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Into the Light

 

 

 

 

34. Time's Running Out

Crouch. Right leg out, stretch... Twist - shift weight, keep body low, two three four. Quick roll over, up and duck, bang jump, spin, stop! Jump back and crouch, and up again, slowly... weight shift and bang!

The rhythm throbs in my head and in my whole body, even though there's nothing for my ears to hear except the stomp of our bare feet on the wooden floor, the hiss of our breath. Rashim mirrors my moves like a thought. Our eyes lock together, the contact broken only for the moments when either of us spins around.

Closer, still closer but not touching. I slam my arm forward, fingers extended, he ducks to avoid it, my body arches as if by reflex to avoid his high kick. We slowly circle around each other, I charge and wham his arm clamps around my waist, hot and sweaty and hard as a steel band. It almost knocks my breath away - only almost.

"Good!" The arm slides off. Thank goodness. My top is just about dripping wet, and quite frankly it felt pretty damn hot. Rashim takes a step back. "I think we'll call it a day now."

"Agreed." I try to rake fingers through my hair and slick it away from my face. We pull the blankets from the corner, spread them on the floor and settle down to stretch.

Good gods but it feels heavenly. My every muscle is practically groaning, and honestly I can think of very few things in the world right now that feel even nearly as good as stretching. Oh, this must be the best thing - after dancing of course - that one can do with pants on.

I get my breathing under control and let my eyes close. Just concentrate on one muscle at a time, slowly, methodically. Feel it loosen, relax, soften, get long and flexible. Rashim crawls closer and we drape around each other, helping the other one to stretch those big strong muscles that are particularly hard to work on properly. He raises a leg to hook it over my shoulder and smiles up to me as I start pressing down with my body weight. He doubles up and hums with pleasure as the muscles in his buttock and thigh stretch luxuriously. I can't help bending down the last hair widths to kiss him on the nose.

"I'm going to molest you," I inform him, and his eyes narrow into happy slits.

"Not before we're finished," he sighs.

I let my palm glide along the gorgeous curve of his ass and he growls a little warning to me.

"Just feeling if you're stretching properly!" I wink to him and he grins. "Now the other one, please..."

Not that I'd want to spoil this. It feels so good, and besides, we both need this. Our bodies need this to go on training tomorrow.

That's what we'll be doing, too. We've been working so hard these past days and weeks, going through the entire story, learning our parts, watching and helping the others with theirs. Rashim has a lot of work, but he seems to take it all in a stride. Well, he's used to this kind of thing - learning choreography. For me this is all new.

And damn if it isn't hard. What's more, deep down I'm plain frightened. What if I won't be good enough, despite all Rith's assurances and her obvious confidence? Or - something that scares me even more - what if I simply panic the moment when I ought to set a foot on the stage? What if I freak out, freeze completely, don't remember a fucking thing?

Rashim is calm and supportive, but even that doesn't really soothe me now. Because he can't know for sure that I won't do that when the moment comes. Hell, I haven't got a clue myself! I've never done anything like that, gone on a stage, in front of an audience. What if -

"Toni..." Rashim rubs his cheek against mine. "Relax, love. You're tensing up again."

Ah. Right. Focus on the stretches now, man. Just close that stubborn nagging insecurity out.

We finish the routine and pad to the bathroom, slip into the pool's lovely cool water and just soak there, eyes closed, weightless. The sound of the water flowing in and out is so gentle and calming... but what the fuck - steps? Are those steps on the stairs? Who the hell has got in -

"Toni? Rashim?"

I just don't believe this... "Chaim?"

"Oops, you're having a bath?" Oh gods, it is his voice, closer to the door now. "Sorry, we'll wait upstairs."

"No, come in here this instant!" I yell. "Goddamn it, man, there's very little in here that you wouldn't have seen before! If it's really you and not some ghosts, come in!"

The door slides partially open, and true enough, it is Chaim's face peeking in, smiling broadly. "All right, if you're both sure?"

"Of course we are," Rashim confirms.

Heavens, how I've missed them. Yes, both of them. Chaim's loose-limbed charm, Kim's perky beauty. They seem to have lost some of their tan and Kim looks slimmer again. It seems he's maturing at last, there's something sharper, more defined about him. More than ever he reminds me of the thoroughbred horses of his home country.

Rashim crosses his arms on the tiled edge of the pool and props his chin on them, grinning up at our guests.

"So you're back at last!" he sighs. "So good to see you! I hope the journey wasn't too dreadful?"

"How would you know what's dreadful and what isn't?" Kim retorts with a grin. "Ever traveled anywhere, Dirna boy?"

"Nope," Rashim admits happily. "But I'm taking your word for it."

I've missed Chaim's laughter... He sits down on the built-in bench by the wall and crosses his legs. They're both barefoot, I notice, probably left their shoes outside the door to the studio. It looks oddly cute, Chaim in slacks and shirt and jacket and no shoes.

"We came through the Gap this morning," he says. "Just had a quick snack, changed, and walked here - wanted to check if you're at home or what."

"We've been training," I tell him. "Cooling down now."

