Chapter Thirty-Three
I was almost in tears as I bowed in front of the crowd. People were on their feet, even, applauding me for my performance. I was the lead girl and they'd liked me. My parents had been cheeky enough to nab Amber's parents' seats in the front row and they'd jumped to their feet first. My mam had the audacity to wolf whistle.
Ethan was there, too, on his feet and beaming from ear to ear.
When I'd been the first one to walk onto the stage, my costume obviously that of Cinderella, my parents' jaws had practically dropped. It was Mrs. Mellier who had offered them the seats, but we'd agreed to keep the reason secret until I came onto stage.
Leon's hand was linked tight through mine as we bowed again and I felt sure he was feeling especially emotional, too. There was a gesture from someone at the side of the stage and we filed off. My heart was beating so fast I was bit scared of collapsing and I was trying desperately to blink back the tears that gathered in the side of my eyes.
The performance had gone in a flashâI'd had to concentrate on the moves too much to get emotionalâbut this aftermath was overwhelming.
I'd finally done it.
Off the stage, Leon engulfed me in a hug and it was a half sob, half laugh that left my throat. "I can't believe I just did that."
"You were really great." He pulled back before it could get awkward and I saw him swiping at his own eyes. "And I was pretty good, too. I think they loved it."
"Come on, let's go and change. I want to see my parents."
I slipped into the girls' changing rooms and out of the wedding dress I'd worn for the final scene. I'd never intended to wear a wedding dress, probably ever in my life, especially not to pretend to get married to Leon.
The dress I put on now was from Ethan. It wasn't nearly as expensive as the one Leon got me and I wouldn't have wanted it to be, but he'd handed me a box in one of the few moments we had alone before the performance began and even managed to sneak a kiss.
I hadn't had time to open it until now, but I admired the soft material in my hands. Sliding it over my head and doing up the zip, I checked my appearance in the mirror. I noticed first that the deep burgundy colour matched the tie I'd seen Ethan wearing to a t. I bit the inside of my cheek. Resisting touching him when I saw him would be nigh-on impossible. It was subtle enough for no one to notice, but it meant a lot to me. The top was mesh and the plunge was low enough to be bordering on scandalous.
I loved it.
Everyone had already stood up and the chairs were being rapidly shoved into store cupboards to make way for everyone mingle. There was a buffet with drinks at the far end of the room.
My parents were front and centre, waiting for me to emerge, and I practically skipped towards them. I was swept up into a tight triple hug. "You were so great," my mam blubbered. "You and Leon, dancing together like that."
I practically slapped her arm and she sniggered. "I'm just joking. You were very beautiful, though, really. Your dancing has gotten so much better."
"You were brilliant," my dad agreed, pulling back and guiding us away from the entrance to the backstage area. "So, how come you ended up getting the lead role?"
I explained it to them without all the gory details. "Amber couldn't perform because she had to leave the school and E- Mr. Langley had been teaching me the routine in our lessons, so I knew all the moves."
"Now, I'm going to grab some food." My mam looked towards the buffet which hadn't gotten busy quite yet. "It was great last time we came."
I laughed, gaze latching onto an older woman who was approaching me. I cleared my throat and straightened out my dress. I didn't recognise her, which I hoped could only mean one thing.
She stuck her arm out immediately, as I'd come to expect from the upper class, and I shook it with a firm grip. "I'm Jennifer Crow, recruiter at the Northern Ballet." Her accent was very northern, too. It was like being at home. "Your performance was quite spectacular tonight."
My cheeks turned a warm pink. "Thank you very much."
"I'm not supposed to really say it, but I'd like to offer you a place at the ballet. You'd come for a day to visit and see how your style meshes with the others', which really shouldn't be any issue at all, and then they'll offer you a formal place." She handed me a business card. "This is my direct number. Give me a ring in the next couple of days and we can work something out. Of course this won't be until the end of the school year, but as long as you keep the practice up, the place is essentially yours."
I wanted to hug her, but I restrained myself. I wasn't even sure what to say. "Wow," was my first reaction, to which she offered a wide smile. "Thank you. I'll definitely give you a call tomorrow. Thank you, again."
"It'll be good to see you again." And then she disappeared back into the crowd, no doubt going to give the same speech to someone else.
I was bouncing on the spot. "I can't believe it," I chirped. My dad looked after the woman like he wanted to kiss her. "The Northern Ballet." The troop I'd been to see so many times when I was growing up. I could be a part of them.
I spotted Liliana and her parents in a corner a moment later. I'd been scouring the room for them as soon as I'd entered it, but this was the first time I'd glimpsed them. Liliana was leaning towards them, her face filled with rage. I stared, as her parents' expression turned from shock to sadness. It wasn't anger, it was regret.
