Dancing on a Star - 33. Chapter 33

“How does everything feel?” asked Dr. Vorhees as he examined my arm and leg.

I replied, “Pretty good, Doc.” He smiled and patted me on my leg cast.

“Are you having any trouble getting around?” he asked. I told him that I was able to walk better, and I used the cast only to keep my balance. For the past couple of weeks, I was getting around better. I hadn’t experienced any pain in my arm or leg.

“I’m going to take X-rays,” he stated. “If I like what I see, we’ll take off the casts. How does that sound to you?”

I responded, “Great!” I smiled and added, “I’ll be able to play basketball again.”

He asked, “I thought you don’t play?”

I giggled and responded, “I don’t.” I hit the cast off my leg. “But if you take this off, I may start.”

“Not so fast,” he replied. “You’re still not fully healed. It’s going to be a while until you can be back to normal. In fact, you’ll be using a cane for a while until you get your strength built back in your leg.” I nodded my head. I was willing to do anything as long as it meant I wouldn’t be hobbling around on crutches.

It had been a long five weeks. So much had happened, but my life seemed to be getting into a happy routine. I had caught up on my assignments in school, so I didn’t have to worry about failing any subjects.

Things are also going great with Lyle. He comes over after school almost every night after basketball practice. We spend about an hour doing our homework. Mom fixes him a plate for dinner, and we eat together on the family room sofa.

I think Mom and Dad are beginning to accept our relationship. We haven’t really done anything. A couple of times we’ve pulled down our pants and stroked each other, but we haven’t done anything else. I really want to lean over and suck him, but I don’t think he’s ready yet. Right now, I’m happy to take it slow. I don’t want to make the same mistake with Lyle that I made with Jeff.

Jeff and Murray are becoming an item around school. Murray has told a few people that he’s gay, so word has gotten out. However, no one really seems to mind. A couple of guys have said something, but he ignores them. Some girls are also jealous of Jeff because they hoped that Murray would someday break up with Emily, and they would be there to take her place. I guess that won’t happen.

And strangest of all is Jimmy and Tracy are dating. Jimmy hangs with him at school and walks him to classes. He hasn’t exactly come out, but he doesn’t answer when other students ask him what is going on. I heard him once tell Brian and Tyler to mind their own business when they asked him if he is gay. I’m sure Brian knows he is because Jimmy told me that he would suck him off sometimes. Brian never returned the favor, so I think he’s straight. I think he’s a little jealous of Tracy because Jimmy is having sex with Tracy and not him.

They make a cute couple. Jimmy is very straight acting, and Tracy is, well Tracy. If opposites attract, then it hit its mark. However, they are like Ying and Yang. They fit, if you know what I mean. Jimmy comes over and complains because he doesn’t get to see Tracy as often as he likes. Tracy is still working with the basketball team after school. Then he has to rush home to rehearse for the Nutcracker. It starts in a couple of weeks, and he’s always a ball of nerves. They only get together on Sundays, but from what Jimmy has said, they spend it like rabbits in heat. He tries to act like it’s just about sex, but I really think that Jimmy is in love with Tracy. I know Tracy loves Jimmy because he’s told me. He’s just waiting for Jimmy to say the three words. If Jimmy doesn’t do it soon, I’m going to make him say it.

I’m really looking forward to seeing Tracy dance in the Nutcracker. He’s talked about it so much, and he’s got everyone excited about it. He said he’s reserved the fifth row of the orchestra section for opening night. According to him, they are the best seats in the house. The performance runs for two weeks, and Jimmy is going to be there every night. If you had told me two months ago that Jimmy would be going to a ballet, I would have called you crazy. I can’t even imagine him seeing it six times. I bet after this, he’ll be telling Tracy he loves him. Although, he won’t have to. Tracy will already know.

Three hours later, I was walking out of the hospital without casts. Even though my leg was weak, I felt free. My arm didn’t bother me so much because I had been using it quite a bit anyway. For the past few weeks, I was able to eat with a fork and spoon and write. However, walking without a cast felt different.

