The next morning Lily's heading to her office when the company's mouse steps out in front of her and says, "Can I talk to you for a minute?" It's unusual enough for Nina to be bold, to ask for anything, that Lily finds herself intrigued. And then she notices the dressy blouse, the earrings, the eyeshadow, the lipstick.
Oh, dear. Lily can barely keep from smirking in anticipation; this ought to be amusing. She lets herself be talked into the meeting and heads into her office, curling up in her chair with her feet tucked underneath her. She must look like a cat staring at a little bird, but Nina manages to keep herself composed. "Lily, I … I went home last night and practiced the black swan. I finished it."
"Good," Lily says, and waits for it. Does Nina have the courage, or doesn't she?
"I … I just wanted you to know." Nina's eyes dart to her face for a moment, then she casts her gaze modestly downward.
"And now I do. Nina, why are you really here?" Lily asks.
Nina looks up at her, doe eyes full of anxiety and bravado in unequal, uneasy measure. "I … came to ask you for the role."
Her voice is soft; Lily hears her perfectly, but makes her repeat herself anyway. Once she does, Lily sighs and rakes her fingers through her artfully-highlighted hair. She changes position, too, drawing one knee up and clasping her hands around it, incidentally baring more of her toned thigh. Nina's glance flicks between Lily's face and the floor, not stopping at the temptation. Ah well, there's time for that later.
"Nina. You're the most technically perfect dancer in this company; don't think I don't know that, and respect it. But this role takes more than skill. The black swan has to have passion, fire, danger – she has to seduce the audience and frighten them just a little. She's the mirror image of the white swan, the dark doppelganger who steals the hearts of the prince and the audience away from her pretty twin."
With that she rises and moves toward Nina, a sultry sway in her step. "Now, when I look at you, I see the perfect white swan: beautiful, fragile, pure. You'd be magnificent in that role. But in four years of dancing I've never seen you let go, lose yourself, just flow with the music. You're always so controlled, always so worried about the tiniest error. And the black swan must be free, wild, imprecise even – you'd have to relax, let it come through you instead of forcing it, surprise yourself so you can surprise the audience. Do you understand?"
It's a hell of a challenge to give to Nina, and the girl nods silently. For a second Lily's disappointed, thinking she'll refuse to rise to it, but then Nina says so quietly, "I can dance the black swan, too."
Yes. She's taking the bait. "Are you sure? Because Nina, I've never seen that side of you. Not once have you surprised me." Lily keeps her voice skeptical, crossing her arms.
"I can do it. I want the role." Nina lifts her head, lets her chin jut out a little, meets Lily's gaze steadily for once.
But it can't be easy, dancing this won't be easy at all, if Nina wants it she has to be willing to fight for it, so Lily sets another stumbling block in her path. "I already chose Veronica," she lies.
Nina flinches as if from a blow. She crumples, nodding silently, and turns to go. For a second Lily thinks of letting her, but then the idea of putting Veronica in the role – and the private dressing room beside Beth's – doesn't intrigue her nearly as much as having Nina there. Just as Nina opens the door, Lily reaches around her and pushes it closed again. "That's it? You're just gonna walk away?"
Nina looks at her with prettily bemused eyes, and Lily steps into her personal space deliberately, turning the full force of her considerable charisma on her dancer. "Aren't you gonna try to change my mind?" she asks, letting her voice grow husky, her mismatched eyes capturing Nina's gaze. "You must've thought you could, otherwise why'd you come in here all dressed up?" Casually, Lily flicks her fingers against Nina's loosely styled hair, then strokes them along the neckline of the blouse.
Shying back, Nina looks almost panicked, but there's nowhere for her to go, trapped against the door. Smiling wickedly, Lily whispers, "C'mon, show me you have the passion for the black swan. Give me a reason to change my decision." Nina shivers, and Lily leans in to kiss her.
She always loves the first kiss; it tells her so much. Nina's tiny shocked gasp against her mouth lets her know that, like so many others, this is the first time Nina's ever kissed a woman. The way Nina's brows draw together shows how torn her emotions are at this unexpected advance. Yet it's not wholly unwelcome, for Nina's lips are soft and responsive beneath Lily's.
At that Lily finally lets her eyes slide closed, pressing her body to Nina's and pinning her more fully against the door. It's nice, very nice indeed, and the part of her mind that never quite gets swept away by lust is rapidly calculating how far this can go. Some girls only want that first move made, and one kiss like this can end with them on their knees kissing worshipfully up the insides of Lily's thighs. She thinks it will take more than that to break Nina to her will, but then Nina's lips are already parting beneath hers, the pair of them sharing a breath…
And then Nina bites her bottom lip, hard. "Ow! Fuck!" Lily snarls, jerking away. No love bite, that was pure violence, and she can already feel it swelling. For an instant she sees something fierce and savage in Nina's eyes, but the expression's gone before it fully registers, leaving Nina looking petrified.
"You bit me?" Lily touches her lip gingerly, and her fingertips come away bloody. Her temper rises sharply, but she curtails the urge to slap Nina across the face for her insolence. Her primary emotion at the moment is sheer shock. "I can't believe you bit me! That fucking hurts!"
Nina looks utterly terrified by her own actions and Lily's furious response. She turns to claw at the doorknob, trying to flee. Oh hell no, she's not getting away with this, and Lily spins her roughly around, pinning her against the wall with a hand on her shoulder.
It's then, while Lily's tasting her own blood, that she realizes what just happened, and she laughs softly, anger becoming amusement. Now thoroughly confused, Nina can only stare at her with pleading eyes like a mouse begging mercy of a cat. "I'll give you that, Nina. You did surprise me." She lifts her hand to Nina's face, stroking the curve of her jaw lightly. As if to herself, Lily murmurs, "You might have it in you after all. You just might."
Utterly bewildered, Nina can only watch her, silent and trembling. She doesn't know what to do; soon enough, Lily will tell her. But not today. Best to make this one last, to take her sweet time. She wants to preserve that spark of rebellion as long as she can. It's exciting, and after climbing to the top of the ballet world Lily has found the summit less stimulating than the journey to reach it.
But she can't let the bite pass unchallenged, either. "I'll think about it," she tells Nina. Her mind is made up, but she wants Nina in an agony of doubt tonight, wondering what she should've done differently. She cups Nina's cheek gently as she speaks, then lets her hand slide softly down Nina's neck.
It's almost accidental that her thumb comes to rest on the hollow at the base of Nina's throat, pressing oh so very lightly there, just enough to bring the panic back into her dancer's eyes. That spot is quite sensitive, yet there's little chance of actually cutting off her air; it's more painful than dangerous. Lily makes her voice cold when she adds, "A word to the wise, though. Be careful about biting the hand that feeds you."
After that she lets Nina escape, licking the blood from her torn lip thoughtfully. This one definitely shows promise, and Lily's looking forward to finding out just how deep Nina's good-girl act goes.
