Page 40 of If Ever

He nods. "All right. Unless the medic finds some viable reason why you can't, the show must go on. Deal?"

"Deal." We bump fists. I turn to Tom, "You up for it, Mr. Foot Fetish?"

Tom grins. "Absolutely."

George waves me over, so I follow and he checks my vitals and listens to my breathing. "Everything checks out. Here are a couple painkillers you should take right now, and some ice packs for your cheek and shoulder. I'll be back shortly."

"Will the pills make me woozy?"

"Not at all, they'll just take the edge off."

I down the pills.

Dominic peeks in. "I'm going to talk to Larry and make sure they don't pull us."

"You sure know how to add excitement to the day." Tom touches the ice pack gently to my cheek. I wince. "You're on your way to a nasty shiner. Heck look at you, you're all banged up."

I glance at a few stray bruises. "When I agreed to do the show, no one told me how much pain was involved. This is no sport for the faint of heart."

He traces a bruise on my shin.

"That tickles." I bend my knee. The panels of my dress slide open revealing a bare thigh. Tom's eyes travel up my leg.

"This one looks especially nasty." His finger lightly brushes around a large bruise sending tingles up my arm.

"A spray tan can only do so much. I feel like an old junker that's been through a demolition derby."

Larry appears. "How are you feeling?"

Tom pulls his hand away. I lower the ice pack from my cheek. "Good. Nothing more than a couple of bumps."

"Glad to hear it. I just wanted to let you know that we felt it necessary to pull your encore number. We'll have Cassie and Shane do their dance instead."

I sit upright. "That's not fair!"

Larry frowns. "I know you're disappointed, but it's for your own safety."

"Did the medic say I can't dance?"

"No, but I feel it's better for you to sit this one out. Don't worry about joining dress rehearsal. Dominic's done the show a hundred times. He'll be able to guide you through. Tom, thanks for coming back, but we won't be needing you after all."

Before I can disagree again, Larry's out the door. "Dammit." I slam my head back against the pillow, then grimace. "Ow."

Within minutes, raised voices sound outside the room. One of them is definitely Dominic. I drop the cold packs and linger near the door. Dominic is arguing with Larry.

"Larry, there's no reason for you to do this. We've both checked out with medical."

"Dominic, you've already missed dress rehearsal and you have other numbers you need to stay sharp for. I'm not convinced that you aren't trying to hide a mild concussion."

It never occurred to me that Dominic might do that.

Dominic's feet are planted wide and his chin jetted out. "I'm not that stupid. Chelsea and I have rehearsed this number hundreds of times and performed it perfectly last night. She's had a lousy run on the show, give her a chance to have some fun."

I step next to Dominic to support him in the fight. "Please, Larry. We've worked really hard for this. We won't let you down."

Larry stares at me, and then Dominic, and scratches his head. "Shit. I don't know." He looks at Tom.

"They're both pretty stubborn. Personally, I wouldn't want to cross either one of them, let alone a united front."

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