judith had said.
“I don’t hate you.”
Reese smiled. “Thank you. Don’t worry, okay?”
“Okay, are you okay?”
Reese tried to smile but she knew it didn’t reach her eyes. “Fine.”
When her phone went off, Claire looked down and then back up at Reese. “Harper is outside. I’m gonna go.”
“All right, see you tomorrow.”
Claire left with a wave and when Reese heard the front door close, she looked back down at the phone to see that Phillip had texted her back.
Nope, sitting in the hotel room, watching a movie. What are you doing?
Can I call you?
Absolutely.
She hated how much she needed hi
m. She wanted to suck this up and get over it, but she couldn’t. For some reason, she needed to dial his number and she needed to hear his voice. When his low, sultry voice came over the line, she thought she would feel better, she thought all the shitty feelings would dissolve away, but instead, she just lost it.
All Phillip could hear were sobs and Reese hiccupping. It was the most distressing sound he had ever heard. His heart constricted, and his throat went dry. His first thought was Shit, what happened to Claire? But nothing could have because she was with Harper. He had just finished texting Claire; he knew she was fine. So he assumed that something had happened to Reese, and that made him panic as much as he did when he first thought it was Claire. He immediately wanted to help. He wanted to run back to Tennessee and hold her, make everything better.
Getting off his bed, since Erik was in the room, he went out to the balcony and asked, “Reese, what’s wrong?”
She took in a few deep breaths and let them out in a whoosh over the phone. He wanted to be there, and it was killing him that he wasn’t. Letting out a long breath, she sucked one in and then sobbed from the soul. His heart sped up in his chest. He didn’t understand, he didn’t know what to do, and that didn’t sit right with him. He always had a plan. He half thought about going inside and telling Erik to call Piper, but what if that wasn’t what Reese wanted? He needed to get her to tell him what was wrong.
“Reese, sweetheart, tell me what’s wrong.”
“Just a bad day,” she cried. “A really fucking bad day.”
He closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose and thanking the good Lord above that was all it was. He could deal with a bad day, maybe even fix one. “Okay, can you tell me what happened?”
She took in a shuddering breath and then sniffed loudly. He smiled. She sounded so sweet; he understood that she was clearly upset, but still, it was sweet. Call him crazy but he could just imagine how beautiful she was at that moment. All snot and tears gushing down her face. This whole situation would be different if he was the one to cause the bad day, but he knew he wasn’t and, because of that, he wished he were there to see this part of her. He always saw hard Reese, or soft, sexy Reese, never broken Reese. He liked that she was sharing this part with him. That she actually needed him.
“Honey?”
She cleared her throat. “It’s such bullshit, you know? I work hard to train these girls to be winners, to succeed in this crap-ass business, and I care so much. I love these girls like they are mine, and I do everything I can to make them know that. Usually, I am so confident in my ability, but then a stupid mom walks in, pissed off that her daughter didn’t get the lead, and she calls me not only a whore, but a cold-hearted bitch.”
He flinched as if she had hit him as she went on, “I keep my private life, private. So I like to have sex, who cares? But in no fucking way would I accept sex to get a student ahead. That is dirty and wrong. Claire got the lead because she is fucking amazing, you know? She knew the whole dance when the other girl didn’t. How could I not give it to her? I don’t care that she isn’t a senior; she knew the whole damn thing! But despite that, I lost one of my best dancers.”
Phillip didn’t know what to say. He wanted to scream that it was bullshit, that none of that was true, but he didn’t know if it was his place, so he kept quiet as she started to cry again. After a moment, she took in another deep breath and asked, “I’m not a cold-hearted whore, am I? You can tell me the truth. I know that I’m a little promiscuous but it’s not whore status, is it? Am I cold? Do I freeze you when I touch you? Am I really a bitch? Ugh, what is wrong with me? Why do I care? I am amazing, I am talented, and if I want to fuck the whole damn town, I will. I’m not going to stop who I am.”
Phillip cleared his throat, a smile pulling at his lips. “Well, I am against the sleeping with the whole town part.”
She let out a laugh, which is what he wanted, and she sniffed loudly as she said, “I bet.”
“Yeah, but that other stuff, Reese, surely you don’t believe it. Yes, you are a little cold, but that’s only on the outside. Your girls know how you are, the real Reese. You don’t connect with the parents, you connect with the girls, and that’s why you are so successful. Claire is no longer the girl she was when she first came to me, and I truly believe that is because of you. You not only train the girls to succeed, but you also give them a support system like no others.”
“You think so?”
“I know so. I hear the parents when I am sitting in there during rec class. They believe in you, they love you, and love that their kid is being trained by you. So you lost a girl? Another will replace her, or hell, she might come back on her knees, begging to come back to you. Don’t let one person affect how you think of yourself. If I did that, I wouldn’t be where I am. I’d be a drunken druggie with nine kids all over Minnesota. No one can define you but you.”
