Disclaimer: I don’t own them except for the kids!

Innocent Angel, Part 8

Isabella dabbed a hint of violet on her pulse points when there was a knock at the door. She was dressed in her finery except for her shoes. She looked through the tiny porthole and than opened the door. It was three porters. Two were holding huge bouquets of flowers. “Yes?”

“Deliveries for Miss Isabella Barton,” the first porter said.

“That’s me,” she said as she let them in. The third porter carried a small box. It was set on the vanity top next to the two sprays of roses, one, pure white, the other, the palest shade of pink. “Thank you,” she said as she tipped them. The porters tipped their hats towards her as they left the room. As soon as she closed the door behind them, she scurried over on stocking feet and hunted for the cards. She pulled out the card from the white roses and slit it open with her nail. A smile graced her lips. “Good luck tonight. Love, Mom, Dad, Miles, Cristal, Donavon, and Carin.” She leaned back and looked at the roses. “Gorgeous.” She pulled out the card from the pale pink ones. Her lips parted on a soundless gasp. “To a beautiful young woman with a smile to light up the night sky. Jet.” Her fingers touched the petals reverently before she opened the box. Inside was a delicate corsage of pink roses. She knew that it came from him as well. “He shouldn’t have,” she breathed as she lifted it out. There was another knock on her door. “Wait a sec.” She hurriedly walked over to the door and opened it. It was Jet.

In less than a second, his mouth fell open with surprise. “You look…Well, I can’t think of any words to describe the way you look, Izzy.”

She flushed from the obvious compliment. “I think that’s one of the nicest things a guy has ever said to me. Thank you for the flowers.”

It was his turn to blush. “You deserved them. I just wanted to do something nice for you.”

“Dancing with me is what’s nice,” Isabella said as she stood on her toes and kissed his cheek. “I couldn’t have found a better partner.”

Jet could only stare at her. The beading on the dress sparkled intermittently and the small aquamarine pendant around her neck glittered. She looked gorgeous. “Do you want me to put this on for you?” he asked as he took the corsage from her hands.

“Yes, please.” She held out her wrist as he slipped it on. She held it up to her nose and sniffed the light fragrance the roses emitted. Her eyes rose to his once again. “I can’t thank you enough for the flowers, Jet. To tell you the truth, this is the first time a guy has bought me flowers.”

“No one’s ever bought you flowers before?”

“No. I’ve gotten flowers from my family, but no guy has ever bought me flowers before.”

“Than I’m lucky, I’m the first.”

“Which makes me very glad,” Isabella said as she smiled at him. She turned on her heel and slipped on the silvery heels to complete her outfit. “Are you ready to go?”

“Ready when you are,” Jet replied as his eyes wandered over the exposed skin of her back.

She picked up a silvery shawl that her mother had bought in Brazil. It went well with her dress. She draped it over her arms and her back. “Now, I’m ready.”

He held out his arm for her. “Miss Barton, may I escort you downstairs?”

A laugh bubbled from her lips as she picked up the beaded purse that matched. She slipped her hand through his proffered arm. “Yes, you may.”

Jet couldn’t help but rest his other hand possessively over hers as they left the room. “Tonight this girl is mine. I have one of the most beautiful women in the world on my arm.”

A tingling sensation ran across her skin from his touch. Isabella smiled inwardly. “His touch never felt like this before. I like it very, very much.”

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Trowa tapped his program on his knee as he waited for Isabella and Jet to perform. The whole time he had been thinking of the thousands of things Jet could be thinking about his daughter. His angel. “I shouldn’t have let him come alone with her. There’s just too much temptation there. What was I thinking?” he muttered.

Middi rolled her eyes. “Trowa, Isabella is a big girl. She can take care of herself and Jet is clearly smitten with her. He won’t do anything he’s not supposed to.”

“That’s a likely story,” Miles snorted from his seat next to his mother. Cristal sat on his other side. They had been the only others able to come and watch.

Cristal rolled her eyes. “You’re too overprotective.”

“This is my baby sister we’re talking about with some twenty year old guy…”

“Who happens to be one of the most honorable guys I’ve met,” Cristal sighed. She shook her head. “I swear out of all the guys I’ve met, Chang Jet seems the best suited for your sister.”

Miles crossed his arms. “You know what I was thinking at his age?”

She rolled her eyes. “He’s not you by a long shot.”

He scowled.

Middi placed her hand on her son’s arm. “I want the both of you,” she said as she also placed a hand on her husband’s arm, “to calm down. Jet is a good boy. You have to let Isabella go some time. She has to receive love from a guy other than her brothers and father.”

Trowa growled in response. “Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

“No one said you had to,” she said softly as she leaned over and pressed a kiss on his cheek. “You just have to accept it.”

Miles frowned and slunk down in his seat. “Doesn’t mean I have to like it either.”

Cristal slipped her arm though his. “You don’t have to like it, Miles. But like your mother said, you have to accept it. Isabella is not a little girl anymore. She’s a very responsible, very capable young woman.”

He let out a derisive snort. “He hurts her, I’ll kill him.”

Twin sighs escaped Cristal’s and Middi’s lips as Miles’ remark.

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Jet and Isabella stood patiently in the wings. They were up next. They were the last couple to dance making it all the more nerve wracking for him. He twisted his fingers together until he felt her cool dry hand come up and cover his. He looked at her with wide eyes.

Isabella smiled gently. “Calm down, Jet. Don’t get so nervous. You’ll do fine.” She continued to rub her hand over his.

“You’re not nervous?”

“A little, but I’ve done stuff like this before. I’ve learned how to control it.”

He gave her a wry smile. “You don’t even look nervous.”

She shook her head. “When you perform in front of people as much as I have, you tend not to look that way. You’ll do fine. Trust me.”

