Pas de Deux Read online

  Addison laughed. “Uh huh. Sure. But it’s okay. I won’t tell anyone.”

  “You’re ridiculous.”

  “I’m in here next,” Addison explained as she stopped beside the door to the De Valois studio. “And you know you love it.”

  Mallory huffed her best sardonic laugh and shook her head. “God, what does that say about me, then?”

  “No idea. But I’m glad,” Addison murmured. She cleared her throat softly as a young, male dancer in black track pants and a faded blue zip-up hoodie eased past them, muttering an apology for interrupting but that he needed to warm up. She shook her head as she helped the door close after him. “I guess it’s time for me to get back at it,” she sighed. “Knock ‘em dead out there tonight, Mal.”

  “I’ll try my best,” Mallory promised.

  Addison smiled and dipped her head in a small nod. “Well, then they’re not going to know what hit them.”

  “Do you have any ideas for how we might make a bridge between Soar and Shift?” Nina asked. “You and Addison will be mid-spin, leading into that dip we have been working on when Soar ends, so it needs to flow from one to the next without pause.”

  Mallory nodded slowly as she mulled the possible options. The past fortnight had moved their progress on Evolution forward toward the final third of the ballet, and for as much as she loved watching her collaboration with Addison come to life, it was moments like these that made her feel like she was actually contributing something valuable to the production they were creating. She was getting better at moving her feet and her body how Nina wanted, but this—discussing the music—was where she still felt most comfortable. The difficulty in joining the two lay in the fact that Soar ended a full octave higher than where Shift began, but…

  “If you want it to be done quickly, to jump from one to the next without much in the way of superfluous notes, a portamento would probably be the most effective way to go at it.” She lifted her violin to her shoulder and played the last few bars of Soar, drawing the final note to the extreme limit of her bow before angling it down and, in a single pull, taking the music from high-to-low and then seamlessly transitioned into the opening few bars Shift.

  She was having to work long into the night, even after a full day of rehearsals and performances, to commit the remaining minutes of music for Evolution to memory, but the pleased smile that curled Nina’s lips as she let the final note fade was evidence that the effort was worth it.

  “Perfect.” Nina nodded. “Yes. That will be perfect,” she repeated, almost to herself as she moved her arms and shoulders in minute approximations of what she was, undoubtedly, going to ask them to perform. Still smiling, she arched a brow at Mallory as she asked, “Will you remember it?”

  “I’ll make a note on my music, but yes, I should be able to remember it just fine.” Mallory glanced over at Addison, who was lying on the floor with her eyes closed and her arms flung wide from her shoulders while her legs extended above her, propped against the barre.

  “Wonderful.” Mallory turned her attention back to Nina, who was looking at Addison with a critical eye. Addison was clearly spent. Beyond rehearsals for Evolution, which were becoming more demanding by the day due to the fact that she was able to grasp the new ideas being presented to her so much more quickly, Addison was also pushing through final preparations for her turn in Mayerling and beginning rehearsals for Swan Lake. It was a schedule that would test even the toughest athlete and, thankfully, Nina was able to recognize and understand when her dancers needed a break. “We’ll pick up with this transition tomorrow,” she decided, making sure to speak loudly enough for her voice to carry to where Addison was lying on the floor. She smiled fondly at the little cheer Addison gave in response and shook her head as she instructed, “But, for now, try and get some rest. Go hit the physio suite—get a massage and whatever else you need to be ready for tomorrow. We’ll work for only an hour or so, so Addison will have plenty of time to rest before her performance, but we can’t afford to miss a day.”

  “One o’clock?” Paul asked as he began packing his things. It was just the four of them in Fonteyn, as Toby had left halfway through their session to assist with another rehearsal.

  Nina nodded. “Yes.” She patted Mallory on the shoulder. “Good work today.”

  “Thank you.” Mallory dipped her head.

  “How about me?” Addison called. She was still laying on the floor, though she did crane her neck in a way to be almost looking at them.

  “Adequate,” Nina declared, her lips pressing into a smirk.

