by Alexa Land
A glob of wet leaves landed on my shoulder, and when I realized it was raining on me, I looked up at the high ceiling. The skylight had swung open on its hinge, and Sergei was peering through it with a horrified expression. I gave him a little wave, then climbed off the table and tried out my arms and legs. Nothing appeared to be broken.
All of a sudden, Even Eide burst out laughing. He laughed so hard that his entire body shook, and he had to wipe tears from his eyes. Meanwhile, I dusted myself off, and when he finally got his laughter under control, Eide told me, “That was a hell of an entrance, Quinn.” Duke still hadn’t said anything. He got up and looked down at himself, then brushed a splatter of something or another from the lapel of his dark blue suit jacket.
The manager rushed up to us a moment later with an expression that could best be described as pinched and demanded to know what was going on. Even pulled a stack of hundreds from his wallet, which he handed to the manager as he said, “Just a little accident. This should cover our meal and the broken dishes, plus a little extra for you and your staff for the inconvenience.”
The manager was still ruffled (even though he pocketed the money) and was threatening to call the police, but Eide took him aside and spoke to him in hushed tones. Whatever he said seemed to calm the man. While that was happening, a busboy hurried over with a long pole and used it to close and latch the skylight, so at least it stopped raining inside the restaurant. I turned to Duke and said, “I’m sorry for ruining your twenty-thousand-dollar date.”
He looked at the skylight, then at me and asked, “Were you spying on me?”
“No?”
“Why is that in the form of a question?”
I flailed around and finally came up with, “Maybe it was more checking to see how things were going?”
His voice rose a little. “But instead of texting me and asking, you climbed up on a roof in the pouring rain and watched me through a skylight? I thought you trusted me, Quinn!”
“I do! But I don’t trust him!” I pointed at Eide, who glanced at us over his shoulder.
“Based on what, the fact that he outbid you at a charity auction?”
“I saw the way he was looking at you beforehand! Then he decided to bring you here for dinner, and this is hardly a let’s-be-friends kind of restaurant!”
“None of that should matter,” Duke said. “Even if you didn’t trust him, and even if you were worried he’d try to hit on me, you should have believed in me enough to know I’d turn him down!”
“I wanted to believe that, but I knew you had a crush on him.”
“Had, Quinn! What the hell do you think I’ve been doing with you the last month, biding my time until something better came along?”
“Yes!” I shouted it and fought back the tears that prickled behind my eyes. “That’s exactly what I thought! Why would you settle for me, when you could have that?” I gestured at Eide with a shaking hand.
“You think I’m settling?”
I lowered my voice and said, “I’ve always known I’m not good enough, all my life. That’s why I pushed myself so hard in ballet. I tried and tried until I became better. But I can’t do that with you. This is all I have to give.”
Duke’s expression softened, and he asked, “How could you possibly think you’re not good enough?”
“Because I’m not! But Eide is. He’s so fucking special that they made a documentary about him, and you bought it, less than three years ago!”
“Is that supposed to mean something?”
“It proves your infatuation didn’t end when you were seventeen!”
“You’re right, it didn’t.”
Eide came over to us and said, “Sorry to interrupt, mates, but the management would like us to take this outside. There was an implied ‘or else’. Also, I believe these people want to get back to their overpriced dinner.”
I looked around. The eyes of everyone in the restaurant were on me. All those rich, elegant couples glared at me with contempt, as if I was something disgusting they’d found stuck to the bottom of their shoe.
Fuck those assholes.
I held my head high as I pulled off my floppy hat and ran a hand over my slicked back hair. Then I strutted to the exit, as if I was working the runway at New York fashion week. If they wanted something to look at, I’d fucking give it to them.
But my bravado dissipated as soon as I got outside. It was still raining, and I shivered a bit and clutched the front of my coat to hold it closed. I was in a beautiful neighborhood, full of charming shops and restaurants. Several trees lined the sidewalk in front of Elixir, each wrapped in white lights. It was magical, but all I could think was, so this is where it ends.
