The Dance Off

“Hey, kiddo.”

Nadia spun on her heels to find Ryder coming up the street towards her with breakfast for the crew: a tray of coffee and a bag of bagels from the most amazing pub just around the corner. It had become their local. For coffee, and for occasional accommodations when they couldn’t wait for the restoration crew and/or dance students to vamoose for the night.

“Hey, handsome!”

Ryder’s beautiful face broke into a grin. She’d thought the man the most gorgeous male specimen on the planet in his slick suits and shiny shoes. Turned out in old jeans, long-sleeved T-shirt and plaster dust in his hair he was even better.

“Off to work?” he asked, leaning in for a kiss.

“And lucky I’m not late. You were meant to wake me,” she chastised.

“You looked too rumpled to move. I like you rumpled.”

Coming over all warm, she hooked a finger into the beltline of his jeans and tugged. “Rumpled will not endear me to my new boss.”

Ryder scoffed. “Your new boss adores you. The crazy, high-flying, death-defying acrobats you are choreographing adore you. I adore you. Now shut up and give me a kiss and get out of here. Or you’ll really be late.”

Nadia did as she was told, wrapping herself around her man while he held coffee and bagels out of her way.

“Here.” He gave her a coffee and she gave him one last kiss. “Go teach them a thing or two.”

“Planning on it,” Nadia threw over her shoulder.

“If they need to know how to sway—”

“I know who to ask!” she added with a laugh.

And even as the laughter faded, the smile stayed. Stuck. A permanent fixture. Like so much else in her life. Her extraordinary, adorable life.