  “Love you too, Nina,” Addison sassed as she resumed her previous position, face pointed toward the ceiling with her eyes closed.

  Nina chuckled softly under her breath and gave Mallory’s shoulder one last pat before she turned toward the door. Paul followed at her heels, offering Mallory a smile and a small tip of his head—he wasn’t the most talkative fellow—and once the door had closed after them, Mallory sighed and made her way toward her things.

  “Are you okay?” she asked Addison as she knelt beside her to begin packing away her violin.

  “Just tired,” Addison assured her through a yawn. “You?”

  “About the same,” Mallory confessed. “And I’ve still got a performance later this evening to get through.”

  Addison turned her head to look at Mallory and blinked her eyes open. “You should come to physio with me and get a massage. Not a full sports massage or anything that will leave you sore, but just a relaxing rub-down. Eve’s massages are pure magic; she’ll have you feeling like you can leap tall buildings in a single bound by the time she’s done.”

  Mallory had to admit that a massage sounded wonderful, but it was already nearing three forty-five and she needed to be at St. Luke’s—the LSO’s auxiliary performance location—by half-past six to meet with Clara and the young girl who had been selected from a local youth orchestra to serve as a “guest conductor” for a couple of the pieces they would be performing that evening. As had become her routine, her concert blacks were hanging in a garment bag in her dressing room, and she had been hoping to steal a quick cat-nap to recharge her batteries a bit before having to head out. “I don’t know, Addy. I mean, it sounds heavenly, but—”

  “Trust me.” Addy rolled onto her side and pushed herself to a sitting position. “What you need is to get on Eve’s table. Her hands are seriously to die for,” she enthused as she began unknotting the ribbons around her ankles.

  “How do you even know she’d have time for me? And, if she’s that good, why don’t you go to her?”

  “Whenever I can get onto her schedule, I do. But Gabs had her booked already, so I took a spot with Jason. I’m not picky, and he does a good job getting into my hip. But now Celine is out for a couple weeks with a tweaked hammy and Gabs has been slotted into her spot in the Mayerling rotation, so she’ll be in rehearsal this afternoon instead.”

  Mallory nodded. While she had no idea who Celine was, she had met Gabriella “Gabs” Calvente, a first-soloist with the company and Addison’s best friend, a handful of times. The beautiful Spaniard was just as friendly and outgoing as Addison, and though it was a little overwhelming to be caught in the whirlwind of so much combined energy, watching their easy friendship reminded her a lot of herself and Will. “Good for her.”

  “Yeah. So, anyway, take her spot with Eve.”

  “Addy,” Mallory sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. Whether as an unconscious response to the suggestion of a massage, or simply a result of standing still long enough for the aches of playing as much as she had been lately to settle in, she was suddenly keenly aware of how tight her neck and shoulders were. “You’re not going to let this go, are you?”

  Addison grinned, clearly sensing victory was near. “Nope.” She tossed her pointe shoes into her bag and grabbed her slippers. “Come on, Mal,” she cajoled in a soft voice as she popped to her feet. “You’ve been here for a month now, it’s about time you take advantage of som
e of the perks. Lord knows you’ve earned it.”

  “Okay. Fine. You win. Let’s go see this magic-worker of yours.”

  “Yay!” Addison cheered as she grabbed Mallory’s left arm and pulled her toward the door.

  The curious looks that had followed Mallory the first few weeks she had been rehearsing Evolution had all but disappeared, and she appreciated being able to blend into the waves of dancers that ebbed and flowed between various rehearsal spaces. It was a nice change of pace to simply be a face amongst the crowd, not responsible for anything beyond herself.

  The physio and massage suites were on the floor below the main rehearsal studios. What Mallory assumed was the main physio suite—a gym full of weight machines, ellipticals, treadmills, and free weights that looked like it could rival the fanciest of private health clubs—was closest to the lifts, and the woman working the desk outside the glassed-in room waved at Addison as they passed. Inside, there were a good dozen or so dancers putting the equipment through its paces.

  Mallory leaned in close to whisper, “Surely there aren’t that many injured dancers in the company?”

