Pas de Deux

by M. J. Duncan

  Mallory closed her eyes and leaned her cheek against Addison’s head. “Yeah…”

  They broke apart slowly at the sound of a throat being cleared, and Mallory licked her lips as they turned toward the front of the room.

  “Incredible,” Clara declared with a proud smile. “Bloody brilliant. Truly.”

  “Thank you,” Addison replied as she tucked herself into Mallory’s side. She arched a brow at Nina and dared, “So…anything we need to change before tomorrow night?”

  Nina shook her head. “I don’t think so. That was…” Her voice trailed off, and she smiled. “Breathtaking. Absolutely beautiful. If you two dance like that tomorrow night, you’ll have everyone in the theatre in tears as they applaud you.”

  Addison beamed. “Yeah?”

  “Yeah,” Clara answered. She touched Nina’s wrist and added in a quieter tone, “I’m sorry, but I’ve got a meeting back at the Barbican I need to get to.”

  “I’ll…” Nina blinked as she turned to look at Clara. “I’ll walk you out.”

  “Yeah?” Clara replied softly.

  Nina nodded and leaned forward to whisper something against Clara’s ear that had the conductor looking unabashedly pleased, and chuckled softly as she glanced at Mallory and Addison. “There’s nothing left to practice or change. You are perfect. Addison, I’m going to have Serena clear your calendar tomorrow except for class in the morning. I want you rested and ready to set the world on fire tomorrow night.”

  Addison wrapped her left arm around Mallory’s waist and snapped off a playful salute with her right. “Yes, boss.”

  “Why don’t you ever salute me?” Clara asked Mallory playfully.

  Mallory arched a brow and countered, “Why don’t you ever salute me?”

  “Fair enough,” Clara conceded with a smirk. She took a deep breath and let it go in a huff. “Right, well. Meeting time for me, unfortunately. Mal, I know we wrapped our season last night, but don’t forget we have a meeting with Max and Gianna Monday morning. It’s looking like those changes to the summer touring plans have worked themselves out…”

  “Wonderful,” Mallory muttered.

  Clara chuckled. “I think it’s pretty safe to say that you’ll love what we’ve done. But, for now, rest up, and I will check in with you tomorrow night before the show.”

  Mallory nodded as Clara turned toward the door, and bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling at the way Nina moved to follow.

  “Do you think they’re…” Addison asked in a low tone as the door closed after them.

  “No idea.” Mallory shrugged. “Clara hasn’t said anything.”

  Addison sighed as she turned to pull Mallory back into her arms. “That was fun.”

  “It was,” Mallory agreed as she looped her arms around Addison’s waist. She smiled as she dipped her head to touch their foreheads together. “I am going to miss dancing with you every day.”

  “If you think you’re done dancing with me just because we won’t be rehearsing every day, you’ve got another thing coming,” Addison murmured. “We will dance at home,” she added as she lifted her head to capture Mallory’s lips in a tender kiss. “Where we can do this all we want, too.”

  “Oh?”

  Addison hummed in the affirmative and flicked her tongue over Mallory’s lips before she claimed them with her own once more. “And, as I’m sure you’ve noticed by now, dancing with you is something of a turn-on for me.”

  Mallory blew out a soft breath as her body instinctively curved toward Addison. “God…”

  “Do you want me to stop?” Addison whispered, her voice taking on the low, rough tenor that never failed to send a pleasant thrill down Mallory’s spine as she moved just that little bit closer.

  Mallory whimpered. They should. She knew they should, but Addison’s left hand had dropped low enough that firm fingertips were pressing encouragingly against her ass and she couldn’t deny just how very much she wanted her to continue—the risk of someone walking in on them be damned. “Please don’t.”

  “I love you…” Addison breathed, her eyes crinkling with her smile as she wrapped a hand around the back of Mallory’s neck and guided their lips together once more.

  “Thank you.” Addison squeezed Mallory’s wrist as she slipped through the stage door Mallory was holding open for her.

