A Summer Like No Other

Chapter 10 - Nick

What's the best way to tell Em? Do I even tell her? What do I fucking know? Not much...but she's looking for her birth parents, she's set on the idea of meeting them, she's hopeful. My fingers dialed her number five times, but every time I stopped myself. Telling her on the phone seemed wrong.

I hurry up the stairs, down the hallway, push open the door to the studio.

And my mind goes blank. Em's already there, but she's not dancing. Instead she's lying on the floor with her eyes closed.

"That's not the place to take a nap. If Svetlana could see you, she would rip you a new one," I tell her, and can't help but chuckle. Svetlana is one of our nicest teachers, but sleeping in her class would still be a criminal offence.

"I'm not sleeping. I'm visualizing," Em replies, still with her eyes closed. "Nata does this every single time we have an audition or something important to rehearse for, and she's the best dancer at school. Better than any seniors, better than anyone, really."

"She's not better than me," I joke, even though Natalya—Emilia's roommate—is a wonderful dancer. Em smiles. I want to see her smile more often. I rub the back of my neck, wondering if I should tell her or wait until I have more answers.

"It's a close call," she answers. "But the thing is? What I'm sure of is that I'm trailing behind."

I focus on her, on the moment. "You're an amazing dancer."

"Who has the technique but can't let go. When I'm on stage, I can't let myself simply be. I can't be me. Because I have no idea who I am." She finally opens her eyes and turns to rest on her left elbow. I swear I'm not appreciating how that position makes her boobs look bigger. She continues, "You know who you are. You were always so sure about who you were. You never let anyone tell you what to do, what to believe in. It's like you know so much better than the rest of us who you truly are, and you're not afraid to show it."

Her lips turn into a smile that crushes my chest—it's sadder than any choreography I've ever danced, and I danced the role of Hilarion in Giselle, dying at every performance for two months. "I know how to pretend," I tell her. "Is that why you want to find your real parents?" I bore my eyes into her, trying to figure out if that's really what she wants, or if it's what she thinks she should do.

"My real parents are the ones who have been raising me, they're the ones who have to tell me to loosen up, they're the ones who were there for me when I had to get my appendix removed, the ones who taught me to walk, to talk..." She stares behind me. Her voice falters. "But a part of me always wonders." Her eyes gaze into mine and she whispers, "Before getting into the School, do you remember the physical we had to take?"

I nod. "Of course."

"Those questions about hereditary diseases, and about father, mother, siblings and all that, I couldn't answer them." The words rush out of her mouth now, like she's been holding them in for such a long time. "And then that one time Mom was late picking me up, I thought maybe they decided they didn't want me anymore. Another time, we were on holidays and this woman came and stared at me. I thought maybe she recognized me, maybe she gave birth to me. Sometimes, I can't look at strangers without wondering." She sighs. "I'm a mess."

"Everybody is." I stand up over her and extend my hand. I know how to distract her, if only for a few minutes. Then, we can talk. Then, I can spill my guts. Then, we can analyze everything. But right now, I only want to erase her worries. "Come on, let's dance. I want you to do something though."

"What?"

"Let me lead and close your eyes, let your body do the talking, lose yourself in the moment."

She nods, uncertain, and takes my hand. I wrap an arm around her waist and without any music on, I lead her into an arabesque. My fingers guide her as they trail down the side of her body.

We move together. As one. Our bodies are in a harmony you can't fake; the chemistry between us is off the roof. Her movements are fluid and real.

When we stop, I'm almost out of breath and her laugh is my new favorite music. She looks up at me, still in my arms and if I bend down only slightly, I'll finally taste her lips.

And I will.

I can't help myself.

But then she surprises me: she rises on her toes and whispers, "You're the best." And then her lips mold themselves to mine. Tentative at first, but then bolder.

I can't get enough. I can't break away. I can't for the life of me remember why this is a bad idea.

I open her mouth to my tongue and press her even closer. One of my hands stays on the small of her back, while the other cups her face.

She's so sweet and passionate.

She's everything.

Author's note:

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you're enjoying getting to know Em & Nick! I'll be publishing two new chapters every Friday and would love to hear from you, so don't hesitate to leave a comment. The full novella is already published/available on all e-retailers for only $0.99 in case you don't want to wait for the next chapter :) More information on www.elodienowodazkij.com :)