Page 46 of Georgia On My Mind (Southern Promises)

Chapter Twenty- Four

The familiar click of the key in the studio door made Gia pause. A sense of relief washed over her, and she welcomed it. Things had changed and this wasn’t her residence anymore. Nor was it her business for much longer. Her footsteps echoed in the expansive space as she crossed the length of the room to the corner while inhaling the familiar musty smell of the room. Setting her bag on a chair, she pulled off her pants and wrapped a black rehearsal skirt around her waist. Quickly, she put on her ballet slippers and trotted to the sound system. With the touch of her fingertip, the board came to life, the knobs glowing in red and green. Surveying the meager CD collection, she found what she was looking for and popped it into the player, jacking the volume to a hefty level. She was going old school ballet today, choosing Tchaikovsky’s, Swan Lake.

Trotting to the middle of the room, she posed and inhaled a deep, cleansing breath, waiting for the music to start. Her reflection was graceful, her body lithe. As the melody floated throughout the space, she warmed up, closing her eyes and concentrating on the bending and flexing of her muscles. The grace and beauty of her movements ignited her passion for dance. Ballet had always been her safety net. As a young child in her aunt’s studio, it was her ultimate escape from the harsh reality that was her life. As a young woman, it still brought her much comfort. She needed to find her center again, and she knew just how to do it.

Starting off with fluid spring-like pliés, she moved effortlessly, stretching her ankles and knees with pointed toes. As the music became more dramatic, she concentrated on the beautifully slow and sustained grace of the adagio. The calming effects of ballet were instant, and she felt at peace, the classical music swirling around her. As she whirled and spun in several consecutive pirouettes that would have made any audience member gasp out loud, she was vaguely aware of Ethan entering the room. When she slowed down, he clapped, the noise startling her.

“Bravo, prima ballerina! Bravo!” He stood and crossed the room to the stereo, turning the loud volume down. He skipped happily toward her, looking like he was skating across the floor in his Converse tennis shoes.

Gia blushed with discomfort. This wasn’t the first time he had caught her in the act of playing out her ballerina fantasy. She approached him shyly, kissing both of his cheeks. “I’m just warming up for class.”

“Warming up, my ass!”

She sat and pulled a small towel out of her bag, wiping her brow. “What?”

Ethan sat next to her. “Seriously, I have a proposition for you. Now that you’re closing the studio and you’ll have the time, you can’t say no.”

“What is it?” Drinking greedily from a water bottle, she eyed him curiously.

“I need a lead ballet dancer in the musical I’m choreographing at the City Springs Theatre.”

She swallowed and held the bottle in her lap. “What do you mean? You cast that show weeks ago.”

A slow, sly smile spread across his face. “Yep. But the ballerina we cast to do the dream sequence just got offered a Broadway show in New York. She leaves before opening. That means, today is your lucky day.”

All of the blood drained from Gia’s face, and she held her breath. “Are you kidding me? You want…me?”

“Fuck, yeah! The show opens in less than two weeks. You’re the only classically trained ballerina I know in Atlanta that could pull this off and save the day!” Placing his warm palm on her thigh, he eagerly continued, “Come on, Gia. This will finally be your chance for a fresh start. A new audience will finally be able to witness what I’ve seen all these years—your incredible talent!”

She hesitated, not sure if she could learn a routine in two weeks. “I don’t know. It sounds like a lot of work.”

Grabbing her hands, he held them tight. “It will be a lot of work. But we have this entire room to practice in until you close and I’ll be there every step of the way. I would never put you out on stage feeling uncomfortable or exposed.”

Gia swallowed a lump in her throat. That’s exactly how she felt last night at the club—uncomfortable and exposed. She never wanted to feel that way ever again.

“Don’t I have to be equity or something? The only performance I have on my resume is from a couple of local recitals and my brief stint on So You Think You Can Dance. It’s mostly teaching experience here at the studio and at some of the dance conferences that have come through town.”

“Do you trust me?”

She nodded, holding her breath.

“Okay. We start on Monday. That will give me time to get everything together and let the production team know we won’t have to change the choreography to that part of the show for a chorus girl. I can’t wait to tell them I found a real ballerina.” He popped up from the chair with enthusiasm. “It’s your time, Gia! This is gonna be awesome!”

***

Hart and Katie lounged on the L-shaped sofa, catching up while Clay took a much-needed catnap.

“Tell me how you met,” Katie requested, her brown eyes sparkling.

Hart rolled his eyes, knowing his little sister was going to press him for details until he came clean. “Well, she did this Marilyn Monroe tribute act at a party.”

Her eyes became wide, and she started to giggle. “No way!”

He chuckled. “Way. I’m not making this up. She sang Happy Birthday to Mitch Montgomery at his birthday gathering at the club in a full Marilyn getup a couple of months ago. The whole act was professional, and she did such a great job. You know, she’s a dancer. She has her own studio on the south side.”

“That’s cool! She teaches?”

“Yep. But Gia’s studio is closing at the end of the month. The area is rundown and crime-ridden. She’s lost a lot of students too. That’s why she’s been doing these Marilyn gigs, to supplement her lost income.”

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