Page 173 of The Life of Anna-Tenth Anniversary Edition: Act 2

Justin shrugged. “A little. Just trying to act brave.” He laughed.

Anna giggled as he opened the door.

Justin led her through a small lobby where several dancers stood around chatting. The dancers glanced at them as they walked by, but didn’t say anything.

Down a long white hallway and around a corner, Anna heard piano music and a man speaking loudly. “. . . two . . . three . . . four . . . and up . . . yes, good . . . turn, turn, turn . . .”

Anna’s stomach had tied into knots when she and Justin finally walked through the studio door and stopped just inside the room. The music finished and dozens of heads turned and looked at them. Anna flushed and looked at the floor.

“Justin, Katrina, I’m so glad you came.” The man Anna vaguely remembered as Vincent Marsellis approached them with a big smile on his face.

Movement in the corner caught Anna’s eye, and she saw Aaron with his hand on another man’s arm, holding him in place and whispering to him. The man looked directly at her, and she found herself lost in a pair of whiskey-brown eyes. Nate? He was older now, but still had the same eyes. Anna didn’t have a chance to reflect on much more because Vincent stepped in front of her and blocked her view of him.

Vincent shook hands with Justin and gave him a knowing smile. He kissed Anna’s cheek and gave her a fatherly smile. “I’m so glad you’re both here.” He turned around and spoke loudly to the dancers in the room. “I’m sure some of you remember Justin Sawyer, who has returned to dance with us.” Vincent put his arm around Anna. “And this is Katrina Engel.” He smiled. “I’ve been trying to get her out here for years,” he added in a softer voice.

Anna looked at him wide-eyed and then blushed, which made his smile grow even wider.

“I wanted them to come and see a rehearsal before they join us tomorrow. Yes,” he said over mumbles around the room. “They will be dancing with us in the spring program, and I expect you all to help them as much as you can.”

“Are they principals?” a Spanish-looking woman asked.

“Yes,” Vincent said. “From San Francisco.”

Anna glanced at Aaron, who nodded. She didn’t know if she was supposed to be from San Francisco or not. Tom had only said California.

Her heart skipped a beat as she felt Nate’s intense gaze on her. She desperately tried to resist the urge to look in his direction, but eventually, her curiosity got the better of her and she found herself unable to look away from his penetrating stare. She hadn’t seen him since the evening of their student performance. So many years ago.

Justin pulled at her arm and led her to the side of the room where they sat along the wall and watched the rehearsal progress. The dancers were mesmerizing. Some had better technique than others, though the ones with lesser technique danced with a heart that she could feel.

Nate had gotten even better since she’d last seen him. His jumps were magnificent, and she loved watching him soar across the room. He and Aaron danced a bit together and she smiled, remembering thinking Nate would be as good as Aaron someday. And he was.

Whenever Nate had a break from dancing, his attention always rested on Anna, and no matter how hard she tried to resist, her eyes would inevitably find his.

Watching him dance with one of the women brought back so many memories. Oh, he was still so handsome! What had he been doing all these years, aside from dancing? Had he thought of her at all? Was he dating anyone? She didn’t see a wedding ring on his hand, so she assumed he wasn’t married.

When the rehearsal was over, she stood next to Justin, twisting her fingers together as Vincent gave the dancers last-minute instructions. The ballet master dismissed the dancers, and several of them hurried over to her and Justin. They seemed happy to see Justin; two girls in particular were not subtle when flirting with him. He grinned sheepishly at Anna, who smiled back, amused.

“Justin, I arranged for you to stay with Dave and Kris for now,” Aaron said. “They have a three-bedroom and just lost a roommate.”

Dave and Kris seemed to know Justin, and there was much hugging and back-slapping.

Anna stepped away and backed into something solid. Someone solid. She turned around and found herself looking up into Nate’s whiskey-brown eyes.

“I can’t believe you’re here...” His hand twitched at his side, as if he wanted to reach out to her. “How did you get here?”

She gave a small shrug and smile. “I ran away with some help.”

“Aaron?”

She nodded. “And Justin. And a bunch of others.”

He stared at her for a long minute. “It’s been so long,” he whispered. He had lifted his hand, but someone called out to him and he froze.

“Nate, man. C’mon, I’m starving.”

Anna turned to see one of the dancers making a face at him, his arms crossed over his chest.

“That’s Clayton, my roommate,” Nate said, and held up his hand to the other man. “Okay, man. Just hang on a sec.”

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