by Ally Mathews
Once again, she wished everything had turned out differently, and that Garret was here, but she would push through and do her best. Jeremy gave her the signal, and she lay down on the small bed. The curtains opened, then the stage lights came on. She stayed still, waiting for Maddie to wake her up. They’d agreed to fake the prince’s kiss and have Maddie touch her hand to signal she should wake up.
A shadow fell over her and warm, familiar lips touched hers and lingered a bit more than was probably appropriate. She popped her eyes open and her heart lurched. It was Garret. So many questions filled her head that he had to take charge by grabbing her hand and encouraging her to get up.
“Just dance. I’ll explain later,” he whispered.
It was then she noticed he was wearing the gold ballet tights. There were no football pants to be found, though he was wearing his cup. Her heart swelled, and it took a moment for her to get back in character. She shot him a grin, and they began their pas de deux.
It was as if someone had cast a spell over them. For the first time she understood what people meant when they said someone looked like they were floating on air. They could do no wrong. Every movement, every turn, every leap was perfect. When they got to the Giselle lift, she didn’t hesitate and didn’t jump too hard, and it was flawless. Loud whoops sounded from the audience, and though she couldn’t see them, she suspected a large portion of the football team had come to support Garret. He held her for a bit longer than usual then gently lowered her. She didn’t remember anything after that moment until they were making their bows on stage and Garret handed her a huge bouquet of flowers. After the third encore, the audience began to disperse, and the two ladies from Ballet Americana headed toward the stage.
“Isabelle, we still need to present our opinions to the committee for a vote, but I think I can safely say congratulations, and welcome to Ballet Americana.”
“Thank you.”
They each shook her hand. “We’ll be in touch soon.”
As soon as they were out of hearing range she turned to Garret, who had stood quietly beside her during the entire conversation. Without meeting his eyes, she said, “Please tell me you didn’t give up your visit to Michigan University to be here.”
He lifted her chin so she had to meet his gaze. “I didn’t. I called the coach and explained the situation to him again. I told him I had made a promise to you that I couldn’t break, and that I hoped he would value honor and integrity in his players. He said he admired me for standing up to him and agreed that I was exactly the sort of player he wanted on his team and invited me to visit next weekend instead.”
She could hardly believe that everything had worked out for both of them. “So you didn’t miss your chance to play there?”
He shook his head. “No.”
Her heart clenched. “And you still came. Even after how terrible I was to you and the horrible things I said.”
He touched her cheek. “We both did and said things we shouldn’t have. The question is, will you be able to forgive me? Because I’ve already forgiven you, Harley Quinn.”
She wiped away a tear. “Of course I forgive you.”
He pulled her close and kissed her, and she was exactly where she wanted to be.
Moments, or maybe minutes later, someone cleared his throat. “I’m glad you guys are back together and all, but there are children here, and most of them are waiting on you, Izzy.”
“Thanks, Jeremy. You have such a way with words.” She turned to Garret. “Stay right here. Don’t move. I’ll be right back.”
She kissed Jeremy on the check on her way past and rushed backstage to give hugs and kisses to all of the girls. Then she went back to where she’d left Garret. He was surrounded by most of the football team, but they made a quick escape when they saw her coming. Walking up behind him, she took a moment to admire the muscles of his legs and glutes in the ballet tights. She kinda got why he’d been embarrassed to wear them, but he had no reason to be.
She tapped his shoulder and he turned around. “I can’t believe you wore the tights.”
“I’d do anything for you, Izzy. Haven’t you figured that out by now?”
She pressed a kiss to his lips, then pulled back to meet his eyes. “Does that mean you’d be willing to go without the cup next time?”
He shook his head. “No way. Hard pass. Besides, with it, if the tunic flies up or whatever, at least they’ll think I’m well endowed.”
Izzy giggled.
“I’m planning to retire anyway. I figure there’s no way to top this, so I’m going to leave the dancing to you from now on.”
Epilogue
“Fifth position!” Izzy glanced at the players lined up in front of her. “That’s third position, Ramirez.”
Garret smothered a laugh. She enjoyed bossing them around way too much, but nobody was complaining. After just two weeks, most of the guys had increased their flexibility, and with her lessons about proper foot placement and paying attention to their center of gravity, some of them had increased the height of their vertical leaps.
“I hope you’ve all stretched properly, because today you’re going to learn how to do a single pirouette.”
A collective groan went up from the team.
“We’re football players, not dancers. How is spinning around going to help us?” Ramirez asked. He and Izzy had a love-hate relationship. As in, they loved to razz each other, and they both hated to lose an argument.
“It helps with balance and overall coordination, and with core strength. Those are all things that will help you stay on your feet when you get hit. You should pay close attention, Ramirez. You spent a lot of time on the ground last weekend.”
If anyone else had spoken like that to him, there would’ve been a fight, but Izzy could get away with almost anything. The guys respected her because she gave as good as she got, and the team’s admiration for her training methods only increased when Garret had accepted the offer to play for Michigan University. Though Izzy was invited to join Ballet Americana, they also said they would hold her spot if she decided to go to college first. Garret had sided with her dad to convince her to apply to several schools in case she changed her mind in the next few months. To his delight, she had applied to schools in Michigan and Ohio, both of which were easy driving distance from where he’d be.
“Garret? Get up here. I need you to demonstrate the pirouette one more time for these lunkheads.”
He moved to the front of the room. “Do you have to be so fierce all the time?”
“It’s the only way to earn their respect.”
“You’ve definitely got my eternal admiration.”
She smiled and leaned in to kiss him. A chorus of groans quickly followed and she stopped inches from his lips. “Do you boys want to do more burpees?”
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Acknowledgments
My thanks to:
Josh, Nate, and Gwyneth. You are both my inspiration and my motivation.
My editor, Robin Haseltine. Thank you for putting up with me!
Becky Lees, for always being there to talk me down or help me get unstuck.
The entire Entangled Publishing team for being so awesome.
Chester Bennington, for the gift of your music. RIP.
About the Author
Ally lives in Texas with three kids, four dogs, two cats, a rabbit, assorted reptiles, and her husband. When she’s not writing, you can find her reading, binge watching Psych, Scream, Younger, and superhero movies, and letting dogs in and out of the house. She loves to cook but hates to clean up afterwards, and strongly believes that Disney World is truly magical. You can find Ally on her website, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, though she makes no claims of using any of them properly.
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