Nevertheless, sometimes the good ones could break your heart even worse than the bad.
“I once had a client who wanted us to use a sex swing. She brought me back to her place, where she had the thing rigged up in her spare bedroom,” said Julian as he stared ponderously at the swing for Alicia’s “Sparkling Diamonds” bit. He’d found himself at a loose end today, so I invited him to come to work with me. Iggy was busy at a meeting for a potential show we’d be choreographing next year, which left me in charge.
I cocked an eyebrow at my friend, noticing the first few buttons on his shirt were carelessly undone. “And did you have a good time?”
“It allows for deeper penetration,” he answered, as though discussing the sandwich he planned to eat for lunch. “Motion sickness can become an issue, though.”
“I’ll keep that in mind if a man ever suggests using one,” I said, a hint of a smile in my voice. I’d long since gotten used to the way Julian spoke so openly of things other people might find uncomfortable. There was no room for embarrassment when you shared an apartment with a male escort.
“Just so long as it isn’t Oswald, then I say go for it,” he replied. “You could do with some deep fucking. It might ward off all that sexual frustration you wear like an old frock that doesn’t fit you anymore.”
“His name is Blake. And I have no intention of ever seeing him again, so you don’t have to worry. Also, don’t be a bitch. Some of us lack the tenacity to simply go out and get sex whenever we feel the urge. There’s this little thing call self-consciousness, perhaps you should try a dash of it sometime. Too much confidence can be just as off-putting as too little, Julian.”
“Meow. Saucer of milk for table five.”
I sighed. “Look, I’m taking a break from romance right now anyway, so can we change the subject?”
“Sex doesn’t have to be romantic.”
“It does for me. You know this.”
Julian looked at me sympathetically, like he felt sorry for my need for love as a prerequisite to sex. “So,” he went on, changing the topic like I’d requested, “what are we doing today?”
I glanced at my watch. “Alicia should be here soon. She’s playing the lead. We have to do a dress rehearsal for one of her songs.”
“Isn’t it a little early for that?”
“Usually, yes, but Farrah’s designed a special outfit with a corset that’s very constricting, so we need to make sure the routine’s doable with it on. Otherwise, Iggy will have to adjust the choreography or Farrah will have to redesign the costume.”
Julian was already pulling his phone out to Google Alicia and see what she looked like. “Well,” he murmured as the image results popped up on the screen. I left him to his browsing as Farrah motioned me up onto the stage. Alicia waited in the wings, all kitted out in her costume. My mouth opened slightly, because if I were a man, I was sure I’d be staring at my own personal wet dream right then. The corset hugged tight to her curves before flaring out into an ostrich feather bustle at the back and lacy hold-up stockings at the front.
“I know what you’re going to say. I’m a genius,” said Farrah, and I grinned at her.
“Yeah, pretty much.”
“Let’s wait to see if she can manage the swing in that frou-frou construction before we have any claims to genius,” Jacob butted in.
“Yes, well, there’s been an issue at one of my shops that I need to go deal with, so let me know how everything goes. If any adjustments are needed, I’ll take care of them when I get back,” said Farrah.
Jacob sighed and shooed her away. “Okay fine, just go.”
She left, and I approached Alicia, noticing that she seemed a little nervous. “Do you remember the steps we went through before?”
She nodded, glancing at Jacob for a second, and then answered quietly, “Yes, but I swear that man is getting on my last nerve. It’s like he expects perfection at every turn.”
I was surprised by her statement, because I’d thought those two worshipped the ground the other walked on. Then again, Jacob Anthony did have a reputation for being a perfectionist, and there was a definite prickly side to his personality. I guessed the Alicia/Jacob honeymoon was over.
“Just ignore him. If a director doesn’t get on your nerves every once in a while, then he’s not doing his job,” I said lightheartedly. It almost got a smile out of her.
