Chapter 58

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Hello my lovelies, sorry about the delay in chapters.

If you didn't see my announcement earlier, my cat was hospitalized so that's why I've been slacking on updates. Thankfully I already have a doc with the story outline created for this story so I just have to write out the chapters.

That means the ending of this novel is already fixed 👀. Heehee, I'm lowkey excited but sad that it's ending soon :((.

Anyways, I hope you guys are doing well and staying safe.

Ajax's POV

"Come on, you can be faster than that," Mila taunted, running backwards ahead of me.

"Shut up. You know I don't run regularly," I grumbled, pushing myself a little faster.

Both of us had decided to go out on a morning run. Mila claimed it helped with nerves and that the route she always ran was "beautiful."

Running = torture.

I never understood how she ran cross country in high school, for fun.

Who runs for fun?

If I'm not being chased by a serial killer, why run?

Yet here I am, running almost 3 miles and trying to keep up with Mila.

"How much farther?" I groaned, slowing down more.

"You're such a baby," she teased and I glared at her.

"If you're trying to bruise my ego so I run faster, it's not working," I deadpanned and she sighed.

"Look, there's the CN Tower. It's about 5 minutes from the hotel," she said.

"Can we walk?" I asked, leaning my weight on her.

"Fine you weakling," she sighed.

We started walking and I thanked the lord. Only she walked really fast.

"Jesus woman, I said walk not run like the ground is falling away behind you," I exclaimed, hurrying after her.

We were both sweaty and cold by the time we got back to the hotel. Adam was just waking up when I got into the room.

"I'm surprised I didn't have to smack you with a pillow," he remarked when I came in through the door.

"Hey, I can wake up early if I have to," I defended.

"Sure. Now hurry up and shower," he dismissed.

About 45 minutes later, Adam and I were ready.

"I'll be downstairs checking in," Adam said as I knocked on Mila's door.

"Milaaaa! Hurry up!"

"I'm coming!"

I heard her footsteps come up to the door before it swung open.

"This stupid hair curler won't curl my hair," she grumbled, holding a metal stick in her hand.

"Oh," I mumbled, following her into the room.

She stood in front of the mirror, struggling to wrap the pieces of hair from behind her head around the pole.

"Do you need help?" I asked curiously, watching her bend her arm at a really odd angle.

"As long as you don't fry my hair off," she said, handing me the curler.

"This is hot right?'' I asked, hesitantly taking the device.

"Yes, don't touch the stick part," she warned.

I carefully took her hair and wrapped it just like she had. Her hair was soft and smooth and it smelled really nice.

How is it so sofffft?

"Ok take it out now," she said after a few moments.

I dropped the locks of hair, watching it fall before settling into a curl.

"Hm, not bad," Mila smiled.

"I did it?"

"Yup, you did it."

"Yay," I grinned, feeling a sense of accomplishment.

I didn't realize that curling hair was so time consuming. It was also tedious, I feel like I would give up halfway because I got bored.

Now I appreciate the effort girls put into their appearance a lot more.

That shit is hard.

I helped her with a few more before her silky, dark hair was curled.

"Thank you verrrry much," she smiled, pinning it back.

That looks very nice.

So tell her.

No. That's weird.

Do it.

No, we're not together anymore

So? You can say it as a friend. Dumbass. Wimp.

I shook my head, pushing away my inner conscience.

"You look pretty," I blurted.

Mila looked up, a light blush coating her cheeks.

"Thanks," she mumbled, shuffling her feet.

"Oh shit, Adam's gonna kill us. Hurry, we're late."

Both of us grabbed our phones and ran down the hallway to the elevator. It took us 20 floors down to the lobby.

20 floors took what felt like 20 hours.

The slowest elevator ride I've taken in my life.

"You two are so unreliable," Adam scolded as soon as he spotted us.

"My fault, my hair wasn't cooperating," Mila interrupted, raising her hand sheepishly.

"Alright, you two have 20 minutes before you're supposed to be behind the curtains."

"Two zero?!" Mila repeated, her eyes widening.

"Yes, now go practice if you need to," Adam waved us off.

This was it. The final.

Final final.

The final.

The make it or break it.

"I'm gonna puke," I groaned, leaning my head on my hand.

"I need to pee," Mila said, pacing around in front of me.

Her pointe shoes tapped against the tiled floor with every step.

That's right.

Pointe shoes.

Mila had really changed things up with this choreography. This performance had to be unique, explosive, and lastly, jawdropping.

The wow factor, yeah that needed to be off the charts.

"What's the probability that we screw up?" I asked, looking up at her.

THIRD PERSON'S POV

"Fifty-fifty, I suppose," she sighed, cracking her knuckles.

"Yikes," Ajax mumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"10 minutes to curtain," a man dressed in black with a baseball cap reminded.

"Why is he wearing a hat indoors?" Mila whispered and Ajax shrugged.

"Maybe he has a bald spot," Ajax suggested.

Mila found that funnier than it was supposed to be. She blamed it on the nerves.

Something about this dance felt different.

She was performing back in her "hometown" after a year.

