Now Madam Emilana spoke and she sounded almost smug. “I told you that was what she was doing.”
Now I was just confused and let it show. Neither of the women explained though.
“Excellent work,” Miss Janine said, and it didn't sound grudging at all. Maybe she wasn't so bad after all.
“Yes,” Madam Emilana said. “You will begin in the advanced class starting tomorrow and should you prove to be as hard a worker as I believe you to be, your private lessons with me will start at the beginning of the upcoming year.”
I was still beaming when I walked outside fifteen minutes later. I was also pretty sure that, if I hadn't been a grown woman standing on a city sidewalk, I might have skipped a bit. I was still debating going for it when I heard a familiar voice call my name.
“Piper! I was hoping I hadn't missed you.”
I turned as Julien jogged across the street. He was grinning at me and, for a moment, I thought he would hug me, but he didn't. He stopped within arm's reach and stuck his hands into his pockets. It was a hot day and he was wearing shorts, showing off athletic legs that were a bit paler than the rest of his visible skin.
“I called the studio to ask what times they normally held their auditions so I could get here in time to see how you did.”
I was so touched at his thoughtfulness, of his remembering my big day. I was smiling so big I thought my face would crack. “Great!” I nearly yelled, “I'm in the advanced class with a chance to have private lessons.”
Moving back to Philadelphia now seemed worth it.
“That's wonderful!” He gave me a slightly awkward one-armed hug and then backed away. “Hungry?”
“Starving.” I hadn't been able to eat much today. Too many nerves.
“Then let's celebrate,” Julien said. “My treat.”
I smiled. “Where do you want to go?”
“Your choice. It's your celebration.”
“Trolley car?” I suggested.
“Breakfast for dinner.” He chuckled. “Bacon and eggs?”
I laughed too. The fact that he'd made me breakfast without expecting anything in return had made that one of my few positive memories of that week.
I was surprised at how smoothly the conversation flowed as we walked back to his car and then drove out to Germantown Avenue. He was still really easy to talk to. I suppose I'd thought our conversations before had been a fluke brought about by the need to be less awkward with Brock being a jerk, or by alcohol. That last conversation we'd had wasn't like this at all, so I didn't count it. Now, I could see it wasn't any of that. Julien was one of those rare people with whom it was comfortable to talk. One subject flowed into another and never ventured into anything uncomfortable or too personal. Over pancakes with maple syrup and cinnamon buns with creamy frosting, he told me what he'd been doing since we'd last seen each other, and then he asked how the job search was going.
I frowned at my pancakes. “I think I covered half the diners and restaurants in Fishtown, but none of them are actually looking for help. They were all really polite and let me fill out an application, but I doubt I'll hear anything from them.” I tried to lighten the mood by leaning across the table and taking some of Julien's frosting. “Too bad Brock never made good on his promise. That ten thousand dollars would come in handy right about now.” I flushed as I realized how that sounded.
Fortunately, Julien was polite enough to ignore it and kept going with the original conversation. “Are you definitely wanting a job around Fishtown then?” he asked as he stabbed a piece of my pancake, giving me a dazzling smile as he ate the food he'd stolen.
I nodded. “That would be my preference. I'm staying with Anastascia right now and I don't have a car. I could borrow hers, but she's already doing so much for me.” I stopped suddenly, pressing my lips together. We were venturing into overshare territory. “It'd just be nice to be able to walk from her place to work and then to the studio, and not have to worry about trying to get a ride.” I glanced up at the sun. It was already starting to get darker earlier. “At least until winter comes.”
“Yeah, I'll bet that'll be one thing you'll miss about Vegas,” Julien said. “No one wants to walk in Philly during January.”
I nodded even though I knew I'd be one of the ones doing just that. First priority was to find a place of my own. It may have seemed like I should've worried about a car first, but unless I was forced to get a job somewhere that having one was absolutely necessary, being in my own apartment came first. Walking would help keep me in shape. I'd dealt with walking in Philadelphia winters before. I could do it again.
“I know a few people in the area,” Julien said. “I could make some calls.” He held up a finger before I had the chance to say anything. “I won't do it if you don't want me to. I know some people don't like taking help.” The twitch at the corner of his mouth said he remembered our conversation a few weeks ago regarding that exact thing.
He was right. I didn't like asking for help, but I was getting better at it, especially since I knew once I got hired somewhere, they wouldn't regret it. I was a hard worker, and after two years of stripping, dealing with obnoxious restaurant customers was going to seem like a vacation. Besides, it was either this or borrow money from Anastascia in a week or so when what I had left from the club finally ran out. I'd refused to let her pay for my food and I'd had to get clothes for dance class. That had taken most of what I'd brought with me.
“Thank you,” I said sincerely. “I'd appreciate that.”
He nodded. “All right then. I'll get back to you as soon as I hear anything.” He held my gaze for a moment, and then smoothly transitioned to another subject. “So, tell me what you're going to be looking to do with your dancing. Theater? I’m not even sure what all the options are.”
I liked this, I thought. Good food. Good conversation. And a nice guy who wasn't trying to get into my pants. It was refreshing.
