Kill Switch by Penelope Douglas

I headed past the concessions and the stairs leading to the
mezzanine and gallery levels, and opened the double doors,
heading into the ground floor of the theater.
Music filled the room, while Winter moved about on stage,
sliding and turning, her whole body in every move she made
like it was all a single unit instead of individual parts.
I descended the small pathway toward the orchestra
section, watching her, the long, gauzy gray costume flowing in
layers around her legs and her hair flying around her as she
spun and bent backward. There were no words to describe how
beautiful she was.
But everyone was soon going to find out. Michael and
Rika were sponsoring a small tour for her as an opening dance
at other theaters and festivals, and if it went well, we’d go
from there. Her twenty-minute show would take a couple more
months to get ready, but she was already rehearsing and
outlining the performance.
And while it was good, she deserved everything coming to
her, and I wouldn’t stop anything or do anything to discourage
her. I wondered what the hell I was going to do now, too. The
only thing I was ever good at was basketball, and that ship had
sailed. I didn’t have the temperament to work well with others,
and I wanted absolutely nothing to do with my father’s money
or his businesses. Banks had it, so it was staying in the family.
That was all I cared about.
I wasn’t taking his money, and I wasn’t fucking asking my
friends for anything. Everything Winter and I built would be
ours.
“Damon, are you here?” I heard Winter call out.
I looked up at her, not realizing the music had ended.
“Coming,” I told her.
I climbed the few steps off to the side of the stage, and
walked over to her, picking her up and wrapping her legs
around me like I’d done every day the past week when I
picked her up from rehearsal at five.