Dad walked beside me just in case I fell. Dr. Vorhees told me to use my crutch for another week until I gained more strength. He told Dad to go to a medical supply company and buy me a cane to use for a few more weeks. I don’t think I will need one, but I do a lot of walking at school. One thing I’m going to miss, however, is Lyle being able to walk down the hall with his arm around me. Before, it appeared that I might need his help. Now, others will think that he is hugging me. I’m sure that Mrs. Alexander will also object.

Since it was only 11 in the morning, Dad dropped me off at school. He had called ahead to let them know I would be late. He suggested that I could go home and rest, but I didn’t want to. After spending so much time recovering from my injuries at home, it is one of the last places I want to be.

I made it to my third period class without any trouble. Several students smiled at me when I entered the room without my casts. When I sat down, the girl behind me whispered that it was good to see me. She said she was worried about me when I didn’t show up for class.

When the bell rang, I exited the room and headed toward the cafeteria for lunch. I smiled when I saw Lyle and Jeff headed my way. “Hey,” grinned Lyle. “I wasn’t sure if you would show today.”

“And miss not seeing you?” I smiled back.

“Hey!” Jeff said excitedly. “Aren’t you glad to see me?”

“Of course,” I replied as I leaned forward and hugged him. My relationship with Jeff had been rocky for a week or so. Even though he said he wasn’t mad at me, I still felt that he hadn’t forgiven me for ‘dumping’ him. That’s what Tracy said he called it once.

However, as he and Murray grew closer, we seemed to renew our friendship. That is what I always wanted from Jeff. We jokingly called it friends with benefits, but we should never have tried to have a relationship when neither of us knew what we really wanted.

Jeff seems happy with Murray. Murray treats him like a king. I’ve never seen them argue about anything like we used to do. They are always looking into each other’s eyes, and at times, I don’t think they even know that anyone else is around. Even Emily has stopped hanging around because she gave up trying to get his attention whenever Jeff is around. Jeff has never said much about their sexual relationship other than to say that Murray is a tender lover. I’m not sure what he meant by that. In a way, I guess it is a lot like how I feel towards Lyle.

It’s funny to think that just a few weeks ago, Tracy, Jeff and I were having sex and talking about friends with benefits. Now, each of us has paired off with a different boyfriend. It’s like our lives have moved into different directions, but we’ve still managed to keep our friendship alive.

One of the things that makes us stronger is that we are faced with the same situation at school. We are six gay boys in a high school. Everyone leaves us alone. I think Murray has a lot to do with that. After all, for years he was one of the most admired students in our school. When he came out, other students at first were surprised, but they slowly seemed to accept it. And since he is now dating Jeff, students’ attitudes towards Jeff have changed. He and Murray are always in the hallway with a group of students surrounding them.

I think Jimmy had the hardest problem. He sat down with his parents one night and told them that he is gay. His mom took it well, but his dad didn’t. So, my parents one night called his parents and they went to Jimmy’s house and had an intervention like Jeff’s parents had with mine. Jimmy stayed with me while they were meeting. I swear he wore the carpet out between the sofa and the window. I laughed because I could remember doing the same thing at Tracy’s house when my intervention was going on.

In the end, everything turned out okay. They were skeptical of him dating Tracy, but after meeting him a few times, they seemed to accept it better. Jimmy’s mom is excited about seeing Tracy dance in the Nutcracker. Jimmy’s still not sure if his father will attend the show. Tracy got him a ticket just in case he changes his mind.

When we entered the cafeteria, the others were waiting for us. I hobbled over to the table holding my crutch to steady me. Lyle had his hand on my back to make sure I didn’t lose my balance.

Jimmy, Tracy and Murray smiled when I sat down. I was surprised to see Emily and Kelly sitting with them. They had been eating at another table for the past week. “You’re walking pretty good,” said Tracy as I sat down. Lyle and Jeff rushed off to get us something to eat.

I laughed and replied, “Yep. Maybe I can get a part in the Nutcracker.”

“Shhh,” remarked Jimmy as he put his finger to his lips. “Don’t mention the Nutcracker.” He looked at Tracy and frowned. “He gets nervous whenever someone mentions it.”