She let out a shuddering breath, and he wished he could wrap her up in his arms and comfort her with his body. He hated that she even believed those things that woman said. They weren’t true. Not by a long shot. “Not that it matters what I think, but I think you are amazing. You’re not only so gorgeous that my dick stands at attention every time I see you, but you blow me away with your intellect. You’re so business savvy, so smart, so beautiful, and fucking hell, Reese, you’re hot. Yes, you like sex, so does everyone else, so what? As long as you love yourself, who cares what everyone else thinks?”
She was quiet for a moment before saying, “It does matter.”
He was confused. “What does?”
“What you think… that’s why I called you.”
That made him grin. “Good.”
“I’m sorry I called a blubbering mess.”
He laughed. “Don’t apologize, it’s fine. I’m here when you need me.”
She paused and didn’t say anything for a long minute, and he didn’t either. He let her gather herself. The more he listened to her breathe, sniff, and wipe her nose, the more he fell. He loved her. So much it hurt. He wanted to tell her that he loved her and probably would never stop loving her. This could all come crashing down into a clusterfuck of fuckness, but he couldn’t stop his feelings. He didn’t care how much it could possibly hurt when she left because he was all in, and all he needed was for her to realize that. To stop being so stubborn and hardheaded and just give in to him. Love him.
“I didn’t think I needed you,” she said softly.
He didn’t know what to say to that and he probably shouldn’t have said what he did, but taking a chance he said, “Sometimes the things we need most are the things we think we don’t.”
“What do you mean?”
He shrugged and ran his hand through his hair. “I mean that I didn’t know that I needed Claire the way I did, but now that I have her, I can’t let her go. Ever. She is a part of me now.”
She paused and then asked, “I’m not following.”
Wracking his brain for words because all he could think was ‘Just love me,’ he let out a breath before saying, “I mean that I’m here when you need me. Maybe you ignore me because we are just having fun and you forget that we are friends too.”
She took in a deep breath before clearing her throat. His heart stopped because a feeling of dread filled him from the top of his head to his toes. Maybe he should have just shut up; maybe he shouldn’t have said anything and just listened. Damn it, he couldn’t lose her, he needed more time. He needed to prove that he was what she needed. That she could love him. All she had to do was let go.
“You’re right,” she said, causing his eyes to close tightly. “But I don’t forget, Phillip. I know that we are friends. It’s just hard for me to open up to a man, but with you, it’s different. Easy.”
He opened his eyes, looking out at the skyline of Phoenix, and smiled. “Good, it’s easy for me too.”
“I owe you a blow job for being there for me.”
He laughed loudly, his face hurting from smiling so hard. He sh
ook his head before saying, “Despite the fact that I would be there for you without the blowjob, trust and believe that I’ll take you up on that one.”
She giggled and he could just imagine her, her face bright, her eyes shining with tears, while her hair fell into her face. Man, he missed her. It hadn’t even been a week, and he was starving for her.
“I need to go clean up my face. It’s horrible.”
“I doubt that. I bet you look all gorgeous and sexy.”
She laughed. “I have a snot rag in my hand, my nose is red, and my eyes and lips are puffy.”
“Gorgeous.”
“Thank you again, Phillip.”
“Anytime,” he said with a promise.
“I can’t wait to see you in Chicago.”
“I can’t wait either.”
“Okay, well, I’m gonna let you go. I need a shower to wash away this funk feeling.”
“Sounds good, babe. Talk to you later.”
She said bye and he hung up before letting his hands fall between his legs, his phone dangling from his fingers. Everything she did, she said, told him she cared for him more than just a fuck buddy. She had to feel it too, but he didn’t know and he didn’t know how to ask without scaring her off. He wanted this to be easy. He wanted to tell her, ‘Hey, I love your ass, and I think you should love me too.’ And she would response with, ‘Sounds good to me, let’s do this. I love you.’ It would be perfect but he was too scared to do it, and that was sad. He’d never been scared of anything before. That all changed though when Claire and now Reese came into his life. Both women held his heart in their hands and could crush it at any second. He was at their mercy and the more he thought about it, the more he knew there was no other place he wanted to be.
GOING TO the bar with Erik and his teammates, Karson King and Jordie Thomas, was probably not the greatest idea before having to leave for his flight. But in his defense, he had two hours before he needed to be at the airport to go home for Claire’s parent-teacher conference. He was catching a redeye to be there in time for it in the morning, and then turning right back around to be back in Anaheim to fly to Colorado with the guys. It was going to be gruesome for the next twenty-four hours but oh well. He had to be there for Claire. Even if he weren’t looking forward to it, it would be nice to see Claire and maybe sneak in some naughty time with Reese.