Page 146 of The Breaking Pointe
Sherollshereyes.“We’llseeaboutthat.”Shegrabs my wrist and pushes the door open, taking us into a creme colored, soft pink themed room, decked with old Hollywood posters of stars, movies, and photos of famous dancers and ballerinas.
“Close the door,” she says, letting go of me and walking to her bed where a few presents are.
I listen to her, shutting it behind me and watching her. She’s swan-like in everything she does.Every movement she makes. They say when swans find their soulmate, they swim beside each other forever.I know it’s the dancer in her, but she is my swan. My soulmate.
“So, what is it?” I ask, taking some steps in her direction until she turns around to face me.
“Here,” she says, holding a box out in between us, her cheeks tightening as her mouth widens into a smile.
“Getting straight to the point, I see,” I say with stifled laughter, taking it.
She looks at it as I take it, then back at me. “I searched ev- erywhere, until I finally found someone who makes them.”
I furrow my brows, looking back at her as I start to tear the plaid gift wrap from the box. I keep tearing until I can fully seethetopofthebox,whichisblackandplain,givingme
no hint to what it could be.Noelle watches me, squeezing her hands together as she shows the first signs of being impatient that I’ve ever witnessed.Heading to her needs, I lift the lid to the box and take it off, setting it on the bed while taking a good look at what the big reveal is.
Inside lies something so intricately thought of, that evenI wouldn’t have thought it up.It shouldn’t spark me as shocking, but it does—the way she knows me better than I do already. She pays attention when I’m not. A lot of attention that I never knew I needed until now.Not only with my personal losses, but with my every day interests, and now my career. In the box lays a silk robe, stitched with my last name in cursive on the back with shorts to match.Both garments are in a shade of green to match my gloves.
“Noelle…” I can barely speak as my eyes pan over the fabric, as if it’s not real. “How did you…”
She meets my words with hers.
“I told you.I did my research.Now you’re ready for the new season. Which I think you should start training for. It makes you happy.” She pauses, inhaling through her nose. “Try it on?” She warmly smiles.
I swallow my prideful paragraph of whatever excuse I was ready to make, explaining why I’m undeserving of such a gift. The truth is that, in this moment, there isn’t an excuse I can find.This is the love that I’ve been hunting for in random hookups, and longing for in the middle of the night when I’m alone and hating myself.How could I make an excuse up to deny myself of something I’ve wanted for so long, but could never find?
I take the robe and shorts out of the box and set it down withthelid,thenneatlysetthegarmentsdownaswell.
Quickly, I pull my shirt over my head and unbutton my jeans, pulling them down and off, then replacing them with the shorts. Perfectly, they fit around my waist, the silk slipping against my skin comfortably.
I follow up with the robe, slipping each arm into it and fixing it to hang on my body just right.I run my hands down the material draped over my body before tightening my lips together and clearing my throat as I feel the lump growing in the back of it.
“I couldn’t wait until the morning. I got other things, but this is special.From me to you.I wanted to show that I believe in you, Cole,” she nervously proceeds. “Is it okay?” she murmurs, watching me.
That seems to do it for my emotions.It’s more than okay— it’s everything and more. What makes it better is there’s no cloak to be worn around her. I can be the rawest version of myself for her and not be faced with rejection. I don’t fight the feeling. A convulsion of tears escapes my eyes, and my chin falls against my chest as they run down my cheeks.
“It’s the best gift that I’ve ever gotten,” I mummer in between tears.
Her arms extend around my bare torso, fishing through the robe as she pulls me in for a hug, allowing me to find a hiding place for my face in her neck.
“This was the last reaction I expected,” she whispers, kiss- ing my chest. “I wasn’t trying to make you cry. Something you never do.” She snickers.
Biting my lip into a smile, I kiss her head.“Yeah, well, that’s what happens when you finally get what you’ve been praying for.”
“A new boxing uniform?”she questions me, raising her
head to look me in the eyes.
Wandering mine down to meet hers, I shake my head, sniffling with laughter.“No.”I fill my hands with her cheeks. “I mean you,” I whisper.
She takes the robe into her hands, gripping it as she pulls my upper body down into hers, kissing me with all her might.
Loving me with all her might.
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snowball effect