“You would too,” replied Tracy angrily. “It’s not you who is going to be dancing before four hundred people every night. The house is sold out every performance.”

Jimmy looked around, and for a minute, I thought he was going to kiss Tracy in front of everyone. “You’ll do good, Baby,” he said as he lightly touched Tracy’s hand.

Jeff and Murray met me outside my last period. Murray asked, “Do you want to join us to watch basketball practice?” I had joined them a few times, but I was usually tired when school ended, and I would head home by myself to rest until Lyle came to visit.

“Sure,” I replied. Since I didn’t have to walk with a cast on my leg all day, I wasn’t tired. Besides, it would give me a chance to see Lyle practice. A couple of times he had mentioned that he wanted to see me sitting in the bleachers.

Tracy, Jimmy and Lyle had made special arrangements for us to watch the practices. Normally, others were barred from attending. I guess his coach was so appreciative of how Tracy had helped the team, that he couldn’t say no. We were warned that if we were seen taking pictures or taping what was going on, we would be asked to leave. I guess the coach didn’t want other teams to know what we were doing. He wanted to surprise the opposing teams.

As I sat in the bleachers, Lyle kept looking up at me and waving. Several times, when no one was looking, Jimmy blew Jeff a kiss. Jeff would playfully catch it, toss it back and Jimmy pretended to catch it. Lyle did it once to me, and I acted like it went over my head. Jeff and Murray laughed uproariously when Lyle frowned.

However, the team looked great. As I watched them, I couldn’t believe the difference I saw from the previous year. They seemed to be in sync with each other’s movements. They didn’t look like a bunch of boys doing ballet.

When they finished, Coach Warren had them sit in the bleachers opposite us. Lyle waved at me when he sat down. I blew him a kiss and he caught it and pressed it to his heart.

“Okay, Guys,” said the coach as he paced in front of them. “Our first game is in two days. I’m impressed with what I see.” He looked at Tracy and gave him a thumb’s up. “You’ve done everything that Tracy has asked you to do, and more. Friday night, I don’t think the Sinclair Eagles are going to know what hit them.” The team rose, started shouting and high fiving each other. When they finished, the coach continued. “I’m proud of you guys. When I announced what we were going to do several weeks ago, you could have walked away. But you stayed and learned.” They boys started applauding again. “Win or lose Friday, you’re all winners in my book.” He clapped his hands and shouted, “No practice tomorrow. Now hit the showers!” The boys rose and again high-fived each other before heading toward the locker room.

Lyle, Jimmy, Brian and Tyler came strolling across the court about twenty minutes later. Lyle’s red hair was still damp and clinging to his forehead. He looked so cute. I started smiling when he approached.

“Hey, Guys,” said Tyler as he threw up his hand and waved. It was the first time he had said anything to any of us in weeks. I felt that he was trying to avoid us because we are gay. Brian, however, did speak in classes we shared. He also was friendly during basketball practice.

“How about going to Mickey D’s for some Big Macs,” asked Jimmy as he looked around to see how we would respond. I looked up at Lyle to see if he wanted to. When he smiled, I knew he wanted me to join them. I nodded my head and looked at Jeff and Murray. They both said they would like to go.

It was strange hanging out with Brian and Tyler. They seemed uncomfortable at first, but after sitting in Mac Donald’s for about a half hour with us, they began to enjoy themselves. Jimmy looked over at me a couple of times and shrugged his shoulders. He was even surprised by their behavior. A few times they mentioned how much Tracy’s help had been in improving the team’s skills.

“I just know we’re going to kick ass Friday,” remarked Tyler as he high-fived Jimmy and Lyle. “Thanks, Tracy,” added Tyler. He looked down when Jimmy reached for Tracy’s hand and gripped it. I held my breath because I was afraid he would say something and make Jimmy mad. He looked away and pretended like he hadn’t noticed.

On the walk home, we began to split up. Brian and Tyler headed to Tyler’s house. Jeff grabbed Murray’s hand and told him he had something to show him in his bedroom. We started laughing because we knew what that something was.

