Apollo (Contemporary Mythos Book 2)

“First day of rehearsal with Ace from Apollo’s Suns. Is this real life?” Kate stammered, the pitch in her voice raising an octave.

I pinched her arm as we walked into the studio.

She yelped. “Ow. What was that for?”

“To ensure you aren’t dreaming.”

She glared at me. “Ha. Ha. And how can you not be more excited about this?”

“I don’t particularly like the guy. Remember?” I swung my bag onto a chair, digging for my pointe shoes.

“You don’t have to like someone to admit they’re attractive. I’m all about the room with a view.” She elbowed me.

I chuckled and swatted her arm away from my extra ticklish zone. “He’s not that—” I started but clipped my words once we walked in the room.

Ace sat with his guitar in his lap; hair pulled into a small bun at the base of his neck. Clad in a white tank top hugging his chest and grey sweatpants. Light glinted from the numerous rings on his fingers as he dragged them over the strings. Several of the dancers sat on the floor, circling him, and beaming. He played one of the band’s ballads. It was a different image altogether. The sight of him “unplugged” and not soaking up the stage lights.

“You were saying?” Kate elbowed me again.

I slapped her arm.

He finished the song, preening at his small audience of women. His head dipped, and a strand of blonde hair escaped from his man bun. When he curled it over his ear, my stomach clenched. His eyes shot to me, and I stiffened before turning away, yanking Kate along with me.

“Good morning, everyone,” Roy announced as he glided into the room. He sipped on a paper cup of steaming coffee, halfway reading a folded newspaper as he made his way over to Ace.

Jamie entered, walking like she had a rod shoved straight up her ass. “Everyone.” She gave us all a half-assed wave.

Several women dignified her with varying forms of greeting. Considering she couldn’t even bother to grace us with a “morning,” the best she got from me was a mild grumble. Ace stood up, resting his guitar against the chair. Roy talked to him as Ace removed the rubber band in his hair, dragged his hands through his locks several times, and secured the bun again.

Since when did I have a thing for man buns? It was far too hipster for my taste, and yet here were my lady parts responding in the most confusing way possible.

“Jamie,” Roy beckoned.

She fluttered over to them like a leaf blowing across the water, standing in fifth position while Roy talked to her. Ace folded his arms, smiling at Jamie.

“What do you think they’re talking about?” Kate asked as we stretched on the barre.

“It’s pretty obvious. Jamie’s the principal that’s dancing with Ace.” I buried my face against my knee.

“I never thought myself capable of jealousy,” Kate mumbled into the distance.

Ace picked up his guitar, throwing the strap over his head. Roy led him and Jamie to the center of the floor. He explained the choreography to them, pointing at Ace’s guitar several times.

“Laurel,” Roy called out.

It’d come so suddenly, and out of the blue, my foot slipped from the barre, making a loud thwacking sound when it landed on the floor. My cheeks warmed, and I trotted over with not as much grace as our beloved Jamie.

“On the fourth count of eight, Ace will hand off his guitar to you. I need you to take it offstage, doing a turn right before exiting to the leftwing.” Roy removed a pen from behind his ear to jot on his clipboard.

Now I’d get to play as Ace’s little errand girl. I could hardly contain my enthusiasm.

“I can handle that, sir.” I tried to avoid making eye contact with Ace, but it proved impossible with every inch further he leaned in. The overhead lights glinted off his pearly teeth as he smiled.

“Positions, please.” Roy cued up the music.

I returned to the barre, waiting to start counting to eight four times in my head with the music’s beat. Ace placed his left hand on the guitar’s neck and flicked his right wrist before resting his thumb on the strings. He played a riff that was wistful yet bluesy. It was nothing like the music from his band. Jamie went on pointe, going through the choreography Roy explained. Her lines were perfect, as always, and I couldn’t help but admit how beautiful she looked. She held onto Ace’s shoulder, dipping her head down, while one leg lifted behind her in an arabesque.

