Page 62 of Paper Thin Love

Ignoring Dash’s entrance into the studio, I walk to the bar, sit, and begin to take my pointe shoes off. I hear the door open and the sound of a crutch walking closer.“Get out,” Dash orders the rest of the dancers. They listen, just like that, choosing to walk out in their pointe shoes before changing.

He closes the distance slowly. I still ignore his presence as I slip off my shoe and sigh in pleasure.

Dash awkwardly lowers himself to the floor, his hard cast hitting it with a soft thump. He says nothing as I untie my ribbons, then unwrap my toes and remove the pads. I feel his eyes on my feet, which are not pretty.

A smile curls at my lips.“They resemble how I feel,” I mutter as I reach into my bag to find my numbing spray.

“What does?” he replies more softly than I thought he could sound.

“My feet. They look disgusting, bruised, battered, yet strong. That’s how I feel.” I whisper, then I spray the numbing spray on my blister before wrapping it.

“What’s the spray?”

“It helps to numb the pain.” I wish I could spray it over my mind to stop it from attacking itself.

He nods as if understanding.“How long?”

I shrug.“It last an hour or so.”

“No,” he’s crueler now, sounding more like a butcher’s knife being pulled from the block.“How long has the teacher been hurting you?”

I grab my socks and cover my feet, then rest my hands on my ankles.“If I tell my father, he will kill him.”

“Sounds like a smart plan.”

“I don’t want blood on my hands,” I bite. I drag my bag onto my lap and pull out my sneakers.

“Ironic coming from the girl who cuts her fingertips.”

My fingers freeze on the sneakers I just grabbed. Dash pivots, so he’s facing me. Reaching up, he grabs the bar and pulls himself to stand, trying to do it gracefully with his cast.“Come on,” he grunts.

“I’m not in the mood for dinner.”

“Neither am I,” he turns and begins to walk, pausing at the entrance of the studio.“I will throw you over my shoulder, Mila,” he warns.

I snort.“I’d like to see you try.” I look at his cast.

“One day you will.” His words sound like a declaration etched into my bones.

I sigh and follow him because I’m tired. So fucking tired like my feet, but I keep moving, keep pushing through the pain in hope I’ll find that light at the end of the tunnel.

We go back to his dorm. I linger in his bedroom as he goes to the bathroom and turns the shower on. Maybe he wants to shower before dinner. I walk to his wardrobe and grab the tape and plastic bag to cover his cast with.

Dash steps out of his bathroom, steam from the shower already beginning to snake out from the crack in the door. My heart picks up as I look at his bare chest, each muscle defined and glistening with a light sheen from the steam. His breathing reveals the taut strength beneath his skin. He’s proud, like a monster who just stepped out into the moonlight and stared down its prey.

I got you.His eyes say.

The bathroom's backlight casts shadows, highlighting the ridges and valleys of his toned body. His chest rises and falls with each breath, steady and controlled, yet I sense a storm brewing within him. My eyes trail down to a faint scar running across his ribs, another one near his collarbone that looks fresher and more pink.

A strange mix of fear and fascination grips me, knowing that this man before me is both protector and predator. The heat in the room intensifies, matching the flush spreading across my cheeks. For a moment, I am utterly captivated, my mind swirling with thoughts I dare not voice, my body responding to the undeniable allure of his presence.

“Get undressed,” he mutters, his eyes roaming over my clothing with disdain as if the very threads are offending him, as if they are causing me pain.

It takes me a moment to register what he’s saying. I have to avert my vision from his hard chest until I fully understand what he just said.“What?” I stammer, my voice barely a whisper.

“You wanted the broken prince,” Dash points out, then he opens the palm of his hand,“here he is.”

I lick my lips and gulp, my heartbeat quickening.“Is this another game?”

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