Four
The first week at Madam Emilana's was amazing. Granted, by the end of the week, my muscles were protesting every little move, but it was hard to describe how wonderful that actually felt.
Other things were going well too. Wednesday, Julien had called and given me the name of a tiny little family-owned restaurant two blocks over from the dance studio. I'd gone in before school the next day and was warmly greeted by an elderly Italian man who'd instantly proclaimed me 'Bella' and hired me on the spot. I might've thought Julien paid him if the man hadn't been so honestly excited. We'd set up a schedule that included letting me work split shifts around school and then agreed that Saturday afternoon would be my first day.
I was thinking about how well the move back was going when a car pulled up to the curb and honked. I jumped and nearly flipped off the driver when I heard Julien laughing.
“Didn't mean to scare you,” he said as I walked over to the driver's side window.
“You keep showing up here when I'm walking home and I'm going to start thinking you're a stalker,” I teased.
“You caught me,” he joked back. “I have my camera in the backseat.”
I rolled my eyes. “What's up?”
“I want to show you something.”
“What?”
He gave me an enigmatic smile. “It's a surprise.”
My eyes narrowed. “I'm not really that fond of surprises.”
“It's a good one,” he said. “I promise.” He made the childhood gesture of crossing his heart.
“Promises, promises.” I walked around to the other side of the car and climbed in. “Let's get this over with.”
“Wow,” he said as he pulled the car back into the correct lane. “You'd think I was taking you to get a tooth pulled or to meet my parents or something.”
I shot him a sideways glance. “I wasn't aware that we were at that point in our relationship.” The horrified expression on his face made me laugh. “Relax, Julien. I was kidding.” He still looked tense, so I added, “We're way past that. You've already seen me naked an
d slept over.”
He chuckled and the tension eased. I breathed a silent sigh of relief. I liked what we had and I didn't want it to change. I needed a friend and stability right now. I didn't even want to think about anything else.
“Where are we going?” I asked as he turned away from Anastascia's.
“You'll see,” he promised. “It's not far.”
We went one more street over, which meant the restaurant where I was going to be working was now halfway between school and wherever we were. He parked next to a church and climbed out. I followed, but couldn’t imagine why he’d brought me to a church. He'd never said anything that made me think he was very religious.
“This way.” He led the way down one of the cobblestone side streets. We went about a third of the way down and he stopped.
Like the other apartments on this street, it was more of a row house than the kind of apartment I'd had back in Vegas. Red brick with concrete steps that led up to a door with chipped and faded paint, it was a bit more run-down than the buildings on either side of it, but it was still vastly larger than the place Rosa and I had shared. Still, I didn't understand why Julien had brought me here.
“It's not officially on the market until tomorrow, but the owner's willing to take less if he doesn't have to advertise or wait. It needs some work, so I got him to accept a pretty cheap offer for the first year's rent.”
It all began to click in my head now. “Wait…what? For me?”
“Of course for you. What do you think?”
Think? My eyes widened. I didn’t know what to think. I seriously hoped he wasn't about to offer to pay my rent. I really didn't need another person offering to give me things and money. He'd never made a move on me, so I was going to give him the benefit of the doubt that there was something I was missing.
“Julian,” I started then had to pause and look back at the building and its surroundings. “I can't afford to live here. Especially when I haven't even started work yet.”
Julien handed me an envelope. “Actually, you can.”
I had taken the envelope automatically but now just looked at it in suspicion. “What's this?” I asked, an eyebrow raised in question.
“The money Brock promised you.”
My jaw dropped.
Julien's eyes shone with a hard light. “I went to see him yesterday and told him that if he didn't pay up, he'd have to leave the state to get a date. Everyone would know what he did.”
I threw my arms around him without thinking and he staggered back as I caught him off guard. “Thank you.” I had to whisper the words because I wasn't sure I could say them without crying. This wasn't prostitution money. This was more like the settlement I would get if I'd gone after him for assault. That, I didn't feel guilty about taking.
I pulled back, but didn't completely step away, which meant I was still in Julien's arms when I looked up at him. Our eyes met and, for a second, I thought he was going to kiss me, but then he was letting me go and the moment faded away. He ran his hand through his hair and I thought he looked a bit shaky. I wasn't the only one who'd felt the almost-kiss then. What I didn't know was how I felt about it. I'd just gotten out of a bad relationship that had begun due to a rebound from something that hadn't even been a break-up. I groaned at how stupid that sounded in my head. Besides, I didn't even like Julien that way. Unbidden, Reed's face came to mind and I shoved it aside.
“I'm glad you're happy about it.” He gestured toward the apartment. “Should I get the paperwork drawn up? You can come by and see inside tomorrow, either before or after work. I should have a key for you by then.”
I nodded. My head was spinning. This was all too much.
“Thank you so much, for all of this.” It was hard to talk around the lump in my throat. “I'll never be able to repay you.”
“Well, there is one thing you can do,” Julien said. “There's this charity event next weekend and I really don't want to go alone. My mom keeps trying to set me up with her society friends' daughters. I'd rather take a friend I can talk to and have a good time with.”
