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There was something in the air that morning. Caitlyn couldn’t figure out what exactly, but the whole day had felt like everything was going perfect for her. Her school had been called out for the day so she finally had a lazy Monday morning, her favorite coffee shop had one last of her favorite pastry ready for her to appear and buy it and even though the weather report insisted that it would be rainy the whole afternoon, she had been able to walk to her dance class without thinking it twice, the Sun up and shiny all her way there.
It was quickly becoming one of Caitlyn’s favorite days. And it wouldn’t stop there. Madam Spinoza had told her the last class that she would finally get a new partner, after her last one dropped out and left her to fend for herself. A young promise, her teacher had called the new dancer. She didn’t know more about them, only that they had started ballet a year after Caitlyn herself, so it might be possible that they had run into each other at the recitals.
She was excited, more excited than ever to meet someone. Her heart was thumping against her chest as she walked towards the rehearsal room, her eyes already searching for a stranger’s face. And God, she found it. The dancer was shorter than herself, tussled red hair covering their eyes as they talked to Madam Spinoza. Their back was large and she could tell that they were strong. And their arms… Christ Almighty their arms. Caitlyn could feel herself almost drooling as she stared at the stranger. And her heart only raced faster once they locked eyes and they smiled widely at her.
“Caitlyn Kiramman, right? I’m Vi Warvick. He/him pronouns,” his voice was rougher than she would expect.
“Nice to meet you, Mister Warvick.” She shook his hand and a shiver went down her spine as she felt the strength on his arm.
“No need to be so polite,” he smiled, dazzling her for a second. “We will be partners from now on, we should trust each other, shouldn’t we?”
Caitlyn simply nodded, her eyes taking the sight of the strong body that would soon become the one to carry her as featherlight as possible on stage. “How long have you done ballet, Mister Warvick?”
His smile flickered down for a second and the blue-haired woman realized that she sounded harsher than she intended. Vi cleared his throat, slightly awkward, “I’ve been dancing since I was five, Miss Kiramman. It’s been 17 years now.”
She nodded, a smile hesitantly appearing on her face. “A long time, huh?”
“Not much longer than you though,” he whispered and quickly blushed. “What I meant… I just, I’ve seen you dance ever since I started. You are memorable, Miss Kiramman.”
“Ah, yes. I’ve been here longer than most people.” Caitlyn’s face mimicked his blush. “But I do not believe that I’ve been called memorable before. It will be my pleasure to be your partner from now on, Mister Warvick.” She whispered.
The rest of the class went on in a blur, any time his hands brushed her waist or skin she would shiver, her heart bouncing from the walls of her chest. It was becoming increasingly difficult to hide. And to be honest, even if everyone knew about Caitlyn’s sexuality, she didn’t broadcast it like others in the company. She liked to keep it to herself, so she would usually find romantic or sexual partners far away from her part of town. A bar here, a coffee shop there. Never somewhere that could kick her in the ass.
But Vi was something else. He wasn’t her usual type, but his eyes were warm and his smile was a light in any room. The perpetually tossed up hair and the cocky way he would walk around until he faced Caitlyn were two of the most alluring things she had ever seen. She wasn’t even sure how she made it through rehearsal with his presence so close to hers.
And the mental pictures that flooded her mind once she felt his hands on her waist were next to sinful. Her brain filled with the most enticing images of herself under his body, his skin touching hers and his mouth all over her and she couldn’t avoid the stumble once he released her after a lift. She blushed harder as she saw the small frown on Madam Spinoza’s face, knowing that she had seen the way her feet crashed and was wondering what had happened.
She needed to bury the attraction, it wouldn’t bring anything but trouble. But it was difficult. It was so hard not to let herself fall into his eyes when he would glance at her with such adoration that she wasn’t sure she deserved it. She was getting hot under the collar once she glanced back at him as they changed into his street clothes, his dance shirt off as he rummaged through his bag for his new shirt and talked to Madam Spinoza. She could get a full view of his back and once he turned around she could watch the way his abs twitched as he laughed, the way the tape covered his chest and his shoulders moving as he started to put on the shirt she honest to God swooned.
