Page 42 of On Dancer
Twenty-Two
Tombé:to fall from one leg to another.
Rudy
The ballet school predictably turned into a ghost town the week afterThe Nutcracker. Most classes were on a break until the new year, with many teachers and families taking advantage of the time for holiday travel. For myself, I bounced between getting caught up on all the tasks that I’d had to delay to handle more time-critical performance crises and counting down until I could next be alone with Alexander.
We snuck in more making out on Monday and Tuesday night. However, despite the fun we had every time we got behind a closed door, Alexander seemed out of sorts, like his normal energy was taking its time coming back from the demands of the show. At least he wasn’t holed up in the pool house. Instead, he hung around the school during the day, giving himself class inone of the studios, but he seemed to be dragging himself through the routine. By Wednesday, I’d had enough of his doldrums.
I sought him out after his afternoon class while he was pulling on his warm-ups.
“You need a distraction.” I knocked lightly on the studio door before entering. Looking up from his dance bag, Alexander gave a slow smile, wicked intent rising in his eyes as he glanced at the door behind me. Skin heating, I gently closed the door.
“I’d say I’ve already found the perfect distraction, and he’s standing in front of me.” He stalked to the classroom windows that faced the hallway, lowering the blinds with a flick of his wrist.
“There is that.” I gave a strangled cough. The building might be half-empty, but my mother was still around. The most I was willing to risk was a few kisses in the studio, no matter how predatory Alexander’s expression turned. “But clearly I’m not doing a good enough job as your designated distraction because you’ve been restless all week.”
“Typical post-performance funk.” Crossing back to where I stood, Alexander gave me a lingering kiss. “Nothing personal. And nothing some alone time with you won’t cure. Your place or mine tonight?”
My heart lifted that he counted me as a help with his mood. I was also thrilled by the easy way he assumed we’d spend the evening together.
“Much as I love sneaking you into my apartment and vice versa, I think we both need an escape from Hollyberry for the evening.”
“An escape?” Alexander sounded intrigued, which boded well for my plan. “And are you having a post-performance adrenaline crash too?”
“More like I have a never-ending holiday to-do list plus helping my mom with her last-minute stuff. However, I had an idea for you and me tonight.”
“Okay.” Alexander gave an easy shrug before kissing me again. “What’s the dress code for this adventure?”
“You’re in?” I was befuddled by his fast agreement as much as by his kisses. “You don’t need more information?”
“I trust you.” He smiled indulgently at me. “You haven’t led me wrong yet. And you’re probably right about needing an escape of sorts. No offense to either of our couches, but some variety might be nice.”
“Exactly.” I beamed at him. “Go back to your place and get changed. Nothing too fancy, but you’ll want to be warm. I’ll pick you up around five.”
“Sounds good.” Alexander graced me with one last toe-curling kiss before resuming packing up his things. He left me to the rest of my workday, not that I got a ton done before racing upstairs for a fast shower and change of my own. Temperatures were dropping, so I cranked the heater on the way to pick him up.
I pulled around to the back of the Dasher house, and Alexander slid into the passenger seat like he’d been waiting for me by the pool house window. His unexpected eagerness gave me a jolt of energy. Alexander genuinely enjoying my company was better than any triple-shot latte.
“Okay, where are we headed, boss?” he asked as he rubbed his hands in front of the heater.
“On a hunt for the best Christmas lights in the suburbs.” I tried to sound confident in my plan for a drive and dinner. “There’s a neighborhood closer to the city that’s famous for its lights.”
“Evergreen.” Alexander gave a fond smile. “I know the one. My parents took us there a time or two on a similar hunt.”
“Not too cheesy of an idea?” I was careful not to call this a date. We were hanging out every night and kissing and swapping orgasms, but I wasn’t sure anything with a looming expiration date could be called dating. “We can get dinner too. Evergreen has a revived downtown with a new restaurant with a view of the town lights.”
“I love the idea.” Alexander glanced back at the main house before giving me a fast kiss. “I haven’t had much time for the season in years. Our finalThe Nutcrackerperformance is Christmas Eve or a few days afterward, and I wouldn’t want to do holiday stuff alone in any event.”
The idea of Alexander alone and exhausted in Seattle in his post-performance funk made me unreasonably sad. He needed someone to take care of him, and I wished with all my heart it could be me. But all I said was, “You should. After all your hard work, you’ve earned some holiday fun.”
“So have you.” He offered a wink that said I was likely getting more kissing later.
I took a back-roads route to Evergreen, which was south of Hollyberry, so we could see some lights in different neighborhoods along the way. We passed my college, which had ribbons on the light posts and white lights along the main walkway, before we arrived at Evergreen. Predictably, this close to Christmas, the narrow streets were clogged with slow-moving traffic, so I parked in a community center lot, and we walked over to explore on foot.
“Glad I brought gloves.” Alexander stamped his feet against the cold as we waited to cross the street to enter the neighborhood.
“I’ll have to warm you up later,” I teased in a low voice.
