Dancing for the Lord: The Academy (23 page)

“You don’t have your own special table?” her father demanded.  “Stars of the show and everything?”

“Nope.”  Nick grinned.  “We have a special bedtime, though, with another performance tomorrow night.”  He was preparing the way for them to leave early, Danni noticed—and doing it effortlessly. 

He turned apologetic as soon as they were away, however.  “I’m sorry,” he said quickly.  “They’re probably just in for the one night—you’ll want to spend time with them.  I—“ 

“Need someone to make sure you ice that shoulder before you fall into bed,” Danni cut in before he could say anything.  “And in the meantime, why don’t you take a couple of Advil?  It should at least help with the swelling.”

He grimaced.  “I finished my bottle off this morning,” he admitted. 

She stared at him.  “You’ve been hitting it hard,” she realized. 

“I’m hurting, Danni.”  Nick’s voice was low.  “Honestly, I don’t want to do this tonight.  I want to go home, curl up on that stack of pillows, and ice my shoulder until it stops
screaming
at me—and I can’t do that until they’re out of here, because there isn’t a single person in this room who will understand it if I cut out early.” 

She squeezed his hand firmly.  “We’ll leave early,” she promised.  “Make whatever excuse you need to.”

He stopped abruptly and groaned.  “I’m not going to have to make an excuse,” he said grimly. 

Danni turned to stare at him, concerned.  Was his shoulder really bothering him that much?  But no—the expression on his face was from more than physical pain.  “What’s the matter?” she asked cautiously. 

Nick grimaced, gesturing with his head without moving any part of his body.  “Well…remember how I told you that my mom would probably be here tonight?”

“Yes….”

“And I probably implied in the process—though I didn’t actually come out and say it—that my dad wouldn’t be joining her.”

She nodded. 

“Well…that’s my mom.”  He shifted so that she could follow his gaze.  “And the man beside her…is my dad.” 

“That’s your dad.”  Danni frowned.  “He doesn’t look particularly scary,” she pointed out patiently.

“Oh, he’s not scary,” Nick admitted readily.  “He’s just…not a big fan of me dancing.”

“You’d think, as good as you are, that he’d cut you a little slack,” she told him softly.

“You’d think that, wouldn’t you?  And yet here we sit, and we’re about to be in for a wonderfully hostile confrontation.”  Nick grimaced.  “All right.  Let’s do this.”  He didn’t make any move to flag his parents down as he waded back into the crush of people.  Halfway to them, however, he stopped.  “Do me a favor?” he asked her quietly.

Danni waited.  As much as Nick’s mood had changed in the last few minutes, she had the feeling that she needed to hear what the favor was before she agreed to it.

He smiled briefly, acknowledging her wisdom in not agreeing immediately.  “Don’t tell my parents I’m hurt, okay?”

She started to argue with him.  Didn’t his family, at least, have the right to know how he was feeling?  On the other hand, if he wanted to keep it to himself, that was his business—and if the look in his eyes was any indication, there was reason enough for it, whether she wanted to admit it or not. “Okay,” she said simply.

Nick squeezed her hand gratefully—and then there was no more chance to discuss anything, because they were standing in front of the couple that he had pointed out earlier.

“Hey, Mom,” Nick said lightly.  “Dad.”

“Nick, you looked wonderful out there!”  His mother hugged him warmly. “I know you said you were dancing the part of the prince, but I hadn’t realized just how intense it is!” 

“Oh, there are roles that are more intense.” Including a couple that required a good bit more energy—which Nick was suddenly grateful that he hadn’t had to summon. 

“Well, you were perfect,” she insisted.  “I’m so glad we got to come.” 

“I’m glad you were here, too. But hey, don’t give me too much credit, Mom.”  Nick was aware that his father wasn’t more than a few inches away, but he made no effort whatsoever to pull him into the conversation.  They’d been down that road before, and it never, never ended well. 