"Why don't you join us?" Rashim tilts his head. "There's easily room for four."

Kim's eyes light up and he begins to open his belt. "Oh yeah, let's!"

Kim baby, you sure have come a long way. I can't help staring as they both strip naked and slip in with us. Chaim eases all the long lines of his body into the water and wades through it to hug us both. Cool water, warm skin, slippery... and Kim hugs me as well. Now there's another intimacy I'd never have expected. After all, we're both stark naked and yet there he is, lithe body pressing against mine for a moment. Sweet.

"Good gods how I've missed Dirna!" Chaim combs wet fingers through his hair; it's longer than I remembered. "So, what's up here? How is the Dance Theater doing?"

"You must tell us everything," Kim chimes in, and Rashim purses his lips smugly.

"We're rehearsing our first full performance," he says airily. "It'll premiere on the seventeenth."

"What - in two weeks?" Chaim stares at us both and I nod.

"That's right. You came back in the nick of time, it seems."

"I say!" Chaim shakes his head. "Well - if you'd had the audacity to have the first night without us around, I swear I'd have shown you what 'grumpy' really means!"

"What is it about?" Kim asks eagerly.

"It's called 'Leannoh'," Rashim says. "Know the story?"

Chaim frowns in thought, shakes his head lightly, and I grin in relief. I swear I'd have been really upset if he could've rattled the whole thing out just like that. Now I get to give him a quick summary of the storyline - or actually, I have barely time to open my mouth. I don't get any further than that, though, because at the same moment Kim's face brightens in realization.

"Oh, I know it!" he exclaims. "It's a 'Demieni story, isn't it? About prince Leannoh and the evil magicians who hold a princess captive inside a mountain?"

"Well, in fact Leannoh does sound like it could be a 'Demieni name," Chaim agrees.

Oh shit. Never occurred to me... but he's right, it does sound 'Demieni. Am I dense, or what? But the boy looks so delighted that I haven't got the heart to pout too much...

Oh, shut up, you nasty little voice in my head. So I have a heart, and it says I don't want to spoil Kim's delight - so what?

"And who'll be in it?" Chaim asks.

"Everybody," Rashim says. "I'll be Leannoh, and Toni dances the part of the evil Cat."

Chaim gasps and turns to stare at me. "Toni? You'll be going on stage with them?"

"Yeah." I know I neither look nor sound even half as confident as I'd like to. "Rith told me I'll do it, so I will."

"Wow!" Kim laughs. "Rith really is a super lady, to make you say things like that!"

"Oh, cut it off!" I splash water towards him but it doesn't cool him in the least. "You don't say no to Rith, let me tell you, kid! And so here I am, doing my damnedest to be up to the challenge."

"I trust her judgement," Chaim says calmly, eyes warm. "You'll be just fine, Toni. If Rith says you can do it, then there's no reason to think you couldn't."

"That's what everybody keeps telling me," I groan. "But, I mean, how can you know?"

"Toni..." Rashim drapes his body around mine and squeezes tight. "You should just believe in yourself!"

"He's right, you know." Chaim's long arms wrap around both of us, he rubs a wet cheek on mine and pecks me on the forehead. "In some respects you just have too little self-confidence, Toni my little brother."

"Little? Say that again!" I growl but Chaim just laughs and nuzzles my ear.

"But you are," Kim insists and joins our surreal watery group hug. "You're Chaim's little brother, and just as irritating as all little brothers are, irritating and impossible and irresponsible and - outch!"'

"Incredibly irresistible!" Rashim deliberately grinds his bare butt against Kim who lets out a squeak. "Stop teasing my man, 'Demieni boy!"

"Aren't you possessive, Dirna boy?" Kim retorts and presumably pinches Rashim somewhere underwater, because Rashim yelps and lets go of me. During the ensuing water fight Chaim and I retreat to the sidelines and laugh until my sides ache and Chaim is reduced to spluttering when a wave hits high enough to flood his mouth.

"Ceasefire!" I shout and jump to sit on the pool's edge. "Or ceasewater, whatever! You're getting everything wet."

Chaim grins and joins me, then glances over his shoulder at their clothes. Even on the bench they've caught enough of the splatters to be dripping, and I shake my head.

"No option, my friend, you're stranded here until your clothes dry again."

"Isn't that terrible?" Chaim's arm snakes once more around my shoulders and he leans closer. "It's good to be home again. We've missed you so much."

I kiss him on the cheek, and the two pool beasts blink up at us, battle forgotten.

"Umm, how about a dry towel?" Kim looks hopeful and I pat his curly head.

"I think I just might be able to arrange that. Come on, let's go upstairs and get something to drink."

"Are you sure that's wise?" Chaim looks at me gravely. "Are't those two wild enough as it is?"

"Oh Chaim, my brother..." I get up and stretch luxuriously. "Let them be. You're back, and that's reason enough to celebrate."

As I pad barefoot to the towel closet, mindful of the slippery wet tiles, I can't help grinning. At least for the moment I refuse to think of any and all scary things that lie ahead. Right now I just want to be happy, with my lover and my friends. I still have two weeks to panic properly.

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