by M. J. Duncan
Addison huffed a playfully aggrieved breath and nodded. “Fine. But I call dibs on being the big spoon.”
“I’m taller, though.”
“Doesn’t matter. I called dibs,” Addison sassed. She reached down to grab Mallory’s ass and gave it a firm squeeze. “So, you lose.”
If this was losing, Mallory would gladly do it every day for the rest of her life. “Fine. You win.”
Addison dropped a smile of a kiss to Mallory’s lips. “Damn right I do.” She winked as she pulled away and turned toward Mallory’s dresser. “Now, let’s get you changed so we can cuddle the shit out of each other and drive them all crazy. What do you want?”
“Jeans and a shirt is fine,” Mallory answered as she slipped off her dress and draped it over the bed so it wouldn’t wrinkle. She’d only worn it for a few hours, so it didn’t need to go to the dry cleaners just yet.
Addison turned from the dresser with the requested items in hand and smiled as she looked at Mallory standing beside the bed in nothing but a bra and panties. “Goddamn, you are gorgeous.”
A soft smile curled Mallory’s lips at the open appreciation in Addison’s gaze, and she blinked back her happiness as she reached for the clothes that dangled forgotten in Addison’s hands. “Thank you, darling,” she hummed, unable to resist leaning in to steal a quick kiss.
“If you keep kissing me like this when you’re wearing nothing but that,” Addison murmured against her lips, “I will totally march out there right now and shove the lot of them out the door.”
Mallory laughed as she took a step back. “Sorry.”
“No you’re not,” Addison huffed, smiling as she handed Mallory her clothes. “So get dressed before I lose what little self-control I’ve got left. I’ll hang your dress back up for you.”
Mallory dressed quickly as Addison returned her dress and heels to the closet and smiled as she offered Addison her hand when they met at the door. “Shall we?”
Addison threaded their fingers together and nodded. “Yeah. Sure. I guess. Why not…”
“God, finally,” Siobhan declared, throwing her hands in the air dramatically when they rejoined the group.
“Sod off,” Addison drawled, squeezing Mallory’s hand as she led her to the couch. She laughed along with Siobhan and flicked her free hand in a shoo motion at Gabs. “Up you get, Ms. Calvente.”
“Why? Maybe I want to cuddle, too.”
“Sorry, Gabs, but she’s all mine.” Addison shook her head. “I’m not sharing.”
Gabs sighed dramatically and tossed the magazine she’d been reading onto the coffee table, the pages bent open to an advertisement for a private catamaran charter in the Virgin Islands. “Fine. Whatever. I’ll just go cuddle with Siobhan, then. Will, you’ll share her with me, right?”
“Knock yourself out, mate,” Will replied distractedly as he smashed a turtle and picked it up. “Less work for me.”
Matt laughed. “And who’s going to cuddle me, then?”
“Guess you’re stuck with my husband.” Siobhan flashed him an apologetic smile as she wrapped her arms around Gabs’ waist and pulled her down onto her lap.
Mallory smiled as she allowed Addison to guide her between her legs, and sighed happily as she laid her head on her chest.
“You comfortable?” Addison whispered against the top of her head.
Mallory nodded and snuggled closer. “This is absolutely perfect, darling.”
“So, what are you going to do with yourself next season when you’re not running around like a chicken with your head chopped off?” Will asked as they surveyed the crowd gathered in the Barbican courtyard from the windows in the corridor outside her office three floors above.
Max had pushed out the make-up performance for the one they’d rescheduled during the lead-up to the first performance of Evolution until the very last day of May so the weather would be nice enough to accommodate an outdoor concert, and Mother Nature had actually played along by giving them an absolutely glorious evening for their performance. Although, everything seemed to be coming up roses for the LSO ever since the Board successfully ousted Hayes the month before. The running joke in the building was that it was the Gods’ way of rewarding them for getting rid of him.
