Page 37 of Dance with Me
“This is ridiculous. I’m getting you a doctor.” Dimitri stormed away, and Natasha was left with her friends and her glasses case.
Exhaustion returned. Her eyes itched as tears receded. When she opened the glasses case, she found her contact lens container inside.
Kevin sucked his teeth. “Home?”
This was the last thing she wanted to talk about with them. She played dumb, even though it was useless, as she swapped out her contacts for glasses. “What?”
“Dimitri said ‘home.’ He ran home—his home, I’m guessing—to getyourglasses.”
Lori straightened. “Kevin, where Natasha sleeps at night isherbusiness—”
“I know that, and I’m not slut-shaming her. I’m trying to—”
“Then don’t ask a lady to kiss and tell!”
“He saidhomelike it wastheirhome, not like it washis,so I just—”
“Maybe she doesn’t want to tell us—”
“¡Cállate!”Natasha pressed her fingers to her temples. On top of the throbbing in her leg, her hangover headache worsened, taking up residence behind her eyes.
Bless Dimitri for bringing her glasses.
Lori perched on the edge of the bed and looked contrite. “Sorry. We’re just worried about you. And it seems like there’s something you’re not telling us.”
She was in too much pain to deny it anymore. “You’re right. I’m not.” They both stayed quiet, waiting for her to continue, so she sighed and explained. “A few days ago, my apartment had an emergency. I had to move out immediately. So, I’m staying with Dimitri for the time being while the building makes the repairs.”
There, that sounded simple enough.
But from the stormy expression on Kevin’s face, it wasn’t. “Natasha, if he did this to you—”
She threw her hands up. “Kevin, oh my god! Dimitri didnot—”
The curtain was ripped back again. Everyone shut up as Dimitri crowded in, along with a short man in a white doctor’s coat and a pin that read “Dr. Ross.”
The doctor greeted her with a grin. “So, you’re onThe Dance Off.”
Natasha flinched. “Please don’t tell the media.”
“Oh, I won’t.” Dr. Ross jerked a thumb over his shoulder at Dimitri. “This guy here promised me some photos and autographs for my wife and kids. They’re big fans.”
Dimitri practically vibrated with nerves. “I’ll come to your house and teach them to dance myself, if you want. Just fix my woman.” He made wild gestures at Natasha’s ice-packed foot.
His woman.That was new. She didn’t have time to think about it, though. Now that the doctor was here, she was subjected to a barrage of tests, expedited once the doctor and nurses found out she was a professional dancer and a celebrity.
Having four cast members ofThe Dance Offwas a red-letter day for the ER. While Natasha was getting x-rays done, a nurse took Kevin and Lori to the pediatric floor to say hi to some of the kids. Dimitri stayed by Natasha’s side, and growled at anyone who tried to separate them. They signed a lot of autographs to make up for his behavior.
Finally, Natasha was back in her bed, surrounded by Kevin, Lori, Dimitri, and Dr. Ross.
“The good news is nothing is broken,” Dr. Ross began, consulting a tablet. “The bad news is, you have a pretty severe sprain. It doesn’t look like you’ll need surgery on the ligaments, but you’ll have to stay off it.”
Natasha blinked. She couldn’t be hearing him correctly. “But I have to work.”
“Does work involve sitting down with your ankle iced and propped up?”
The sarcasm was almost lost on her. “I’m a dancer—”
“And if you want to stay a dancer, you’ll stay off the ankle.” Dr. Ross gave her a sympathetic smile, but his tone was firm. “If you don’t want the problem to worsen, give it a rest. If you push it and don’t give it time to heal, you’ll run into more problems later on. You know how it goes.”