They'd never expected to get caught.
At some point during my staring, Liliana's mam's eyes flicked towards mine, and then she couldn't look away. After a few seconds, all three of them were looking at me. I swallowed.
Liliana started marching towards me, apologised to my parents, and then dragged me back. She stood me in front of her parents, and I tried not to flinch away from them.
"Apologise." Liliana's jaw was so tight I thought it might snap. Her parents hesitated. "Apologise," she repeated. "For what you've done."
Liliana's mother sighed. "I'm very sorry, dear, for what we did to you. You must know we just thought we were doing what was best for our daughter and it was never meant to put you in danger." She cleared her throat. "You were collateral damage. We just don't like her going down the wrong path."
I felt awkward, in front of them, and as much as Liliana probably wanted me to tell them exactly what I thought of their cruel plan, I couldn't. I refused to do anything that might make them use their information. "It's fine," I bit out. "I'd rather just forget it ever happened. All of it."
Liliana's dad shifted his weight. "Of course. You have nothing to worry about."
I nodded and looked to Liliana, who nodded back. She walked away with me for a couple of seconds. "They paid someone to put the notes in your room," she explained, shaking her head. "I'm really sorry they put you through that."
"It's over now, it doesn't matter. And it definitely isn't your fault. Thanks for making them apologise to me."
My throat burned when she enveloped me in a hug. "I know we'll never see each other again, but I really did like you. It sucks all that stuff happened."
Tears swam in both our eyes when we pulled back. "I'm sorry for being such a dick and fucking everything up. I really liked you, too."
It wasn't a promise that the last couple of months we'd be best friends, it was a mourning of the possibility we could have been. That was good enough for me. I returned to my parents with the weight lifted. The rest of the year was going to be easy swimming.
My mam cornered me when I returned. "Your dad says you've been approached already. That's my girl."
I grinned. "Yeah. The Northern Ballet."
Ethan materialised beside me, giving the three of us a winning smile. "Congratulations on the performance."
"Couldn't have done it without you." Ethan was wearing a tight shirt that showed off his muscles perfectly. I tried to wait until we were alone before I ogled him too much. His gaze only slipped to my exposed cleavage once.
My dad stuck out his hand. "Nice to meet you."
"You too." Ethan looked a bit awkward, even if my dad had no idea we were involved.
"I was very unimpressed with you after the Gala, but I suppose you've redeemed yourself."
Ethan scratched the back of his head and shifted his weight. "Yes, sorry about that. I was a bit unreasonable."
My dad waved a hand. "Forgotten."
"Can I borrow you for a moment?" Ethan looked almost agitated and I raised a brow at him.
"Sure. I'll just be right back."
Ethan guided me towards the balcony and as soon as he'd shut the door behind him his lips moulded to mine aggressively. I was pretty sure he hadn't even checked to make sure there wasn't anyone else out here.
I responded, of course, lacing my hands through his hair and pressing my entire body against his. In these clothes there wasn't a lot left to the imagination. His hand cupped my bum and pulled me tighter against him.
When he pulled back, we were both out of breath and I was more than ready to suggest we ditch this stupid after party and head straight to bed. My parents might think that was slightly suspicious, thoughâthere was still another three months of school to get through where we could be caught.
"Sorry, I just really needed to do that."
I grinned and continued to run my hands through his gelled hair. It was going to be a complete mess by the time I'd done with it and I loved it. "You don't need to apologise."
"You looked very gorgeous tonight." His thumb massaged in random patterns into my hip. "And I suppose your dancing was all right, too."
I flicked his chest and we both dissolved into giggles. "Someone from the Northern Ballet approached me," I explained. I didn't want to rub it in his faceâthat I'd succeeded with the company that he'd not been able to joinâbut I was too excited. Besides, Ethan wanted me to do well. I knew that. "She said I'd practically got the spot as long as I didn't do something horribly wrong in the next few months."
"Horribly wrong like getting caught sleeping with your teacher?" he teased, pressing his lips to the spot just below my ear.
I shivered, arching my back against him and trying desperately to ignore the desire swimming through me. Now definitely wasn't the time. "Something exactly like that. Luckily we aren't planning on sleeping together until the end of the year." It was something we'd discussed a thousand times. "No matter how tempted I am to just do it right here on the balcony."
Ethan smirked, keeping me completely against him so that I could feel the excitement beneath his trousers. "Staying away from you is so difficult."
I pressed my lips to his for the final time before being forced to return to the main room. "Two months, and then you won't have to."
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Sorry about the lack of update yesterday! I went back to uni today so I was spending my last night at home with my boyfriend and forgot to update.
Only the epilogue left to go now!