flat and wondered what she meant.
Eight.
*Rose*
Damon was really starting to learn how to dance. I had to admit, despite my confidence, there had been a small part of me that wondered if he would. It was the morning after our lesson, and though I was supposed to be concentrating on work, my mind kept wandering to the night before. I’d definitely felt something more than friendship when his warm palm flattened out on my back while we danced. And when his fingers interlocked with mine, I couldn’t help fixating on how big and masculine they were.
God.
It was happening again.
I was developing feelings for an actor, and it had to stop now before it got out of hand. I was the first person to admit I had a problem, that I fell for people too quickly. It was the sort of thing that had doomed my mother to a life half lived, and I wasn’t going to let myself go down the same path.
Damon, of course, was different. He wasn’t like the other actors I’d fallen for. He was introverted, unsure of himself, and completely oblivious as to just how earth-shatteringly handsome he was. The men I’d liked in the past had been vain, egotistical, and knew exactly the effect their looks had on women.
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