Page 29 of Unmasking My Dark Knight

Ivy Jade's eyes flickered up at me like a cat, searching mine, interpreting what I said with some fraction of disbelief that washed over her face. Her mouth parted slightly, and I wasn’t sure if she wanted to say something or if she was waiting for me to make a move. I considered leaning down to kiss her. I wanted it, needed it.

But then—someone let out a shrill scream just behind us, and Ivy Jade jumped and gasped. She pressed her body close to mine, her small hands gripping my shirt like her life depended on it. My arms instinctively wrapped around her, one hand resting at her lower back, the other between her shoulder blades.

“It’s okay,” I said soothingly, dropping my voice slightly. “You’re okay,” I repeated, rubbing small circles on her back.

I could feel her tense body ease below my touch as she pulled away slightly to look up at me. Her big, round eyes searched mine, and her quick breaths faltered slightly, then slowed. Her full lips slightly quivered, perhaps from the adrenaline or maybe—hopefully—from being in my arms. With her so close, my heart sped like I had just ran a marathon, and I could feel the way my body leaned slightly closer, narrowing the distance between us once again.

If there were any perfect moment to kiss her, that would’ve been it.

But then the same shrill scream startled both of us, and Ivy Jade tensed again before letting go, letting out a little laugh.

“Fuck,” I laughed along with her, lifting my chin, and just like that, the moment passed.

I looked around, biting the side of my lip, pissed at that annoying fucking screamer killing my vibe. “See anything so far?” I asked as we turned, continuing our search as we inched further in.

She let out a small sigh. “I can barely see anything!”

We stopped at a dead end, bumping straight into our reflections. Honestly, I knew the way to get out of the funhouse, but I may or may not have been leading us the wrong way because I was enjoying the way she held onto me in the semi-darkness like this.

“How do you even end up doing something like this?” she asked curiously as we turned, looking down at our feet.

“What, getting stuck in a funhouse with a beautiful girl?” I teased, deflecting.

I looked at her reflection, and she was shaking her head. “You know what I mean, clown.”

I was a little thrown off by her question. I hadn’t expected her to actually want to get to know me.

“Well, um…” I started. “One day, a few months back, I quit a shitty corporate job where I was terribly unhappy and decided to chase this crazy dream of being a performer that I’ve had for… years.”

From the corner of my eye, I could see her looking up at me, maybe trying to understand.

“You just quit? With no plan or anything?” she asked carefully.

Uh-oh. Was this a turn-off? An aimless performer with no concrete plans for the future? Now that I was explaining it out loud, it didn’t sound so great.

“I just…” I inhaled deeply. “I couldn’t live another day being stuck in a place where I couldn’t be myself. You know what I mean?” I asked, not sure if she could relate. “Constantly having someone tell me what to do, what to think—fulfilling their deadlines and expectations—sucked the life out of me. I didn’t want to spend sixty hours a week behind a computer. I want to be in front of people. Any of them. All of them. And it’s not just about dressing up as a character or scaring strangers… It’s about being in front of another human—exchanging an experience, sharing reactions and emotions. It does something for me. It gives me purpose when before, my purpose was someone else’s dream.”

She stopped and looked up at me, unhooking her arm from mine. Her eyes were soft, but her expression was more serious than I had ever seen before. “I totally understand,” she said firmly, nodding. “That’s actually really brave of you…”

I blinked, taken aback. I didn’t know how to respond. I had only told a few people about my career change, but none of them commented on my bravery. Stupidity? Sure. But bravery? Fuck no. Was that really true? All I ever heard was Megan’s voice on repeat in my head, calling me a deadbeat, and I was starting to believe it.

But looking down at Ivy Jade, seeing that admiration in her eyes? Maybe I was starting to think otherwise.

“Yeah?” I asked, running my hand through my hair. She was getting me all sorts of flustered. “Thank you.”

“Sure…” she said, cocking her head. “I mean, being a clown is kinda nerdy, but also, you’re sorta like Roman Knight in a way…”

I paused. Did I just hear her right? An ‘Unmasking My Bright Knight’ reference?

I tried not to smile.

Fuck it.

I smiled like an idiot.

“So I’m the sexy hero here to save a princess?” I arched a brow, not mad at the comparison.

She rolled her eyes, and her face turned pink. “No, dork… not like that. I mean? Well—” flustered, she shook her head, trying to collect her words. “What I meant to say was that Roman leaves his job as a blacksmith to chase his dream of being a knight. He sacrificed a lot to do something he believes in… he stood up for himself. It’s actually really cool,” she said, looking down at her tattoo, making sure it was still covered up.