Scarlet was at the barre warming up, though she hadn’t mentioned dancing today. Would she? Before that train of thought took a deeper root, Christophe was yelling at her.
“Scarlet, only the dancers are on the barre. You can sit in the back and observe for now.”
She immediately did as he asked, but I knew she was disappointed. I mean, what was his point in having her there if she couldn’t dance?
Christophe started the class with his assistant Irena, demonstrating part of the dance he’d choreographed for us to perform. While it was great watching the pair of them dance, I couldn’t help but wonder if he realized we were beginners. After warming up, he had us leaping across the room. We didn’t have the flexibility of the dancers with their legs extending in long lines, practically horizontal, as graceful as gazelles in midflight, like gravity didn’t apply to them. We were like bullfrogs and sounded like a herd of cattle. Still, Christophe kept us at it.
That wasn’t the only thing that bothered me. He then demonstrated a passionate kiss with his partner that went to the ground, where they rolled around on top of each other. At the end, I clapped with the rest, even though I didn’t want to think of any of my teammates practicing the close dance moves with Zoey, or Scarlet, if he used her for practice. He hadn’t so far.
He moved on to have us jumping in place, our arms arched over our heads.
Christophe poked at Lance and Ace. He slapped Erik’s back in front of me. “Stand upright.”
When he got to me, he wasn’t happy with the way I held my arms. “You are not passing a ball.” I smirked—we didn’t pass them, we kicked them.
“Watch Javier,” he instructed.
Of course, his command irked me, but I kept my cool and studied Javier. He moved well—too well, like he’d had some practice. He wasn’t giving a thing away, but he was leaps and bounds ahead of where he’d been a week before. Was he getting private lessons? Maybe I wasn’t the only one Yasmine had made that offer to.
“Good, Javier,” Christophe said with pleasure in his tone, although he hadn’t fully moved on from watching me dance. I kept trying to get into the position he asked; even when I did, he kept wanting more. I was relieved when he moved on, but then he was on to something else he wanted us to do.
He clapped his hands and moved to the center of the room. “You will be working on lifts today, starting with the one we call the fish dive. Zoey.”
She went over to where he stood and I smiled at how happy she was to be singled out.
“It is very important that the two of you work to coordinate together. Arabesque.”
Zoey went gracefully up on one leg and extended the other behind her.
Moving behind her, he placed his hand on the top of her stretched leg. “When she’s balanced, her leg is at the height it needs. Do not try to move it higher. Now I plie and lift.” He bent his legs down and positioned his hand on her waist and thigh. “You use your legs to lift her up. She breathes in and holds her pose. Some movement.” He walked a few steps forward while holding her above his head, and the tip of her foot met her thigh. He ended by dropping her into his hands and swinging her body smoothly in a downward curve. “As you can see, her leg position looks like a fish tail.” Her bent leg crossed behind her straight one.
When it was our turn to work with the dancers, we were nervous. They appeared so small compared to us. He gave me Zoey as my first partner.
“Better not drop me,” she mused.
“I’ll tough through it,” I joked back. I followed his instruction to the letter as he watched us dance together.
“Nice,” he said to us.
Zoey lifted her head proudly and I playfully tapped her arm. Glancing over at Scarlet, it was clear to me from her expression how genuinely happy she was for Zoey, even though it must’ve been tough for her just sitting there, watching.
I got Yasmine next, and her hands slid down my chest as she spoke. “Lift with your elbow.” She took my hand and placed it on her waist, moving close to me. “This is just to help you feel comfortable touching me,” she explained, just in case I thought she was trying anything extra.
“All right, I think I have the hang of it now,” I said, moving back to give her room to arabesque. I lifted her with ease, and I had to say, it was the best I’d done so far.
Christophe, much to the surprise of both of us, didn’t agree. “I like the look, but I think Yasmine would be better with Ace. Zoey with Lance. Patrice with Erik. And, Scarlet, part of demonstration is observing and participating. Let’s see you try with Javier.”
Scarlet rushed up to Javier and into place. They went through the lift with Christophe yelling at her. “Watch your form. What was that supposed to be? Are you even practicing? Dreadful.”
I clenched my jaw. For the life of me, I couldn’t see one thing wrong with the way she moved. “That was perfect.”
His cutting gaze swung my way, and I knew I was in trouble.
“When did you become a principal danseur and instructor?” he growled.
I looked at her and in her eyes, I could see a plea for me to shut my mouth. My teammates around me were giving me the shut up vibe. I rolled my neck. “It looked great to me. Sorry,” I added.
“Scarlet does not need your sympathy, Mr. Wilson,” he said in a clipped tone. He turned to her. “Go sit back down. It was my fault for including you.”
Scarlet immediately moved to follow his instruction, no sign of tears anywhere.
“Claudette with Tyler,” Christophe commanded.
One of the dancers came forward. She had on a tight smile with a bit of fear toward the grimace on mine. I took a deep breath and put on my usual smile then shook her hand, listening to her as she and Christophe worked on my lift. We did it together and when I had her back on her feet, Christophe was full of praises.