  Addison chuckled and shook her head. “Most of the boys like to lift at least a few times a week because they need to be strong enough to throw us girls in the air, and a lot of us will come in and log some miles on the elliptical on lighter rehearsal days for the cardio. Of course, we all have our weak spots—ankles, hips, backs, what have you—and the therapists are always willing to help devise programs for us that will strengthen those areas. This isn’t a job you can do if you’re hurt, so we’re all very proactive in making sure we’re as physically strong as possible to lower the risk of injury.”

  “That makes sense.”

  “Which includes,” Addison continued with a smile and a wink as she steered them around a corner that took them right up to a small desk that was situated at the head of a short hallway, “regular massages.”

  The man at the desk looked up at them and smiled. He looked to be in his early forties, Mallory guessed, with cropped salt-and-pepper hair and kind blue eyes. “Hey, Addy and friend.”

  Addison wrapped a hand around Mallory’s arm as she leaned into her side. “Jason, this is my partner in Nina’s latest attack on the old-school ballet establishment, Mallory Collingswood.”

  Jason nodded as he pushed himself to his feet and offered Mallory his hand. “Jason Collins.”

  “Pleasure,” Mallory murmured as she shook his hand.

  “She’s going to take Gabs’ spot with Eve,” Addison explained.

  “Gabs said you wanted us to hold the spot for you when she called down earlier.” Jason smirked. “I was going to give you a hard time for just showing up and not calling ahead to cancel, but I guess all has to be forgiven now. Shame though, I had quite the dressing-down plotted for you.”

  Addison laughed. “Sure you did.”

  “You are not as cute as you think you are,” Jason pointed out.

  “Please, I’m adorable,” Addison sassed.

  Jason rolled his eyes. “Anyway,” he declared, pointedly ignoring Addison as he smiled at Mallory. “If you’re putting up with that one on a daily business, I can’t believe we haven’t seen you sooner.”

  Mallory pursed her lips to keep from laughing and lifted her shoulders in a small shrug.

  “Oh, shut it. She loves me,” Addison insisted. “I am an absolute delight to work with.”

  “Yeah, that’s what all you superstars think,” Jason jibed. “Mallory, Eve is finishing up a phone call and then she’ll be out. And we”—he snapped his fingers at Addison—“are going to go dig into that hip of yours.”

  “No digging. I’m on tomorrow night.”

  “Don’t be a wuss,” Jason teased.

  Addison arched a brow defiantly. “Excuse me?”

  “Will you two knock it off,” a new, distinctly female voice called out. The woman was tall and lean, all arms and legs in a way that Mallory had come to associate with dancers, with wild red curls and the brightest green eyes Mallory had ever seen. She shook her head at Addison and Jason, who had matching playfully affronted looks on their faces, and extended her hand to Mallory. “They’re as bad as children whenever they get together. Eve Burkstrand.”

  Mallory bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling and nodded as she shook Eve’s hand. “Mallory Collingswood.”

  “You ready?”

  “I guess?” Mallory glanced around the tiny reception area. The last time she’d visited a new masseuse, she’d had to fill out a brief medical history. “Are there any forms I need to fill out?”

  Eve smiled kindly and shook her head. “Nope. We’ll take care of it in the room.”

  “I’ll wait for you out here?” Addison offered.

  It wasn’t necessary, really, Mallory was sure she would be able to find her way back to her dressing room without too much difficulty, but she couldn’t help but be touched by the offer. “Sure.”

  “Excellent,” Jason drawled, clapping a hand on Addison’s shoulder and steering her toward a room. “Now, let’s go. For as much as I’d love to go home after this, you are not the last dancer who is going to occupy my table today.”

  “Aww, poor baby…” Addison mocked as she turned into the room.

  “You know, it’s not a good idea to tease the guy who’s going to be digging his thumb into your hip here in a minute,” Jason pointed out as he followed her inside.

  The door closed after them slow enough that they could hear Addison saying, “Yeah, well, you know it’s not a good idea for you to do anything that will keep me from going on stage tomorrow night, so I guess we’re at a stalemate here, aren’t we, Bucko?”