When we arrived at my house, Tracy and Jimmy darted off across the street to Tracy’s bedroom. I blushed when I looked at Lyle and noticed him staring at me. “What?” I asked as my face reddened.

“Nothing,” he replied. “Can’t I just stare at the guy I...”

I was surprised. For a minute it sounded like he was going to say, “For the guy I love.” “Come on,” I insisted, “Tell me.” He turned and headed toward the house.

I stopped when I entered the family room. The bed in the corner was gone, and the furniture had been rearranged. My mother came in, stopped and smiled. “Where’s my bed?” I asked.

“Where’s a bed supposed to be?” She laughed. “In your room.”

“Really?” I said excitedly. She explained that now that my leg cast was off, I could probably use the stairs again. If I had a problem, she and my father could bring it back downstairs.

“That’s okay, Mom!” I said as I grabbed Lyle’s hand and headed for the stairs.

I closed the door and locked it. I didn’t want my mother to enter unexpectedly and catch me and Lyle kissing. Lyle walked over to the bed and sat down. I sat beside him and toed off my shoes. I then scooted and leaned against the wall. Lyle toed off his shoes and moved beside me.

Lyle reached down and gripped my hand. He smiled as he asked, “So, what do you want to do? You want to play a video game?”

“No,” I replied nervously. “I want to do this.” I then began to kiss him. It was gentle at first, but as we kissed, it became more passionate. I pushed Lyle down on the bed and straddled him.

“Wait, Jack,” he pleaded softly. However, he made no attempt to stop me. I could feel our erections rubbing against each other. I don’t think I had ever been as hard before as I was as I kissed Lyle. I raised myself and remove my shirt. It surprised me when he removed his. We again kissed passionately as our bare chests touched.

I thought Lyle would resist when I reached down and pulled his erection free from his sweatpants. It was hard and red. Drops of precum was flowing from the tip. He moaned when I leaned down and licked him clean. “Oh, God, Jack!” he moaned lustily. I sat back and removed his sweats and underwear. He lay naked before me.

I leaned forward and continued to kiss him. He squirmed and moaned as we kissed passionately. My heart stopped when he whispered softly, “I love you, Jack.”

“I love you, too,” I replied as I leaned down and took his entire dick into my mouth. He thrust upward and moaned loudly. I had to pull off and tell him to be quiet or my mother would hear us. He nodded, and I continued sucking him. Because of our foreplay, it didn’t take him long to shoot a load down my throat. I started to gag because he came so much. When he stopped cumming, I pulled off and kissed him passionately. He stuck his tongue in my mouth and licked what remained of his cum.

I had never been so turned on in my life. Making love to Lyle was nothing like having sex with Tracy or Jeff. It felt special, and I didn’t want it to end. I climbed off the bed, stripped naked, straddled him and began jerking off. He watched a minute and then removed my hand and started masturbating me. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the sensation. Suddenly, I felt a warmth around my dick. I looked down and Lyle was sucking me. He grabbed my ass and pushed me closer to him. I continued to slowly enter his mouth. I knew from our previous conversations that this was his first time. I felt so special because I was his first. I also felt guilty because I wish that I had waited so he could have been my first.

Like Lyle, it didn’t take long to get that feeling. I didn’t want to cum in his mouth because I didn’t think he was prepared for that. Instead, at the last minute, I pulled out and came on his chest. He watched as I shot out all over his chest. “Wow,” he giggled. “When was the last time you came?”

I didn’t answer. I wanted to feel Lyle’s nakedness against mine. We continued to kiss passionately for several minutes before I rolled over and stared at him.

“Do you really love me?” I asked.

“Yes,” he replied as he kissed me.

I pulled away and responded, “I love you, too.”

We lay for several minutes just holding each other and making out. It felt so special being in Lyle’s arms. He may not have been as attractive as Jeff or Tracy, but he was much more to me. Waves of happiness swept over me that I had never experienced before.

“Boys!” my mother hollered upstairs. “Dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes.” Lyle jumped and grabbed his sweats.

