Chapter 6 #2
“It’s hard,” Frankie protested. “Maybe this stupid thing doesn’t fit me right.”
“It fits you fine. You’re just not trying hard enough.”
“I am too!”
“Think of how much more difficult this would be if you’d lost your leg above the knee.”
“Urg,” Frankie growled, face red as she clung to the bar harder, “I have heard that so many times!”
“Yet it’s still true,” Teddy persisted. “Now try harder.”
Finn looked ready to intervene, but Teddy knew what he was doing, because he’d seen what Frankie was capable of. The only thing holding her back was her.
Plus, she was stubborn like Erina. Like Teddy. He could see the fire in her that proved her anger was something she could harness.
“I don’t teach whiners, and I don’t tolerate quitters. Again,” Teddy said.
Frankie let go of the bar with a huff, focused, centered herself, so that even though she teetered doing the next ball change, she held it together.
“Frankie, you—”
“Shush.” Teddy cut Finn off, then turned to offer him a wink so he’d know he was only playing a part. “Keep your momentum going, Frankie. I expect rhythm, not sloppiness.”
Finn smirked, since it was obvious this tactic was working on her. A few minutes more, and though Frankie had to go slowly, she could successfully ball change from real to prosthetic foot without trouble.
“After that, a box step will be a breeze,” Teddy said.
It was, since speed didn’t matter, only shifting weight and small movements.
Another few minutes passed until they were all forming boxes in time, and Teddy said, “If you’re really advanced, you could try a grapevine next.”
“What’s that?” Frankie asked.
Teddy stepped away from them to demonstrate, moving across the room in a straight line with his feet crisscrossing each other in rapid succession. As it required minimal movement from his hip, he could still do so with ease.
A glance back when he reached the wall told him that Frankie was even more determined.
She followed suit, stepping out away from the walking station.
It was commendable how fluidly she moved once she started, picking up momentum toward Teddy.
He thought for sure she’d barrel right into him, but she slowed, caught herself with another wobble, grinned triumphantly, and headed back the other way.
Her cockiness took its toll when she wasn’t quite as successful the opposite direction, tripping over her feet finally and toppling—
—right into Finn’s arms, where she burst into a giggle until he started laughing too.
“Not bad, Nutcracker,” Teddy called as he joined them.
“Can we do this again Friday?” Frankie asked.
“Better keep it to once a week. I’m in PT too, remember? Besides, I’m headed to the city on Friday.”
“You are?” Finn said with a smile.
“Seems like.”
“What for?” Frankie asked.
“My sister is also a dancer, and she’s performing in a ballet she’d like me to see. I wasn’t sure I was going to go.”
“You weren’t sure?” Frankie took back her crutches when Finn handed them to her but held them instead of hooking them under her arms. “Are you crazy? I’d love to see a show like that. Plus, it’s your sister. You have to go.”
“Spoken just like she would.” Teddy chuckled.
“It’ll be so cool.” Frankie continued toward the door, holding her crutches instead of using them. Teddy had never seen her do that before. She moved slowly, but she was doing it, bolstered after dancing. “I’ve always wanted to see a real ballet.”
“You’ve never seen one in person?”
“Sleepy little beach towns like this one don’t have that much culture.
” She paused to pull a vibrating cell phone from her pocket.
“Oh shoot, Mom’s wondering why I’m five minutes late.
Better go. Have fun, Mouse King!” She waved, finally making use of her crutches so she could hurry, though Teddy wondered if she needed them.
Left alone in the workout room, he turned to see Finn leaning against the wall near the row of mirrors, arms crossed and wearing a fond smile. “Isn’t he the villain of the story?”
“The role I was born for,” Teddy said, sauntering over.
“I don’t know about that.” Finn tilted his head, waiting for Teddy to come closer, then leaned forward to kiss his cheek.
A shiver shot through Teddy when Finn didn’t pull away but shifted so that his lips were better aligned to reach Teddy’s mouth.
He kissed him there, too, and it was easy to sink into the feeling, reminding Teddy of his fantasy in this very room, near these very mirrors, of Finn putting his hands on him.
Teddy was tempted to reach for Finn’s hands now and guide them to the waistband of his sweats.
Then the door opened and one of the therapists Teddy wasn’t as familiar with came in with an older gentleman.
They had just enough time, being behind the door, to pull apart before anyone called them out for indecent behavior.
Even if there weren’t rules against them dating, Teddy had a feeling that being caught fooling around in the workout room wouldn’t be looked on kindly.