“I have no idea,” Mallory replied as she turned her back to the gathering crowd and leaned against the window. She took a deep breath and let it go slowly as she tilted her head back against the glass.
It was almost hard to believe that in ten days her tenure at The Royal Ballet would be over. Though they still had one performance left in their short run, Evolution was securely the juggernaut Nina had hoped it would become, and she honestly didn’t know how she felt about the whole thing being almost over. On the one hand, she quite liked the idea of not running around like a chicken with her head cut off, but on the other…
She wouldn’t get to work with Addison anymore.
And then there was the fact that, with the success of Evolution, symphonies from around the world were jockeying for a place on her calendar for the coming season, offering compensation packages that were at least twice, and in some cases close to four-times what had been her standard rate for such appearances. So, even though she wouldn’t be dashing around London like a madwoman, it was looking like she would be keeping an equally hectic schedule on a more global scale the following year.
Though, at least Addison’s schedule was such that, if the trip was short enough, she could travel with her. There wasn’t a ballet company in the world that wouldn’t love having her crash their classes for a few days, and the idea of traveling with Addison instead of away from her took a significant weight from her shoulders. In all her years as a professional, she had never hesitated to take any job that would further her career, but when that first offer from Berlin came through three weeks ago, her initial reaction had been to turn it down simply because Addison was in London and not Berlin and the idea of being a continent away made her feel physically ill.
Will bumped her with his shoulder as he turned to mirror her posture. “Kinda crazy how different everything is compared to how it was at the beginning of the season, huh?”
She nodded. “It is that, yes.”
“Hey, there you are.”
Mallory smiled as she turned her head to look at Clara, who was bounding down the hall toward them with a wide grin. Clara had returned to London at the beginning of the month not only to finish out the season with the LSO, but also to begin studying Mallory’s performance in Evolution so that she could better conduct the ballet’s final performance. “Here we are. Did you need something?”
Clara yawned as she took up a position similar to theirs so that she and Will were flanking Mallory. “I’m hiding from the Board members prowling the halls downstairs. Between everything here and then working with you lot at the ballet, I just need a few minutes of peace and quiet.”
“Welcome to my life,” Mallory chuckled.
“True,” Clara conceded. “You two looking forward to this summer’s tour?”
“Sure,” Will agreed amenably.
Mallory pursed her lips and shrugged because, truthfully, she wasn’t looking forward to it at all. Firstly because she didn’t understand why they were doing North America again when they were there last summer, but mostly because The Royal Ballet would be touring Asia and Australia during that same time. It was the reality of their professions, of course, but spending over a month away from Addison was definitely not something she was looking forward to. The only positive to the whole thing was that the Board had listened to Will’s reports from the players that seven weeks was too long to be on the road, and that they’d made this year’s tour much shorter.
Clara laughed at Mallory’s non-answer and leaned into her side. “Just wait, Mal. We’ve got exciting things planned for this one.”
“Yeah?” Mallory side-eyed her. “Like what?”
“Can’t tell you yet,” Clara replied. “We’re still working on polishing up the detai
ls, but I think you’ll actually enjoy this tour if we can get everything hammered out.”
“Are we still ending in Los Angeles?” Mallory countered. It didn’t matter what Clara, Max, and the Board were planning—if she had to return to L.A. on top of everything else, it was going to be an absolute shite trip.
“Well, yes. The stops aren’t what we’re playing around with. Those were set last August. But trust me on this one, okay?”
Mallory smiled at the faint entreaty in Clara’s voice. “You, I trust. Everything else, not so much.”
“I’ll take it.” Clara groaned and pulled her phone from the inner pocket of her tuxedo jacket. She sighed as she checked the screen and pushed herself upright. “Max beckons. Shall I offer to bring you along?”
“Please don’t,” Mallory chuckled. “We’re quite all right here until it’s time to queue up.”