I stopped him and started laughing. “Relax,” I assured him. “I think Mom knows what we’re doing.”

His face reddened as he asked, “How do you know?”

“She would have knocked on the door and come in to make sure we weren’t fooling around,” I laughed as he gave me a puzzled look. “She gave us a fifteen-minute warning. She’s never done that before.” I grabbed his hand and pulled him off the bed. “Come on, let’s go take a quick shower before we go downstairs.” I giggled and added, “We smell like sex.”

Friday was a tense day. It was our first game of the season, and the entire basketball team was nervous and edgy. I tried a few times to talk to Lyle and Jimmy, but I could tell they were concentrating on the game. At lunch, the pep squad held a small rally in the cafeteria, and it seemed to ease some of the tension.

I think we were all nervous because no one but the team knew about the special practices that had been taking place. I think some of the players were afraid that they would be the butt of cruel jokes on Monday. I kept looking over at Tracy and hoping that if things backfired badly, he wouldn’t be blamed. I couldn’t help thinking that the entire student body would make fun of the sissy ballet dancers who had been taught how to dance by a faggot ballerina. Even though I had watched them practice, and they didn’t seem like ballerinas on the court, I still wasn’t sure that others wouldn’t see them that way. The team could be the laughingstock of other schools for years if this didn’t go well.

The gymnasium was packed when Tracy, Jeff, Murray and I arrived. Emily, Kelly and other classmates had saved seats for us. Mom and Dad, as well as Mr. and Mrs. Craft were somewhere in the stands. I finally saw them sitting across the court from us. Dad saw me looking and waved.

I held my breath when the team ran onto the court to practice. I thought they would do some of their movements, but they didn’t. They passed the ball around like they normally do. I figured they wanted to surprise their opponents and they didn’t want to tip them off during warmups.

Tracy gripped my arm tightly when the teams came out onto the court for the tip-off. I looked into his face and saw pure fright. I am sure that he was thinking that he had made a terrible mistake teaching the team to incorporate ballet movements into their game.

Our team received the ball, and Tyler grabbed the ball and dribbled down the court. He saw Jimmy open to his left and passed him the ball. Two defenders surrounded him, and Jimmy pivoted to his right, gracefully maneuvered around the defender and made a basket. The gym erupted into cheering. The two defenders looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders and the game resumed.

The rest of the night played out the same way. Each time one of our players received the ball on the offense, they were able to evade their opponent by using one of the moves that Tracy had taught them. Even Tracy’s nervousness subsided after the first half, and he was cheering loudly the second half.

Halfway through the second half, the Sinclair coach stopped the game and met off to the side with the referees. By his body gestures, it appeared that he was making a complaint about the way our team was playing. The gym started booing him, and he threw up his hands and stormed off to the bench.

At the end of the game, the score was 96-72. We had won! There was loud applause as our team left the court and headed to the dressing room. They gave high-fives to awaiting hands on their way out.

Tracy let out a deep sigh when the game was over. I don’t even think he expected our team to do as well as they did. The team had played exceptionally well without looking like ballet dancers on the court. I’m not even sure that most spectators were even aware of what they had witnessed. People around us were talking about how well they had played, but I didn’t hear anyone remark that they looked like ballet dancers. Tracy, Murray, Jeff and I headed toward the dressing room and waited outside for Lyle and Jimmy to come out.

They exited with the team following behind them. They circled Tracy then lifted him high into the air. Everyone around started applauding. “Let me down!” screamed Tracy.They finally let him down, and all the players patted him on his back.

“Thanks, Tracy,” they said excitedly. All the apprehension they had felt prior to the game was gone. Their fears of being called ballerinas didn’t materialize. Most fans noticed a difference, but I don’t think even they were aware of what they had witnessed.

We went to a local Denny’s to celebrate. Even Coach Warren and the assistant coaches joined us. People in the restaurant applauded us was we entered. As we were eating, a young woman entered, looked around and noticed Tracy. She made her way over to our table.

“Tracy Craft?” she asked. Tracy nodded his head. “I’m Myra Randolph with the Daily News.” She reached in her pocket and handed Tracy a business card. “Can I interview you?” Tracy looked at me, and I shrugged my shoulders.

