Valentines for Cinderella

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NotWise
NotWise
731 Followers

Mel gasped for breath while two voices from downstairs shouted "Dammit Mel! Quiet down!"

She followed Ray and squeezed her body against him while she kissed his face and his ears and his neck. "I'm probably going to have hell to pay in the morning," Mel murmured in Ray's ear, "But now I couldn't feel better."

Ray pulled Mel's relaxed body against him and let her lips caress his throat. He knew from the way she melted against him that Mel was a well-laid woman.

2.

They held each other until dawn light replaced the streetlight that fell through the window, then Ray suddenly stiffened and sat up on the edge of the bed. "Dammit!" he cursed. "It's Monday." He turned back to Mel and said, "Do you have to work? I've got to go."

"We get Monday off after we close a show," Mel answered, "So I don't have to go to the studio today. Use my shower. I'll go fix you some breakfast."

Ray worked through his day in an exhausted daze and didn't try to reach Mel again until after he had dinner with a client. He got no reply.

He ran again the next day, a little longer than before, then went to the gym after work. He tried to reach Mel again and again she didn't reply.

It wasn't until Tuesday afternoon that Mel answered Ray's text message. "I'm at the Calhoun Community Center." She said. "If you want to talk then see me here."

The community center was in a slum on the south side of downtown. Ray parked next to Mel's old Dodge, then before he went inside he took everything he could move from his car and locked it out of sight in the trunk. He found Mel in warm-ups, leading a rowdy crowd of kids in games and exercises.

The smile on Mel's face and the energy she projected made it obvious to Ray that she loved what she was doing. It was just as obvious from the way the kids clamored for Mel's attention and followed her instructions that they loved Mel.

Ray found Mel's bag by the wall, so he sat a chair next to it and waited, and watched. Mel didn't seem to realize he was there until the games wound down and the kids started to leave, some with parents and some alone. She grinned and waved to him, then turned to talk with a woman who seemed to be in charge of the place.

Mel toweled her neck and chest while she walked across the room to Ray. He stood when she got closer and groaned as he straitened his legs. Mel looked at him with a question in her eyes and Ray answered, "The gym yesterday and running this morning... I'm sore."

"It won't take long." Mel said. "Then you'll feel better." She looked behind him before she picked up her bag and put the towel inside. "I don't want to talk here," she said. "Let's go to my car."

They walked out of the building in silence, then in the parking lot Ray asked, "You looked like you loved doing that. Is it something that Franklin Ballet has you do?"

"Oh God, no," Mel said and laughed. "Paul, the Artistic Director, docks my pay when I leave early to do this here, or over at the Westside center. He doesn't support this kind of thing at all. I do it because I need to." She stopped to unlock the car before she finished her thought. "It would probably help the company if Paul supported any kind of community involvement, but he doesn't."

Mel's car smelled like dirty socks. She didn't seem to notice, but Ray coughed through his nose to clear his senses. She didn't even wait to hear what Ray had to say. "Ray, the other night was great, but do you remember at dinner when I told you how hard it was for dancers to have relationships?"

"Yes?" Ray answered. The conversation was already going in a bad direction.

"I don't want to lead you on." Mel said. "The company is leaving early in the morning for like a month. We're touring a mixed repertoire show out west and then back again. We have a weekend of shows when we get back in November then we'll barely have time to get ready for Nutcracker, and that's insane."

Ray was stunned. "I wish I knew," he said while he searched for ways to express himself. "If I knew, then it probably wouldn't change anything. Can we stay in touch? Maybe when you get back we can find time."

Mel looked doubtful. "If you want," she said, "But a lot of things can change in a month."

3.

Ray felt Angela's hand stroke across his back. His muscles were sore from the weights and her touch felt good.

"Who is she?" Angela asked. Their long afternoons after sex were often filled with very private conversation.

"What?" Ray asked, and turned his head to look at her. He'd known Angela for almost ten years—since they were undergraduates. She was his girlfriend briefly, but they couldn't spend much time together without arguing, and since then they got together only when there was a need. Today was for her. Things were a little different now; instead of being school friends they were working for competing firms.

"You haven't been this trim since you were playing intramural basketball." She said. "You've obviously put in a lot of work. Doesn't there have to be a girl behind it somewhere? It sure isn't me."

Ray studied Angela's expression. She was very good at hiding her thoughts, so he didn't know where to go. He went with the truth. "Her name is Melissa White," he said, and turned to face the window away from Angela.

