Valentines for Cinderella

Mel had been energetic and talkative since they left the theater, but now she turned to hide her face against Ray's shoulder and tried to cover her eyes while she searched her purse for a tissue.

Danielle found tissues in her own purse and pushed them across the table. She asked, "What's wrong Mel? We thought that would be good news."

Ray slipped his hand around Mel's hip to pull her against him. She dried her eyes with Danielle's tissues then with her eyes still reddened she said, "I'm sorry! I can't help it. We just got through a really tense week, and I guess it isn't over yet.

"To make a long story short, I talked with Austin Ballet this week; I won't have an opportunity to dance in Austin—and I have to dance. It's getting hard for us to stay together."

Ray looked back at Sam and asked, "How long will it be before the partners decide about the office, and how low before the office is ready?"

"Nothing is going to change before next Friday," Sam said. "There's no schedule yet for setting up the office—the decision to do that isn't even final. If it happens, then it would take on the order of months."

"I thought I worked well in Austin, and I like the city." Ray said, "But I need to be where Mel is." He felt Mel relax against him and went on, "I don't want to turn down an opportunity, but if we have at least a week before the decision and months before the actual move then we don't need to worry about it now."

Danielle tucked her arm around Sam's elbow and said, "We've ruined Mel's evening already. Maybe we should call it a night." They said goodbye at the door then ducked against the late January wind on the way to their cars.

Mel shuddered in her seat to shake off the cold while Ray started his car. Before he could put it in gear she asked, "What kind of answer was that? Would you go to Austin or not?"

Ray studied Mel's expression then said, "I hope my answer told Sam that the partners need to find someone else—and hopefully before I have to turn down their offer. Either way, we have quite a while before anything changes." He slipped the transmission into reverse to back the car out, then asked "Your place or mine?"

Mel smiled, and the dashboard lights shined in her eyes. "Your place," she answered. "After the week we've had, I don't want to be quiet tonight."

Ray pulled into the parking garage then shouldered Mel's dance bag and chased her to his door. Mel turned around and leaned against the wall while Ray opened the door. "You have to let me clean up a little," she said. "You'll appreciate it."

"Don't take too long." Ray said, then clicked on the bedside lamp. He left his phone in the light, hung his suit in the closet, dropped everything else on the floor, and then remembered to check his email.

Mel came out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel. She followed the light from the living room and found Ray sitting naked on the couch with his laptop in front of him. He typed a few lines, then looked up and smiled. "My work is never done," he said.

"I have a whole new job for you," Mel said, and she let the towel slip to the floor. The glow from the computer's screen outlined her form in light and shadows—the lines from her jaw to her shoulders, the rounded form of her breasts and the muscles that rippled under her skin, down to the shadowed delta between her legs.

"It's cool in here," Mel complained. "Scooch up a bit, you'll keep me warm." Mel pushed Ray's shoulder away from the cushion and climbed onto the sofa behind him. She laid her arms around his neck and settled down against his back with her legs wrapped around his waist.

Ray was done writing. He picked Mel's foot out of his lap and studied it by the light from the screen. Mel exhaled softly in his ear while he worked his thumb against her tight muscles and pushed his fingers between her toes. "Did you get to see your kids this week?" Ray asked.

Mel kissed his neck, and then his ear, and sent a thrill through Ray's body. "I did," she said. "With you so busy and everything else going so wrong, I needed the kids."

Ray turned Mel's ankle and rubbed the long, taut tendons in the sole of her foot. "I need to get the community center directors to talk to Pamela, and hopefully I'll be able to get Pamela to go watch one of your classes this week or next."

"I'm sure the directors will talk to Pamela and I'd love to meet her," Mel said. She knotted her fingers in Ray's hair, tilted his head aside and dragged the tender skin below his ear through her teeth.

Ray lifted Mel's knee and brought her foot to his lips. He kissed her toes and nipped the arch of her foot then set it in his lap and wrapped her other foot in both his hands. "Rudy hoped that Paul wouldn't make things too bad on you. How's he been?"

Mel tipped Ray's head to the other side, then nuzzled under his ear again. "He's been on his best behavior," she whispered, "But I doubt he can do that for long. Karen thinks he's losing it all to the coke." She paused and Ray could feel her breath warm and a little ragged against the back of his ear.

