Page 20 of Off Balance

What the fuck? How is this even possible?

The muscles that were apparent when he stripped down to his shirt are almost obscene now. He's completely shredded, without any bulk. His body is a work of art. It's not just the muscle, but the control and fluidity.

“Okay, okay. I get your point.”

As Cameron slowly contorts himself into his beginning pose and comes to a standing position again, the gym breaks out in applause. There are over half a dozen people now standing around the ring, watching Cameron with open-mouthed awe the way I am. He gives a graceful, if not sarcastic, bow with a flourish before giving me a pointed look that says, "well?"

"You were right," I say, impressed and chastised all at once. "I shouldn't have doubted you."

"What, you can't do that?" Cameron snarks.

"Fuck no," I say, not afraid to admit when I'm wrong. "That was probably one of the most amazing things I've ever seen."

His posture radiates pride over being praised. "Thank you."

“You could be a circus performer.”

“Seriously?” At least I made him laugh.

My eyes are glued to his dewy skin, watching him walk past me to climb down from the ring. I’m offended by the idea of him getting dressed. Covering that body with even a scrap of fabric should be criminal.

"Your body is… insane." The unintentional admission escapes on a breath. I'm hopeful for a moment that he didn't hear me, but the color that tinges his cheeks tells me otherwise.

"So, we have a deal, then?" My brother unknowingly barrels right through the tension.

Cameron shakes his head. "I'm not sure…"

The honest to God truth is that I'm not sure about it, either. I'm not convinced that ballet can make me a better boxer, however impressive that display was. The two sports—because I can acknowledge that ballet is absolutely a sport, even if I didn't realize it until recently—are on opposite ends of the spectrum. And I really don't want to be out here doing little turns and curtsies when the rest of the guys are shadowboxing. I don't embarrass easily, but that seems like it would be awkward. And what if they want me to wear tights?!

But for some reason, the idea that Cameron is questioning the plan, that he might not want to do this with me, puts me on edge.

"I'd be willing to try," I blurt. "But I'm not wearing tights," I add quickly.

There's a beat of silence, and then Cameron bursts into laughter, followed by my brother.

"I'll make you a deal," Cameron says, pulling his tank down over his ridiculous torso and helping me think more clearly. "If you promise you're going to put real effort into this and not make it a joke, I'll give it a try, too. But If you're not secure enough to follow through, don't waste my time."

He's right.I've spent my entire life thinking ballet was just some hoity-toity dancing around in tights and tutus. Just from the one show and the two quick demos I've seen, I know that my perception was way off.

Still, my eyes dart around to the guys already here practicing. I'm sure this will be a fun spectacle for them.Am I secure enough with myself to learn ballet, to risk my reputation and public image, all for the sake of getting closer to Cameron?

I sigh and nod. "Where are you thinking we can do this? We gonna block off a ring, or maybe over by the free weights?"

Cameron's eyebrow raises like he might be impressed and it makes my chest puff up.

"You’re really going to get into first position and plie in front of all these meat heads?"

I return his knowing smirk. "I'm the biggest, baddest motherfucker in here, sweetheart. First position, second, tenth… none of that changes anything.”

He chuckles. "Alright then. I say we start over here, so we can use this as a barre." Cameron walks over to the front entranceto the gym and places a hand on the metal banister that runs alongside a low ramp. "It's a bit high, but it'll do."

Without a word, and pointedly ignoring the attention of the other fighters, I stand beside Cameron at the barre. He gives me a clipped nod, then explains our first lesson.

"First, we’ll work on learning the basic feet positions. They won't feel natural at first, but you'll get used to them."

He shows me through five different positions, all different ways to contort and point my feet in weird ways. I can't quite get my feet to cooperate with some of the positions, but Cameron is patient and helps me adjust as we go. Luckily, my concentration and the effort of ignoring our spectators prevents me from popping a boner this time. Once we go through all the positions a couple times, he has me go back to the first.

"Now we're going to work in the arms."

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