Tracy rose and walked to a table across the restaurant and sat in a booth with Myra. “What’s going on?” asked Jimmy. He was carefully watching Tracy.

I responded, “I don’t know. It must have something to do with the game.” We continued to watch them talk. Tracy seemed very animated with his hands. It appeared he was describing some of his dance movements. Myra would smile and write something on a notepad in front of her. After twenty minutes, they stood and embraced. She waved goodbye as she exited the restaurant.

“What was that all about?” asked Jimmy when Tracy sat down beside him.

He smiled and replied, “She’s going to do an article on me.”

Jimmy gave him a puzzled look and asked, “For what?”

We laughed when Tracy pointed to his face and replied, “Because I’m charming.”

“No, seriously,” responded Jimmy. “What is she going to write about you?” Tracy then explained that she had attended the game and noticed the movements our players were doing. She told Tracy that she had studied ballet as a girl, and she recognized what the players were doing. After talking to one of the assistant coaches, he told her about Tracy’s training after school. Now, she wanted to feature him in the sports section of the newspaper.

Everyone at the table was excited. I think Jimmy would have planted a big kiss on Tracy’s lips if there weren’t so many people watching. Tracy announced proudly, “She’s even going to come to a Nutcracker rehearsal and take some pictures. This may be my big break.”

Coach Warren came up behind Tracy and placed his hands on his shoulders. “You deserve it, Tracy. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate what you’ve done for our team.” He held out his phone. “I’ve been getting text messages all night from alumni who enjoyed the game.” He laughed and added, “We may finally have a winning season.” The players started high fiving each other. No one said anything when Jimmy leaned over and kissed Tracy on his cheek.

Jimmy’s teammates had known for several weeks that Jimmy was dating Tracy. Even though they tried hard not to show their affection in public, several of the players had asked if they were boyfriends. Jimmy would never deny it, and he would generally respond by saying, “Something like that.” I think they appreciated Tracy so much for what he had done that they didn’t care that he and Jimmy were gay. Coach Warren had also warned the team that he wouldn’t tolerate any disrespect. At first, he had to warn a couple of players who had used derogatory words when talking about Tracy, but after a visit to the coach’s office, they stopped.

The next few weeks centered around basketball and the Nutcracker. It is all any of us talked about. The team was on a winning streak. They had won four games in a row. The stands were packed at each game. After the Tracy’s article in the paper, people wanted to see the team play. Occasionally, someone would make a remark about the ballerinas on the floor, but most saw it as a fun experience. Before the third game, Coach Warren even told the players that a coach from a nearby college was in the stands to watch the team play. He was thinking about incorporating ballet movements into his practices.

Tracy became more nervous as the opening of the Nutcracker grew nearer. “What if I mess up?” he often worried aloud. Jimmy would try to calm him, but it didn’t help. I tried not to imagine him falling during a dance, but even I was worried. He had spent his entire life waiting for this moment. One mistake could end his dreams.

Opening night finally arrived. Jimmy, Jeff, Murray, and I spent the night at his house with him. He kept us up by pacing around the room all night. Myra had been at the rehearsal that night. She interviewed Tracy and the other cast members. Tracy said she spent the evening taking pictures of him and writing in her notebook. He was disappointed when she left at the end of rehearsal without saying anything.

“She hated the performance,” he cried. “Why else did she leave without saying anything?” We tried to assure him everything would be okay and that maybe she rushed out to finish the article. He finally fell asleep around four, but he was awake a few hours later. I was afraid he might be too tired to dance later.

We arrived at the theater at seven. The performance wasn’t until eight, but we hoped we could see Tracy before the show. His father had taken him at six so he could get dressed and put on his makeup. We filled up an entire row. Besides his parents and grandparents, there were several other family members. Lyle, Jimmy, Jeff, Emily and Karen sat together. My mother and father were there, as was Jimmy’s mom and dad. I was surprised because I didn’t think Jimmy’s father would attend. Stephanie, Darren and Clayton took the weekend off to attend the performance. It was the first time I met Clayton. He was even hotter than Darren. Murray and Jeff got in a brief argument because Jeff wouldn’t quit fawning over Clayton. I laughed because I remembered how he first reacted when he met Darren.