Ray tugged on Mel's toes and rubbed her feet; he turned her ankle and felt her soften. Ray asked, "Did I tell you that Rudy started looking for someone to replace Paul? The decision to fire him seems to be Sofia's and that hasn't been made yet, but if Paul goes then they want a quick transition."

Mel's hands worked at his shoulders then down his sides while Ray picked up her knee and brought her toes to his lips. "God Ray," Mel gasped. "I need you!"

"Come around me," Ray said. He leaned forward then reached back and hooked his arm around Mel. He turned her until she settled on his lap and wrapped him in her legs again.

Mel reached down between them to find Ray's cock. He kissed her throat and her lips while she rubbed his throbbing shaft against her. She worked the head of his cock down between her legs to take him, but Ray stopped her when he thrust his hands under her thighs and brought her nipples to his mouth.

Mel gasped and threw one arm over Ray's shoulder while he sucked her tit. Her other hand slipped off his cock and found her own hot button. Mel held Ray's mouth tight to her breast and thrills ran through her body from his lips and from her fingers. She threw her head back when her climax overwhelmed her. She gasped incoherently at the ceiling and called his name.

Ray felt Mel soften and let her settle on his lap again. She laid her head on his shoulder to catch her breath then giggled. "See," she said, "At my place Jenn and Jill would already be bitching at the door."

Ray reached around Mel to close his laptop and left the room dark but for the city light that spilled through the window, and the lamplight from the bedroom. He turned Mel onto the cushion beside him and stroked his hand from her breasts down between her legs and asked, "When do you have to be at the theater tomorrow?"

Mel lifted her knees apart to let Ray's fingers explore, and she answered, "Noon. I have to be there by noon."

"Then your mine until then," Ray said. Mel squeaked in surprise when he scooped her off the couch, and she laughed until he dropped her into the pool of lamplight on his bed. Ray pushed Mel's legs apart and climbed over her while his cock strained for her, and he joined their bodies together.

It was late when Ray leaned back against his pillows and Mel climbed up his body. Neither of them knew or cared how long they had been tangled together. She stroked his cock hard once more, then he held her hips, and she took him into her again. Ray watched Mel's sleek body rock over him, seemingly faster with each stroke. Her fingers dug into his chest until he pushed her hands away then she collapsed on him and, with his sides gripped in her hands, she writhed through her orgasm.

Ray waited and stroked Mel's back until she started to relax, then her rolled her onto the mattress. He watched her beautiful face by the lamp light while he plunged back into her. She lifted her legs around his waist then she pulled her knees up to his sides, and all the while she urged him on. Her breath came in gasps; she chanted his name in his ear then her fingers dug into his shoulders.

Ray lifted his head and bellowed at the wall when he came. Mel's climactic spasms pulsed around his cock and he emptied himself into her. Ray first collapsed onto Mel, then rolled away from her while they both struggled to catch their breath.

Mel was first to gather herself enough to move. She pulled the bed covers up over them both then laid her head on Ray's shoulder, and they slept.

The sun was well up before Ray stirred. He lifted his head and found his phone beside the lamp, quietly flashing to tell him he had a message waiting.

It was from Sam and said, "New client. The RRC meets in the Travis building at 9:30AM on Tuesday. He needs you in Austin. Call me."

Mel read over Ray's shoulder and cursed. She sat up on the side of the bed and picked her dance bag off the floor. She set the bag beside her and started pulling things out as if she were looking for something. "Dammit!" she said, and flung one pointe shoe against the wall, and then another. "Dammit!" and a hair brush followed them. "Dammit!" and a tin of hairpins went next.

Ray stopped Mel and she turned to him with tears in her eyes. "I thought we would have more time together!"

8.

Ray slipped the sheet off from Mel's shoulder and inhaled her scent. He tasted her salty skin and, with a sense of success at having caused her scent and her salty taste, he pulled her relaxed body against him.

Mel suddenly tensed. She rolled over and pushed Ray's shoulder down to see the clock. "Shit," she said. "You might get to take Friday off, but I have class at nine." She climbed over Ray to get to the shower.

