Page 15 of A Sky Full Of Stars

Lainey gives me a small smile before falling quiet again. Though she’s been happy at times, it’s obvious it’s just afacade. This moment is life-changing for her. Her dream just shattered.

“Where is everyone? Do your parents know you’re upset? Or Luke?” She shouldn’t be alone.

“Luke snuck off to a party somewhere while my parents are gone. They're taking my younger brother to visit one of his friends that moved away. They’ll be home tomorrow.”

Tomorrow!“They don’t know?”

“No.”

“Should you call them?”

“It won’t change anything. They know how I feel, and they believe they’re doing the right thing. Trying to give me the best shot at a dancing career.”

“For argument’s sake, you could attend a school in New York and Jaiton, and still come back to perform with the San Francisco Ballet, right?” I’m assuming they don’t only take people from their own school.

“Absolutely.”

Her words say yes, but… “It’s not what you want.”

“No, it’s not that. I just have a bad feeling about following in my grandmother’s footsteps. I don’t know why. I just do. I want to be my own person. But maybe I’m being stubborn.”

“No, you’re not. That’s completely fair. You should be able to choose your own path.”

My heart aches for her. She sounds so confused and hurt, and I can’t do anything to help. The best I can do is my pathetic attempts to cheer her up, so when we fall quiet, with both of us staring into the darkness, a thought hits me. “Have you ever danced under the stars?” I ask, breaking the silence.

“I have,” Lainey says wistfully. “I once danced at the Hollywood Bowl.”Holy shit.

“Wow. That’s…wow.” That kind of ruins my plan but I go with it anyway. “Well, have you danced under the stars with a football legend?” I joke, and out of the corner of my eye, I see a tiny, but genuine smile tug at her lips, though she doesn’t look my way.

“Can’t say that I have.”

“Well, maybe that’s just what we need to do to bring back your smile.” I stand up and hold out my hand. “What do you say?” I don’t dance often, but right now I want to make her happy, by any means possible.

Lainey stares at me for a moment before her lips curl. “I don’t think Luke likes dancing,” she says, her gaze meeting mine, her expression serious.

Luke? What does he… Oooh… Ouch.“I see what you did there. He wishes he was a legend.”

Lainey giggles and the sound warms me. “Oh, you meantyou?” she teases, but I don’t care. I made her happy for a moment and I’ll take it. Mission accomplished.

Grabbing my hand, she allows me to pull her to standing before stepping away. “Thank you. I appreciate it,” she whispers.

“I don’t know what you’re referring to,” I whisper back, hiding my grin.

With her own smile, Lainey walks toward the fence surrounding her pool, leaning against it as the light reflects off the water, illuminating her face. “If I was to dance with a football legend…” she asks, holding back a grin, “what kind of song would he pick?”

Damn. I haven’t thought this through. The music I usually listen to isn’t great for dancing; it’s more like something you bounce up and down to.

“What about something fromSwan Lake?” I say with a cocky laugh. I don’t think I could name another ballet if I… actually… “OrThe Nutcracker.” I snap my fingers.

Lainey bursts out laughing again and it’s infectious. “They’re both great choices. Care to sing any of those songs?”

I think on that for a second, and a tune from theHome Alonemovie comes to mind. I’ve seen it a lot.

“Duh, duh, duh, duh, dah, dah, da, da, da, da, da—”

“Please stop,” she cuts me off, covering my mouth with her hand, her warm touch making my heart race. “It was wonderful, but I’ve heard enough.”

I raise an eyebrow and glance down at her fingers, making her gasp. “Shit, I’m sorry,” she says, removing her hand as her nose scrunches adorably.

---