My heart was breaking. I was sure I’d blown my chances with Duke. He thought I didn’t trust him and was probably about to break up with me. Then I’d get to watch him drive off with Even Eide. I’d practically pushed Duke into his arms.
The two of them exited the restaurant a few moments later. They’d both put on stylish, dark overcoats and looked like they’d stepped from the pages of a magazine. Eide leaned in and said something to Duke, and then he went to speak to the valet.
Duke joined me under the sparkling canopy of one of the trees, and he said, “To finish what I was saying, I did still have a crush on Even when I bought that DVD, but I don’t anymore. Do you know when it ended?” I shook my head, and he said, “When I met you.”
“Really?”
“What did you think you’d find when you came here tonight? Did you expect Even and me to be making out at the dinner table and getting ready to run off together?”
“No…but why wouldn’t you run off with him?”
“Because I’m completely, utterly, madly in love with you, Quinn!” I looked up at him, and he said, “I know I haven’t said those words before today, but it can’t be news to you, can it? You’re everything to me. Absolutely everything! I wake up thinking about you, and you’re on my mind every minute of the day. I’m happier than I’ve ever been! In fact, I’ve smiled more this past month than I have in the last twenty-seven years combined! Don’t you see all the love I have for you?”
He cupped my face in his hands, and I whispered as I met his steady gaze, “No one’s ever loved me like that. I didn’t know what it looked like.”
“It looks like this.” I dropped my hat and slipped my arms around him as Duke kissed me. It was deep and tender, passionate and gentle, and it made my heart stumble over itself.
When he rested his forehead against mine, I said, “I love you too, Duke. God, I love you.” His smile was glorious.
He stepped back after a moment and took my hand as he looked me over. “Did you hurt yourself when you fell through the skylight?”
“No. I got lucky.”
“I have to say, this is the cutest rain gear I’ve ever seen.”
“It was for tonight’s theme at the club. That reminds me, I wonder what happened to Sergei.” I looked around and saw him jogging up to us on the sidewalk, just as the valet pulled a big, black SUV to the curb. Eide came up to us, and I told him, “I’m sorry I ruined your twenty-thousand-dollar date.”
He said, “On the contrary, you made it even more fun. And it’s not over yet! Duke was telling me about the club where you work, and I think we should all head over there and keep this party going. Can I give you a ride?”
“Thanks, that’d be great. My friend and I actually need to get back to work.” I turned to Sergei as he came to a stop beside us and assessed Even with a wary expression. “Even, I’d like you to meet Sergei Reznik. Sergei, this is the famous Even Eide.”
Sergei raised his chin a little and narrowed his pale blue eyes as he met Even’s gaze. “Am I supposed to be impressed?”
Eide unleashed a sexy, flirtatious smile as his gaze slid down Sergei’s body, and he said, “Not yet. But by morning, I bet you will be.” Sergei actually grinned at that, despite himself.
I said, “You should ride with us, Sergei, and co
me back for your motorcycle later. The rain’s starting to pick up.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Sergei nodded in agreement. Duke and I piled into the backseat of the SUV as it started to pour, and Even held the passenger door for my friend as thunder rumbled overhead. The two men exchanged a smoldering look as Sergei slipped past him.
*****
Preston had made himself comfortable at the bar with a cup of coffee and a stack of paperwork, since there were no customers whatsoever. He glanced up at us when we came in and said, “I sent all the dancers home, since the storm killed what little business we had tonight. I texted you, Quinn, to let you know you and Sergei didn’t have to come back.”
I introduced Even to Preston and Rico, and after they exchanged greetings, Even asked, “Is there a bar menu? I’m starving! The food at that fancy restaurant was miniscule.” When Preston told him we didn’t have a kitchen, Even offered to order pizza for all of us and pulled out his phone. My manager cheerfully signed off on that idea.