She gulped audibly and quickly glanced away as they locked eyes. She felt like she was a teen with her first crush. Her hands trembled as she grabbed her gym bag and bolted out of the room. She needed air. She needed a cold shower. She needed space from those enticing blue eyes and strong arms.
“I’m losing my mind,” she whispered as she tried to put as much distance as she was able to. She sat down on a nearby bench, burying her face in her hands and trying her best to calm down her breathing.
Caitlyn wasn’t a prude, not by a long shot. When she was younger she would sneak girls into her room without her parents knowing, she would often go over to bars and come back with one too many hickeys. She had gone through breakups and she had had long relationships. But the feeling that she was getting with Vi was unlike anything she had felt before.
She needed to calm down. She needed to get her head in the game before the next class. No matter what it took.
By the time she made it to her place her heart had finally calmed down. She grabbed her laptop and quickly found her shows’ cds, wanting to find videos of her new partner on stage. She fast forwarded through most of it until she heard his name being called out. She zoned out everything as she stared at her screen, watching as the redhead walked to center stage, his arms up in the air before stretching her right hand to the side, calling for his duet partner. The small twitch of his fingers might have gone under the radar for everyone but Caitlyn was paying too much attention. The beckoning gesture, his fingers undulating in the air as his partner stepped into the light caused the blue-haired woman to blush, pulling on her collar as he got ready to start.
His movements were eyecatching, his lips were quipped into a forever confident smirk as he guided the dance, his hands wrapping around the woman’s waist to help her with the jumps. His muscles moved as he danced and Caitlyn felt the way her hand was fanning her neck to calm down. She would have to dance with him? She could feel the way her skin was becoming cold with sweat as she stared at Vi taking the spotlight, his partner moving to the side as he had a small solo.
Madam Spinoza’s words reeled back into her mind, young promise was cutting it short. He was amazing. And for whatever reason he was stuck dancing with her. She moved on to the next video, and the next, and the next, until she got to what appeared to be Vi’s first appearance on stage. She would have to thank her mother one day for loving the physical copies of her show’s recording because she would have never found the video of 5 years old Vi in her pendrive.
His hair was slightly longer but still vibrant. She could see the miniature Vi’s hand shaking as he offered it to a girl that seemed a year older than him and she smiled. He was extremely adorable and Caitlyn melted for a moment, tiny Vi was a charming little kid and she could understand why he had stayed on ballet. The second he heard the first notes start his face changed. He looked so much like the 22 year old Vi she met today, his chest puffed out as he guided the older girl all over the stage. The window to the past was next to adorable and her mind was filled with Vi’s current face as she prepared her dinner. Staying away from him would be harder than she thought.
On the other side of town, Vi Warvick sat under a tree, his hands playing with the keychain clasped in his keys. He turned the metal around, reading the quote etched on it. He had done it himself, from choosing what metal to use to etching the quote into it.
Like I feel a change in my whole body. And I've got this fire in my body. I'm just there. Flyin' like a bird. Like electricity. Yeah, like electricity.
From the first moment he had seen the Billy Elliot movie he had fallen in love with that phrase. From the moment Vi had worn his dance shoes he had understood what that quote meant, he suddenly forgot about everything around himself and simply let go. He was free to be himself on stage, wearing the masculine clothing he wanted, holding a girl’s hand and being the one the dancer trusted to get her in the air and down. The first time he danced was intoxicating.
Almost as intoxicating as dancing with Caitlyn Kiramman for the first time. He wasn’t sure if she had felt the way his hands shook as he guided her today, but he could still feel his skin buzzing from brushing against hers. He was lost in the high he had gotten from the hour long class with her. He had tried to hide his infatuation but it was the hardest thing he had ever had to do. Caitlyn Kiramman was amazing, and the woman he had had the longest crush.
