CHAPTER 61
Lex
Shane and I stood at the hotel curb, suitcases in hand. And with a heavy heart, I watched as our driver pulled up and exited the SUV to greet us. Our flights were already booked—his to Atlanta to meet up with Dominic, mine to Seattle, where I would finally hear the words I’d been running from since I was a little girl.
I told you so.
I shivered thinking about my parents’ likely reaction as I walked through their front door, defeat written all over my face. Would they even care what I’d been through? They probably wouldn’t even ask. They’d chalk it up to young, immature Alexandra, who had finally seen the error of her ways.
The sour image of my future was broken up by Shane’s hand resting on the back of my neck. “You ready?”
I shook my head and clutched my belongings tighter. “Just give me a minute.” I met his eyes. “We’re early, right?”
“There’s no rush. Take your time.” He stepped forward and talked to the driver, who proceeded to nod and walk back to his car.
I looked toward the busy Vegas traffic, but it was all a blur as I thought long and hard about my next move. My gut churned, telling me something was wrong. My decision to go back to Seattle was an emotional one and made in haste, a reaction to the heartbreak and confusion I felt yesterday after receiving that letter of termination. But maybe it was the wrong decision.
Shane approached again, this time stepping in front of me and forcing my eyes to meet his. “You don’t have to go back there. This doesn’t have to be the end of the road.”
My throat burned. Why did I think it was the best option? And then, with an ache in my chest, I remembered.
“You read the termination papers. The contract I signed is active for one year. That means even if I keep taking classes at Gravity, I won’t be able to audition for a single thing until that expires.”
“That contract is bullshit, and everyone knows it. Winter can fire you for breaching the contract, but she can’t fuck up your livelihood.”
I swallowed, knowing what he was saying was probably true. “Still, I only have enough savings for the next four months. That’s not enough time to find something else and earn a living.”
“You know I’ll take care of the expenses until you can pitch in. I’m making money now. We’ll be fine.”
I groaned. “I need to be able to support myself. You know that’s important to me.”
He nodded as he squeezed his eyes shut then opened them again. “There’s got to be another option. There’s nothing good for you in Seattle. That’s not your home anymore. Your home is wherever you’re able to live out your dream.”
Despite the awful situation I was in, his words breathed hope into me. Winter could take away my money, but she couldn’t take away my skills or my dream. If I decided to give up, that would be totally on me.
Dancers trained long and hard to find their center—their balance—in order to look and feel as light as possible on the dance floor. We were taught to be grounded, sturdy, limber, and weightless. So then why was I having so much trouble finding that sense of balance in my life?
“Have you tried to talk to Theo?”
I frowned, hating the guilt that tore through my chest. I wasn’t being fair to him. I knew that. “He’ll just convince me to stay, and I need to figure this out on my own.”
“Okay,” Shane said, peeling my bags away from my hands. I looked down, confused. “I’m not going to tell you what to do, but I am going to force you to think harder about your next move. So, I think you should cancel your flight.”
“What?” Panic gripped me. “Why?”
“Because,” he said, gesturing to the bellhop to grab our things. “If you really wanted to go home, you’d be on your way to the airport by now. Today we’re going to live it up, Vegas-style. When you’re ready to make a decision, you will.”
Relief flowed through me at the thought of not having to make a life-altering decision right that second. “I do have some Vegas winnings I could splurge with. And there’s so much more I’ve been dying to see.” I looked up at him, excitement bubbling from within. “And I might also have comp tickets for Thunder From Down Under.”
Shane’s mouth spread wide with a grin. “There’s my girl.”
The Vegas strip was as alive during the day as it was at night. Drinks were flowing, alarm bells were ringing, and roller coasters were zooming by.
Shane and I tried our luck at a game of blackjack, which ended up lasting a few hours longer than I’d anticipated. The five-dollar table we’d chosen at Imperial Palace was filled with supportive gamblers who talked me through each hand. Even the dealer stepped in to give me some advice. I walked away with the same forty bucks I’d started with, an apple martini in my hand, and a smile on my face.