  “Hiya,” Yvette, the woman who had been working the stage door desk since Mallory’s first trip to the Royal Opera House, greeted them with a little wave as the door closed behind them.

  Mallory smiled and tipped her head in greeting as Addison replied, “Hey, Yvette.”

  “Before you go up, could you maybe…” Yvette motioned toward two stacks of playbills and photographs on the counter in front of her.

  Before Mallory could respond, Addison shook her head and said, “After the show. We’re not jinxing this one.”

  “Figured as much,” Yvette chuckled. “But is there a show you’re ever willing to risk jinxing?”

  “No,” Addison admitted with a little laugh.

  “Fair enough.” Yvette turned to look at the clock mounted on the wall behind her. “There’s about an hour to go until tabs go up on the first act, so the rehearsal studios should be clearing out soon as everyone begins finalizing their preparations.”

  “Perfect,” Addison replied.

  Mallory nodded and murmured a similar sentiment, and reached for Addison’s hand as they started down the hallway to the lift. The rear of house area of the theatre was quiet, but a tech hand exited the door to the backstage area as they waited for the lift, and the air on the other side of it felt like it was charged with electricity.

  “Do you feel that?” she asked, her voice barely louder than a breath as the lift arrived and the doors in front of them slid open.

  Addison squeezed Mallory’s hand as they stepped into the lift. “Yeah.” She glanced at her as she pressed her thumb to the button for the second floor. “I take it this doesn’t happen at the Barbican?”

  “No.” Mallory shook her head. “I haven’t felt anything like this anywhere.”

  “How funny. Maybe it’s just a theatre thing? I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s always like this on the final night of a run. Like the ghosts of this place are wired, or something.” Addison leaned into Mallory’s side. “You’ll feel it more when we get down to the wings in a bit. The trick is to not let the energy in the air throw you off your game.”

  Mallory smiled at the way Addison curled into her. “Wonderful,” she drawled as she pressed a kiss to her temple. She was used to nerves—hell, at this point in her career, they were almost a welcome old friend—but combating this extra-normal adrenaline or whatever it was would be an entirely new experience.

  “It’s not that bad,” Addison murmured.

  Mallory nuzzled Addison’s ear. “If you say so, darling.”

  The lift stopped at their floor, and Addison laughed as the doors slid open. “You’ll see.”

  “I’m sure I will,” Mallory agreed quietly as she followed Addison off the lift. She ran her thumb over the back of Addison’s hand as they made their way along the corridor, enjoying these last few moments of togetherness before they were forced apart. “See you in the wings?” she asked when they stopped in front of Addison’s dressing room door.

  Addison seemed to weigh her answer for a long moment before finally nodding with a heavy sigh. “Yeah. That’d probably be for the best.” She smiled at the confusion that furrowed Mallory’s brow, and shook her head as she elaborated, “I would like to spend these final moments with you, but at the same time…”

  “You don’t want to jinx anything,” Mallory finished for her with an understanding smile. She leaned in and captured Addison’s lips in a sweet, lingering kiss, and murmured, “I understand, darling,” when she finally pulled away. She lifted her free hand to cradle Addison’s cheek as she kissed her again. “And I agree on both counts, so… I shall see you in the wings in a couple hours.”
r />   “I love you.”

  “I love you,” Mallory murmured. There was something in the way Addison was leaning into her that told her she would have to be the one to put an end to this, but she couldn’t resist stealing one final kiss before she pulled away. “Soon, darling,” she promised as she took a step back.

  “Soon,” Addison echoed, her voice warm and resigned but not exactly sad. She tilted her head toward Mallory’s dressing room and winked. “Go make friends with the ghosts.”

  Mallory laughed. “I shall try my best.”

  “Good.”