And something was special about this routine. She would be performing for Carson's family. His sister was here to. She and her boyfriend took a roadtrip from Manitoba to Toronto to see the performance.

For some reason, that added pressure on her. She had to win this. Not just for her, but for Carson as well. They never got a chance to show the world their full potential. But here she was with a second chance. And she was going to take that second chance.

Sooner than the two dancers liked, they found themselves standing behind the velvety purple curtains.

"Thank God I stretched," Mila breathed, bending down to touch her toes.

Flexibility was the star of the show for this routine.

"Can I say I have a health issue related to breathing in the air onstage and back out?" she asked Ajax who shook his head in amusement.

"No, relax we got this. It's the last one and we're done."

He grabbed Mila's ice cold hands and squeezed them gently.

Neither of them said a word as they stared into each others' eyes. Everything around them stood still. They spoke with their eyes, reassuring one another that everything would be fine.

Ajax found himself leaning in, his heart racing faster.

"Curtain in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!"

Ajax tore his gaze away from Mila's captivating caramel eyes as the two dancers ran onto the stage.

Mila felt Ajax's warm hands travel down the nape of her neck as the first notes of the song began.

She turned, pressing her back against his broad chest. She brought her leg up so it was straight and pulled it as far back as it would go.

Sure it hurt like hell but hey, no pain no gain.

Ajax held back a smile as he made eye contact with the brunette. They stood face to face, dipping down to bow to each other.

"Ready?" Ajax whispered in her ear as she stood facing him.

"Always," Mila whispered back, allowing him to bend her leg and then hook it behind his neck.

The smile on her face never faltered.

Maybe it was because she was genuinely enjoying this.

If she wasn't holding back, she would probably be bursting with laughter.

Leaning to the side, Ajax pushed her leg as she shifted her hips the opposite direction.

Mothertrucker, dude that hurt like a butt cheek on a stick.

The cheers from the crowd made it all worth it.

The two dancers laced their hands together as they rolled across the floor.

After every turn, they couldn't help but lock eyes with one another.

It was as if they weren't dancing to win a competition.

They were simply dancing with each other.

As lovers - whether they knew it or not.

Ajax pulled her towards him by her hands so that she could push herself up into a bridge over him. She could feel the warmth from his hand seeping through the spandex material. She felt him push her up, allowing her to flip around.

Mila almost laughed at his careful hand placement this time around. The first time they'd done this lift, he accidently pressed down on her boob and it hurt for a solid 5 minutes after. She was convinced she'd never seen him so red before.

She rolled on the floor once again as Ajax leaped over her, ending in a summersault.

"Ha. Nailed it," he thought as he grasped Mila's hands tightly.

She wrapped her legs around his waist, her back facing his chest. He spun her around, making sure to keep a tight hold on her hands.

As the music slowed, nearing its end, Mila and Ajax got into their final position.

"Your toe is digging into my tailbone!" Mila whisper-yelled as she balanced upside down. She could feel his leg tremble slightly under her, but she knew he wouldn't drop her.

"Sorry not sorry," he shot back as loud cheering erupted from the crowd.

It was over. Their job was done. Whatever came next would be out fo their control.

The judges would have a separate evaluation session. That meant Mila and Ajax wouldn't know how they did until it was time to announce the winner.

"You guys, marvelous, perfect, incredible, astonishing," Adam rambled as soon as they were off the stage.

"Thanks, I think that went really well," Mila smiled.

"Yeah for one minute time allowance, I think we did pretty well," Ajax nodded.

Mila hid a smile when she noticed his eyes light up. Following his line of sight, she spotted Zoe, Stefan, Felix, and Pia all heading towards them.

"I'm so so so proud of you," was the first thing Zoe said, pulling her son into a hug.

Mila's heart stung, a bitter taste on her tongue.

How she wished for her own parents to say those words to her. She wondered where Carson's family was and her eyes darted towards the door.

"You did good kid," Adam smiled, noticing her hopeful gaze. He patted her shoulder and she immediately felt a bit better.

Suddenly the door opened and in came rushing Elizabeth and Viktor, followed by Jessica.

"Mila!" Elizabeth exclaimed, rushing towards the brunette and pulling her into a bone crushing hug.

"Oh mon dieu, c'était magnifique (that was amazing)!"

"Merci, tu m'as tellement manqué (I missed you so much)."

Mila felt her own eyes water as Elizabeth wiped a tear from her eye.

"Hey kiddo, that was awesome," Viktor grinned kissing the top of her head.

"Girl- sis, you did not tell me he was this hot," Jessica whispered the last word, glancing over at Ajax.

The brunette rolled her eyes, a smile gracing her face.

Ajax heard the sound of Mila's laughter and turned to look at her. Her eyes sparkled with happiness as she spoke with Carson's family. He never met them before, but they could've fooled him. They looked more like parents than Mila's real family.

Almost as if Mila felt his gaze, she locked eyes with him. They shared a smile and Ajax opened his mouth to speak but Adam cut him off.

"Oh no."

Everyone turned to look at the widescreen TV displaying their opponents performance.

The pair felt their hearts sink as the two Russian dancers continued their routine.

Oh no indeed.

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