If he hadn't thrown in that part about taking a friend, I wasn't sure what I would've said, but since he'd made it clear we weren't going as a couple, I couldn't say anything but yes.
Five
I probably should have saved everything I had leftover after paying back Anastascia for the plane ticket and putting down the first two months' rent on my new place, but there was one purchase I knew I had to make. I wasn't stupid. I knew that the charity event Julien had asked me to would include the Michaels and Stirling families. By now, I was sure they all despised me even more than they had before, and they weren't going to be happy with me showing up with Julien Atwood. I had to make sure I didn't do anything else to embarrass my friend.
That meant finding something graceful and sophisticated to wear. And if anyone knew how to pull off that look, it was Anastascia. She'd been a bit disappointed to learn I’d be moving into my new place right away, so having her go shopping with me had been a perfect way to show my appreciation for all she'd done while not giving in to her pleas that I stay longer.
We'd gone Sunday, after my shift at the restaurant had ended, and then spent the rest of the day packing my things. Fortunately, I hadn't brought much, so we'd finished in record time. The rest of the week was spent working around my job and school schedules to get me moved into the building I was still having a hard time thinking of as my place.
Compared to the other apartments I'd lived, it was huge. A separate living room and kitchen downstairs, two bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs. Just having stairs was mind-boggling and I ran up and down them a few times just for fun. The only thing I was still missing was furniture. Anastascia told me she planned redecorate her place, so she'd hand down anything she replaced. When I'd protested, she gave me that look and asked if I’d prefer she just throw everything out. How was I supposed to argue with that?
I bought a mattress, which sat directly on the floor as I couldn’t also justify the cost of a bed-frame. Anastascia surprised me with a television as a house-warming gift, but that was pretty much the extent of my furniture at the moment. Despite how bare everything looked, I loved it. The rooms already felt more like home than any place had since my mom died.
Julien was coming to pick me up shortly and I just had a few more final touches before I was ready to go. I'd considered pulling my hair up, trying for one of those elaborate styles high-society women always seemed to spend hundreds of dollars on, but in the end, I decided to go along with what Anastascia and I had chosen for my dress. Simple. So the hair stayed down. It fell in waves a few inches past my shoulders, brushing against my skin. The halter style left my arms and back bare, but only offered a hint of cleavage through a diamond-shaped cut out on the front. The skirt was floor-length, and only a pair of five-inch heels kept it from dragging on the ground. The slit in the side stopped just above my knee, offering enough leg to be enticing, but still elegant and appropriate for a formal event.
I kept the make-up at a minimum as well. Not that I wore much to begin with, but tonight, I swept on just a hint eye shadow and mascara and stuck with plain lip gloss. I didn't want to give Julien any reason to regret inviting me. I knew there'd be talk once people realized I was the same woman who'd gone to Britni's wedding with Brock. I shrugged. It couldn’t be helped.
I jumped when someone knocked at the door. “Coming!” I called out as I hurried down the stairs. I still wasn't used to being so far away from the door. When I opened it, Julien was already smiling. His grin widened as he saw me and I smiled back. He looked amazing in a black tux that had obviously been custom made to show off his broad shoulders and athletic build.
“You're gorgeous.” He held out a single flower in a thin, simple vase. It was a rose, but unlike the ones Brock had given me, this one was white. “Thought you might want a bit of decoration.”
“It's beautiful,” I said as I held it to my nose and stepped back, motioning for him
to come inside. “I don't have anywhere for you to sit.”
“That's okay,” he said, looking around as I went into the kitchen to fill up the vase.
I wanted to put the flower in the living room so I could see it when I first came in, but the downside of not having furniture meant the only place I could put it was on the counter in the kitchen. When I came back in the living room, he was standing at the front window, looking out into the street.
“No curtains?” he asked.
“They're a little low on my priority list.” I picked up my purse and draped a wrap over it. Anastascia had insisted on the piece of matching hunter green silk. It was the first weekend in September, so it was still warm, bordering on hot, but there was always the chance of a chill.
He offered me his arm at the top of the stairs even though it was narrow and I took it gratefully. The shoes were new, which meant I was still getting used to them. The last thing I wanted to do was face-plant coming down my steps.
When we reached the end of the street, a car was waiting. That wasn't surprising, I hadn't been thinking we were going to walk to the event. Instead of it being Julien's BMW, however, it was a limo. I glanced at him and he shrugged.
“Easy way to make my parents happy.”
As we climbed into the backseat, I finally asked the question that had been popping up in my mind since he'd asked me to go with him. “If you don't mind me asking, why are we going to a charity event? I thought you were the black sheep of the family.” I kept my tone teasing. “All about being against the system.”
He smiled at me as he settled into his seat. He stayed far enough away that we weren't touching, but not so far that the distance was insulting. “Most of the time I am, but my parents and I have an understanding. They support a few charities that are important to me, and those are the events I'll go to without question, and I'll play the good son. This is one of the few mutual ones we support.”