I was also surprised to see several members of the basketball team attending with their parents. Coach Warren and his wife were also there, as were other assistant coaches. Mrs. Alexander and a few teachers were also present.

There wasn’t an empty seat in the auditorium. Myra had written a really good article about Tracy and the show. Dad showed it to me at dinner. I’m not sure Tracy had even seen it yet. She was really impressed with Tracy’s dancing skills. The article centered mainly around his views about dance and the stereotyping of a young man dancing ballet. She even briefly discussed his involvement with the basketball team. She had included several quotes from the coaches and players. It was obvious how much they admired him for how he had helped the team play better.

At eight, the lights dimmed, and the orchestra began to play. My heart started pounding when the curtain went up. I looked for Tracy onstage, but I didn’t see him. It started with a lot of people in someone’s house celebrating Christmas. A man gives a girl a nutcracker, but her brother breaks it and she starts crying. Then, everyone leaves the party and she goes to bed.

I’m not really sure about what happened next. I think she had a dream or something. A bunch of rats start fighting with the soldiers and nutcracker. I thought Tracy would be the nutcracker when he removed his mask, but it was another boy.

After that, there was a bunch of dancing. Then, Tracy and a really pretty girl came onstage. I held my breath as the beautiful music started playing, and they danced. I don’t think I had ever seen anything so wonderful. It didn’t even seem like Tracy on the stage. He was beautiful. He had on a beautiful outfit and makeup. I sat on the edge of my seat watching him dance. One thing kept running through my mind- Tracy is dancing on a star.

His performance was flawless. When it ended, the audience rose and gave him and the girl a standing ovation. It seemed to last forever. Tracy held her hand and they approached the front of the stage and bowed several times. Once, he looked down at me, and I could see tears in his eyes. I gave him a thumb’s up, but it seemed like it wasn’t enough. Inside, I wanted to rush the stage and hold him. I wanted to share the moment with him. It had been his dream since we first met to dance before a live audience. Now, he was being recognized for his years of dedication and practice.

The second act was fun. People danced from various countries. I laughed at the tall woman who came out, opened up her skirt, and a bunch of girls came out and danced. Tracy also came out and danced again with the girl. He did as well as he had the first time.

When the show ended, the dancers came out for a bow. When Tracy ran out, the audience again roared with applause and cheers. Jimmy, Jeff and I were the loudest. Tracy looked down at us and blew us a kiss. Jimmy caught it and placed it to his chest.

We waited in the lobby until Tracy came out. He was talking animatedly with other dancers. When he saw us, he ran over to us and hugged everyone. It took about five minutes until he was finally able to rest. His mother and father couldn’t contain their pride and excitement. He looked at me once and mouthed, “Help!” when his mother was hugging him tightly.

It took about an hour for us to leave the theater. Audience members kept approaching Tracy and telling him how well he had performed. Myra walked around and took pictures and interviewed several cast members. She tried several times to talk to Tracy, but someone would always interrupt.

Finally, we were able to leave. It had been a long night, and we were exhausted. As I was entering the house, Tracy hollered out and came running across the street. I walked out onto the sidewalk, and he embraced me tightly.

“I love you, Jack,” he cried as he held me. “If it hadn’t been for you, this night wouldn’t have been possible.”

“I didn’t do anything,” I replied tearfully.

He pulled away and stared into my eyes. His green eyes were twinkling with tears. “Yes, you did,” he smiled.

He took my hands and held them. “When I said let’s dance on a star, you did. You believed with me.” He looked up in the sky and pointed to a star. He then grabbed me around the waist, twirled me as we danced under a full moon.

THE END.

Thanks, Everyone, who has hung in with me until the end. I hope you enjoyed the adventures of Jack, Tracy, Jeff and Jimmy. I appreciate all the nice comments and the likes and loves. Hugs, Ron.