“And this is your partner—the Katarina you mentioned at the first of the year?”  The words emerged as a question.

“Oh—no.  Kat…got hurt.”  Which was all Nicholas intended to say about it no matter how hard they tried to drag it out of him.  “This is Danni, Mom.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Best,” Danni said quickly, slipping in to offer her hand to the older woman. 

“And Danni, this is my dad.”  Nick gestured to him, but made no move to introduce him further. 

“It’s nice to meet you, Danni,” Mrs. Best gushed.

Mr. Best just smiled coldly, all but ignoring her.

“Nicholas!”  His wife elbowed him—and as she hissed his name, Danni realized immediately exactly what it was that Nick hated about his full name.

He was named for a father who not only had no appreciation whatsoever for what he did, but who actively disliked it.  That distaste was evident on the older man’s face even now, as he gazed around him.  Every time his eyes landed on a male dancer, he winced. 

Danni gritted her teeth and didn’t say anything.  That distaste had been around since a long time before her, and there was nothing she could say that would make it any better.  She just laced her fingers a little bit more tightly through her partner’s, offering him as much reassurance as she could. 

“Well…”  Nick cleared his throat when it became evident that his father was going to ignore the whispered command.  “Danni’s parents are saving a table—let’s head on in, all right?”

“Oh, of course!  Now, is this your first year here, or are you a senior?” his mother bubbled, turning her attention to Danni—a knee-jerk reaction to his father’s rude behavior, Nick knew.  He was used to the routine by now. 

“First year,” Danni agreed cheerfully.  “Nick and I have been working to get as much done as we can before senior year—those self-paced courses, you know.”

His father snorted.

Nick tightened his hand on Danni’s—not in warning, but in an effort to remind himself that he had to keep his temper under control.  Letting his father have it in the middle of the parents’ day presentation wouldn’t be productive—no matter how much better it might make him feel.

“And how’s that going?” His mother’s voice was a little bit too high as she asked the question. “Are you two accomplishing a lot?  I’m sure it must be a struggle, what with rehearsals and all.”

“Oh, it’s been interesting—but we make a pretty good team.”  Danni sent Nick a look that warmed the tight place in his chest—a place that got tighter with every passing moment.  “We’re actually pretty far ahead at this point—that senior year devoted completely to dance is looking more likely all the time.”

His father made a rude noise again. 

Danni’s hand was white in Nick’s grasp.  He tried his best to let it off a little bit, but that only increased the fury bubbling inside him.

Please, Lord, don’t let me lose my temper. I knew he’d be like this if he came.  I didn’t even want him here.  But…at least he did come.  At least he cared enough to see me in my first major role.

“Well, how about that!”  Mrs. Best smiled at Danni.  “Nick, we are so proud of you,” she told him warmly.

That obnoxious
noise
.  Couldn’t his father just hold his silence and leave things alone?  They all knew that she was really speaking only for herself!

“Well—not everyone could do what you’ve done.”  Her voice faltered for only a moment.  “You’ve worked so hard—completing school on time with your dance schedule would be difficult, but here you are, finishing early!” 

“Danni’s helped a lot.” He forced the words out through a throat that felt tight with shame.  “She’s really a great partner all the way around.”  Let his father see how much
she meant to him.  Heck, let him see that he was getting more and more attached all the time.

His father actually had the gall to shake his head in disbelief.

Nick ground his teeth and led the way into the dining room, hoping—praying—that Danni’s family would at least be able to pick up the lags in the conversation. 
He doesn’t want to be here, Lord. Why didn’t he just stay at home?  Why did he have to come out here and ruin everything?  Danni and I did so well tonight—accomplished something that no one even realizes we did.  No one but Androv knows those steps well enough to know that we changed them, but we did it.  Danni changed the choreography—we pulled off a performance that we had never even rehearsed before—and he can’t even congratulate me for that!  No, it’s all, “How dare my son decide to be a dancer?”  It’s not like I’m a stripper, Lord!  I’m dancing for you!