“I like you two together. Good, Claudette. Better, Tyler, but keep working.” His eyes roamed around the room. “How many soloists do we have? Some of you are doing better, while some of you are falling apart.”
My eyeballs shifted over to Scarlet, who sat impassively. It was then I realized how much I underestimated her and incorrectly thought of her as fragile. She was strong. Even when Christophe brought her in again and tore her apart, she continued to maintain her cool and stay ready for whatever he asked. She took it with grace every time. By the end of class, I could feel the vibe from the guys addressing her as they left. She was one tough woman. I couldn’t wait to get her alone and hold her.
“I’d like to see another partnering. Javier will partner with Yasmine. Zoey with Lance. Tyler with Claudette.” Christophe assigned Erik and Ace a couple of others from the ensemble. “See you next week. Tyler, a word.”
I went over to him.
“Are we going to have a problem?” he asked, looking past me.
I had no doubt he was looking at Scarlet.
I bit the inside of my cheek. “No, we won’t.”
He shook my hand and I left the room without looking at anyone. When I got to the changing room, I took out my phone and found a text from Scarlet.
Scarlet.Ricci: Need to talk to you. Meet me around the back of the building. 20 mins.
I glanced over at her and saw she was busy talking with Christophe and Javier. Was it a good idea to meet up there? I couldn’t ask her, or risk hanging around. I sent back.
Tyler.Wilson: I’ll be there.
“Hey.” Ace hit my back in the changing room. “There’s a party tonight in Tribeca, and don’t say you can’t come. You could walk to it from your place.”
“Thanks, but I’m busy.”
He cocked a brow. “You’ve been ‘busy’ every time I ask you to hang out lately. We all right?”
He’d been trying to get our friendship back on track and ordinarily I would go, but I was meeting up with Scarlet. In fact, I was looking forward to spending time alone with her. “We’re good, but—”
“You’re busy.” He smirked. “New or old friends?”
>
That comment had Lance giving me one of his sharp looks. He was too smart, and Ace was too nosy. Put the two of them together, and they’d be connecting me to Scarlet in no time, especially after how I’d behaved in class. I didn’t want them thinking too hard about it. “Old friend,” I said as casually as I could, letting them think it was Eve.
“Old turns stale,” Ace teased.
New random hook-ups get old too. I kept that to myself and laughed with the rest of them.
I took a quick shower and changed into the jeans and T-shirt I’d brought with me. After saying my goodbyes, I was out the door—almost. Yasmine called out after me. “Tyler, wait up.” She followed me outside to the front of the building.
“I have to get going. You need something?” I asked, my tone abrupt.
She blinked at me and then smiled. “I wanted to talk to you about my offer for more practice.”
I blew out. “It seems Claudette will be my partner.”
“For now,” she said, touching my arm. “If you practiced more, and with me, Christophe would notice improvement and might put us together.”
She was still really confident, but after what I’d witnessed, I knew I’d have to be Baryshnikov and she’d have to be the Black Swan for us to change his mind. I was about to tell her as much when Antony Ricci, Scarlet’s steroid-injected brother, came bounding up to us. He looked like an action figure come to life no matter what he was wearing, and this time it was a button-down shirt and slacks. He was big and beefy with a flattop.
“Wilson, you taking ballet now or trying to corrupt one of these innocent dancers?” He held out his meaty hand and we fist-bumped.
“Hey, Ricci. Our soccer team is working with the ballet.”
He nodded then leaned in close to Yasmine. “I’ll tell you like I told my sister: watch out for him, gorgeous. He’s always up to no good.”
She giggled as he passed us and went into the building.
Normally, I would’ve told him where he could go, but whatever. He’d had more girls than me when we were younger and I doubted that had changed, but I had Scarlet to think about. Scarlet—was he there to pick her up? Damn her family’s timing.
Yasmine cleared her throat loudly, her brows rising high on her forehead.
“Thanks for the offer, but as you know, we’re not supposed to be working together outside of our classes. Christophe knows what he’s doing, and I want to stay on his good side.” She opened her mouth, but I kept on speaking. “I’m going to get Christophe to recommend a tutor. Thank you.”
She frowned and finally took the hint. “Well, if you change your mind…”
I took out my phone and waited until she went in before rushing around the back of the building.
Scarlet appeared in a space beside the building with trucks and loading ramps nearby. “Quick, we don’t have much time.” Her big eyes moved side to side like she was on some covert mission.
God. My heart turned over. She was sweet.
“I’ve heard of a few people using this place, and you can’t be seen from the street,” she said, taking my hand, hers trembling.
I lifted it to my mouth and kissed the back of it before pulling her close and bending my body down. I pressed my lips to her neck and breathed in her scent: lilies.
Her breath came faster as she talked to me. “My brother Antony told me he needed to see me and it’s important. I promise it won’t be long, but I didn’t want you to wait. You need to ignore me in class. Christophe’s sharp enough to—”
“I’ll be good from here on out,” I promised. I kissed up her jaw to her lips. “Kiss me.”