The fourth count of eight approached, and I frolicked to the center, extending my hand for the guitar. Ace had already removed the strap, and instead of the guitar, his hand gripped my opened one, yanking me toward him. My heart raced.

This wasn’t the choreography.

His gaze turned villainous as he slipped the strap over my neck and rested the guitar on my back.

I stared up at him, my eyes bulging from my skull.

He pressed his lips to my ear. “I wouldn’t want you to drop it.” He peeled back, mischief blazing in his stare before he gave my hip a little push, sending me on my way.

I smiled, but my brow furrowed, wanting nothing more than to give this rock star a piece of my mind right then and there. Once I reached the farthest left wall, I did one spin and stopped as if I were in the wings of the stage. The strap of Ace’s guitar pressed into my skin. There was no way of knowing where it’d been—the amount of sweat and other bodily fluids soaked into the fabric. I grimaced, pulling at it as if it suffocated me.

Ace held his hand out to Jamie, and they went into their duet. They did several lifts, including one requiring Ace’s hand holding onto Jamie’s rear. When he grabbed it, her neck flushed. As the song came to a close, it ended with Ace holding onto Jamie with one hand curled under her thigh, the other around her ribcage, and dipping her. When he set her down, she dragged her fingers across her neck.

“Have you done ballet before?” She asked, breathless.

He winked. “I may have a time or two.”

“You’re—amazing.” She played with her fingers, rocking back and forth on her heels.

Who was this version of Jamie? I’d never seen her so…uncomposed.

Ace didn’t respond, only smiled. He squeezed her hip before sauntering over to me. I tried to ignore the impression of his lower half through the fabric of his sweatpants.

“You’re holding the strap as if it’s burning you. It can’t be that bad.” Ace pointed at my shoulder.

I fumed inside but tried to keep my voice low. “Don’t ever do that again. What gives you the right to think you can improvise?”

“Splendid improvisation, Ace. I think we’ll keep it,” Roy chimed in.

The entire world was against me. I was sure of it.

Ace gave Roy a thumbs up before turning his cocky grin my way. He leaned in, slipping his fingers under the strap over my chest. For a brief moment, we made skin-to-skin contact, and it sent a tingle straight to my toes. They may have even curled were it not for the confinements of my pointe shoes.

I was trying to be the bigger man here. We were going to be working together for months. An amicable relationship wouldn’t be completely outrageous, would it?

“You make it really hard to like you,” I said as he slipped the strap over my head.

He tossed it over his shoulder. “You don’t have to like me for us to act out what’s playing through your head.”

“Excuse me?” I crossed my arms in a huff.

“You know what I mean. I saw your face every time my hands grazed over vital parts on Jamie.” He let his lower lip roll between his teeth. “You looked downright envious.”

I laughed, feeling sweat form at the base of my spine. “You’re so full of shit, Ace.”

“If you start being nice to me, I may consider rocking your world. And not in the musical sense.” He licked his lips, giving a quick raise of his brow.

“Have a good rest of rehearsal, Ace,” I said through gritted teeth.

He leaned forward. “I believe that’s Mr. Ace.”

My eyes shifted to ears around the room, tuning into our conversation, including Roy’s. I plastered a fake smile. “Mr. Ace.” I did an exaggerated curtsy before trotting back over to Kate at the barre.

“I’m going to murder him,” I grumbled under my breath.

Kate cocked an eyebrow. “When I said I’d help you bury a body, I was speaking metaphorically.”

“At least I don’t have to dance with him. For once, I’m ecstatic I’m not a principal.” I bit my thumbnail.

“He’s not Jason, you know.”

I tossed her a glare. “What?”

“Ace. He isn’t Jason. Not every dude with a bit of an ego is destined to cheat on you as Jason did.”

Sweat rolled down my neck. Jason Bishop. We’d broken up a year ago, and it still stung. Why I’d stayed with him for as long as I had after knowing what he’d done kept eating at me like a maggot in an open wound.