“What’s next?” I asked excitedly as we walked by Carnival Court at Harrah’s.
He shrugged, his head still aimed down at his phone. I swore he never let that thing go. “This is your day,” he said. “You tell me.”
I didn’t have to think about it long. The items on my Vegas wish list had been sitting stagnant since we’d arrived last week. “Okay. Then New York, New York, it is. I want to ride the roller coaster.”
He gestured for me to lead the way. “After you.”
We trotted through Vegas, riding the Big Apple roller coaster, playing in the arcade, then visiting random hotels along the strip and plopping down at the video poker machines along the way. We moved nonstop from one adventure to another without pause until the sun finally dipped behind the Paris Hotel.
When we arrived at the Excalibur for Thunder From Down Under, an Australian male dance show, Shane was practically frothing at the mouth. “Please tell me we have good seats.”
I grinned and flashed him the tickets I’d received when claiming my comp seats. I had to upgrade them, but I knew Shane wouldn’t be disappointed.
“Table five. That sounds good.” He was nodding, then his face scrunched. “What’s the Thunder Zone?”
I bit my bottom lip to keep my excitement at bay and pulled out a map of the seating chart I’d grabbed when I got the tickets. “That’s front row center, baby. Pretty sure you’re getting a lap dance tonight.”
He squealed and pulled me into a hug and squeezed. “Your best friend card just renewed for another lifetime.”
“Not long enough,” I said, resting my cheek on his chest. “Our friendship will never expire.”
Near midnight, a very drunk Shane insisted we go to the Bellagio to check out the water show. I knew it would be our last stop of the night, and I considered turning my phone back on to finally face what I’d almost run from.
I reached into my purse, pressed the power button, then waited for the screen to light up. It was easy to get lost in Vegas, but no matter the thrills, thoughts of Theo still dominated my heart and mind. He didn’t deserve my silence, though I still hadn’t decided what I would do next. In fact, I hadn’t thought about it all day. Distractions were much easier than making life-altering decisions.
I wanted to cry when I pushed the power button again and my phone’s screen remained black. “No,” I groaned. “It’s dead.”
Now that I was thinking about calling Theo, that was all I wanted to do. I was anxious to get ahold of him and see where he stood after everything had gone down. Why had I been so damn selfish?
Shane slung his heavy arm around my shoulders. “Can we just stay for the show?”
I looked up at the bright Bellagio lights shining down on a horizontal pond and nodded. After dragging Shane around all day, I couldn’t take him away from the one thing he’d wanted to do. “Of course. We’re here. We can head back when the show’s over.”
We’d been standing there only a minute when Shane slapped at his jeans pocket and pulled out his phone. He checked the screen and took a step back. “Sorry, Lex. I need to take this.” He started weaving through the crowd before calling over his shoulder, “Give me two minutes.”
As I held onto the rail, I felt anxiety ripple through me at all the unknowns I’d let mount throughout the day.
What would Theo do?
Did he get fired too?
What about the rest of the crew?
How would they forge ahead with a missing dancer in formation?
The reality of the entire situation slammed me before I could brace for impact. I hadn’t just ruined my dreams, I’d caused a mess with the show too. A show we had all worked so hard on over the past several weeks.
By the time music started playing over the loudspeakers, signaling the start of the show, I was wiping tears from my eyes while battling the guilt inside me. When I realized the opening notes were to Elton John’s “Your Song,” my heart had grown too heavy to stay still any longer.
And in that quick beat, I knew exactly what I had to do.
I stepped from the rail, my pulse zooming through my veins. Before I could even turn around, I slammed into something hard.
“Going somewhere?”
My heart kicked at the familiar voice as I spun on my heels and saw him. The man of my dreams, the man in my heart, the man I couldn’t have left if I’d tried.
Theo—my Theo—stood there, a hint of a smile on his face as he pulled me into his arms.
“Mind if I keep you company?”
I couldn’t tear my gaze from his. I couldn’t speak. I just stared as tears welled in my eyes. “Theo, I’m—”
He shushed me with a shake of his head and nudged me back to the rail. “We have a show to watch. And then we’ll talk.”