  Mallory waited until Addison had disappeared into her dressing room before turning toward her own, knowing that she needed to get her makeup sorted before the wig mistress arrived to do her hair. The next two hours passed in a blur of makeup, hair, stretching, warming up, and getting into costume, and she couldn’t help but smile at the sound of Addison singing inside her dressing room when she made her way to the lift at the Half so she could meet with Clara before the second act. It was a departure from what had become her usual routine, but they had agreed to touch base quickly during the break to make sure they were on the same page for the half of the ballet that would leverage the most significant weight on their skill.

  Matt and Gabs were just finishing their final pas de deux for the first act when she peeked onto the stage through the curtains in the wings, and she applauded along with the audience as the lights dimmed and the tabs fell.

  “You’re down early,” Gabs noted a little breathlessly as she skipped off the stage with Matt trailing behind her. “Nervous?” she asked as she reached for her hoodie that was draped over one of the portable barres that were closest to the stage.

  “No more than usual,” Mallory admitted. “The ghosts, as Addison called them, seem to be a bit harder to ignore, but I’ll manage.” She smiled as Gabs chuckled and tipped her head in a way that said she understood, and added, “Clara wanted to touch base before the second act.”

  “She’s amazing,” Matt said as he joined them. “Not to knock Henry or anything, but that is the tightest the orchestra has played for this thing in the entire run.”

  Mallory laughed and nodded. “That’s Clara, for you.”

  They chatted amenably as Gabs and Matt pulled on the layers they’d shed before performing, and Mallory couldn’t help but arch a brow in surprise and appreciation when she spotted the conductor making her way toward them in a positively dashing tuxedo that she’d paired with a high-collared white shirt that had the top two buttons undone, leaving the very top of her throat exposed. It was a simultaneously demure and sexy combination, and if Mallory had to guess, she’d wager the buttoned-up look was chosen for Nina’s benefit. “Speak of the devil,” she teased once Clara was within earshot. “How’d it go?”

  “Good.” Clara nodded and smiled at Gabs and Matt. “You two were incredible.”

  “Cheers, mate,” Matt drawled, buffing his fingernails on his shoulder.

  Gabs laughed and replied more sincerely, “Thank you.” She elbowed Matt as she smiled and winked at Mallory. “Break a leg out there, Collingswood.”

  “I shall try my best,” Mallory promised with a small, half-bow.

  “Good. We’ll see you afterward, then. Time for us to go cool down properly before Nina finds us chatting and rips our heads off.”

  Mallory smiled at the way Clara’s gaze drifted across the backstage area at the sound of Nina’s name, but didn’t press the matter, instead bidding Gabs and Matt a cheery farewell before turning to her friend. “Truthfully, how did the first act go?”

  “Fine.” Clara shrugged. “They’re good. Not as good as you and Addy, obviously, but still quite good. How are you? Ready?”

  “As I’ll ever be,” Mallory confirmed.

  “Good enough,” Clara murmured, a proud smile quirking her lips. She tilted her head toward the backstage entrance nearest the lifts. “Here comes your girl.”

  “We’re at the Five!” the stage master’s voice rang through the wings.

  “And that’s my cue to get back to the pit,” Clara declared. She held up a fist. “Break a leg, Mal.”

  “You, as well,” Mallory countered with a little laugh as she lightly bumped Clara’s knuckles with her own.

  “Like I’d have it any other way,” Clara chuckled.

  “Are you two planning trouble?” Addison joked as she joined them.

  “Of course.” Clara winked. “Take good care of our girl out there—yeah?”

  Addison smiled. “Always.”

  “Excellent.” Clara grinned and offered them a jaunty little wave as she turned on her heel and called over her shoulder, “I shall see you lot after you’ve brought the roof down on this place, then.”

  “She’s definitely different than working with Henry,” Addison murmured as they watched Clara disappear around the corner that led to the pit entrance.

  “Working with her is different from working with anyone I’ve ever come across,” Mallory agreed as she slipped her violin case from her shoulder and laid it on the table behind her. “In a good way, of course. She’s truly one of a kind.”

