“Where is here?” Ian asked. He cast his gaze around the dark, stopping at the seemingly empty location.

“Slipper.”

“WHAT IS SLIPPER?” IAN ASKED CAUTIOUSLY.

“It’s an underground prostitution ring I’ve been a part of for the past couple of years,” she deadpanned.

She watched Ian’s face go from horror to confusion to embarrassment.

Then, she started laughing. “I can’t see right now, but how red are your cheeks?”

“You’re not really a part of an…”

“Underground prostitution ring,” she filled in for him.

“Yeah.”

“No, I’m not. It’s a burlesque club. They dance and have acrobatic routines at night.”

“Okay,” he said skeptically. “Why are we here?”

“Because I dance here.”

“Here? At a burlesque club.”

She nodded.

“I never knew you did that kind of thing,” he said. “I thought it was all ballet.”

“Well, I never told anyone.”

Here was something she had painstakingly tried to hide from the outside world. She’d tried to keep this hidden in an attempt to be the right person at the right time.

She compartmentalized parts of herself for the various people that she was around. With Renée, she was the strict ballerina with her rocker edge. With Ian, she was the yuppie heiress to a fashion legacy. With Lydia, she was the baby who idolized her older sister. With Francesca, she was a fun-loving model party girl who was into high fashion. With Cassidy, she was the lithe pole dancer willing to try almost anything. With Preston…she had thought she had allowed him to see all the parts of her, but that didn’t mean that he’d fit the pieces together. It just meant that he had seen the puzzle and scattered the pieces.

Maybe if she started here, she could knit those fragments back together and try to be all of herself at once. In time, she wouldn’t have to hide the different sides of her personality. She could just be Trihn.

“You can stay out here if you want,” she told Ian before marching down the steps.

The woman at the front door clapped her hands together when she saw Trihn approaching. “Oh my God, are you performing tonight, lovey dove?” She was dressed even more radical tonight in a lingerie corset set and high heels. Her bob had been replaced by a crazy wig with long flowing gray curls.

“No, not tonight. I just need to talk to Cassidy. Is she performing tonight?”

“She’s back there, but I don’t know how much talking you’ll get done. Chick is a little emotional.”

“What do you mean?” Trihn scrunched her eyebrows together.

“Haven’t you heard?”

“Heard what?”

“Oh, dear,” she said, putting her hand to her chest. “I’ll have to let her break the news to you.”

Trihn frowned. “Is it serious? Is she okay?”

“I’ll let you in at the end of this set, and you can go talk to her.” The girl’s eyes moved high above Trihn, and she smiled devilishly. “And who do we have here?”

Trihn whipped around and saw Ian coming down the steps. “What are you doing?”

“Not leaving you alone in a place like this,” Ian said. He hurried to her side.

Trihn laughed. “No need to protect me. I’m probably going to need to protect you.”

The applause rang out through the rusty black door, and the woman jumped. “Time for you two to head on inside. Good seeing you again, Trihn.”

She nodded at the girl and then dragged Ian inside Slipper before he could protest. His eyes were as big as saucers as he took in the giant room that looked like a real court amid a fairy tale. It was brilliant, and she always marveled at it every time she was inside. But she knew for a fact that Ian had never seen anything like it.

“Come on. We’re going backstage.” She took his arm and pulled him through the room and to a side curtain.

Someone recognized her and pointed in the direction of where they had last seen Cassidy.

They stopped in front of the women’s changing room, and she left Ian at the door. “This won’t take long.”

He nervously eyed his surroundings. “Please don’t.”

She laughed and then went in through the door. It was easy to find Cassidy. She stood out even in a crowded room. Besides her bright red pixie cut, there was just something about her.

As if feeling eyes on her, Cassidy whipped around. She was in a studded red outfit to match her hair and spiked black boots. She normally performed barefoot, but Trihn had seen her in the boots, too, and it was insane.

“Trihn!” Cassidy barreled through the other performers to get to Trihn’s side. “Come to dance tonight?”

“Not tonight,” Trihn said. She took a deep breath. She could do this. “For good. I’m in. I accept the offer.”

Cassidy’s face fell. “Oh, Trihn…”

“What?”

Trihn hadn’t really thought this through when she realized they were near the city. She had just decided that she wasn’t going to be afraid to show the real her anymore. She enjoyed dancing and performing. She loved the thrill of it, and maybe her family would hate it, but they would get over it.

“I’m so glad that you decided to accept the position, but I was actually offered an opportunity that I just couldn’t refuse.”

“What kind of opportunity?” Trihn asked.

A smile spread across Cassidy’s beautiful face. “Dancing in Las Vegas! As a main event at a new Cirque show they’re opening up next year. I never thought I’d be selected for something like that. I got the call just this morning, and I was going to call you this weekend after I told the Slipper crew.”

Trihn’s mouthed dropped open. “Oh my God, that’s amazing, Cass! It’s a dream come true. I know you’ve been auditioning for that kind of thing but haven’t heard back.”

“I never thought it would happen in a million years!”

“You should have. You’re brilliant,” Trihn said, seeing her plan disintegrate.

“Look, this is going to sound crazy, but hear me out.” Cassidy said. She grabbed Trihn’s hands. “Come with me!”

Trihn laughed. “What?”

“Come with me to Vegas! I’ll have my own place. You can get a job dancing or teaching even! Didn’t you say they have a fashion school out there, too? You could go to school while we dance! Think about how awesome it would be!” Cassidy said enthusiastically.

“I don’t know,” Trihn said reluctantly. “I’m supposed to attend NYU in a few weeks.”

“NYU will always be there! How often will you be young and wild and free to do whatever you want in your life? Just this once!” Cassidy said. “I know it’s crazy to just up and leave your life. I can’t believe I’m doing it, but at the same time…I can’t wait.”

“Cass, it was a stretch for me to take this dancing job in the city. I can’t imagine moving across the country to do it. Everyone that I know is here in New York.”

“Well, that won’t be true in a couple of days.” Cassidy reminded her, “I’ll be gone.”

Trihn shook her head. “I don’t know. I mean…wow! Thank you for inviting me. I just…I have never, ever thought about leaving here.”

“That’s why it’s the time to do it. Everyone dreams their whole lives about living in New York City for just a short while, but we grew up here. Let’s go somewhere else, and if we’re meant to come back to the city, we will.” Cassidy winked at her. “NYC Dance House created beautiful dancers out of us. It would be a shame to waste that talent so young!”

“Renée is still dancing,” Trihn admitted.

“See?” Cassidy grabbed Trihn’s hand and twirled her in a circle. “Sin City awaits the dancing duo!”

“I…I’ll have to think about it. I have a lot going on right now.”

“That creep you were with?” Cassidy asked, arching an eyebrow.