Epilogue
“I just think it’s a ridiculous term.”
Patrick groaned and rested his forehead against the base of her neck, the heat from his skin melting through her costume. It never got old, being this close to him. Being happy, feeling whole for the first time in her life.
“Anita, who cares what it’s called? The video of our show dance went viral, and it’s helping the studio’s popularity.”
“But doesn’t viral mean virus, and viruses are bad?” She turned and looped her arms around his waist. He leaned toward her for a kiss, but she put a hand between them. “Do you know how long it took me to fix my lipstick this morning?”
Chuckling, he bent and brushed his lips against the curve between her neck and shoulder. Twinges of heat and electricity fired through her skin, making her peacock-blue Standard dress feel even tighter against her skin, ruffling the feathers that comprised the skirt.
“I can make anything work.” Patrick’s smile was crooked, but his eyes shone brightly. “Come on, aren’t you a little excited about your success?”
“It isn’t my success, it’s our success.” Anita linked her arm with his and turned to watch the finale of Hanna and Markus’s show dance. Since Keystone and the video of their Hozier dance going viral, she and Patrick had been invited to myriad competitions, showcases, master classes. Patrick had devoted the time he had promised to improving their social media presence, and it was working. Their relationship was working. She was happy, actually, truly content for the first time in a very long time. It all felt too good to be true, and she didn’t want to take a single moment for granted. She didn’t want to hear about Christina Blake’s upcoming parole hearing. She didn’t want to read about the drug wars escalating across the Pennsylvania border. She wanted only to live in this perfect, shining moment with Patrick.
Hanna and Markus finished their show dance with a series of sparkling spins and pirouettes, thrilling the crowd. Anita and Patrick whooped and cheered along with the audience. A thrill of excitement and passion sparked in her heart, and she nurtured it, let it grow, let it flow through her and into Patrick.
“Ladies and gentlemen, dancing to ‘Tightrope,’ Anita Goodman and Patrick O’Leary!”
Patrick led her out into the middle of the ballroom, and they took their opening positions. It had taken a crisis to bring them together, and she doubted it would be the last one. But she didn’t care.
Nothing was better than Patrick and ballroom.
THE END
A word about the author…
A lifelong lover of the written word, Natalie used to spend her school recess hours reading Michael Crichton and Jane Austen. Not much has changed, except now she writes stories about smart, kicks women and the people who adore them. Sometimes there are even pirates involved. Natalie lives in Los Angeles, where she is married to a man who literally brings life into the world. She is mom to two lovely young munchkins who despise brushing their hair and eat way too much cake. She is unapologetically terrible at taking selfies.
nataliecrosswrites.com