Ray spent most the last two weeks working long days in Austin, so it was with Sam's approval that he took Friday off. He sat up on the edge of the bed and watched Mel through the door she left ajar. She had her car, so he didn't need to get up, but he pulled on some boxer shorts and went to the kitchen to fix breakfast.

Mel called through the door, "Did I tell you that Rudy was at dress rehearsal last night with a candidate to replace Paul? He's going to have another one in tomorrow—a woman named Gina Tedesco. She's supposed to be really good."

"That's got to be galling for Paul," Rudy said. It was starting to look like the matinée tomorrow—Valentine's Day—would be busy.

"Yeah, right?" Mel said. "But he seems to be holding it together. He's competing for his job, I guess." She wrapped a towel around her hair as she walked into the kitchen.

"You're making breakfast? Ray, you don't have to!" she said. When Mel slipped into a chair at the table she was wearing panties, his dress shirt, and the towel on her head. Ray watched her while he put a mug of coffee and a plate of eggs and sausage in front of her; he thought she looked really cute in his clothes.

"What are you going to do with the rest of your day?" Mel asked.

Ray opened the curtains to let the morning light fall on the table, then sat down. "Run first, then I'll see Pamela Hardy for lunch, otherwise nothing. I'll nap." That was a lie. He had things to do, but that was to be a surprise for Mel.

He got back from Austin on Thursday afternoon. Mel was at the Westside center, so he went to Calhoun to make sure arrangements were in place. He owned cheap seats in the balcony that he bought at group rates, and he shelled out the money to get Mel's kids to the Valentine's Day matinée. There would be about thirty in all, some from Calhoun and some from Westside, and staff to keep track of them, and the bus rental and insurance.

When Ray first had the idea he meant to impress Pamela with how important Mel was to her kids, but as he worked from Austin to make the arrangements it all became more of a gift for Mel than a trick for Pamela. Today he needed to visit Westside and make sure their arrangements were ready.

Mel interrupted Ray's thoughts with, "Gotta go!" She was still wiping her lips when she pushed away from the table. Ray cleared the dishes while Mel pulled on sweats and shoes then they walked to her car.

"You're not coming tonight, right?" Mel asked. Cast A danced the opening show and in that cast Mel danced minor roles or with the corps de ballet.

"Nah. I'll wait until tomorrow," Ray said. The Valentine's Day matinée was danced by the B cast and Mel would be Cinderella. It was all too perfect.

They stopped by Mel's car, and she paused before she got in. "Things always run late on opening nights," Mel said. "Maybe I'll just see you tomorrow?"

*****

Ray and Mel both liked the changes that his lifting and running made in Ray's body, so he found ways to keep up the exercise on his long days in Austin. He had his old suits tailored to fit his new form, and he wore one of those refitted suits to lunch with Pamela. He thought it may have made all the difference.

They lunched at a popular deli, and Ray watched Pamela over his sandwich. "I have two tickets for the matinée tomorrow," he said. "Would you be my guest there? You can see Mel again, and see what the company can do for the community."

Pamela expression was serious when she said, "I met Mel and I thought she was wonderful. The community center directors loved her and they loved what she does for the kids. That isn't really my problem. Why should the foundation support work that's already being done, and entirely on a no-cost basis?"

"So Mel's programs can grow," Ray answered. "So she can involve more dancers, serve more kids, and do more." He paused and watched Pamela for a moment then said, "You know what your money really means to the company, right?"

"The Hillson Endowment grant? Yes, you told me about it, and I talked to them last week—it's always good to check the facts. I'm sure that Mel's interest in community service is genuine, but I'm not sure about the company's interest. That's something else that concerns me."

"The company has a genuine interest," Ray said. "It's in their mission statement and I guess it always has been. The problem now is that the current Artistic Director doesn't support it."

Ray tapped the table and wondered how far he could go. "Because of the Hillson grant, the company would be willing to meet any reasonable requirement you want to make."

Pamela seemed to ignore Ray's pitch. She sat back to look at how Ray's suit showed off his V-shaped torso and asked, "Do you always dress like this? You've been in a suit every time we've met."

"I'm an attorney," Ray said with a shrug. "We wear suits."

Pamela straightened her back and laughed. "You wear suits better than any man I know," she said. "I'll go to your ballet if you promise me two things. You have to wear a suit like this, and you have to let me get a picture of us together. I'm posting that picture so my ex can see."