Walking back down the steps, I took a seat in the audience. I needed to watch Alicia from a distance so I could pick out any mistakes. Julian quickly came and silently sat down beside me.
Alicia would begin from above the stage. We waited a moment or two for Jacob to take a seat, and then Alicia appeared from up high, seductively singing the opening lines a capella as the swing slowly lowered. As soon as she appeared, Julian’s attention was rapt, and his full, almost feminine lips curved into a seductive smile. I knew that look. It was his “okay, now I’m interested” face.
Alicia wore the sparkling outfit that Farrah had designed especially for her voluptuous form with grace, every curve sculpted to perfection. When she started singing, Julian’s smile widened, his eyes gleaming at the sight of a shiny new toy.
Alicia’s vocals were on point, but she was being too rigid with the swing. Jacob must have noticed, too, because he motioned for the music to be cut just when the song reached the “Material Girl” interlude.
“She’s stiff as a board up there. Fix it, Rose,” he ordered.
I hurried to the stage, and Alicia shot me an irritable look. Julian had come with me, and her attention wandered to him briefly before returning to me.
She pursed her lips and threw up her hands. “What?”
“The corset’s too tight, isn’t it?” I asked, and she let out a sigh before nodding.
“It’s literally suffocating the life out of me. How did you know?”
I tapped the side of my head. “Dancer’s intuition. Here, turn around and I’ll loosen it up a little.”
She did as I asked, her green eyes going to Julian again as I located the laces on the corset.
“And you are?”
“Julian Fairchild,” he replied, and though my attention was focused on the corset, I just knew the expression he was wearing, all sexy confidence. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Do you work here?” Alicia inquired further.
“I can, if you’d like me to.”
I cast Julian a censoring look as I told her, “He’s my friend. He’s just here to hang out for a while.” For a second I shuddered at the idea of him offering her his “services” before being momentarily struck by the irony of a real-life “courtesan” meeting the actress who was playing one. Or, well, whatever the male version of a courtesan was…courtier?
“Oh,” said Alicia. She paused to look him up and down as though taking his measure. Something in her eyes told me that whatever she saw, she didn’t like it. It annoyed me a little, and I couldn’t exactly pinpoint why. Perhaps I just didn’t like people prematurely judging my friends.
Julian cast his gaze over to the where my hands were struggling with the infernal laces. They just didn’t want to play ball. I heaved a frustrated sigh.
“What did Farrah make this thing with, steel wires or something?”
Julian raised an eyebrow. “Can I try?”
Alicia reared back, as though appalled by the very idea. “I’m sure Rose can manage.”
“Oh, come on, I won’t bite. Removal of undergarments is my forté,” Julian answered flirtatiously.
She shot him an unimpressed look. “I’m sure it is, but you’ll be going nowhere near mine, thank you very much.”
“Can he try?” I hedged, knowing I was getting nowhere. “I really can’t get the strings loose. It’s too bad Farrah had to rush off so soon.”
Alicia was quiet for a moment, and Jacob grew impatient as he called up from the audience. “What’s taking so long?”
“We’re trying to loosen the corset. It’ll just be another minute
,” I called back, and cast a pleading look in Alicia’s direction.
“Oh, just get it over with,” she said, resigned, as she threw her eyes up to the heavens.
Julian grinned and gently pushed me aside before reaching for the back of the corset. I noticed him run his knuckles over Alicia’s bare skin, and she jumped ever so slightly before endeavouring to ignore him.
“You’re good friends with Damon, aren’t you, Rose?” she asked, her voice friendly.
“Yes,” I replied hesitantly. “Well, if ‘good friends’ denotes being the only person brave enough to break down his walls of introversion.”
She didn’t seem to get my joke, but that was probably because Julian was distracting her as he seductively loosened her corset.
“I was wondering if you have his number? I’d like to invite him for drinks tonight with the cast.”
“Oh, there’s no need. I already invited him. Iggy called last night to ask if I wanted to go, and Damon was there,” I replied, then realised how it sounded.
