Epilogue Allegra
Epilogue
Allegra
One year later
I push through the door of the Six Pact studio, heading for the elevator because my legs cannot handle the stairs after a full day of class and rehearsal. I’m exhausted and sore, but the moment the door opens and I see Cord waiting for me, a rush of energy surges through my veins.
He greets me by sweeping me up in his arms before closing and locking the door behind me. For a minute, he just holds me, my arms tight around his neck, his face buried in the crook of my neck.
I sigh, letting out a long, content whoosh of air as the stress of the day leaves my body. “Hi,” I say when he finally sets me down.
“Hi.” He leans down for a soft, sweet, quick kiss. “How was your day?”
“It was good. Rehearsals have been no joke lately. Brianna runs an even tighter ship than David.”
I don’t think anyone was too sad to see David go when he turned in his resignation letter six months ago.
Someone reported him for misconduct—I still don’t know who and I would never pressure whoever it was to reveal themself.
When the board of directors gave us a safe space to talk about similar experiences any of the company had had with him, I gave them the honest truth.
It felt good. It felt even better when the repercussions were swift and final.
“We don’t have to work on the new number tonight if you’re too tired.” Cord leads me to the sitting area at the side of the studio, gesturing for me to sit.
But I don’t, instead slipping out of my bright pink joggers, the color more vibrant than the ballet pink I wore for so long. “I’m fine. I thought Noah and Lucy were going to meet us here?”
Even though David is no longer my boss, I’ve stuck to my word, no longer performing at Six Pact in the show with Cord.
When Ivy moved back home, we taught the routine to Lucy, and when Lucy officially quit Ballet New York, she became a permanent cast member of Six Pact.
She and Noah have been dating for nine months and when they dance together on that stage, the crowds lose their minds.
And with good reason, those two are hot as fuck.
Cord takes my hand and pulls me to the center of the room. “I thought we could use this time just the two of us to work on the choreography. We can teach it to them later.”
I smirk, draping my arms around his neck. “If you wanted to get me alone, all you had to do was ask.”
He smooths the loose hairs back into my messy bun. “You’ve been working hard lately.”
“I know.” I rise on my toes to kiss him. “I appreciate you rolling with my schedule.”
“Anything for you.” He deepens the kiss, sucking gently on my bottom lip.
“I thought we were supposed to be dancing?”
He slides one hand to my lower back and grasps my hand with the other. He slowly leads us around the room, his lips never moving from mine.
“I talked to my landlord today.” It’s the one thing I can say to divert his attention, not that I don’t want to lose myself in his kiss. But I’ve been keeping the news from him for almost twenty-four hours and it’s been killing me.
Cord pulls away, hope shining from his bright blue eyes. “Oh?”
I nod. “I gave him my notice.”
A small smile tugs on his lips. “To be clear, by that you mean?”
I grin, threading my fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck. “By that I mean I told him I will be moving out by the end of next month.” I place a single kiss on his pulse point. “You wouldn’t happen to know of anyone looking for a roommate, would you?”
He mock frowns. “Hmm. I’ll have to think about it.”
I swat his arm. “You’ve been begging me to move into your new place with you for months.”
Once it became clear that I still had several years ahead of me with BNY, Cord sold his Hell’s Kitchen apartment and bought a place in between the Six Pact studio and the BNY building.
He asked me to move in with him as soon as he moved, but I’ve held off for the past couple of months, wanting to make sure it was something we were both ready for.
It hasn’t always been easy, finding compromises that work for both of us, but we’ve been committed to each other, and committed to making it work for a year now, and honestly, even with the challenges, I’ve never been happier.
I’m dancing better than ever before, and despite my advanced ballet age, I feel like my best performance years are ahead of me.
I’ve been awarded several principal roles and have received stellar reviews for all of them.
Not to take away from the hard work and dedication I’ve put into ballet since I was a child, but something about my time with Cord, the way he made me see and appreciate my body, it turned me into the best dancer I could be.
I also started therapy almost a year ago, and to say that it has been life-changing would be the understatement of the century.
Turns out, I had a lot of deep-seated issues, with my body, with my mother, with masking my emotions.
Talking about them once a week has done wonders for my mental health, so much so that when Brianna officially took over as company director, one of the first suggestions I made was for more accessible therapy. She happily obliged.
“Are you sure you’re ready to live with me, Slippers?”
“That depends, are you going to leave dirty clothes on the floor?”
His nose wrinkles. “Ew. No. I don’t do that now, why would I start?”
I laugh, pressing another kiss to his perfect lips. “I can’t wait to live with you. I love you, Cord. So much.”
His eyes soften and he pulls me closer. “I love you too, Allegra.”
“Now. Shall we dance?”
He grins, joining our hands once again. “We shall.”