Page 3 of Love In The Air

She certainly never imagined running into him again like this.

“You gonna be okay?” Tori asked as she moved to Iz’s side and joined her in downward dog.

Iz peddled her feet, stretching her calves. “Yeah. It’s a big company. What are the chances we’ll have to work closely together?”

Hopefully slim to none.

The Sky Dancers company had fifty performers who would cycle in and out of the fifteen act show the directors had created. It was a beautiful vision filled with all the aerial apparatuses and a yearlong contract that included international travel and performance. Something Iz had wanted her entire life. And she would not let the fact that her old nemesis was in the cast ruin this opportunity for her. She could be a mature adult.

“I can play nice.”

Tori barked out a laugh, quickly smothering it when Iz glared at her underneath her armpit.

“Sorry, babe, but you suck at playing nice.” Tori moved forward into cobra position.

Dammit, she was right. Iz sucked at pretending to like someone or something when she didn’t. Hell, she had issues showing positive emotions when she did like someone. A complaint from many a previous partner. The breakup line “you’re too walled up, I never know what you're feeling” had been uttered by more than one person during her breakups. Some people might find that odd, but she found it to be the truth.

Iz didn’t do lovey-dovey stuff well. All the emotional vulnerability? No thank you. She never understood how people could let themselves be exposed like that. How did you trust someone with your heart when they could so easily rip it from your chest and stomp on it?

Like her dad did to her mom when he left.

Whatever. She didn’t need a relationship when she had a box of toys all curated to her pleasure at home. Besides, she had a show to focus on now.

“Okay everybody,” Jen, the co-owner of Sky Dancers, called out. “Gather up!”

There was a mass shuffling as everyone in the room paused in their warm-ups to gather in a large circle around Jen and Meg, the two owners of the company. Iz sighed as she found herself directly across from Chance. No way of keeping him out of sight now. She forced a tight smile as he caught her eye and winked. Smug bastard. Turning her attention to her new bosses, she tuned him out and focused on what Jen was saying.

“We want to welcome you all to the Sky Dancers family. Auditions were tough, but you’ve all proved you deserve a spot in this company, and we can’t wait to take this show on the road.”

A loud, roaring cheer rose from the crowd surrounding her. Excitement coursed through her body, nerves dancing along her spine as the thrill of what she was about to embark on truly hit her. Glee had her feet bouncing in place as the crowd quieted down.

“Now,” Meg said, picking up where Jen left off. “We only have five weeks of rehearsal before we head to our first show in New York, and then we’re off for the European leg of the schedule.”

Yes! It was a dream come true. Iz had never been outside the United States before and to go doing something she loved…she had to pinch herself to remember it was real and not some wild fantasy come to life.

Jen moved to the far wall, where she tacked up a piece of paper while Meg explained.

“Jen is posting the show acts. We’ve carefully selected each performer for their specific acts based on your auditions. As you know, the show’s theme is Connections in the Ether, so we’ve grouped and paired you up to perform pieces reflecting the theme.”

Her bouncing intensified. Iz wanted to run to the wall and see what she got, who she was grouped with. She hoped she’d get to perform a piece with Tori, but since her friend did mostly silk and she specialized in lyra, she doubted it. Didn’t matter in the long run, whoever she ended up with she knew it was going to be amazing.

“Your partners and rehearsal times are listed on the sheet, along with companywide rehearsal times. Again, we’re so excited to have you all join the Sky Dancers family. Now let’s do this!”

There was another roaring cheer and a mad rush to the wall as everyone scrambled to see what they would be performing. Knowing her friend didn’t like crowds, Iz hung back with Tori until there was a bit of a gap.

“Iz!” Tori exclaimed, jumping up and down and she turned from the sheet. “We get to do a group act together!”

She stepped forward to see the sheet, scanning the list to see that in fact there was a group act of silks and lyra and the group of performers included her and her bestie. Her smile grew as she noticed another act she was in, all hoop this time. But as her gaze scanned down the list, the warm feelings died. She blinked as she read her name paired with another in a duo act. Not only a duo act, but a single hoop duo act.

Normally, that’d be fine. She’d done plenty of two person acts before on a single hoop. She loved them. There was a beauty in two people twining around one hoop. The act itself didn’t bother her. It was the name next to her own that sent a cold sliver of dread through her.

“Well, look at that, Iz.” Chance’s chuckles sounded dangerously close to her ear. “Looks like you and me got the lover’s duet piece.”

Fuck.

2

If looks could kill, Chance would be a dead man.

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