Julian glanced at me, a smirk touching his lips. Alicia appeared unconcerned, and it didn’t surprise me. I was no competition to the likes of her, and, judging by the dreamy way she said Damon’s name, I could tell she’d set her sights on him.
“Was he now,” Julian purred.
I narrowed my gaze at my friend. “We were at the studio. I’m giving him extra dance lessons because he’s been having trouble with the routines.”
“Ah, that makes sense,” said Alicia. “The guy has zero coordination.”
I wanted to argue with her, because he’d come on leaps and bounds after only one lesson, but I kept it to myself.
“Totally forgivable with a face like that, though,” she went on, and Julian cocked a brow once more, this time in Alicia’s direction.
“All done,” he told her, and she sat up, running her hands down her sides.
“That’s much better,” she said and stood, not even bothering to thank him.
We left the stage, and Alicia returned to her place on the swing.
“All right, from the top, everyone,” Jacob announced, and the song began again.
“It appears Miss Davidson has her heart set on your Mr Atwood,” Julian murmured as he took the seat beside mine.
“He’s not my Mr Atwood. He’s my friend. And let’s not gloss over the fact that you were practically salivating all over her.” I wholeheartedly ignored the twist of discomfort in my gut at the idea of Alicia and Damon becoming an item.
“Uh-huh. And tell me, you two having private little dance lessons, was that his idea or yours?”
“It was mine. But I was only trying to help him,” I huffed defensively.
“But of course.”
“There’s nothing going on, Julian. I mean it.”
“So you don’t want me to come along tonight and distract Alicia while you spend time with Damon?” he probed, all sly.
“If you want to come I’m not going to stop you, but you don’t need to distract anyone on my behalf.”
“Sure,” he said with a roguish grin, and I was two seconds away from slapping him upside the head.
“Can we talk about something else?” I asked, folding my arms.
Now his grin widened. “I just think it might be a good idea for us to band together to stop their potential relationship. That way we can both get what we want.”
I snorted a disdainful laugh. “No way under God.”
“I bet he shags like wild man. Are you sure you want to pass that up?”
This time I did slap him.
“Ow,” he complained, and it was my turn to grin.
***
I didn’t see Damon all day. He and a few of the other actors were taking part in a dialogue workshop. I wondered if he still planned on coming out for drinks that night, but tried not to get too excited. My “actors” ban meant I could only enjoy Damon’s company in a platonic fashion, and that would just have to do.
After finishing up Alicia’s dress rehearsal, Julian and I took the tube home to grab a quick shower and a bite to eat. I emerged from my room at eight, kitted out in a dark purple wrap dress and black Louboutins. Julian got them for me as a Christmas gift, and I’d been dying to give them an outing for weeks. I left my hair down in its natural wavy state and put on a touch of makeup.
“Somebody’s out to impress,” Julian commented as he adjusted his cufflinks in the living room mirror.
“Hey! I wear dance pants five days a week. A girl needs to get dolled up every once in a while, you know.”
“Especially when there’s a tall, dark, and handsome ex-film star to be seduced,” he taunted, but I didn’t take the bait. Instead, I eyed him pointedly.
“You Googled Damon.”
“I most certainly did. Made for some very interesting reading.”
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Well,” said Julian, “according to an inside source, his father took him on these crazy week-long benders when he was underage, encouraging him to drink and do drugs.”
Now I frowned even harder, because, going by what Damon told me of his dad, I imagined it was true. “That’s awful. And you of all people should know not to be judgey about stuff like that.”
“I’m not being judgey. In fact, I feel bad for the poor bloke. Things must have pretty shit with his old man for him to give up his entire career just to get away from him.”
“To be honest with you, I don’t think that was the only reason. He wasn’t cut out for the fame. There were some paps following him last night, and he got real edgy.”
