Page 106 of Up All Night

When he’d reached for the phone, I’d thought he was dismissing my words and I’d been ready to quit right then and there. I’d been keeping such a tight leash on myself with work that I had missed out on being with Halle, and if the past week had taught me anything, it was that I didn’t want a life without her in it. I would be miserable. I couldn’t keep her out of my mind, no matter how hard I tried. She had wound her way into my life and my heart, and I wasn’t upset about it at all.

I also apologized to Cannon for being such a jerk and not realizing what I had right under my nose. I had this amazing life, and I was making it worse—for what? To prove something I didn’t need to even prove? Yeah, I wish Cannon had told me I was being an idiot sooner, too.

The next night, at the recital, I sat in a plush red seat, not too close to the stage so Halle wouldn’t see me. I didn’t want her to know I was here. At least not yet.

A graceful woman with tan skin and black hair stepped out onto the stage. A hush fell over the audience as they realized the show was about to start.

“Welcome, everyone,” she said in an upbeat tone. “As most of you know, I am Maria, the owner of Encore Dance. We are so excited you are all here tonight to see our wonderful dancers. They have worked so hard, and I think you will be very impressed with the performances you see on stage.”

The audience applauded, and she waited for them to quiet down before she spoke again.

“We are going to do something a little different for this recital,” she informed us. “We thought it would be fun to have the choreographers of each dance come out and tell you their inspiration for the dance. We thought it would enrich your experience and help you feel like a part of the dances. Enjoy!”

The rest of the recital went how Maria had described, with each choreographer coming out to describe the dances they had worked on. Halle came out five times, and every time it took an effort to not wave my hands in the air like a weirdo to get her attention. She wouldn’t have seen me anyway with the audience being in the dark and a spotlight on her.

She looked absolutely beautiful in a navy dress that sparkled when the lights were on her. Her hair was pulled up in an elegant twist, her eyes shining bright with excitement and happiness for her students. She spoke with such ease and poise that it was easy for me to see her in charge of her own dance recital one day.

It was time for the last performance, and I was getting anxious for the recital to end. A ripple of surprise went through me when Halle stepped out on the stage again. She’d told me she had choreographed five of the dances, and we had already seen all of them. I opened up the program again, and sure enough her name was listed as the choreographer for the last number. Once I’d found her name five times, I hadn’t continued to look any further.

“This last dance was a last-minute addition.” Her voice wobbled slightly. She took a breath. “The couple you will see perform this dance learned it in four days, and I’m so proud of their hard work to make this piece come alive. The dance tells a story of a couple who initially don’t like each other, who get on each other’s nerves…” She paused, letting out a small smile. “But as they spend more time together, they realize their first impressions were wrong. They grow together as friends and as people and eventually fall in love despite their differences. Unfortunately, life’s circumstances pull them apart, and they are each left alone, dealing with the repercussions of having found love but lost it.”

I stared at Halle, my mouth parting slightly in surprise and hope. She’d made this dance about us. If she had been thinking about us so much that she put it into a dance, maybe I had a chance of winning her back. I mean, she’d said the couple fell in love. I don’t know if she was in love with me or if that part was only for the dance, but I could hope that what I had planned wouldn’t be in vain.

She walked off behind the curtains, and a young couple came to take center stage as the lights dimmed and silence filled the theater.

Once the music began, harsh red and orange lights accentuated the hard movements, the couple repelling one another. The light then shifted to yellow and green as their movements began to mirror each other. Next the lights turned blue and purple, the dancers in complete sync with one another. The music reached its climax, the lights shining pink across the stage as they danced together, in complementary motion. The way they connected through the movements, never breaking contact, had me staring, in awe of the beauty of it.

As the music changed from a beautiful harmony to clashing of minor notes, the couple broke apart, the light suddenly changing to a bright blinding white as they stumbled around and couldn’t seem to find each other. They turned their backs to one another, the light fading to a dark blue, clouding the details of their bodies, their rhythmic movements seen only in silhouette. Soon the boy walked off the stage, leaving the girl behind as she sat on the floor alone, her head resting on her knees, the music ending on a single note.

The theater was quiet for several moments. The dance had been breathtaking and heartbreaking all at once. I reached up and brushed away a tear that had escaped.

Glancing around me, I could see I wasn’t the only one who had felt the emotion of the performance.

Soon the audience stood, clapping loudly, and I hurried to join them. The house lights came on, and Maria pulled Halle out with her and the dancers to get her standing ovation. Halle beamed with happiness and gratitude, and I was so happy I was here to see it. She was an incredible choreographer, and she deserved this moment. To have been able to create that dance in a matter of a day or two and then teach it to students was a talent I didn’t know if I would ever be able to understand.

The rest of the dancers and teachers came out, all getting a round of applause until it was time for the dancers to find their families and start heading home.

I made my way to the back of the theater, hoping to stay hidden from Halle. I watched as kids and parents went up to thank her and get their child’s photo taken with her. Halle was in her element, and I was certain she was going to be an amazing dance studio owner. Everyone loved her.

Next in line to talk with her was Mr. Farnsworth and his granddaughter. I wondered what they would do once Halle left and wouldn’t help pay the granddaughter’s tuition anymore. From my understanding, they didn’t even know she had been personally supplementing the tuition every month. Halle didn’t want to steal any of Maria’s students, but I wondered if, when they found out they no longer could afford to go to Encore Dance, they would see what Halle’s dance studio had to offer them.

Patiently I waited for the room to clear out, making sure to stay to the shadows.

Once the room was empty, I quickly made my way to stage right, the same side of the stage where the boy had walked away from the girl, and I waited, half hidden by the red curtain. I’d called her boss, Maria, telling her briefly what had happened between Halle and me and that I wanted to win her back. I told her what I planned, and she had been more than happy to help me with my plan.

After what felt like an eternity, Halle finally emerged onto the stage, looking around the empty space in confusion. When her back was to me and she looked as if she was about to leave, I hurried to step out.

“Halle.”

She froze, her back still to me.

I waited to see if she’d walk away or if she’d turn around. I prayed she’d turn around.

Slowly, she made her way to face me, and my body relaxed in relief.

Timidly, I took the few steps separating us, worried about scaring her off. I’d rehearsed what I’d wanted to say to her a million times since yesterday, but I couldn’t find the words now that I stood right in front of her.

“What are you doing here?” Her breathless voice seemed to be in shock that I was here.

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