Dancing for the Lord The Academy - By Emily Goodman Page 0,57

he hadn’t made a mistake in allowing her to take the role, in spite of the fact that she had been at the Academy for no time at all.

And she was dancing with Nick. That was the part that warmed her the most. Whatever happened out there, during the pas de deux, at least, Nick would be there to catch her hand and let her know that everything was all right.

Someone knocked on the door to her dressing room and came in without waiting for a response: Nick.

“What’s wrong?” Danni turned immediately, seeing the pinched look around his eyes and worrying. He had been fine when she left him only an hour before. What could have changed?

“I’m okay, Danni.” His voice said one thing; his eyes said something else entirely, she thought, studying him. “It’s just Kat being Kat, okay?” He forced a grin that didn’t meet his eyes. “She’s just jealous because you make a better Sugar Plum Fairy than she does.”

She didn’t let him get away with the compliment and walking away. “What did she say to you, Nick?” Her voice was gentle, compassionate—the voice that she had learned would get him to tell her the truth most of the time. It was the easiest way to get him to admit that his shoulder was hurting, and the fastest way to get him to tell her what was really on his mind—it hadn’t taken her any time at all to figure that out.

His face fell, almost as though it was beyond his conscious control. “I didn’t—she said—“ He closed his eyes, probably to hide the tears burning there. “She said she wouldn’t dance with me again if I was the last guy at the Academy.”

The blow had gone deep. He hadn’t cared that much about Katarina personally—didn’t even like her—but they had been a good team. Hearing that she, who had no other prospects, didn’t even want him…it was a serious insult. Danni understood it immediately, and felt not the slightest hint of jealousy—just concern. It wasn’t that Nick particularly wanted to go back to Katarina, though she knew he had been keeping that option open for next year, when Michael joined her. It was just that she should have wanted him. He was the single best male dancer at the school—Androv aside, since Androv was unable to dance professionally anymore. Everyone knew it—or, at least, they had known it before.

The slur on his reputation was going to hurt, even though he knew it shouldn’t matter. Worse was the fact that Katarina, who he had given so much, didn’t even want him.

She closed the distance between them and hugged him instinctively, the way she would have if it had been Michael upset over a girl’s rejection—in his case, a girl that he had wanted to date. “It’s okay,” she said quietly. “If she doesn’t want you, I’ll keep you.” It wasn’t until the words were out that she realized just how much she meant it. Michael would always be her best friend; but right now, he seemed very far away. If she had to make a choice between the two of them, she realized suddenly, she would choose Nick.

Nick’s arms came up, and he hugged her back with a desperation that surprised both of them. “God bless, Danni,” he told her quietly.

“You’re a great partner,” she pointed out gently. “And I love dancing with you. If Katarina is stupid enough to give that up, then I’m more than willing to take her discards.”

He buried his face in her hair, and she could practically feel him drinking in her gentle words. It was probably, she thought, the first time he’d had a partner compliment him in a long time. She let him hold her until his trembling stilled—until she was sure that he’d gotten his balance back under him again. “Come on, Nicholas,” she said quietly. “I’m sure Allie is waiting for you.”

“I’m not sure I care.” But he let her go, if reluctantly. “Thank you,” he told her seriously. “For just…all of it. Looking out for me, and not believing that crap Kat is spewing, and…well, for everything.”

“That’s what partners are for,” she pointed out gently. “At least, that’s the way I always understood it.”

“It’s the way partners are supposed to be,” he corrected, his voice as careful as hers. “Around here, it’s just not always the case.”

Danni knew that. She had just been trying very hard not to admit it to herself. “Then that’s the kind of