Page 7 of Dirty Dancer

Let her teach me to dance?

CHAPTER 3

EMERSYN

“Sully!” Surprise fountained through me when the familiar figure turned toward us. We’d just arrived at the theater in Miami where I was scheduled for a couple of weeks of performances. It was in part to make up for the dates I’d canceled to go to Europe, and then we’d added more dates to accommodate the demand and to hold onto the theater we’d wanted.

The shift in the schedule only moved some of my down days and the guys were okay with it. It was utterly worth the trade-off. We’d been there for Milo, Lainey, and the others. We succeeded in closing off wounds we hadn’t even realized were there and now…

I shook off that part as Sullivan Donner dropped off the stage and made his way up the aisle to greet me. It was an old opera house-styled theater that boasted seating capacity for up to two thousand people. It wasn’t the largest venue I’d performed in, but damn it was close.

Skipping ahead a little, I threw myself into a hug at Sully. He caught me easily and chuckled.

“Long time no see, Sprite,” he said, giving me a squeeze before he set me on my feet. He flicked his dark eyes over my head to look behind me so I pivoted to hold out a hand toward Vaughn. “Your escort has definitely improved,” Sully commented.

“Be nice,” I told him as Vaughn slid an arm around me. He didn’t tend to loom over the other dancers, even if he was the tallest guy in the room. Where Sully was concerned, he was definitely a whole head above him. Sully was barely two inches taller than me. Another reason I’d always been comfortable with him. “Sully, this is Rome, Vaughn, and Freddie. Vaughn handles all the rigging, and equipment. If he doesn’t sign off on it, it doesn’t happen.”

That was a bit of warning for him because this was his first time meeting my guys. They were all mine and I’d been clear about that when I spoke to him on the phone. I didn’t spend an unnecessary amount of time explaining my personal life to anyone. Sully Donner, however, wasn’t just anyone.

“Rome knows my routines better than I do and when I need a partner for practice or support, he’s my guy. Freddie handles all my backstage security before, during, and after performances. You don’t get into my dressing room or quiet room without getting cleared by him.”

I didn’t miss the flash of surprised pleasure on Freddie’s face at my description. It was true. I never worried about going backstage or resting in between sets. Freddie picked which of the dressing rooms would be mine and healwayschanged the locks. It was such a thoughtful thing to do and it always reminded me of my first real encounter with Jasper.

At least the one I remembered, when he was changing out the shitty lock on my dressing room at the theater in BraxtonHarbor. The security and peace of mind that offered then hadn’t changed now. With that, I pivoted to look at Sully and let Vaughn pull me back a couple of steps to tuck under his arm.

“Guys, this is Sullivan Donner, the choreographer I told you I wanted to bring in. He helped to design some of my bigger set pieces a few years ago and he was always one of my favorite people in the business.” Reminding them didn’t seem like such a bad idea, because all three were stonily silent during my introductions. “Also known as Sully, and he’s graciously agreed to help me punch up some of my older pieces and help me with new ones.”

I wanted fresh challenges, fresh dances, and fresh movements. It was so hard to explain that now that I was mastering my older routines once more, they didn’t feel like they fit as much. If anything, most of them were more ill-fitting than a polyester suit. They were Emersyn, lost and broken girl hiding from her family on the road and in the dance.

They weren’tme. They weren’t the me I’d become, the Hellspawn or Starling or even Boo-Boo. I’d become a Vandal and I wanted my shows to reflect that.

Vaughn extended a hand to Sully. “Dove has told us about you. It’s interesting to meet you, but to be fair, we did a background check too.”

The latter didn’t even surprise me. It would have been far more astonishing if they hadn’t.

Sully raised his brows then gripped Vaughn’s hand easily. “Glad to hear you’re looking after her. I take it, I passed muster.” It wasn’t a question or a joke. But Rome merely shrugged without answering.

Freddie, on the other hand, smirked. “You’re here and you got to hug her.” In other words, if he hadn’t, this conversation wouldn’t even be happening. “Just to be clear, do anything to hurt her and it won’t matter what your background check said.”

Vaughn sighed. “I was going to put it a little more politely.”

“I wasn’t,” Rome said. “Blunt is better.”

“Agreed,” Sully said and a flicker of surprise rippled over the guys’ faces. Well, over Freddie’s and Vaughn’s. “I like to know where I stand.” With that, however, he met each of their gazes individually. “Just to keep us all on the same page,I’mthe choreographer andshe’sthe performer. All final decisions on set pieces will be made by her.”

“With consultation,” I amended before he incited a riot. “Vaughn has to know the equipment demands. Previously, there were near misses and close calls. No one wants those.”

“As long asyouare satisfied with that caveat,” Sully said. “Then I can work within it. But you’re asking for some new routines to start training when you’re only four days out from an openinghere. That’s a lot of pressure, Sprite.”

I grinned for real this time. “I like that kind of pressure. I need to be pushed again. It’s been a long time since someone pushed me.”

Rome was the closest to pushing when it came to dance and performance. But he didn’t push so much as offer such unwavering support and faith. He didn’t let my fear dissuade him, and his steadfastness kept me from giving into that fear.

If I failed and I fell, I’d get back up again.

Heknewit and his knowledge meant I didn’t forget.

But Sully was different. He wouldn’t hold back on his critical appraisal of my abilities and he’d also push me if he thoughtIwas limiting myself.

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