Page 59 of Teach Me to Fly

We hit each mark fluidly and when I lower her to the floor, she doesn’t break eye contact. Her lips are parted slightly, chest rising and falling. I wonder if she feels it too—that tether between us pulling tighter.

Terry’s voice cuts in after a few seconds. “That turn is still looking sticky. Try shifting your weight a little earlier, Angelique.” He stands, brushing off his joggers. “Actually, let me try. I want to see if it’s your spacing or Reign’s timing.”

He starts walking toward her. “No.” The word comes out before I think it through.

Terry raises a brow, blinking innocently. “You sure? Sometimes a second body helps.”

“I said no,” I say, my voice flat.

I don’t want anyone else touching her. I don’t care if it’s for the sake of the choreography or a goddamn Nobel Peace Prize.

She’s mine.

He lifts his hands in mock surrender. “Alright, Harrington. Keep your tutu on.”

He turns back to the soundboard, restarting the track before taking a seat and gesturing for us to try again, but Ispot the grin he’s trying to hide and when he winks, I realize he’s poking at me, and he knows it’s working.

The rehearsal with Terry runs until just before dinnertime. Angelique and I are both exhausted when we finish, but we also feel more confident with our onstage connection, especially once we perfect the turn issue Terry was struggling with. It’s improved enough that Volkov might just lay off the bullshit tomorrow.

“Lando just texted me,” Angelique announces as we finish packing up our things to leave. “He’s inviting us all to a new lounge that opened in town. You too, Terry.”

Terry looks up from his laptop, surprised. “Sure. If Reign’s going, I’ll tag along too.”

Do I want to go to a lounge? Not really. But if Angelique is going, then so am I, because I can’t risk a repeat of what happened in the alley yesterday.

“Sure, let’s just stop off at the house first so we can shower and change.”

She nods in agreement.

“I’ll follow your car,” Terry says, holding the door open for us again as we leave.

“Whatever,” I mutter, intentionally bumping his shoulder hard as I pass him, and I hear his playful chuckle in response.

“So,you’re telling me you two have been living together all this time?” Terry asks from the backseat of my car. “And you never told me?”

We’d stopped off at the guesthouse to shower and change, and I let Terry come in because Angelique felt bad about him waiting for us outside. Somehow that turnedinto him leaving his car behind and hitching a ride with us into town, all in the name of easier parking.

“It was part of my hiring agreement with Reign,” Angelique says, tossing me a pointed look as I steer us toward the lounge.

Terry lets out a low whistle, then leans forward until his chin nearly rests on my shoulder, eyes wide with mock shock. “Reign. You sick motherfucker.”

“Shut up,” I mutter, eyes fixed on the road. “I did it so that we could speed up the chemistry bonding.”

“Oh, sure,” Terry says, sitting back and grinning at me through the rearview mirror. “Whatever you say.”

Angelique’s laugh bubbles out of her, and I can’t stop the smile that tugs at my lips. I sneak a look before I can stop myself and she’s looking out the window, the corner of her mouth still lifted, shifting something inside my chest. I’ve heard that laugh before, back when things were easier, but now… now it hits differently. I keep my eyes on the road, jaw tight, heart doing something I don’t want to admit to.

It’s not love. I can’t call it that and I don’t deserve to. But it’s something that sits in my chest and aches when she smiles at someone else. It’s something that calms when she looks at me like I’m still worth something. It’s wanting her to find herself again—even if I’m not part of the ending. It’s staying close enough to catch her if she falls, but far enough to pretend I’m not already falling too.

And fuck me—I think I am.

When we reach the inner town, I park the car on the side of the road just outside of the lounge and we get out. It doesn’t take long for us to find Lando inside, along with three others—Willow, Alfie, and Max.

Lando stands up quickly when he spotsus, and I watch as he rushes to Angelique and apologizes for the things he said in the morning when he found us in bed together. But I don’t get the same apology from him. Instead, he shoots me an angry frown before guiding Angelique to the seat next to him.

“What the fuck was that about?” Terry whispers next to me.

“Long story,” I say under my breath, taking a seat at the head of the rectangular table.

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