My lips covered hers hungrily, more urgently than she’d experienced with me before. She caught up quick, her tongue moving into mine, just like I’d taught her, and damn did she feel good. Her hands went around my neck and she pushed against me, her nipples hard through the thin fabric of her top. I ached to squeeze them, and when she pushed them into me again, I did. They were full and firm from what I could feel through the lace of her bra, so sexy. She moaned against my mouth, not even trying to stop me. I was getting harder from how much she was reacting to me. All the blood in my body went right down to my cock, and I was dying for more. Reaching around her, I gripped her ass and pulled myself between her legs, grinding my erection in, dropping my mouth down from her sweet lips to her neck, where I nibbled.
“Tyler, oh my God. This feels so good,” she said breathlessly. “But we shouldn’t do this here.”
Fuck. I had lost my head. We were in public and could easily get caught. She also had her brother waiting for her. We broke apart, taking in heavy breaths. She fumbled, trying to put herself together, jittery hands smoothing out her hair and adjusting her clothes. I could only stand and stare, watching her try to hide how her body reacted to mine. Nothing could conceal the dark look in her eyes or the swell of her lips. I grasped her hand, needing just a bit more contact before we had to leave.
“Your brother…I saw him coming in, but he didn’t seem upset, so hopefully it isn’t too important.” I leaned in to kiss the length of her neck.
She pushed my chest. “Tyler, why didn’t you say that first? What if he started asking around for me?”
“I needed my kiss,” I said, and her nostrils flared.
She kissed me once more then took off running back in. Shit. It was too fucking good to stop, but we both had to use our heads and avoid the risks.
I left and walked back around to the front. Yasmine reappeared, this time with a few of the other dancers from the class. They came over with enthusiasm and encouragement for my dancing. I thanked them politely and Yasmine headed down the way I came. I couldn’t do anything and I was sure Scarlet was long gone, but just to settle my nerves, I purposely drove around until I could pass the front of the building. Turning onto the street, I saw Scarlet standing with her brother by his double-parked Camaro. She was covering her face and he was hugging her. Had something happened?
The car behind me pumped the horn and forced me to move down the street, leaving me unable to do anything to help her.
MA HADN’T JUST BEEN RUNNING errands in the city; she’d been referred by her doctor to see a specialist for her heart. “Why didn’t she tell me?” I asked.
“Because of the way you’re acting right now, Princess.” Antony squeezed my shoulder then unlocked the car and we got in. “You’re all doom and gloom when all I said was that she’s getting tests because her blood pressure and cholesterol results came back high. It’s a precaution, not surgery.”
I understood he was trying to ease my mind, but I couldn’t help but think about all the stress she’d been under in trying to manage my career. Things had changed, but she hadn’t. She was still working, and now it had come down to her health. “What is she doing about it? I’d like to talk to her.”
“I suppose I could drive you down to see her for yourself. Vince has her out with him, but I’m sure they can come home early if they know you’re coming. What time do you need to get back tomorrow?”
I pursed my lips. “I dance too early to consider going all the way to Staten Island tonight. Besides, everything doesn’t revolve around me. She needs to take care of herself. She doesn’t need to worry or change her plans for me.”
Antony huffed and started in on the same excuse Ma had used time and again to get me to do what she wanted. “You can’t take ballet away from her. Ma loves getting involved with your dancing,” he argued. “It makes her feel like she’s still a part of it, you know that.”
Guilt cut into me. I swallowed hard, and we rode in silence. I couldn’t blame Antony for suggesting I go, but it was clear she wasn’t the only problem; we were. They, out of habit, expected Ma to devote every minute to me. Without a doubt, Ma had. She’d made sure I had access to all the opportunities to succeed, and how did I repay her? By slipping.
I hadn’t wanted to worry Tyler, but that day hadn’t been the only time that week Christophe had been relentless in his criticism of
my dancing. Admittedly, I had been feeling different. On my down times, I’d catch myself dreaming of more kisses and caresses from Tyler. I’d even been willing to risk being caught earlier just for another touch from him. Everything felt new. Thrilling. Magical. Nonetheless, I needed to get control of myself.
Tyler hadn’t become Prince Charming or my boyfriend, although lately we’d been talking every day. I’d been trying to stay positive when he called, to keep him happy with our conversations. He’d been candid with me, sharing his problems with his work. In turn, I left out the difficulty I’d been going through, but he’d witnessed it and reacted in a way that caught attention. That couldn’t happen again.
Christophe would rearrange dancers if he saw fit. What if he demoted me from being a soloist back to the corps? I loathed the thought. I’d have to fix whatever it was he found lacking, and now, with Ma ill, I’d have to do whatever I could to keep her out of it—but how? I asked for Antony’s help. “How about we work together to ease her stress?”
“I’m helping Ma out now. She asked me to give you family time tonight.” That was when I noticed he was headed toward Brooklyn, where he lived. Apparently, I was to spend “family time” with him and Deborah, his latest girlfriend.
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