She danced with beauty and grace. Her 18-year-old body was at its bloom of womanhood, and was the envy of all the others in her class. She was dancing in what would be her final recital with this dance company, as the following Autumn would bring her to a distant state and university.
Her 20-year-old brother sat in the audience, enjoying the show. He had laughed at the 4 and 5-years-olds doing their cute dances in their cute outfits, some taking center stage, still others crying for their mommy, afraid of being in front of so many strangers. He sat patiently through all the "grades" of the evening... beginners tap, beginners ballet, beginners jazz, all the way up to just before the final‚. The last dance was with the graduating Seniors and the head dance instructor, the owner of the studio. Many of the girls going off to college had been with the instructor since they, themselves, were the cute 4 and 5-year-olds, a few of them accepting assistant roles with the nearly three dozen different dance classes.
Collette was one of them. She had started dancing almost as soon as she could walk, and her parents had enrolled her into classes as soon as it was feasible. After that, there was no turning back for her. She had a passion for dance and felt the need to make it her life's work. That's why she had decided to go so far away to the Big City for college.
Luc, her brother, was already at the end of his Sophomore Year at college, nearer to home than the Big City, but far enough that he didn't have to answer to his parents. He had decided to take a break from studying for finals on this Saturday to see the last performance of Collette's high school career. He looked at her with loving adoration, for the two had been siblings for so long, and good friends for almost as long.
At the end of the performance, Luc met her outside the dressing rooms with a small bouquet of flowers.
"You were great, as always, Collette. It was good to see you on stage again."
She smiled and greeted him with a hug.
"So, what's next?" he asked. "Most of the girls are going to be going out for dinner, aren't' they?"
"Well," she said, "a few of them are going out, but I'm not sure what I want to do."
"If you don't have any plans, Luc, we could go out and do something, if you wanted." It was Shannon McRea, one of Collette's dance colleagues. She, also, would be going to school to continue her dance instruction. She and Collette were considered to be the best of the studio, and there was always a slight competition between the two dancers, not always a friendly one. Luc had known for quite some time that Shannon liked him, a fact that most guys were envious of. Shannon had a reputation of being an incredible lover, and her stunning good looks didn't hurt the reputation of whatever guy she was dating at the time. But Luc was always put off by her attitude - she was good at what she did AND she was beautiful, a fact that she never let anyone around her forget.
Collette, subconsciously, moved to be next to her older brother, wrapping her arm in his, giving her adversary a cool look.
"Actually, Shan, Luc is going to be taking me out to dinner tonight. Aren't you?" She glanced his way.
"I've offered to treat you after the dance, you know that," he responded.
"Huh, too bad." Shannon muttered. "I'm sure we could have had a great time tonight, Luc. I don't ask for dates too often you know."
"Sorry, Shannon, maybe next time." The two siblings walked off, arm in arm. It was well on the way to his car that Collette finally broke the silence.
"Bitch! I can't stand her! Thank GOD we're not going to the same college!"
"Now, now, Collette, take it easy. This was the last time you had to dance with her. You'll never have to do that again. So just put it behind you, ok?"
"Yeah," she sighed, "I know, but did you see her! She practically rolled over on the ground and spread her legs out for you!"
Luc giggled. "If I didn't know you better, I'd have said you were jealous."
Collette didn't reply.
The two went to one of their favorite places to eat and had a great time. When they arrived home, Luc said, "Well, I have to get back to campus. It's a two-hour drive, and I have studying still to do. My Biology final is going to be a killer on Monday."
"I thought you were spending the night here," she replied.
"Yeah, well, I thought about it, but I really do have a lot of work to do. I'll see you in a couple of weeks when exams are over."
"Can't you stay, please? I miss you. I miss seeing you around the house." She looked up at him with soft, brown eyes - eyes that sent him into delirium every once in a while. If only, he had often thought, if only she weren't my sister...
"Well," he said again, "I guess I can stay for a little bit longer tonight. But I really should go back before, oh, say, nine o'clock."
"That's fine, that's plenty of time!" she gasped.
"Time for what?"
"Nothing, I didn't mean anything... I meant plenty of time for us to hang out. Mom and Dad are at the business dinner tonight, so I don't want to be alone."
"Well, why didn't you go out with your friends from the studio?"
"Because I wanted to spend time with you, Luc."
That comment sent an odd feeling through him. He sensed that something might be wrong, that she had something to tell him or a problem she wanted to talk about.
"Is everything ok?" he asked.
"Fine, Luc, just fine," she smiled. Her full lips pulled apart to reveal shiny white teeth, her eyes glittered above them. "I'm going to take a shower. Would you mind, afterward, giving me a back massage? My muscles are still kinda tight from dancing."
"Sure, Collette. I'll just watch some TV or something until then."