They left, and Finn went into the back to change, while Teddy headed for the waiting room. Meagan and Carlos were both up front by Betsy.
“Hey, Teddy!” Carlos greeted. “Erina’s show is going really well, huh?”
That would have quirked an eyebrow usually, but Teddy wasn’t that surprised. “She’s making good use of your phone number, I see.”
The darker tint to Carlos’s skin still managed an impressive blush.
“What are you and Finn up to tonight?” Meagan asked.
Teddy leaned on the front counter since no one else was waiting. “Long walks on the beach aren’t much of an option for me right now, so we’re planning on a night in.”
“Oh yeah?” Carlos waggled an eyebrow, then blanched slightly when Betsy cleared her throat.
“Anyway, you know what you should watch if you Netflix and chill? If it includes Netflix,” he said in an unconvincing whisper that made Betsy roll her eyes.
“Wet Hot American Summer. The movie, not the prequel series, though that has its moments too.”
“I’ve never seen that,” Teddy said.
“Neither has Finn!”
“Carlos,” Meagan said skeptically, “that movie is nothing but raunchy, stupid humor.”
“Sounds perfect,” Finn said, drawing Teddy’s attention to the door.
A few insecurities still reared their heads at Teddy, thinking of what a schlub he must look like when Finn dared to come out of the locker room so sinfully sexy in low-riding jeans and a short-sleeved shirt that hugged his biceps.
“Ready to go?”
Teddy changed when they reached the house. He had to. He didn’t shower, he hadn’t worked up that much of a sweat, but he still freshened up and put on his best pair of easy-fitting jeans and a gray sweater.
“You know we live at the beach, right?” Finn teased him when he reappeared.
“It’s still spring, and I keep my home cold.”
“I noticed. Good thing Smudge doesn’t mind, do you, fluffy boy?” Finn bent to scratch Smudge’s head, who was very happy to have him back again—and to have Nora in the house, since they’d stopped to pick her up. “So.” Finn stood, following Teddy into the kitchen. “What are we making for dinner?”
“Pot stickers and rice. I have a recipe I haven’t made in a while that is much easier with an extra pair of hands.”
Given Teddy’s recent debacle with chopping, he let Finn handle the vegetables while he mixed the meat and made the sauce. They pinched the dough for the pot stickers together when they were ready to assemble, then got everything frying, the rice already fluffed.
It smelled incredible, and Teddy could tell Finn was eager to taste the creation. He was probably the type who could eat anything and never gain a pound.
Unlike Teddy, who didn’t need something this rich when he should be watching his diet. He’d always had to be strict with himself to stay fit, which had been easier as a dancer, always moving, but now….
Teddy frowned at getting up in his head again. Why was he doing that, distracted and feeling sorry for himself right when he had something good in his grasp?
“Something wrong?” Finn asked, since Teddy was supposed to be flipping the pot stickers for the final simmer, but he’d stopped.
“Sorry. It’s not you. Not this. This”—he gestured between them, at Finn being there, and even had to glance into the living room at Smudge and Nora playing—“this is really good. It’s just me.”
“Erina’s show? Your hip?”
“All of the above.” Teddy finished flipping the pot stickers and turned down the burner.
“I guess a bad day is hard to shake. I know you know that, but I’m still sorry.
I don’t want you feeling guilty about the other night.
You needed it, more than I have any right to complain about being a little sore and sorry for myself. ”
“That’s not fair.” Finn moved to stand closer to him. “One person’s pain isn’t more valid than another’s. You just need to recapture what you lost.”
“That’s what I can’t do. You’re helping me recover, and that’s great, but you can’t help me dance again.”
“What would you call earlier with Frankie?”
“A ball change and a box step are not the level I was used to. You can’t turn back time for me.”
“No, I can’t,” Finn said, leaning against the island parallel to Teddy. “It sucks, and it’s going to suck for a long time. In fact, it might always suck because dance is always going to be something you love and miss and can’t do anymore the way you used to.”
“Don’t sugarcoat it.” Teddy swallowed through a thickening in his throat.
“Do you want me to sugarcoat it? I could tell you it’s going to get easier and better, but that might not be true. What I can do is help you figure out what you want the next chapter of your life to be.”
“Is that part of your physical therapy degree?” Teddy snorted.
“Sometimes. Do you want to know why I’m a physical therapist? Because it has nothing to do with liking physical therapy.”
“I thought… because of your father,” Teddy said, glad that this time, Finn’s expression didn’t darken quite as much at the mention.