His plea went unanswered, as it had gone unanswered every time he had ever lifted it heavenward.  Dinner was a tense affair.  Danni’s family filled in the frequent silences as best as they could—though several times, Danni’s little sister had a sharp comment of her own to add—but the rising conflict was evident in spite of their best efforts to conceal it. 

Danni kept her hand tucked in Nick’s throughout most of the meal—leading to a few very pointed comments from Lizzie about Michael, pining away for his missing partner.  Nick ignored her. He already understood the relationship between Danni and Michael, and while they might be best friends, he had no fear that he was stepping into the middle of anything.  Danni had been too honest with him for that.

Unfortunately, Lizzie wasn’t the only one who took note of that connection.  Several times throughout the meal, Mr. Best had cleared his throat, looked like he might say something, and then pulled back again at the last minute.  Finally, he stood, drawing every eye at the table to him. 

“You might say this is none of my business,” he said flatly. “And maybe it’s not.  Maybe I’m an old fool who ought to keep my nose out of where it doesn’t belong.  But I just can’t bear to see a girl disappointed over a matter like this.”

Danni stared at him, her mind not working fast enough to catch up with him. 

“You seem like a good girl,” Mr. Best told her.  “And it’s wonderful that you’re interested in my Nick.  I’m grateful for it.  But—well, you see, there’s no chance that it will ever go anywhere.”

Nick’s face went dead white—Danni’s first signal that something was very, very wrong.  His mother sucked in a hard breath, struggling for words—and came up absolutely flat.

Mr. Best could see that he had the attention of everyone at the table.  He was uncomfortable with it; but that didn’t stop him from forging ahead anyway.  “Nick—“  He stopped.  “This is hard for a man to say.  I wish I didn’t have to say it.”

“Dad—“   Nick found his voice, desperate to put a stop to it.  He didn’t want to have this argument again.  He’d thought they’d had it out already! 

“Nick is…is gay.’  The older man’s voice shook as he said the words; it was evident that he hadn’t said them aloud very many times at all. 

Nick’s hands slammed down on the table, and he glowered at his father furiously, the masks of civility ripped away.  “How many times do I have to tell you?” he
demanded heatedly.  “I’m not—“  He stopped, forcing himself to breathe evenly and speak rationally.  “I’m not gay, Dad.  Just as straight as you are.  I like girls.  I have never had so much as the first boyfriend—never even considered it.” 

“No?  You’re telling me that you get up there and parade around in tights and a—and a
tutu
, showing everything you’ve got to the entire world, and there’s not something
wrong
with you?”

“Nicholas,” Mrs. Best whispered.

“I’m not going to listen to you lie to me!”  Mr. Best glowered at his son as though he had done something filthy at the dinner table. 

“It has nothing to do with my sexual orientation!”  Nick’s hands fisted, the muscle in his jaw so tight that Danni was sure he would have a screaming headache tomorrow.  “I’m just a dancer, Dad, nothing more, nothing less.  How many times am I going to have to tell you that before you believe me?”

“How about when you start meaning it?” the older man demanded.

“I’ve meant it every time!”  Nick’s voice was rising again. 

Lord, give him peace and patience,
Danni prayed desperately; but it was already too late.  Neither of the men seemed inclined to calm down now. 

“Liar!  I have a—a—“  The word his father used then was very rude indeed.  “For a son—and now you make yourself a liar on top of that!  How dare you!”

Nick just looked at him—just that.  There was no answer for those cruel words. 

His father, on the other hand, seemed to have plenty of them.  “I’m ashamed of you.  Do you even realize that?  Ashamed to talk about you.  I used to keep your picture on my desk—used to tell people all about my boy.  Why couldn’t you be a real man?”

Nick’s face went even paler than it had been earlier that evening, when he struggled with the pain in his shoulder.  There were a hundred things he wanted to say—a shocked Danni could practically see them racing behind his eyes—but he didn’t say any of them.