Angela waited just a breathless moment. "Do you love her?" she asked.

"No. What does that mean?" Ray said, "I don't even know her very well." It had been three weeks since the company left. He sent her messages now and then and heard back from her as they moved the show from Denver to Bakersfield, to Santa Cruz and to Seattle.

"What does she do?" Angela asked.

"She's a dancer." Ray said, and then was surprised when Angela pushed herself away.

She screeched, "What, like a stripper?"

Ray flopped over on his back to look at Angela. Her soft body and full breasts where familiar, but so different from Mel's. "No," he said. "A ballerina. A good one, I think."

Angela laughed and pulled the sheet over them. She said, "And you know shit about ballet, right?" There was an edge to her voice that she wasn't trying to hide. "Ray, you've never changed yourself for a girl. I think I want you to do me again, like now, because it may never happen again."

4.

Ray paced outside security while he waited for Mel. They kept in touch for nearly a month just with text messages. It wasn't a relationship, but it worked out for Mel when the company's flight from Minneapolis was canceled because of weather, rescheduled, and then postponed.

He saw her round the corner from the concourse. Her hair was in a pony tail that swung behind her as she walked, and her dance bag was over her shoulder. She hardly paused when she reached Ray; she tugged on his arm and insisted "Let's go!"

"Don't you have another bag or something?" Ray asked while he tried to catch up with her.

"Jill will get my bag and Jenn has my car keys, and you have me," Mel said. "I want to get out of here before Paul figures out what I'm up to."

"I think I can get you there just about in time." Ray said. If he hadn't taken up running, then he would already be out of breath. Mel seemed to perch on her seat until he asked, "How was the tour?" Her texts already told him most of the answer, but he wanted to hear it from her.

"Oh God, Ray," Mel said. She buried her face in her hands and shook her head. "I couldn't get away from the drama: the threats, the sobbing, the sullen stares—and that was just the guys. Paul picked on everybody, but especially on the apprentices. I don't think any of them are going to stay on."

Mel dropped her hands and shrugged. She said, "The shows were mostly successful. We had good audiences and nice receptions. But it'll be good to get back to normal."

The kids were waiting when they reached the community center. Ray stopped outside the recreation room and watched Mel throw her arms open and kneel on the floor to hug each one. It was hard for Ray to guess who was more excited—the kids or Mel.

He waited until all the kids were gone, then picked up Mel's dance bag and walked to where she talked with the center's director. Mel tugged on the front of his shirt and introduced him with, "This is Ray. I wouldn't have made it here without him"

After the director turned away Mel rose on her toes and kissed Ray's cheek. "Thanks," she said, "That was important to me." She held her trembling hand up to show Ray and said, "That's over, and now I really have to eat."

They hurried back across the dark parking lot. Mel walked step-for-step with Ray with her hands clutched around her arms to ward of the cooling night air. When they stopped by Ray's car, he suggested, "We can stop at the market to get something for dinner and cook at my place."

He unlocked the car and put Mel's dance bag in the back seat. She was already waiting in the passenger seat when he slid behind the wheel. "I love that idea." Mel said. "It means I don't have to look across a table at Jill or Jenn for a change. I need to get something to snack on first, but then I can cook."

They laughed through the grocery store then worked side-by-side in the kitchen to fix dinner. When it was over, Mel pushed Ray away and insisted, "I'll load the dishwasher."

Ray was on his sofa with his laptop in front of him when Mel finished cleaning. She settled onto the cushion beside him, and her hand traveled up his arm. "Oh, I like this," Mel said and squeezed Ray's bicep.

"I've been running and lifting ever since that party at Sammy's. You guys made me feel really out of shape," Ray explained, then he laughed, "I haven't lost weight yet, but I don't jiggle as much when I run."

"I need to get into this some more," Mel said, then she looked at the screen in front of Ray. "What are you doing?"

"Just reviewing some notes," Ray answered. He put his work away and watched Mel while he said, "I'm going to be in Baton Rouge for the rest of the week, getting ready for a trial. The trial is scheduled to take the rest of the month and I'll have to be there most of the time."

"Are you going to miss our shows this weekend?" Mel asked, and tightened her grip on his arm. "We have a Friday night show. On Saturday we have a matinée and an evening show, then a cast party at Sofia Baker's house. She's the chairman of the Board, so we have to go."