He continued to play with the keychain, his eyes focused on the way the metal shined under the streetlight. A sigh left his lips as he thought back to the slight sheen of sweat appearing on the woman’s skin as they danced together, the way her chest rose and fell any time they got a break and the way her eyes burned holes into his body as he changed. He was impossibly attracted to her and being able to be her partner was a dream come true. But if today’s class told him anything, it was that from now on he would have to do so many breathing exercises to calm down before facing her again. He had to be in his A-game. He wanted to show her that he was worthy of being her partner and make Madam Spinoza proud for letting him ask for a little whim once she asked him if he wanted to change classes so he would get an advanced learning. He was still thanking anyone that was looking out for him when he found out Caitlyn’s partner had left the company and allowed him to ask Spinoza if he could fill in that spot.
But God how much his hands shook.
He felt like he couldn’t breathe.
His eyes were locked in her as they danced.
His senses were only focused on Caitlyn and he couldn’t be happier.
If she only knew how obsessed he was with her. He was struck by Cupid’s arrow so long ago that the yearning in his heart had become second nature to him. Vi could still recall the first time he saw her. He was killing time because he had been let out of school early but he didn’t have enough time to go back to his home, so he asked Madam Spinoza to crash in the break room before his class. He usually wouldn’t peek into the rehearsal room (mostly because Madam would always close the door) but that day had been so warm and the fans inside the room weren’t working properly, so the door was open and once he sat to try and do some homework, he had a front row seat to Caitlyn Kiramman in red.
He knew that one of the show’s songs was from Carmen, but nothing could have prepared him for that sight. Caitlyn was the perfect Carmen and he quickly forgot about the papers in his lap, focused only in the way she danced around. Ironically for someone that had always mocked movies for having the “falling in love at first sight” premise, he fell in love at first sight.
Vi had just turned 18 when he first saw her and he knew that she was a year older than him. His heart raced as he stared at her dance and he made himself a vow right then. He would practice as hard as he could, he would prove himself as an incredible dancer just to have a shot at being that woman’s partner.
Once he set his mind on something he latched onto it. And he had his mind set on Caitlyn Kiramman. He wouldn’t say it out loud but he started to arrive earlier to his dance lessons so he could get a glimpse of her blue hair. He would offer his help preparing the stage for their shows just to be able to glance at her long legs as she warmed up for the rehearsal. He would help Madam Spinoza with the children’s classes because he knew Caitlyn would sometimes come to rehearse her solo with Madam Spinoza after the classes, allowing him to stare at her as he helped a kid tie their shoes while she talked to their teacher. He needed to be the one dancing with her. He needed to be able to offer his hand and know that she would be the one grasping it.
He wanted to be the only one Caitlyn wanted to dance with. It was a long shot, knowing that the woman was amazing meant that he needed to catch up quickly before someone else took what he started to consider as his spot. It wasn’t as if he was a bad dancer, he actually was the best dancer they had in the masculine category. It was simply the fact that the blue-haired woman was incredible that even the most amazing dancer looked awful next to her, or at least that was the way Vi saw it.
She had a partner before, one that absolutely did not deserve the pleasure to have his name written next to hers. He wasn’t bad, per se, but he wasn’t what she needed. She needed so much more than he could give her. So when the news travelled that he had finally dropped out and Caitlyn was in need of another partner, Vi couldn’t move fast enough. He truly considered making a Powerpoint explaining why he was the best option but ended up simply going to Madam Spinoza and begging as much as he could. He was so close to getting on his knees when his professor nodded, knowing that everything he had said was right. He was the best one around, the only one that could go toe to toe with Caitlyn Kiramman. He could’ve weeped when she told her to show up to the advanced class instead of his own.
If today’s class was any indicator of how their partnership was going to be going forward, he couldn’t smile wide enough. It had been heaven, the feeling of her body against his, the weight of her in his hand, knowing that she would have no other option than to trust him as they danced around in class. The knowledge that he was currently the most envied person in the company also did wonders to his ego. Even now, sitting under the tree, he could feel his chest puffing out proudly, the warmth of her skin still penetrating into his heart and the buzz he had felt since they locked eyes still swimming around in his veins. He was going to lose his mind being her partner, but it would all be worth it to be able to catch a glimpse of the cocky tilt of her lips she always got after finishing a hard routine on stage.