Free The Life of Anna, Part 3: Embraced by Marissa Honeycutt Page A

her
watching Anna with concern in her eyes.
    He walked over. “How’s she doing?”
    “She snapped at me this morning.” Jenna gave
him a wry smile. “Wilhelm asked me to move in with her and keep an
eye on her.”
    “Are you gonna?”
    She nodded. “Wilhelm’s right. She shouldn’t
be alone.”
    “How’s Matt doing?”
    “He’s…okay. Do you…Anna told him something
that was rather disturbing.”
    Aaron hadn’t talked to Jenna since Sunday’s
performance except for a few texts to ask about Anna’s whereabouts.
“That Ben wasn’t killed in a car accident?”
    Jenna’s eyes widened. “How did you know?”
    “Anna told me when I called yesterday.”
    “No wonder she’s so fucked up.”
    Aaron looked across the stage to see Isaak
speaking quietly to Anna. She nodded and then burst out into tears.
Isaak hugged her to him. Her show of emotion would hopefully make
the other dancers realize she wasn’t a cold-hearted bitch. The last
thing she needed was the cold shoulder from the people she
interacted with everyday.
    “She had the ring,” Jenna said quietly. “Matt
said she had it with her then gave it to him. I hope his family
lets her keep it.”
    “I thought they liked her.”
    “They do. A lot, from what I can tell. They
were excited that Ben was going to ask her. But she’s feeling
guilty and avoiding them.”
    “It’s not her fault.”
    “I know. But I’m sure Devin is quite content
to let her think it was her fault.”
    “Yeah.” Aaron continued to watch Anna cry on
Isaak’s shoulder. Isaak was like a father to her. It was good. She
needed platonic men in her life.
    “Do you need help getting your things to her
place?” he asked, turning back to Jenna.
    She grinned. “I could certainly use a bigger
vehicle than my Miata. I hate to ask Matt. His family is supposed
to be arriving today and I don’t want to take him away from
them.”
    “I’ll follow you back to your place and help
you out after rehearsal,” Aaron said with a slight shake of the
head. Her little car wouldn’t hold more than a suitcase. It was as
bad as Anna’s.
Girls and their little cars.
    Isaak clapped his hands and Aaron hurried to
his place. Anna looked more sad than angry now. He took that as a
good sign.
    *****
    Isaak told Anna he wanted her and Travis to
run through their dance, to prove to Isaak that she’d be able to
handle dancing tonight. She managed to clear her mind before
stepping out onto the stage.
    She was prepared to get lost in the dance, as
usual, but this time something clicked in her head a few steps in
and she felt something she hadn’t felt before. She felt the
sensuality in the music, the sweet, pain-relieving sensation, and
let it take over. She danced the choreographed steps, but she used
her eyes and slight changes in her body, and suddenly she realized
she was seducing everyone who watched her. They were mesmerized.
She saw Travis’ eyes widen at her soft gaze and felt him react as
he held her and danced with her.
    None of the steps changed, just the feeling
behind it.
    The dance ended with Anna bent over Travis’
knee, backwards, with her arm over her head and Travis bending over
to her stomach. A foggy silence filled the theater.
    Anna’s chest rose and fell in the silence and
she became frightened that she had upset someone. She hadn’t meant
to do it. It just happened.
    “Holy shit, you two.” Isaak walked up to them
with wide eyes and his mouth slightly ajar.
    Travis stirred and helped Anna to her feet.
Anna looked at Isaak nervously as he looked between the two of them
with dilated eyes. She could tell that he was doing his best to
tamp down his desire.
    He stared at them for a moment more and then
cleared his throat. “I don’t think I’ve seen that dance interpreted
quite that way before.”
    “I’m sorry, Isaak,” Anna said softly. “I
didn’t mean to.”
    Isaak shook his head. “It’s all right, Anna.
It was beautiful. The, uh, reaction was unexpected, but you