"I can be here Saturday night." Ray said, "And I'll take you to the party." Mel laid her head on his shoulder and her scent rose to him, warm and feminine.

Ray tucked his finger under Mel's chin and she lifted her head to look at him. He was about to propose bed when she said, "Ray, I'm sorry, but dinner is putting me to sleep; I'm exhausted, I don't feel great and I sure don't feel sexy. Can you take me home now?"

Ray's plans went crashing down. "Now?" he asked, and when Mel nodded he said, "Let me get my jacket."

It took Ray a little longer to get ready than he expected. When he went back to Mel, he found her asleep on the couch with her phone in hand. She didn't stir when he sat down on the edge of the cushion in front of her and slipped the phone out of her hand. The last text she sent went to Jill and Jenn and said, "Ray's bringing me home."

He set the phone down and squeezed Mel's shoulder to wake her. She still didn't show any sign of waking up, so Ray picked up the phone and sent a new message. "Mel fell asleep on my sofa. I'm going to let her sleep here and bring her back in the morning."

Ray stood up and studied Mel while he tried to figure out what to do next. He folded the covers back on his bed, then slipped Mel's shoes off her feet and carried her to his room. He knew that his libido wouldn't let him sleep next to Mel, so he laid her head on his pillow, pulled the covers over her, and went back to the sofa to finish his review. He slept there alone.

Mel woke with a startled squeal when Ray's alarm went off beside her. He jumped off the sofa and found her sitting up and fumbling at the alarm.

"Sorry, I need a loud alarm sometimes." Ray said. He touched the alarm off and sat down next to her.

Mel laughed and her body relaxed. "Wow," she said. "I can't believe how well I slept!" She stretched her arms over her head then asked, "Your bed is a lot nicer than a hotel mattress, but how did I get here?"

Ray explained what happened, and Mel pulled herself against him to say, "That was really sweet of you." She checked the time and went on, "I need to be at the studio by nine. How does that work?"

"We can do it," Ray answered and thought through his morning routine. "I'll drink some milk and do a quick run." He leaned over Mel's shoulder and wrinkled his nose at her scent, which seemed so pleasing the night before. "If you shower while I'm gone then I can shower when I get back. My flight's at 10:30, so I'll probably need to get you to the studio a little early, or take you home."

"Can I fix your breakfast?" Mel asked. "You shouldn't fly off on just a glass of milk."

*****

Ray couldn't understand how Julio did it. Mel seemed so weightless in his hands, but he knew better. Mel's body was muscle and sinew and bone; she was heavier than she looked. She seemed to relax back against her partner, then the curtain closed on the first act while she stroked her long fingers along his cheek and they stared adoringly into each other's eyes. The audience loved it.

His phone suddenly buzzed with a message. Mel sent, "God Julio sucks sometimes. Did you see that?"

"Yeah. Probably not the same way you saw it," Ray answered. "What happened?" It was only the second ballet he'd ever seen, how was he to know?

Mel answered, "He was supposed to lift me at the end but he slipped. We totally made up that ending. Paul is pissed off."

Ray didn't get a chance to reply before his phone buzzed again. "Can you come back stage? I want to talk, not text. Jenn will meet you at the back door."

The back door was watched by a middle-aged woman who laughed and stepped aside when Jenn pulled Ray into the darkness. She tugged him around a corner to a dimly-lit stairwell, but angry voices echoed up the stairs so Jenn pushed him back into the wing curtains and hissed, "Wait here. I'll come back."

The metal stairs rang under the feet of a white-haired man in a gray suit. He was red-faced and his tense, abrupt movements told Ray that he was angry. He slammed through the back door and bit off a terse "Sorry," to the woman at the door, and the door closed behind him.

More feet sounded on the metal stairs; Paul Lovato stomped into the wing and spun toward the stage, but he was met there by a tall, thin man with gray hair. Ray recognized him as Rudy Lowe—the company's executive director.

"What the hell did you think you were doing?" Rudy demanded. He jammed his finger into the artistic director's chest then pointed to the back door. "He represented twenty percent of our annual budget and I doubt there's anything I can do to fix that now."

Paul stepped back from Rudy and waved his hands. "He wanted me to pull 'Cat Fight' out of repertoire. He said it wasn't good enough. I'll make up my own mind about what is and isn't good enough. He's just one foundation, there's more."