Meanwhile, I stepped behind the bar and found a big pair of scissors, then carefully sliced down the inseam of my rain boots. I was sorry to see them go, but I really needed to get them off me. Then I called, “Be right back,” and went to the locker room.
I’d washed my face and was fully dressed and tying my purple sneakers when Even came into the locker room a few minutes later. He asked, “Can I speak with you a minute, mate?”
“Of course.”
“I wanted you to know I had no idea Duke was your boyfriend when I outbid you at the auction. He told me when we chatted afterwards. He also said you’d both planned on being each other’s highest bidder. I’m sorry for mucking up your plans.”
“No need to apologize. You had no way of knowing.”
“Still though. I feel like an asshole for shutting you down the way I did.”
“I’m curious. How high would you have been willing to go in your bidding?”
Even grinned and admitted, “I’m extremely competitive, so I would have done whatever it took to win. That’s the former athlete in me, I suppose.”
I pulled a sweater from my backpack as I appraised Even. He was leaning against one of the lockers with a friendly half-smile on his face, and I asked, “If Duke told you he had a boyfriend right after you outbid me, why did you take him to such a romantic restaurant?”
“My personal assistant made the reservation. I told her to pick someplace nice, which she interpreted as romantic and ungodly expensive. She hasn’t been working for me very long and didn’t realize I prefer far less pretentious restaurants.”
“Okay, but you must have been attracted to Duke to bid on him in the first place.”
“Of course I was. Your boyfriend is gorgeous yet humble, which is such an appealing combination. But my competitive nature doesn’t extend to breaking up happy couples. Duke talked about you all evening, and it’s obvious that man is madly in love. I have to say, I’m envious of you.” I grinned a little as I shut my locker. Even Eide was envious of me. What a concept. Even stuck his hand out and said, “No hard feelings?”
I shook it and nodded. “No hard feelings.”
When we returned to the club, Duke smiled at me and asked, “Is that new?”
I looked down at myself and patted my stomach. The sky blue sweater featured a unicorn rearing up on its hind legs, with a rainbow arching out of its back end. “Yeah. It’s a bit understated, so I was thinking about gluing on some rhinestones. What good is a rainbow-pooping unicorn without some sparkle?”
Duke chuckled at that. Then he led me to the empty dance floor and pulled me into his arms. The DJ had turned down the volume a bit, compared to the usual roof-rattling decibel level, and he was playing a fairly slow song.
I looked up at my boyfriend and said, as I swayed in his arms, “I really am sorry about wrecking your date. You were probably having fun talking about hockey with your sports idol.”
“Actually, we mostly talked about you. I invited him to your dance troupe’s debut.”
“Did you really?”
Duke nodded. “He says he’ll be there. He also invited you and me to his house next weekend to watch the hockey game.”
“You two really bonded in an hour.”
“We did. He’s a nice guy. Is it going to be weird for you though, if Even and I end up as friends?”
I glanced at Eide across the club. He was toasting Sergei and said something that actually made him laugh. “It won’t bother me. I don’t see Even as a threat. Not anymore.”
“What changed your mind?”
“Hearing you say you loved me was a big part of it. Knowing you feel the same way I do means everything to me,” I said, and he gently caressed my cheek. “Plus, I believed Even when he told me he didn’t intend to come between us. And here’s the other thing: I thought I was going to lose you tonight, because of my own insecurity. It was the worst feeling in the world, and I never want to experience that again. So that means putting aside my fears and jealousy and believing in this amazing thing that’s happening between us.”
“You know, not that long ago, you told me you weren’t the jealous type.”
“I didn’t really know what I was. This is all uncharted territory for me.”
“Me, too.”
I looked up at Duke as we danced. Overhead, the metallic streamers sparkled, looking more like stars than raindrops. After a while, I said, “That seemed like a pretty amazing restaurant. Too bad I’m probably banned from it for life.”
“It was alright. Nothing special.”
“But it seemed so romantic!”
Duke smiled sweetly. “Right now, this is the most romantic place in all the world, because you’re here with me.”
