Brianna clasped my hand with a warm smile. “You’ve met Aaron? He’s my little brother!”
Small world I suppose. “He’s a good guy,” I said, falling back on the words Daddy used.
She beamed. “Aw, thank you. I adore him though he can be a stick in the mud.” She whispered the last bit, “Doesn’t agree with my work, but he’s respectful of my choices.”
“Then he really is a good guy. I’ll try not to give him a hard time next time I see him.”
That caused her to giggle before she started off. “He can take a beating. Can’t wait to work with you more after my break!” She waved as she left.
“So?” I asked, pulling my hair back with trembling fingers. “Am I hired?”
“Yes. Bri needed to take a break for this semester. She’s a junior studying at the nearby school so she’s been stressed. This works out well.”
I nodded in understanding. “I actually just started there, so I’m happy to hear I might see her on campus. So,” I paused before asking the obvious question, “when do I start?”
Jules cocked her head like she was listening to something out of earshot. Her eyes unfocused for a second, then snapped back to me with that familiar, unnerving clarity.
“Four days,” she said, holding up four red-tipped fingers. “Come back in four days. I’ll speak with the proprietor tomorrow and I know that he'll take a day or two to mull it over.” She beamed like a proud mother, and something in my chest cracked.
Don’t you remember me?I wanted to scream.Don’t you remember it was you who taught me to dance like that?
But this Jules had never met me. Less than an hour ago, I was a stranger to her.
I swallowed the words and nodded instead.
“Thanks. I should probably be honest and tell you my real name is Violet, but I’d like to go by Alexis. . . if that’s alright?”
“Absolutely. Paperwork needs the legal name anyways.” After a moment of silence, she mistook it for nerves. “You were born for this,” she continued, oblivious to the war in my head. “The way you move. . . it’s like you’ve been doing it your whole life.”
Half my life,I thought.The worst half.
I forced a smile. “Thanks for the opportunity.”
“Are you kidding? Thankyoufor the audition. The crowd loved you. I’ll go over more when you meet with me Friday. Leave your number with Andy. By the way, your boyfriend’s still at the bar,” Jules said, taking a moment to borrow some lotion from one of the other girls with a quick thank you. “The hot one who looks like he wants to murder everyone.”
Rowan. I’d almost forgotten he was there, watching. Watchingmedance. My stomach clenched.
“He’snotmy boyfriend,” I replied automatically.
Jules laughed, the sound pure and bright. “Honey, the way he watched you? You are at leastsomethingto him.”
No, he’s just pissed at me right now.
“I really don’t think he sees me that way.” I stumbled with my words, wondering why I felt so upset at them.He calls you princess and often mentions how much of a child you are. Not exactly boyfriend material.
Jules patted me affectionately. “Sometimes it takes a while to admit our feelings.”
I didn’t answer, just shouldered my bag and followed her back through the labyrinth of Oubliette’s backstage area. The walls pressed close, velvet and shadow as my shoulders drew tight with coiled nerves. I wondered what Rowan thought, then felt annoyed at myself for caring.
You didn’t perform for him though, I chided myself. While I had never willingly performed for anyone in my previous life and Jules' words of affirmation did not hit the way I thought they would, I had wanted to impress Rowan. Pride is a funny thing. It blooms in the strangest soil, grows thorns when you least expect them.
A few hundred feet ahead, I could see over Jules' head that Rowan was still hunched at the bar, his drink barely touched. Despite the taut line in his shoulders, I was relieved. Coming to Oubliette had been a gamble, and with how unsure I felt of how things would go, he had been my inadvertent anchor despite how annoyed I had been with his presence. Now with his profile sharp in the low light, I steeled myself for the lecture I knew was coming.
As we passed a table, he stiffened. Instinctively, I followed his gaze to where two men and a woman were entangled in shadows, shameless in their public display. One man’s face was buried between her thighs, the other stroking her neck. But the light caught enough that I could see the second man’s mismatched and unblinking eyes. Goosebumps erupted on my skin. His gaze was locked onto me, drinking in every movement.
I don’t like that look. I’d seen it before, in my previous life. The look of an aggressor marking prey.
Jules didn’t seem to notice, still chattering ahead of me about how impressed she was, long blonde tresses swaying as she walked, explaining how I was going to be a tough act to follow. As we neared the bar, Rowan pushed off his stool, moving towards us with purpose and against my better judgement, my heart sped up. Even with my heels, we were almost the same height which did little to diminish his suffocating presence. Despite his white hair and icy eyes, Rowan had always held this dark demeanor of “don’t fuck with me.” It had been infuriating growing up with him, but in that moment? I was trying to ignore the mess between my legs.