Rudy laughed, "There aren't nearly as many people who want to pay for your work as you like to think there are." Rudy stepped closer to Paul and went on, "When someone is giving you that much money, they have a right to exercise some influence. And he's right. 'Cat Fight' is trite, and it isn't even original. You lifted the whole beginning from Pacific Northwest, so get over yourself."

Paul backed up again as Rudy advanced on him. "These foundations have a herding instinct. I have a lot of damage control to do now, or more money might follow him out."

"Come now," Jenn said. Ray was absorbed in the argument, so she took him by surprise. Jenn grabbed his wrist, pulled him down the stairs into a dressing room, and then latched the door behind them.

Ray had to blink against the bright light, then he found Mel sitting in a dressing robe at a wall-sized mirror. She touched up her makeup while Jill brushed her hair back and wrapped it into a tight French twist. He looked around then asked, "I'm really not supposed to be back here, am I?"

"No, but I wanted to see you," Mel answered. She waved to Jill and Jenn and added, "and they're okay with it." She looked back into the mirror and told Jill, "That looks good. Thanks."

Mel stood to take a costume off a rack and laid it on the counter in front of the mirror. She glanced at Ray and asked, "What do you think of the show so far?" She turned away and loosened her robe while she watched in the mirror for his reaction.

"It's fun to watch," he said, "But I don't know what you're doing, like I couldn't tell that Julio slipped in your last piece." He was fascinated by watching Mel slip into her costume. It was a dark blue body suite marked with lighter blue flames that swirled up her legs and torso.

Ray felt suddenly stupid when Mel dropped her robe so she could pull the costume over her shoulders. She smoothed the satiny fabric over her hips and Ray blurted, "That looks really hot!" It was the most eloquent thing he could say at the moment. Jill and Jenn laughed, but they were interrupted by a knock.

Julio's voice came through the door, "Open up Mel. Lovato made a change." Mel unlatched the door and Julio stepped in wearing a costume that matched Mel's. "He pulled us out of the second act. He wants Jill and Jenn to do their doppelgänger thing instead."

"Shit! We don't have time!" Jill said. "When's it going in?"

"After 'Cat Fight'," Julio said. "That should make you look pretty good." He looked at Mel and told her, "Lovato was pissed off about my slip. You know it's the way he rolls, so now we're done until bows."

Jill and Jenn scrambled to set their makeup in front of them and Mel pinned their hair up. The music was starting overhead while Mel complained, "That is so childish. I wish they'd get rid of him. He's getting more confused all the time and blames his mistakes on everyone else, he treats everyone like shit, and this is just stupid."

"It sounds like you might not be the only one who'd like to get rid of him." Ray said. He told them about the argument he overheard between Paul and Rudy while the muffled music from the stage overhead changed.

"That will have to do." Jenn said and pushed back from the mirror. She picked two yellow body suites from the rack and handed one to Jill, then turned to look at Ray. "Cover your eyes or something," then she turned to Mel and said, "Or you distract him while we get dressed."

Mel pushed Ray back toward a couch against the wall while Julio laughed and backed out the door. "I don't need to watch this," he said.

Ray fell back onto the sofa, and Mel climbed over him with a grin on her lips. She straddled Ray's hips and sat on his thighs, then covered his eyes with her hands while Jill and Jenn turned away and stripped to bare skin.

"What did I do to deserve this?" Ray asked. He was immersed in Mel's touch and scent; he stroked her back and let his hands rest on her hips.

"You made me feel comfortable about being with you," Mel whispered. She leaned forward and brushed Ray's lips with hers to let him know what she was about to do, then she pushed her tongue into his mouth. Ray was distracted.

"Oh God," Ray moaned through Mel's kiss. His hard-on suddenly ached.

"Okay, you can look now." Jill said, then laughed when she turned back to see Mel mounted on Ray. "Or not," she said. "Suit yourself."

Jill and Jenn banged through the dressing room door and ran up the stairs while Mel yelled "Merde!" after them. She turned back to Ray and told him, "I have to go watch. I'll meet you in the lobby after bows."

Ray followed Mel up the stairs; she stayed in the wing to watch and Ray—since he wasn't supposed to be backstage at all—sprinted for the theater. He watched Jenn and Jill dance as if they were one person looking in a mirror, then sat through the final piece and the bows. The theater emptied while he waited for Mel until only the security guard was left.

NotWise
NotWise
731 Followers