Ray was surprised that Pamela agreed—regardless of what her reason might be. He pulled two tickets from his jacket pocket and offered one to Pamela. "I need to be at the theater early then I have a commitment immediately after the show. You can take a ticket and meet me in the lobby, or you can call when you get there and I'll meet you at the ticket booth. You have my phone number, right?"

"Either way," he said with a laugh, "I'll wear a good suit and someone can take a picture."

Pamela glanced at her phone and said, "I'll take a ticket and meet you inside. Now I have a one o'clock to get to. I'll see you tomorrow, a little before two."

Ray paid for lunch and then met with the April Gonzales, the Activities Director at Westside, to make sure the arrangements were all in place. He signed some forms, and when the paperwork was done he pointed to art supplies stacked behind April's desk and asked, "What's all the red and white construction paper for?"

"Valentine cards," she answered. "It's something I arranged with the director at Calhoun. We're going to try to have all the kids who are going to the show make cards for Mel." A sudden look of concern crossed April's face and she asked, "There's going to be some way to get the cards to her, isn't there?"

Ray thought for an instant then said, "Mel usually meets kids in the lobby after shows to tell stories, but thirty kids might be too much for the lobby. Let's meet her at the front of the stage after the show. That should work better."

"Cool," April said. She looked through the window behind Ray. "The early kids are starting to come in. I need to set up tables and get them going."

The best thing about the time Ray spent in Austin was that he could buy something for Mel without any chance of her finding out. He realized as he watched them set out tables and chairs and bring out the paper, scissors, glue, glitter and markers that he didn't have a Valentine's Day card to go with his present.

Ray stepped up beside April and asked, "Do you mind if I make a card too? I have time to buy one for Mel, but I think I'd rather make one."

April laughed and said, "That's wonderful. Show the kids how to do it!"

Ray settled as best he could into a chair made for a child, and the kids who were already there watched while he gathered up red paper and white paper. He showed them how to make a perfect heart by folding the paper in two and cutting just half of it. He cut one heart out of red paper, then a slightly smaller one out of white paper, and then he cut a second heart from the white heart so that he had one smaller white heart and one outline of a heart.

The kids all drew closer around Ray while he glued the white outline of the heart onto the outside of the big red heart, then glued the smaller white heart on the inside. He picked a gold glitter pen and wrote in his best hand inside the white outline, "Will you be my Valentine?"

Ray waited until the glitter was dry then opened the card. The kids clamored around him and asked over and over, "Whatcha gonna write for Miss Mel?"

He knew what he wanted to write, but he smiled at the kids and tucked the card into his jacket pocket and said, "That's my secret. Now what are you going to write for her?"

Ray opened the card again when he got home that night. He found a skewer in the kitchen and poked two holes through the back of the card. Ray used the holes and some string to tie Mel's present inside then he wrote his message to Miss Mel. He set the card aside when he was done and stared at the city lights outside his window, and he worried.

*****

Ray woke late in the morning and found a message waiting on his phone. He dreaded what he might find when he swiped the screen.

It was from Rudy. "How are you doing with Pamela Hardy?"

Ray sat up on the edge of his bed to answer, "Well, I hope. She'll be with me at the show this afternoon." He checked the time and realized he needed to hurry a little.

When his phone chimed again, Ray was already getting into the shower. Rudy said, "Good. My contact at the Hillson Endowment is Henry Stein and he's in town. I found that out when he called from the airport."

"Panic!" Ray answered and realized for the first time that Rudy knew nothing about his plans. "I'm going to have thirty of Mel's kids at the show. They all have valentine cards to give Mel afterwards." Ray left his phone by the shower and ignored it until he was drying off.

"I'm with Gina Tedesco, and Sofia is with Henry." Rudy said. "I hoped you could help Sofia but it sounds like your hands are full."

Ray poured himself a bowl of breakfast cereal and sat down before he answered, "I'll do what I can but that might not be much."

His last act before he left the house, was to send two messages. He knew that the dancers would be in the theater by now. To Mel he sent, "I have a surprise for you after the show. Don't go to the lobby and don't get out of costume. Wait for me." Then to Jenn and Jill he sent, "I have a surprise for Mel. Can you keep her on stage after the show? Don't let her go."