“Fine. Abandon me like that. I see how it is,” Clara muttered playfully as she typed out a quick response to Max’s text. She re-pocketed the phone. “Right, well, I’ll see you lot down there in about twenty minutes, then. Enjoy hiding from the world whilst I suffer untold horrors downstairs.”
“We will,” Will assured her with a grin.
“And make sure you warm up properly,” Clara added. “This one’s got to be perfect so we can keep our season ticket holders happy.”
Mallory smirked. “I thought that’s what the alcohol was for?”
Clara laughed. “True.” She gave Mallory’s wrist a tap with her finger. “You good?”
“Perfect, Clara,” Mallory assured her. “We’ll knock this one out of the park.”
“Bloody right we will,” Clara sassed with a confident smirk.
“We should probably warm up now,” Will murmured once she was out of earshot.
Mallory nodded and tilted her head toward her office. “Yeah. Let’s go.”
The first thing Mallory saw when she made her way into Fonteyn for their final rehearsal was Addison sitting on the floor, leaning against the mirrors with her legs stretched out wide in front of her. It was a sight she had become accustomed to over the course of their rehearsals, and she was surprised by the way her heart clenched with regret that this would be the last time she ever saw her like this.
Addison must have been feeling the same, because the soft smile she turned her way was just that little bit dimmer than usual. “Last one. You ready?”
“For the rehearsal, yes…” Mallory’s voice trailed off as she looked around the studio. It was one of those rare sunny days in London, and the light pouring into the room from the skylight overhead made everything from the barres to the walls to the pale linoleum on the floor look positively radiant. She could distinctly remember how nervous she had been for her first rehearsal, how frustrated she’d been when nothing had seemed to go right, and how perfectly lovely Addison had been. Though she didn’t know it at the time, that was the day that her entire life changed, and she was so, so grateful for everything her time in this studio had given her. “For this to be over…no. I’m not ready for this to be over.”
Addison nodded and leapt gracefully to her feet. “I know,” she murmured as she wrapped her arms around Mallory’s waist. “I feel the same way.”
“Last rehearsal,” Nina declared as she strode into the room with a wide grin. “Are you ready?”
“Of course,” Mallory confirmed as Clara slipped quietly through the door after Nina. She had been attending as many of their rehearsals as her schedule allowed over the last fortnight to better acquaint herself not only with the music, but also the way Mallory performed it so that she would be ready to take the helm of the Royal Opera House’s orchestra for their final night on stage. “Hello, Clara.”
“Hiya, Mal.” Clara smiled and nodded at them in turn. “Addy.”
Addison waved. “Hey. And, yes, Nina,” she continued as she propped her heel on the barre beside Nina and bent forward until her cheek was resting against her knee, “we’re ready.”
“Good.” Nina leaned against the barre at the front of the studio, and her posture softened when Clara took a similar position at her side. Mallory wasn’t sure where, exactly, things stood between them, but there was an easiness to their interactions that suggested they might eventually find their way beyond “complicated.” Before Mallory could overthink it, however, Nina tilted her head toward the center of the room indicatively. “From the top, then, Mallory, if you would…”
Mallory nodded and turned to go retrieve her violin as Addison pulled her leg from the barre. She watched Addison give it a little shake before leading into a series of quick little jumps in place.
“Everything okay?” Nina asked.
Mallory’s eyes jumped from Nina to Addison in the mirror.
“Yeah.” Addison rolled her head in a slow circle and swung her arms across her body. “I’m just a little tight from yesterday. I’m fine, though.”
Nina pursed her lips thoughtfully as she gave Addison a slow once-over, as if she could visually diagnose the degree of muscle tightness Addison was experiencing. “If you start feeling like you need us to call this early so you can go to the recovery suite, let me know immediately.”
Addison responded with her most exaggerated grin and two thumbs up.
“Bloody Americans,” Nina grumbled. She rolled her eyes at Addison’s answering laughter, but it was clear from the quirk of her lips that she was satisfied by her dancer’s self-assessment. “Cheeky buggers, the lot of you.”