  “Wow,” Mallory muttered once the door had clicked shut after them.

  “Yep.” Eve chuckled. “Come on.” Once they were secured in the room beside the one Addison had disappeared into, Eve leaned against the door and crossed her arms over her chest. “Have you had any recent surgeries?”

  Mallory shook her head as she set her violin and kit bag on the floor beneath a chair. “None.”

  “Points of pain?”

  “Just a general discomfort in my neck and shoulders. But I do have a concert tonight. Addison seemed to suggest that wouldn’t be a problem?”

  “Not a problem at all. Do you want me to work on your legs too, or just the upper body?”

  “I think my upper body would be more than sufficient.”

  “Okay then.” Eve smiled and tipped her head at the sheet-covered table in the center of the room. “If you want, you can leave your sweats and underwear on. Shoes, shirt, and bra will need to come off. There’s a heating pad under the sheet on the table that I can turn off if you get too warm, but just go ahead and make yourself comfortable on your stomach beneath the top sheet, and I’ll be back in in a minute.”

  “Wonderful. Ta,” Mallory muttered as she began toeing off her trainers. Once the door was shut, she quickly undressed and made herself comfortable on the table as Eve had instructed.

  A few minutes later a light knock sounded on the door, which was pushed slowly open as Eve called out, “Ready?”

  “Yes,” Mallory answered through a yawn. “Sorry.”

  “No reason to apologize,” Eve assured her with a smile. “Feel free to close your eyes and relax. Do you want me to turn on some music?”

  Mallory shrugged. So much of her days anymore were filled with noise and people and activity that she had grown to cherish moments of quiet—even if her mind did seem to be constantly spinning. “I’m fine without it if you are.”

  “Perfectly fine,” Eve assured her.

  Mallory sighed as warm hands landed lightly on her upper back.

  Eve chuckled. “When was your last massage?”

  “God, a lifetime ago,” Mallory muttered. “Maybe two years?”

  Eve clicked her tongue disapprovingly. “When we’re done here, we’re going to put you on my schedule at least once a week. Is there a day you don’t work?”


  “Not anymore,” Mallory groaned as Eve’s thumbs found matching knots on her shoulders, one on either side of her spine. “Tuesdays are my day off at the LSO, and I have rehearsals here with Nina Monday through Friday, so…”

  “We’ll figure something out,” Eve assured her in a gentle tone. “Now, just relax. Let me know if you need me to ease up anywhere, but I won’t dig into anything I find too hard.”

  Mallory sighed as Eve’s hands smoothed over her shoulders. “You are an angel.”

  Eve chuckled but didn’t respond, and Mallory relaxed into the table. She made a mental note to thank Addison for talking her into this, but then all thought disappeared as her mind contented itself with focusing only on the heavenly push and pull of Eve’s hands against her skin.

  “Okay, you,” Eve declared some time later, placing her palm flat on Mallory’s back between her shoulder blades and giving a little shake. “Time to wake up.”

  “No thank you,” Mallory muttered. She blinked her eyes open and smiled at Eve. “Addison was right. Your hands are pure magic.”

  “I’m glad I could help,” Eve chuckled. “Feel free to lie there for as long as you want, and I’ll be waiting at the desk once you’re dressed, and we’ll look at the schedule and find a time for you to come in every week.”

  Mallory nodded as Eve slipped out of the room, and sighed as she pushed herself upright. She would have loved nothing more than to stay on that table all night, but a glance at the clock on the wall over the door was enough to spur her into action. She had just over ninety minutes until she needed to be at St. Luke’s, and she still needed to shower, dress, and find some kind of dinner.

  “It was nice while it lasted,” she murmured to herself as she reached for her clothes.

  She found Addison sitting on the desk in the reception area talking to Eve and Jason once she’d dressed and gathered her things, and she smiled and nodded at the questioning look Addison gave her.

  Addison beamed. “Told you.”

  “Hush, you.” Eve poked Addison in the side. “I have an opening at six on Mondays. Would that work for you?”