I returned to Maxwell and his giggling group. Alyssa smiled my way. “You look fabulous, Ava.”
“Thank you.” I took in her white gown. “You look beautiful too. You all do.”
Isabella turned to me. She had on a violet off-the-shoulder number—tight and sparkling. “Oh my God. I’ve drunk too much. I didn’t even know you were in here or that we were moving.”
Ulyana burped and adjusted her silver dress. “Yes. We should have eaten first.”
“Don’t worry about that.” Misha turned off the phone. “We’re close.”
Ulyana burped again. “I’m so sorry.”
“That’s cool.” Maxwell winked at her. “I dig chicks that burp.”
O-kay.
Alyssa waved her hands. “Oh! We said thank you to Misha and Maxwell, but we haven’t said thank you to Ava yet!”
Everyone turned to me.
“No.” I waved the comment away. “This is all Misha.”
They told me thank you anyway.
Maxwell eyed me. “Yo, Ava. You do look good. Very black swan.”
The other ballerinas and I groaned.
“What?” Maxwell held out his hands. “You all don’t like the movie Black Swan? It was a ballerina movie. You’ve got to like it.”
Ulyana shook her head. “It’s just that the character Nina is. . .” She snapped her fingers. “How would you say it?”
“A wimp.” Isabella sipped her champagne. “The movie also had ballet all wrong.”
I nodded. “During barre, the artistic director doesn’t stroll in and give some big speech.”
Alyssa laughed. “Barre is for doing barre.”
“Announcements are after class.” Ulyana dotted her each word with her finger. “And there’s only one principal in the company. Real companies have a handful of soloists and principals. That’s why Ava so quickly stepped up.”
“Which was long overdue,” Alyssa added.
Misha whispered to me, “I like these new friends of yours.”
I laughed.
Ulyana continued. “And Nina’s crazy mommy is her roommate. Preposterous.”
“Exactly.” Isabella rolled her eyes. “The average professional ballerina has lived on her own for many years.”
“Probably since her teens.” Ulyana held her glass as Maxwell poured her more champagne.
Alyssa bobbed her head. “I was on my own at thirteen, fending for myself in Russia. In a dorm and far away from my family.”
“I came at sixteen,” I offered. “It scared the hell out of me. It was the first time I’d ever been out of America.”
Maxwell grabbed another glass. “You want some champagne, Ava?”
“Yes, please.” I looked at Misha. “What were your thoughts on the movie?”
He smiled. “I didn’t like how my beautiful ballet world came out so distorted. While there is a darkness to it, there is also hope and strength.”
Maxwell handed me a glass.
Misha continued. “You women are athletes who have trained for years. I would have liked to see more examples of your endurance and the utter power that radiates off of you all.”
“Wow.” I blinked. “I love that answer.”
“Cheers to that.” Maxwell raised his glass in the air. “To strong and gorgeous ballerinas!”
We all raised our glasses and then sipped.
Maxwell took a long chug and then raised it again. “However, I will say that I still loved the damn movie. Natalie Portman was hot as fuck in it.”
Isabella frowned and glanced at the other women. “What will we do with him?”
Maxwell undid his tuxedo bow and let it hang around his neck. “I’m not against you three disciplining me.”
I snorted.
And then conversation shifted to the performance. I leaned back in Misha’s arms, enjoying this moment and hoping evenings would always be this way. It has been a long time since I’d been around people just for fun. It had been many years since I had even partied after a performance. O and I barely went to the nightclubs. I had been too focused and always told her no. Now that she was dead, I wished I’d took her up on going to a bar or lounge.
I turned to Misha, drinking in my handsome new boyfriend, and loving every inch of his face. If O were alive, she would have told me to have a blast, dance the night away, and fuck until morning.
I will, O. I will.
I spent the rest of the ride telling Misha about the agent call from Mrs. Hightower.Chapter 5
Misha
We stopped in front of a two-level building with shattered windows and cracked paint. No car or human was in sight. There wasn’t even a door.
I climbed out of the limo. Ava followed. With an odd expression, she took in the dark street around the building. When her friends left the limo, they held the same odd curiosity in their gazes.
Then Maxwell stepped out. “Where the fuck are we?”
“It’s called udovol'stviye.”
Maxwell smirked. “Does that mean ‘crack den’ in Russian?”
Ava laughed. “No. It means pleasure.”
Maxwell pointed at one of the cracked windows. “This building and street look like we’ll get stabbed for our shoes if we stand outside for too long.”
“That’s the intention.” I guided them forward. “In St Petersburg, the best things are hidden.”
Maxwell studied the building. “Even the night scene?”