I whispered, “I adore you, Duke.”
“I adore you, too.”
A minute later, I asked, “Did you see my note about the squirrel that might or might not be in the house?”
“I did. Should I be alarmed?”
I said, “Nah. Just keep dancing,” and he picked me up and spun us around the dance floor.
Chapter Fourteen
I stood at the edge of the dance studio in my parents’ house and took a deep breath. Then I ran toward Duke, leapt high into the air, and spun before landing in his arms. My little audience applauded, and my dad said, “That was perfect, and a great stopping point. Save some energy for tonight’s performance, son.”
My boyfriend kissed my forehead before putting me down and accompanying me to the seating area in the corner of the room, where my parents and Max had settled in to watch me practice. Duke had been reinstated with only a reprimand at the beginning of the month, and even though he was back to working a lot of overtime, he’d been devoting every spare minute to helping me rehearse. He jokingly called himself Haley’s stunt double.
My mom got up and smoothed out her colorful caftan as she said, “Come on, let’s have lunch. Your dad made one of your favorite dishes, Quinn, so you can fuel up before the show.”
I reached for a towel and wiped the sweat off my forehead as I said, “Thanks, but I doubt I’ll be able to eat anything. I’m a bundle of nerves.”
We’d done a full dress rehearsal in the theater the night before, and it went off without a hitch. But there was so much riding on our debut performance. The show had ended up selling out, thanks to our little parade down Castro Street, and Dare had gotten a few media outlets to cover the event, so a lot of people were about to watch us succeed or fail. We’d all worked so hard for the past year, and it all came down to that night.
I knew my part and knew I could dance the hell out of it, but I just couldn’t keep the what-ifs at bay. What if I messed up? What if I let down Dare and all the guys? What if, what if, what if? I was the lead dancer, onstage for the entire show, but it was my first professional performance. Maybe I wasn’t ready for this. Maybe Dare had been wrong to put so much faith in someone so inexperienced.
Duke must have seen the panic in my eyes, because he
gently drew me into his arms and whispered, “Just breathe, Quinn. You’ve got this.”
“But what if—”
He interrupted me with a gentle kiss, then said, “You’re going to be amazing. You need to eat though, because you barely touched your breakfast, and you must be starving. Come on, let’s go see what’s for lunch.” I pulled a big sweatshirt over my tank top and shorts, and Duke and I followed my family to the kitchen.
My dad had made chili and cornbread, perfect for a cloudy, mid-October afternoon. I removed the lid from the big pot on the stove and asked, “Did you sneak some healthy stuff in here? Is this quinoa chili?”
Dad grinned and said, “Not as far as you know.”
It smelled great, and since my stomach was rumbling, I decided eating really was a good idea. We sat at the round table at one end of the kitchen and dug in, my nerves temporarily forgotten. Duke had two big bowlfuls and asked for the recipe, which thrilled my father to no end. After the meal, we helped clean up, and then Max turned to me and said, “Still want me to draw on you?”
“Yes please.”
“Alright, let’s do this thing.” Instead of covering my tattoo mishap with makeup, I’d decided to get a bit more creative and asked Max to freehand a temporary tattoo onto my skin. I had an ulterior motive. Yoshi Miyazaki was going to be at the performance, and I thought it’d be a good opportunity to showcase Max’s skills. But I also just wanted to do something fun and interesting for my big night.
We all relocated to the living room, a beautiful, open space with rich wood tones, a huge slate fireplace, and elegant, modern furniture. I thought it was one of the most soothing rooms in what was already a very tranquil home. My parents settled in with tea and books on a loveseat beside the blazing hearth, and I stripped from the waist up, stretched out on the couch and put my head on Duke’s thigh.
Max perched on the edge of the square coffee table with the set of temporary tattoo pens I’d bought him and leaned in close. Then he paused with a black pen poised right above my ribcage and said, “Dude, I just flashed back to when we were kids and used to give each other tattoos with felt tip pens.”