  Addison hummed in agreement as a trio of corps dancers stopped a few feet away, looking out onto the stage with a confident set to each of their frames as they awaited the call to take their places. In deference to the dancers’ preparation, Mallory didn’t seek to continue their conversation, and the silence that settled around them drowned out the rustle of fabric and quiet scrape of shoes that surrounded them as she shed her layers and pulled her violin and bow from their case.

  “Beginners, please!”

  Mallory smiled at Addison as the corps took the stage and the wings around them cleared. As had become their tradition, Addison’s right hand settled on her chest over her heart just as the orchestra began to play, and she licked her lips as she mirrored the touch. She felt her pulse falter for a moment before it fell into sync with Addison’s, and her eyes fluttered shut as she let that slow, steady thwump, thwump, thwump, ground her.

  “I love you,” Addison whispered.

  Mallory dipped her head to touch their foreheads together. “I love you, darling.”

  They stayed like that until Clara guided the orchestra into the slow descent to silence that heralded her entrance, and she dared to steal a quick kiss before she surrendered herself to the task at hand. She smiled as she pulled away to shoulder her instrument, savoring the softness in Addison’s gaze for the space of two heartbeats before turning toward the stage, her smile was replaced by a mask of concentration.

  The air seemed to reverberate with anticipation as the theatre fell silent, waiting for her entrance, and she took a deep breath as she made her way onto the stage. She bit her cheek to keep from reacting to the rattle of applause that flittered through the darkened auditorium before it was quickly silenced, and then she forgot about the audience altogether when Addison’s hand landed on her shoulder.

  The music had long since become a part of her in a way that allowed her to play without having to give too much thought to the notes, and she surrendered herself to the emotion that swelled inside her as they moved together fluidly, circling and spinning so closely together that it was as if they were two halves of a whole. The dance was theirs and theirs alone, so perfectly choreographed to highlight each of their strengths that while others might try to imitate it in the future, none would be able to duplicate it. Her eyes stung and her vision blurred as she extended her right leg, toes pointed to draw an invisible arc on the floor as she pulled her bow across the strings of her violin for the last time, and her throat tightened with affection at the shimmer of tears in Addison’s eyes.

  Her heart beat slow and heavy in her chest as her bow arm fell away and Addison’s hand curved ever so gently around her cheek, and she didn’t bother to try to contain the soft smile that curled her lips as she melted into her touch, letting Addison urge her closer until they had settled into their final position.

  “I love you,�
�� Addison breathed against her lips as the silence in the theatre was shattered with an explosion of applause.

  “Oh, how I love you,” Mallory whispered, only dimly aware of the lights around them blinking out and the tabs whooshing down in front of them as she surrendered to the moment and captured Addison’s lips in a kiss that held all of the love and admiration and devotion she felt for her.

  “I don’t remember this being part of the choreography,” Addison teased softly, her breath cascading over Mallory’s lips with the weight of butterfly wings.

  Mallory smiled and, ignoring the flood of dancers pouring onto the stage to take their position for the curtain call, kissed her again. “Do you want me to stop?”

  Addison’s eyes glowed with joy and love and everything that was wonderful in the world as she murmured, “Never.”

  “Not that I can blame either of you for this,” Gabs interrupted with a laugh as she carefully took Mallory’s violin and bow from her hands and passed them off to the stagehand who would see them returned to their case, “but you need to stop with the whole making out on stage thing and line up.”

  “That was so hot,” Matt chimed in. “Shite, I’d make out with Mal if she played like that for me.”

  Mallory laughed. “Matthew, we are both far to gay for that to ever happen. But cheers, mate.”

  He grinned and tipped his head in a way that clearly said, Yes, well…

  “Quick as you can, please!” the stage manager called out, drawing their attention back to the task at hand.

  They hurried to take their places, and Mallory smiled at the feeling of Addison’s hand slipping into her own as the curtains swept dramatically up into the proscenium arch. She laced their fingers together as they advanced in a line toward the front of the stage to acknowledge the deafening applause that welcomed them, and her heart swelled at the way Addison refused to let go even when it was their turn to address the audience on their own.