“Well, if he doesn’t like being papped, then he picked the wrong city to start working in,” Julian commented glibly, and disappeared inside his bedroom. When he emerged, he was sliding a slim black tie around his neck, and I had to admit he looked good. With tousled golden-brown hair, hazel eyes, and perfect lips, Julian wasn’t a man left wanting in the looks department. It made me wonder why Alicia had been so frosty with him when they met today.
What had she seen that she didn’t like?
When I heard a car horn beep outside, I knew our taxi had arrived. I quickly grabbed my coat and purse before Julian slid on his suit jacket and offered his arm.
“You should count yourself lucky that your best friend is an escort who can offer you free services whenever you need a male companion,” he teased as we went downstairs and into the lobby.
“Not to mention unsolicited tales about sex swings,” I added, and he shot me a playful smile.
When we arrived at Club 49, a hip and stylish bar in Soho, I noticed a few familiar faces among the smokers outside. I waved a quick hello before Julian ushered me in. Not once in my life had I been stopped by a bouncer when accompanied by Julian. He simply exuded a worldly confidence that made other people want to bend to his will.
That annoying “What Do You Mean?” song was playing, and I spotted Iggy over by the bar with Farrah. We went to join them, and, since my boss had a soft spot for Julian, he smiled flirtatiously.
“Long time no see, Jules. How’ve you been?”
Julian bristled slightly. It irritated him when people called him Jules because it made him sound like a woman. Iggy knew this and always played on it. I never mentioned to my boss the reason for Julian’s prickliness. He’d been bullied pretty harshly at school for looking like a girl, and he hated any reminders of that time.
He didn’t look like a girl anymore, of course. Puberty had worked its magic, and his pretty face had grown into a masculine sort of beauty over the years.
“I’ve been good,” he answered curtly, leaning casually against the bar and lifting a hand to get the bartender’s attention. “A glass of pinot grigio and a tonic water and lime, please.”
The wine was for me, the tonic water for him. Due to a history with drug abuse, Julian had been teetotal for years. Don’t get me wrong, he liked to party with the best of them, but he tended to steer clear of alcohol.
“I heard there were
some problems with the corset,” said Farrah, sipping on a glass of red.
I nodded. “I had to loosen it a little because she couldn’t breathe. It means there won’t be as much boob lift as before, but at least she won’t look so stiff.”
“In that case, I’ll have to make a few adjustments.”
“Did you hear that Bob got the sack?” Iggy butted in, and I frowned gloomily.
“Oh, no, poor Bob.”
Iggy nodded. “Jacob’s been up in arms because he has to find a replacement. I wonder who they’ll go with.”
“Let’s just hope it’s someone who doesn’t have such a penchant for liquid lunches,” said Farrah.
My gaze wandered about the club. Almost as though my eyes had been drawn to him, they fell on Damon. He sat at the other end of the long bar, holding a bottle of Bud. Beside him was Alicia, and they appeared to be deep in conversation. I tried not to let the bubble of disappointment in my belly affect me too much.
They were costars. Of course they were going to want to spend time getting to know one another. Not to mention the fact that I wasn’t in the market for a relationship. I was supposed to be enjoying the single life for a while.
Sigh.
In an effort to fix my attention elsewhere, I chatted with Iggy and Farrah some more. A few minutes went by before I noticed Julian was missing, and I had a sneaking suspicion where he’d gone. Casting my gaze to where Damon and Alicia were sitting, I sure enough found my friend insinuating himself into their conversation. He occupied a stool on the other side of Damon. Alicia’s expression was frosty, but Damon didn’t seem too bothered by the third party.
Deciding I needed to extract Julian from whatever game he had planned, I told Farrah I’d be right back and made my way to the other end of the bar.
“Hey, guys,” I said, doing a little wave.
“Rose,” said Damon, taking me in. His eyes wandered over my dress, lingering for a second on my shoes. His gaze darkened, and I felt a momentary buzz of awareness before I forced my attention back to Julian.