Dance (36 page)

Jared’s
passion was directing and working with kids. He was so tired of the stage, of
musical theatre in general. But he’d love to work with kids in some way.

The
final notes of the song sounded, Fenix dropped on the floor as the rain beat
mercilessly on his body, and the stage went black. The audience exploded in
applause and Fenix ran backstage, taking the towel Jared had waiting for him.
He gave him a quick kiss and dried himself off before running on stage again to
bow with the whole cast.

Later that
night, Fenix raised his head off Jared’s chest to look into his eyes, saying,

“I
have a meeting with the producers tomorrow.”

The
nightlight cast an eerie glow on Fenix’s face, making his features seem even more
beautiful. Jared caressed his cheekbones with the pads of his fingers, and
tugged his bangs behind his ear.

“They’ll
probably want me to sign the new contract,” Fenix continued.

“Yeah,
it’s that time of the year,” Jared said. “I got offered a new contract today
too.”

“Did
you sign it?”

“No.”

“Jared,
I’ve been thinking for a while,” Fenix began nervously. “I want a real life
with you. A life where we don’t get followed by the paparazzi when we go out to
eat or see a new show, or where I have to look over my shoulder all the time
because someone might decide to stab me in the back. A life where we get
weekends off and normal working hours and more than a two week holiday once or
twice a year. I want a house and a yard and a dog,” Fenix paused as if unsure
whether to say what was coming next.
“And kids.
I’d
like to have kids with you, a family.”

Jared’s
heart was about to explode with joy. He leaned down and kissed Fenix, long and
hard, until they were both panting and ready for round two.

“I
want all that too, love,” Jared said as their lips separated. “I’ve been
thinking about it for a while, too, but I wasn't sure if you were ready.”

Fenix
beamed at him, so happy and open and genuine that Jared couldn't help but kiss
him again.

 
“I’ve been thinking of moving to
Malmö
,” Jared said.

“You
want to move to Sweden?” Fenix asked incredulously.

“Yes.
It was beautiful there. And they have an up and coming musical theatre scene. I
bet any show would be more than happy to hire you as a choreographer, or
whatever you decide to do.”

“What
do you
wanna
do?”

“I’d
like to open a dance and drama studio for kids of all ages. I was also thinking
about directing, but I’m not sure I want to get involved in the theatre again.
Not yet, anyway. But I’d love to work with kids.”

Fenix’s
grin hadn’t left his face when he said,

“I’d
love that.”

“What
part?”

“All
of it. The moving to
Malmö
,
the dance and drama studio, maybe
even choreographing a show...”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“We
can sell the flat and we’ll have more than enough money to buy a house and
maybe even a smaller property for investment. I’m also going to get royalties
from
Of Kids and Monsters
while it’s
on stage because I’ve co-written it,” Jared said.

“I
have some savings,” Fenix added.
 
“We can
buy the studio with it and get it started. I’m sure with your
passion,
it’ll quickly grow into something profitable.”

“So
we’re really doing this?”

“We’re
really doing this.”

They
stared into each other’s eyes, looking for doubt or hesitation, but found
neither.

In two months,
Jared found himself watching Fenix’s final performance backstage. If judging by
his own last show the day before, Fenix must be feeling quite emotional. Even
though they were both ready to take on the next phase of their lives, it was
still overwhelming to say goodbye to the stage.

The
audience knew it was Fenix’s final performance in
Poison
and the standing ovation in the end lasted a while. Just as
it started to die down, a voice on the sound system announced,

“Ladies
and gentlemen, please take your seats. We have a surprise planned for you
tonight.”

People
started murmuring among
themselves
but eventually
quieted down. Jared’s heart was pounding in his chest, his knees almost giving
out. Just before Fenix came backstage, Jared ran to his hiding place as he had
rehearsed that morning. He saw Fenix frown and look around, searching for Jared
and looking baffled about what was going on.

Music
started playing, and the
Poison
cast
along with the
Of Kids and Monsters
cast appeared on stage, dancing and singing to Fall
Out
Boy’s
The Phoenix
just as they had
rehearsed. It had been incredibly difficult to plan this without Fenix ever
finding out, but with Joy’s, Ned’s, and even Adam's help Jared had managed to
keep it a secret.

Jared
saw Joy hurrying off stage to get Fenix, who looked very confused. That was
Jared’s cue. The moment Fenix was dragged on stage by Joy
,
 
the
audience erupted in applause. Jared
walked slowly after them. The singing and dancing ended and the performers
lined at the end of the stage, whispering and giggling. Jared stopped in front
of Fenix and took his hand in his before he spoke.

“Fenix,
I wanted to do this here, tonight, because this has been our home for the past
five years. All these people,” he gestured towards the performers, “and everyone
who came to see our shows every day, are our family. I know you love the stage
and that, even though you want more out of life, you’ll still miss it every
single day. I know this, because I will too.”

Fenix
nodded as his eyes welled with tears. Jared prayed that he’d be able to keep
his voice steady through this and not cry.

“You
once told me that dance is like life – there are good moments and bad moments;
moments when you sprain your ankle, but you have to go on, even when it hurts
like hell; moments when the applause goes for such a long time you feel like a
god; moments when you nail the move you’ve been practising for a week and you
feel invincible; moments when you’re scared as hell to even cue up the music.
But just like life, dance goes on whether you like it or not. It flows in your
veins.”

