Match Pointe

‘So, if I become Number One in the world, will you dance for me too?’

So thrown was Eloise by the accuracy of his mischievous offhand query that she quickly reached for her martini and drank the remainder down in one gulp.

Noah could sense her unease. ‘Hey, it’s OK. As long as you’re happy, it’s none of my business. Honestly.’ He squeezed her hand as she tried to compose herself.

‘Nothing makes me happier than when I’m dancing. But tonight, I’m very happy that I’m out with you,’ she added sincerely.

Noah sensed she wanted to drop the subject, so he dabbed his mouth with a serviette and readily accepted her compliment. ‘Well, if dancing makes you happy and I do too, let’s go get some groove on to the music.’

If anyone else had said the words, she would have thought they were nerdy, but coming from Noah they felt exactly right. There was no denying he was gorgeous and lovable, and he made her feel as light and carefree as a feather. She knew she could never deny anything that kept him smiling. She accepted his hand graciously, and the next few hours slipped into a fun-loving blur.

* * *

The next morning she awoke in her suite at the Dorchester to find two envelopes under the door. She opened the top one first, recognising Ivan’s crisp white stationery. Fleetingly she wondered whether she might be in some trouble, then immediately pushed the thought from her mind.

I have returned to St Petersburg and will not be requiring any performances from you for the next ten days.

The impersonal nature of the note felt like a punch in the gut, though she shouldn’t have been surprised; he was never one for small talk, or much talk at all, for that matter.

It meant she had over a week to herself. She had no idea what she would do with the time, since an opportunity like this had never arisen before.

The second envelope was on Dorchester stationery.

Hey Elle,

I hated saying goodbye to you last night. So I was thinking you might want to spend a bit more time together in London – too much too soon, maybe? I’ll never know if I don’t ask! Either way, give me a call. I’d love to see you again, and sooner rather than later.

Noah xox

Eloise couldn’t contain her excitement as she called him to make arrangements. Problem solved. As he’d said, the universe worked in strange ways and right now it seemed to be doing exactly that – in their favour!

Friends?

Noah and Eloise spent the next week cruising around the canals of greater London. She met his friends, ‘the lads’ as he called them, in various pubs along the waterways, and found them just as easygoing and unpretentious as he was. No one would have guessed Noah was one of the top tennis players in the world, and rapidly rising further up the ranks thanks to his Wimbledon performance.

Eloise was privy to a world she’d never imagined could be possible for a professional athlete. Her life with the ballet had ensured she was strict and disciplined with herself around the clock – regardless of whether she had the day off or not – and her enforced breaks over summer had only meant an opportunity to train harder to ensure she was always better than her peers. Noah, on the other hand, happily drank with his friends as though tennis was the furthest thing from his mind. She had to wonder how someone so nonchalant had the stamina for the demands of the game.

On their first afternoon together, lazing in the sunshine, it was impossible for Eloise not to admire his loose locks tickling his shoulders and delectable shirtless body as his feet dangled over the side of the boat. She didn’t even bother to hide her sideways glances towards him.

When he casually lit a cigarette as though it weren’t an issue at all, the look on her face sent him into a fit of laughter. She watched, frankly aghast, as he deeply inhaled.

‘What? Don’t tell me you’ve never had a smoke before?’ He took another drag and began puffing smoke rings towards the water.

Eloise was speechless. Even more so when he offered it to her!

‘Well …?’ He paused to look at her more intently. ‘My God, you haven’t, have you? You’ve never had a single puff of a cigarette!’ He shook his head in disbelief, smiling nonetheless. ‘It’s not illegal, you know …’

She had no idea whether it was the look of horror he saw on her face that eventually made him reluctantly stub it out. Next, in one swift move, he grabbed her, dangling her upper body over the water while keeping a grip on her thighs and legs, a giant grin on his face all the while.

‘No, Noah, don’t …!’ she shrieked, for the first time not thinking about who was around or what people might think.

‘Have you or not?’ he insisted, threatening to cleanse her of her prim and proper attitude, completely ignoring her shrieks as her mass of loose hair dangled precariously close to the murky water.

‘Noah, please – you could drop me!’ she panted as he gave in and hauled her back up.

‘I promise you, I would never, ever drop you, Elle.’

Instead of letting her be, he carried her into the cabin, tossing her easily onto the bed and pinning her arms by her sides as he straddled her body. He tickled her mercilessly until she couldn’t hold back any longer, her hysteria eventually replacing any trace of nervousness as she begged him to stop. She had never been treated that way, not having grown up with any siblings or cousins of her own.

They stared into each other’s eyes as they both took a moment to catch their breath.

‘I’d give anything to kiss you right now.’ He lowered his face towards her, and just as his soft lips touched hers she reluctantly turned away. He guided her face back to meet his questioning gaze.

‘I’m sorry, I just can’t … It might go too far …’

Their attraction to each other had been all too obvious since their first night out, but until this point had remained unspoken. Although Eloise’s desire had been supercharged since meeting up with Noah again, she had done her best to bury it. She had never made the first move in the few relationships she’d had – it just wasn’t her style and the potential for rejection caused her no end of fear – but this time she knew she couldn’t have even if she’d wanted to. Being well aware that nothing would ever happen with Ivan anyway, she would have given anything to say yes to Noah, right here, right now, and take their relationship to the next level. But heaven forbid the wrath of Caesar, not to mention the thought of kissing her future financial freedom goodbye. The clause in her contract about sexual relations with anyone other than her Number One was abundantly clear and always top of her mind; it just wasn’t worth the risk.

With a sigh, Noah collapsed beside her on the bed, placed his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling, suddenly deep in thought.

‘You’ve gone all quiet on me.’ Eloise didn’t know what to say, but wanted some kind of response from him at least.

He turned onto his side, facing her, and started playing with her hair, their bodies almost touching but not quite, though their feet comfortably rubbed against each other.

‘I’m not quite sure what to say. I thought …’

‘Noah, it’s not you. I’d love to – honestly. It’s just … so complicated.’ She couldn’t help but tense at the words.

‘Let me guess: complicated in a way you can’t explain.’ He couldn’t hide the disappointment in his voice, and it upset her deeply.

‘I’d give anything for my situation to be different, but it is what it is and I have to honour the agreement I’ve made.’

‘Are you with Ivan? Is it more than just ballet?’

‘No. I only dance for him, but …’ She was at a loss as to how to explain it to him without disclosing the details. Details she was not at liberty to discuss.

‘I’ve never met anyone like you before. You’re so beautiful, vivacious, graceful, oh so incredibly hot, and – what’s the word I’m looking for? – oh yeah, pure at the same time. How could I forget that? It’s a lethal mix for any guy.’ His shook his head in dismay.

‘Noah, I think the same about you, but I just can’t do anything about it at the moment. I promise you, I would if I could.’

‘Honestly?’ His eyes were hopeful and his mischievous grin returned when he added, ‘You think I’m pure?’

She laughed, punching him lightly on the arm, and he pretended to roll over injured.

‘Very funny!’ she responded. ‘No, I’m not as pure as you think I am, just because I’ve never smoked – and by the way, as an athlete you should never smoke, ever! Particularly not if you want to be Number One.’

‘All I do know is that I’ve never felt this way about anyone before, ever!’

He made sure he emphasised the word in the same way as she had. Neither of them could hide their smiles. ‘Anyway, what gives you the impression I want to be Number One?’