Page 44 of Encore
“Girl, Kaine is thirty years older than me, and I don’t call him dad, even if he took on that role and is amazing at it. You’re becoming my best friend. It would be great if you become family, too, but I wouldn’t treat you any differently.”
“It might go nowhere. My love life is a total shitshow. I knew I was ACE even when I was dancing in Canada. The guy that made me leave knew that, but he kept pressuring me. I would have been just a trophy fuck for him. Marsden is kind of a dick about not firing people, but he takes some things seriously.
“I reported him to the artistic director at my old company, and I was told I’d keep my mouth shut or it would be my job. Although, I can admit now that Marsden has been opening up about everything, I probably read the entire situation wrong when he invited me over to cook for me. I knew he was dating two of his dancers, who were now his stars, and I just came from a toxic situation. I think he was just trying to be nice to me, and I judged him. I think that whole situation would have gone differently here, even if Marsden only has the balls to fire people in specific situations.
“Finding another ACE guy is hard. I’m talking,realguys, not pretenders. There are apps for that, and they are supposed to be safe spaces, but sometimes, they aren’t. There are toxic bros who create accounts because they think lesbians and ACE women just haven’t been dicked right, and they have a magic cock that will change how they were born. I seem to be a magnet for them.”
“That’s terrible, Nyx.”
“It was for them when they tried to whip their dick out on the second date.”
“Oh, my Lilith, Nyx. Please tell me you didn’t shatter their testicles with your scream.”
I wouldn’t put it past her, and I was kind of hoping she did. Men like that pissed me off.
“No way. They consider that assault and throw you in jail, even if he lied and whipped his dick out, knowing full well you didn’t want to see it. I critiqued it. Dicks are ugly. They look like some kind of weird mushroom from an alien planet that’s going to make you think you see the god that created you or kill you in ten seconds. Anyway, most of them were crying when I left.”
I rather liked dicks, but I could admit some of them looked like Nyx’s theory. My guys all hadlovelydicks. However, my side was hurting because I couldn’t stop laughing at the guys who thought they could fuck the asexual out of Nyx and got way more than they bargained for.
“Nyx, whatever happens after this ballet, never change. If you and Kaine get together and Marsden decides to keep recognizing your talent and giving you roles, stay exactly like this because we all love you.”
“Are you going to tell Kaine I told you about us?”
“Hell, no. When Kaine took me in, I was a sixteen-year-old who had lost everything and had already tried to end things once. Yet, he still respected my privacy and quietly let me come to him. Kaine’s been there for me and supported me in anything I wanted to do, even if he wanted something different for me.
“He’s never asked for a damned thing from me. Kaine paid for my ballet lessons and turned his garage into a dance studio. He’s always said relationships never worked for him, but he wanted that for me as long as they weren’t psycho like Derek. So, if the two of you have hit it off, I’m not going to say a damned thing that could ruin it. He’ll tell me when he’s ready.”
“Thanks, Beyla. You’d better not change when you get famous after this ballet. I was pissed when I found out Marsden was giving me a roommate until I got to know you. And that’s my quota on feelings for the night.”
“Pinky swear neither of us will change after this ballet,” I said, holding out my pinky.
Nyx hooked her pinky with mine.
“Pinky swears are just as sacred as blood oaths.”
There was nothing remotely magical about a pinky swear, but Nyx was totally right.
Chapter40
Arden
Ithink Beyla and I were the only cast members who knew about the curse and weren’t totally convinced it was over. I didn’t know the first thing about dark magic or breaking curses, but I was a big fan of horror movies. This was right about the time the big bad popped out to let you know the film wasn’t over yet, and a few more people needed to die before they got to the final girl.
Even though everything had gone smoothly thus far, we just started Hell Week, and if something was going to happen to stop this ballet, it was going to start now. So, I was constantly looking over my shoulder, and it was affecting my performance.
Marsden was screaming at me throughout tech rehearsal for not being focused. I was concentrating enough not to drop Beyla and hurt her, but my acting was total shit. And I still hated pretending to stab my mate in the stomach with a sword.
Oddly, I hated fake stabbing her more than the nights she went off with Nicolai or Merlin or, sometimes, the two of them together. I was a little… curious? Was that the right emotion for your mate fucking other guys, and you weren’t mad about it, you wanted to see if they did things she liked that you hadn’t tried yet? Was there even a word for that?
I wanted to claim her. I was fighting my gryphon every time I was alone with her. But, Arden, the man, wanted it to be unique. It couldn’t just be any Tuesday after a grueling rehearsal. There wasnothinglike curtain call on opening night when it was your first lead role in a major ballet company.
It eclipsed any role you might have danced with your ballet school. It wasn’t your family cheering for you and everyone politely clapping but secretly thinking their kid should have had your role. Most of the people in the audience once you went pro were there to see good ballet, not their crotch fruit.
Beyla wouldn’t just get flowers backstage from her family. She was going to blow New York City out of the water, and they were going toshowerher with roses when she took her bows. The feeling was utterly unreal. My first time was years ago, and it pretty much never got old.
This was a special night for me, too. I’d be sharing the stage with my mate, and Bevan would be right up there with us. It was too perfect. As much as I wanted to do it, I wanted it to be a night neither of us would forget.
Marsden was being precious again. Beyla kicked my ass about getting my shit together after tech rehearsal was a disaster. She was totally right. I was still worried something might happen, but I was a professional. I should totally be able to dance an insanely difficult ballet, act it out like they gave Tonys for ballet, and keep a lookout for this curse rearing its ugly head. Plus, I couldn’t be anything less than perfect since this was Beyla’s first lead role with the company.