A
tear slipped down Fenix’s cheek and Jared wiped it away with trembling fingers.
He was deaf and blind to everything around him. All he could see were Fenix’s
crystal blue eyes, shining with love and so much hope.

“I’d
like to ask you to dance with me, Fenix. To marry me and spend your life with
me,” Jared said. He fell on one knee, producing a small, velvet box with two
rings inside. “Will you?”

“Yes!
Of course I will!” Fenix exclaimed and helped Jared up, taking the rings and
putting one on his finger and one on Jared’s. They hugged and kissed through
their tears as the people around them applauded, whistled, and cheered.

Epilogue

Fenix

Eight years
later

“One, two
three, one two three, and hold,” Fenix counted as the little girls around him
danced to his instructions in their little pink tutus. He eyed them critically,
trying to hold back his smile as he watched their cute faces drawn in
concentration.

“Feet
a bit further apart,
Lina
,” he said as he knelt down
to correct
Lina’s
posture. “That’s better,” he said,
meeting her beautiful, blue eyes, so much like his.

“Thanks
Mr Bergman,”
Lina
said officially.

Fenix
grinned proudly.

“You
know you don’t have to call me Mr Bergman, right?” he whispered so that the
other girls wouldn't hear.

“I
know. But I don’t want them to think I get any special treatment just because
you’re my Daddy,”
Lina
replied stubbornly.

Fenix
shook his head and stood up – like father, like daughter.

“OK,
girls, one more time. One, two,
three
...” he started
counting again and the girls continued dancing around him.

Looking
at them, Fenix thought how much his life had changed during the past eight
years. He and Jared had moved to
Malmö
and bought a beautiful house – one with a large yard
just like Fenix wanted. They set up the dance and drama studio out of nothing
and it was so successful that they were thinking of opening another one to be
able to accommodate the huge demand.

They
also had their beautiful little girl
Lina
with a
surrogate.
Viktoria
was the most wonderful woman, and
five years after she had given birth to their daughter, she’d agreed to do it
one last time for them, and was currently pregnant with their second child. She
was due to give birth to a boy any day now, and both Jared and Fenix had been
ecstatic. Jared had wanted their second child to be Fenix’s, like
Lina
, but Fenix had been adamant that Jared should get his
own mini-me.

Movement
outside the glass door of the dance studio caught Fenix’s attention. Olivia,
one of the other dance instructors, was waving at him, beckoning him to come to
the door.

“That’s
it, girls, you’re doing great. Keep going,” Fenix said as he headed towards
Olivia.

“Jared
called.
Viktoria
is in labour. You need to get to the
hospital now, Fenix. He said things were progressing fast.”

Fenix’s
heart did a somersault. Their baby was about to be born.
A
beautiful little boy just like Jared.
He grinned at Olivia, went back
inside the studio, and wrapped
Lina
in his arms,
carrying her outside with him.

“Daddy”,
she squealed. “We talked about this.”

Fenix
laughed and put her down as they exited the studio. Olivia gave him the thumbs
up and went inside to finish his class for him.

“Listen,
gorgeous, Dad is in the hospital with
Viktoria
. She’s
having your baby brother right now. We have to hurry or we’ll miss it.”

Lina’s
eyes got huge and she grabbed Fenix’s hand, pulling him towards the front door.
They called a taxi and headed to the hospital, Fenix in his dancing leggings
and, thank god, a t-shirt, and
Lina
in her pink tutu.

Two hours
later, as Fenix stared at Jared who was holding their son, and
Lina
as she gently patted the baby’s head, beaming with
joy, he could not imagine his life being any more perfect.

Even if the whole of Broadway applauded him every single
night.

This
right here, his family, and his quiet, relaxed lifestyle, was everything Fenix
needed to be happy.

Jared
glanced at him and waved him closer, giving him the baby to hold. Fenix took
him and was surprised at how small he was. He’d forgotten babies
were that
small – after all, their daughter was nearly six
and was getting bigger by the second.

“Hey, Alec.
Welcome to the
world,” he said quietly, caressing the baby’s cheek.

Jared
pulled him closer and snuck an arm around his waist while hugging
Lina
with his other arm.

“I
love you,” he whispered in Fenix’s ear.

“I
love you, too,” Fenix replied. “All of you,” he added, looking at his husband
and his children, silently counting his blessings.

THE
END

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I
started writing DANCE on a whim after seeing a great West End musical. While
watching the show, the story of Fenix and Jared hit me so hard, I could feel it
flooding my brain and taking down all the writer’s block walls I’d had up for
months. Nothing about this novel was planned – I was actually supposed to be
writing ‘Colour Me Inside’, the third book in my ‘Heartbeat’ series. I never
expected to get the urge to write a MM romance book, even though I’ve been an
avid reader of the genre for a long time. I had no budget for it, no time in my
schedule,
no
contacts in the genre. But the desire to
write was back, after it had completely evaporated for several months, so I
decided to go for it and write what I really wanted to instead of what I was
supposed to. When I told my friends and family I was writing this book, they
were all so supportive and encouraging. People offered their help without
expecting anything in return and I’ll forever be grateful for that.

Kameron
Mitchell edited this book and put so much effort in making it as good as it
could possibly be. He praised my writing, occasionally, but more often than not
criticized it and made me re-write so many paragraphs that my head was
spinning. I’m hugely thankful for that, and for all the times he was just a
text away when I needed him.