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“Oh, okay. Sounds good. Just give me five to warm up?”

“Of course. Do what you gotta do.”

I strip out of my sweats, warming my body with a few turns and stretches, making sure to quickly mark the routine in my head one last time.

“Okay, ready?” I cheer, ready and excited.

“Following your lead.” Nicki’s sweet voice comforts me, and I smile in her direction.

The three of us mark through the dance, with them catching on quickly, as Haven watches with a pleased look on her face. Being back home sparked inspiration almost instantly, so the ending of this routine came to me with ease.

Really, it would’ve been hard not to create something special for this track. The song is great; her fans are going to love it.

“You guys think you’re good to run it with the music?” I ask, a little out of breath from putting my all into teaching them.

“Yep, good to go.” Ben smiles, brushing the swoop of hair that’s hanging in his face.

From the front of the room, Haven fiddles on her phone, an out-of-place giggle floating from her as she connects to the Bluetooth speaker she brought.

“Ready?” she asks.

“Ready,” we say in unison, getting into a small formation.

The music starts, and for the first time, I perform Haven’s first pop single, “Redemption.”

It feels so damn good.

My blood, sweat, and tears finally wrap up like a present, with Ben and Nicki serving as great bows.

As I let myself feel the music, my body is like water rushing down a dam, fluid and effortless. Still, even through the motions I’ve worked so hard to learn, what’s carrying me through the dance is watching Ben and Nicki out of the corners of my eyes. Watching as they put their own spins on my moves, I realize how fulfilled I am teaching them versus how muted the idea of dancing for an audience feels.

The only time it feels satisfying is when Jett is watching.

Finishing up the routine, I place my hands on my knees, taking a deep breath as my muscles contract.

“Fia…” Haven’s voice has no detectable emotion, and that makes me fucking nervous. I stay silent, waiting for her to finish, my eyes rising just slightly, scared about what she’s going to say next.

What if she doesn’t like it?

“That was… That was so much better than I could’ve even imagined.”

“Seriously?” I gasp, standing to my full height.

“Yes, that was fucking incredible, and you guys looked so amazing together.”

This, right here, this is the feeling I’ve been missing. Teaching, choreographing, inspiring. Doing this for Haven has been an amazing experience, but putting it all together at my home studio, in the same room I worked my ass of in, the same room I spent the last two summers developing young dancers in, my future couldn’t be clearer.

I smile, pride swelling my chest. “I’m so glad you love it.”

“Are you kidding? I knew I would, but that was unreal. I brought Ben and Nicki because I was thinking, how would you feel if you performed without the rest of the crew for this?”

“I mean…” I hesitate, not sure if I should give too much of my opinion, but beaming at the idea of performing with different dancers.

“I think it would be really cool if we had the Blazettes do it with you. What do you think? Just our last night in Nashville, then you can teach everyone else later?”

Ignoring her last suggestion, I grin.

“That sounds awesome.”