“Ace has more than a bit of an ego, Kate.”

She nodded, sticking out her bottom lip. “Maybe, but don’t be too quick to judge. You have to have an ego to do what he does. Don’t you think?”

“Whose side are you on here?” The words came out more haughtily than I wanted. Mostly because she made sense, and I wasn’t ready to admit it. Letting my guard down with Ace opened yet another door for an opportunity of hurt.

“Wow.” Kate leaned on the barre with nonchalance.

“What?”

She held up her hands. “Nothing. Nothing. Time to frolic.”

The music started, and we took our places. Ace stood off to the side, leaning on the wall and idly strumming his fingers on the guitar. A new fuel powered me—anger laced with adrenaline. I’m sure my expression looked anything but pleasant. My moves, however, were the most precise and flawless they’d been in a long time. Ace’s eyes caught mine. His lips curved mischievously. Plucking his fingers over the strings, he didn’t tear his gaze away from me.

When it came time for the three pirouettes, I physically couldn’t stop at three. After the fifth turn, my feet landed perfectly with little help from me. Everyone stared.

What the hell?

“Miss Berg, it’s three turns. Not two. Not five. You want to show off, look for another company.” Roy’s jaw tightened.

Ace lightly whistled to himself, stroking his fingers down the neck of the guitar. He gleamed at me through strands of hair that’d fallen over his eyes. His roguish expression suggested he’d gotten away with something and savored it.

“It won’t happen again, sir.” I held my head low like a scolded child.

Ace pushed off the wall, twirling the guitar in his hand. He lowered his chin as he walked past me. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

I wanted so badly to seethe at him, but I was already in enough hot water.

He smiled, walking over to Jamie. Her anger for me melted away the moment she laid eyes on him.

Well, at least he was good for one thing.

“This is probably as good of a time as any to make an announcement,” Roy said.

Another announcement? I wasn’t sure I could handle any more.

Kate moved to my side, curling her arm through mine. “Nice moves, prima ballerina.” Her gaze sparkled.

“There are grueling days ahead of us, and it’s abundantly clear we need to become a better team. That’s why the entire company is going to Toronto for the weekend,” Roy continued.

Gasps filled the room.

“Consider it a company retreat. The bus leaves tomorrow and will come back Sunday. We start rehearsing again bright and early Monday morning.”

“Sir, I’ve been with the Buffalo company for ten years now. They’ve never done this,” Jamie chimed in.

“You can thank Ace for funding the trip.” Roy smiled and held his hand out toward Ace.

Ace stood in the middle of the room with his arms dangling over the guitar. The women said, “aww” in unison while clutching hands under their chins, expressing everything from, “Thank you!” to, “You’re the best, Ace!”

He was up to something. I just didn’t know what yet.

“Think nothing of it, ladies. You all deserve to relax a bit before the real deal kicks in.” He smiled, and I wanted to rip it right from his face.

He didn’t mention anything about tagging along. He wasn’t an official part of the company anyway, so maybe he was doing me a favor in light of it.

“Everyone dismissed. Meet here tomorrow at 8 AM for the bus.” Roy tucked his clipboard under his arm.

I turned for the hallway.

Ace slid in front of me with a cock of his brow. “Didn’t hear you say thank you.”

“Oh, I did. I mumbled it under my breath. Probably couldn’t hear me over all the squealing of excitement from everyone else.”

He smirked. “Yeah. You’re not nearly as grateful as the rest of your friends.”

“Friends? Kate is my only friend, and I’m sure she’d fondle your biceps if you smiled at her long enough.” I stepped aside, walking out to the hall.

“Makes sense.” He paused at the doorway.

“What does?”

“That you only have one friend.”

My jaw dropped. “That is not what I me—”

He walked away before I could finish, grinning like a snake.

Toronto. No Ace. Just poutine, maple syrup, and hunky hockey players.