He leans down and gives her a kiss. She squeezes his arm and then turns and hurries away.
About five minutes later, we hear the musicians warming up.
“The orchestra in Boston wants her to audition to play with them,” Anvil says.
“Wow. They’re so prestigious,” Laurelyn says. “Is she thinking of doing it?”
“No. One job is enough.”
“Still that’s exciting. She must be incredibly flattered.”
Anvil’s expression is flat. “It surprised her.” A beat passes. “It shouldn’t.”
Laurelyn smiles. “She’s incredibly talented. I wonder if Irina will play too.”
“Maybe. We got her a keyboard. One for babies. Mostly she bangs her fists on it.”
“Less musical prodigy. More The Who cover band vibe?” Trick jokes.
“What?” Anvil asks.
“The Who. British rock band. Used to destroy their instruments.”
“Destroy their instruments? Idiots,” Anvil says.
A bell chime signals it’s time to take our seats.
Usually at dinners and out as a group, we alternate by gender, but tonight instead of having Laurelyn to my right, Trick’s got that seat. Miller’s behind me, watching for threats. ‘Vil’s on the aisle, always alert to security issues.
I glance over at Trick’s profile. “What’s up?”
“Not a thing,” he says. “So an after party? I’ll come, too.”
My eyes roll. “You sure? That’s past your bedtime, right?”
Trick flashes a smile, untroubled. “Yeah, these days it is. If I get home at three am, I’m not waking up my pregnant wife who has to work in the morning. She needs her rest. So if I want to enjoy what’s in my bed, I need to be there before she falls asleep.”
“Sensible, which is not known as your defining characteristic.”
He shrugs. “Turning over a new leaf.”
“Apparently.”
There have been nights when Trick’s met me out for drinks, but by ten thirty he hits the road. The asshole’s also got strict rules he made up for himself. No dungeons, no strip clubs, no time alone with women other than his wife. When I pressed him about it, he claims Laurelyn doesn’t know about these rules yet, but they’re in place as a precaution against her ever speculating. He figures there are only a few things that could wreck his marriage and cheating on his part is one of them, so he guards against things she might question. It amuses ‘Vil that Trick now has rules. I’m not amused. The two people I consider the most fun to be around when a party’s on are Trick and Zoe. Having lost access to both means nightlife is not the same these days. I’ve looked around for distractions, but when I’m with other woman or even playing with one in a dungeon, I’m never satisfied.
The curtain goes up, and my muscles contract with anticipation. I’ve been waiting for this all week.
The music’s eerie, but compelling. Then Zoe appears onstage in a semi-sheer burnt orange lace dress. I can see the lines of the body I know so well, the curve of her beautiful ass, her gorgeous tits.Fuck. My thumb and forefinger rub together, remembering the texture of her nipple between them. My tongue remembers the taste of her skin, too. For a while, I could still smell her chestnut-scented body wash on my sheets, but that’s been washed away.
She twirls across the stage and leaps into the air to a burst of music. The way she moves is incredible, like she’s got springs in her legs. I’m not the only one who thinks so. The audience’s applause speaks for them, too.
The show’s called Infernal. It’s a modern take on Dante’s Inferno, and it’s reportedly a black comedy. Not sure what old Dante would think about that, but pretty soon it’s apparent what the audience thinks. Excitement crackles in the air, and people are here for it.
The music is a fusion of Latin and Hip Hop, with occasional screams of a violin driving the action to a fever pitch. It’s like nothing I’ve ever heard. At the end of the first act, the audience is on its feet. This is something new, and new for New York is always good.
I don’t clap as long as everyone else because by the mid-point I’m pretty sure I know which dancer Zoe’s fucking, and it’s taking all my will to not walk backstage to kill him during the intermission.
Chapter