Jet looked deep into the blue gray orbs in front of him. “I trust you.”

“Good, because we’re on.”

He paled slightly.

She smiled again and pressed a kiss on his cheek. “I have faith in you,” she whispered.

Jet grinned back. He felt her confidence in him. He followed her out onto the darkened stage and took his place. He would start off facing the audience, while she would face away from it. He heard their names announced and the title of the song they were doing. He felt her hand come to rest on his shoulder. “This is it.”

Isabella took a deep breath. Her heart was pounding with excitement. She loved performing and this time she was doing it with the guy that she loved. Her hand squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. “We can do this. We can win this.”

The music started. The spotlight hit them, illuminating them on the stage.

He let the music take him like she had taught him. He gazed into her eyes as she faced him. A smile lit his face when she threw him a quick wink. “We can win this.”

Her smile didn’t leave her face. She could feel the confidence in him now in the way that his hands moved and felt on her.

Jet knew that the song was winding down. The last move. He could sense that the crowd, especially the men in the audience was being captivated by the way she moved. Hell, it was captivating him. It had for months.

Isabella did each step perfectly. The Latin beat was in her blood. She was meant to dance like this. She was aware of the eyes on her. She was aware of the way his eyes were on her. She knew that the song was almost over. She loved their ending. It made him blush when they did it.

The strains of the music were dying away, just leaving the voice singing. His hand still grasped hers as she pulled away from him and he pulled her back into his arms, crossing them over her before she pulled away again. Than with a sudden jerk he pulled her back into his arms. His arm went around her waist, taking her feet off of the floor. His other hand held her bent leg as it came to rest high on his hip. There was the feel of her one arm going behind his neck and her other hand coming to rest on his cheek. The action caused their faces to be scant inches apart.

Her heart pounded in her ears. She could feel the heat of his hands pressing against her back and under her knee. They didn’t move. She didn’t want to move since she could feel his breath against her lips. She blinked her eyes as they stared into his.

A roar went up from the audience at the finale.

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Cristal and Miles stood up and started clapping wildly like the rest of the audience. “Go Is and Jet!” she yelled.

Miles couldn’t help but smile. His sister knew how to capture an audience.

Trowa put down the recorder and started clapping. He leaned over and kissed his wife.

 Middi smiled against his mouth as they both stood, clapping for their daughter.

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Jet let go of her and put her feet back on the ground. She spun out, his hand still holding hers. He bowed and she curtsied. He let go of her hand and gestured towards her once again, making the crowd go crazy.

Isabella beamed as the audience and curtsied once again and in return, gestured towards Jet.

They walked off of the stage, hand in hand. As soon as they reached the staging area, she threw her arms around his neck and he swung her around. “We did it, Izzy. We did it!”

She laughed loudly. “I know! I know!”

Jet put her down and gazed into her eyes. “I didn’t think I could do it, but I did. I don’t think I’ve ever heard that much applause before.”

Isabella couldn’t stop laughing. “You were wonderful, just like I knew you would be.”

He grinned and bent down, pressing a kiss on her cheek.

Shocked at his action, her lips parted in surprise.

His eyes got drawn to her lips and back up to her eyes. They were sparkling merrily. “Now what do we do?”

“We wait until the judges announce the winners. Like last night at the rehearsal. They’ll call out all twenty-five couples onto the stage. From there, they’ll announce the three winners. Third, second, and than first.”

He tucked her hand through his as they walked back towards the curtains, where all the other dancers were waiting. He looked down at her as she stood beside him as they waited for their names to be called back out onto the stage. “She looks so happy. If this was all it took to make her happy, I would dance with her any chance I got.”

She smiled again as their names were announced and they walked back out onto the stage. She stood in front of him, his hands coming to rest on her shoulders. Her hand rose and covered his as they waited.

Jet felt her tense a little. He knew this was important to her. He knew how much she wanted to win. He threaded his fingers through hers on her one shoulder and squeezed them reassuringly. “Don’t worry,” he whispered close to her ear.

Isabella relaxed at his words. She turned her head slightly to look at him. “Thank you,” she whispered back.

Third place was announced, second place, and now it was time for first.

“With so many superb performances, it was very hard to chose a first place winner. And with much deliberation we have chosen…

The crowd tensed.

Middi’s hand tightened on Trowa’s as they waited.

Trowa’s hand tightened on his wife’s.

Cristal and Miles held their breath.

“…Chang Jet and Isabella Barton…”

The audience let out raucous applause.

Miles let out a wolf whistle.

Cristal yelled their names.

Trowa and Middi relaxed their postures and smiled like proud parents.

Isabella thought she was going to faint. She swayed slightly on her feet, only to feel Jet’s hand come to rest on the small of her back to steady her. They both stepped forwards and walked towards the center of the stage to receive the crystal award. “We did it!”

Jet kept his hand on the small of her back as they crossed the stage. He was feeling a little lightheaded as well. He could see her dazzling smile as she accepted the award. He shook hands with the judge and took her hand once again. And to the delight of the audience, he pressed another kiss on her cheek. “This was all you.”

A warm feeling spread through her at his words and his touch. She squeezed his hand and smiled at him again. They bowed to the audience and walked off of the stage. She put her arms around him as soon as they reached the curtains. “I couldn’t have done this without you.” “This is the night I’m going to tell him how I feel. That would be the icing on the cake.”

He held onto her tightly as others passed them on their way off the stage. The feeling of joy was overwhelming and being able to share it with her, made the entire experience memorable. “Now if I can only tell her how I feel, than tonight would be nothing but perfect.”

A/N: Almost there! I know I’m keeping you all in suspense, but patience is a virtue! ‘Til next time! XOXO!!