Mallory bit her lip to keep from laughing as she pulled her violin from its case, but lost the battle when she turned to look at Addison, who was standing in the middle of the room with her hands on her hips glaring playfully at her. “Yes?”
“Do not agree with her!”
Clara, at least, had the grace to cover her laughter with an impromptu coughing fit, while Nina made no such effort to hide her amusement.
Mallory tilted her head and gave Addison a look that said, Who, me?, and shouldered her violin. “I’ll cook you dinner later to make up for it.”
Addison gave up the act and grinned. “Awesome.”
“I believe you were just played, Ms. Collingswood,” Nina observed.
“I believe she doesn’t mind at all,” Clara added in a faux whisper.
Mallory shook her head at them. “It’s fine. I’m used to it.” She arched a brow at Addison as she lifted her bow and played a series of quick, jaunty notes to loosen up her fingers. “Are you ready?”
“When you are, Collingswood,” Addison sassed, throwing in a little wink for good measure as she made her way to the side of the room to wait for her cue.
Mallory shook her head and, instead of replying, closed her eyes and took a deep breath to center herself.
Flirty banter was fun, but now it was time to work. They were to take the stage together for the final time the next night, and everything needed to be absolutely perfect.
When she was ready, she blinked her eyes open. She caught Addison’s gaze in the mirror across the room and, when Addison gave her a small nod to signal she was ready, began to play. Their steps had gone through some minor changes over the last few months, and though very few people would probably notice just what they were doing differently, the result was striking. In the beginning, Addison’s paths around her were wide enough to allow plenty of room for swinging arms and legs and Mallory’s bow, but over time those circuits had become tighter and tighter until it was only their understanding of each other and their movements that kept them from crashing into each other.
It was a relatively simple change in the grand scheme of things, but there was no ignoring the way it drew each of their talents into sharper focus and highlighted just how perfectly in sync they were.
Mallory was vaguely aware of Clara’s hands waving minutely at her sides as they worked through their performance, but the majority of her attention was focused on Addison’s warm brown eyes as she leapt and twirled around her, and the enchanting quirk of her lips
every time the choreography called for them to touch.
Knowing this was the last time they would rehearse together, Mallory didn’t bother to contain her instinct to lean into Addison’s touch as she played, and she was only vaguely aware of the way those touches lingered just that little bit longer, turning striking postures designed to accentuate Addison’s talent into something much more intimate. She poured her heart into her playing as Addison’s fingertips dragged sensuously along her arm and waist, and moved fluidly with every small hold or press of Addison’s hands against her body.
It was not, as Nina had suggested during their first meeting all those months ago, simply a dance between a musician and her Muse. For those not looking for anything more profound, of course, that story would suffice; but if one were to look more closely, they would see that it was a story of two souls finding their way to each other.
She allowed herself a small smile as they eased into the coda of their pas de deux, and sighed at the feeling of Addison’s hand curving ever so gently around her cheek, drawing her closer. Her arms fell to her sides as she dipped her head to touch their foreheads together, and her heart felt like it was trying to leap from her chest as she stared into Addison’s eyes.
It hadn’t been the easiest journey to get from where they had started to where they were now, but she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that this was precisely where she was meant to be.
She quirked a brow at the mischievous spark in Addison’s gaze, but before she could ask what it was about, soft lips ghosted briefly over her own as Addison melted into her.
“I don’t remember that being part of the choreography,” Mallory murmured against Addison’s ear as she wrapped her arms around her waist. It wasn’t a part of the choreography they shared with the audience, anyway. It had certainly become a part of their personal routine after the lights blinked out and the curtain dropped.
“God, could you imagine?” Addison nuzzled Mallory’s cheek, clearly in no hurry to pull away despite the fact that they were very much not alone. She sighed as she dropped to the flats of her feet and leaned her head on Mallory’s shoulder as she whispered, “I wish we could.”