Page 31 of Malice in e minor

I wasn’t lying or buttering them up. Before we got here, there was a collaboration performance of the Seven Deadly Sins. I watched it the first night here because Orion was in a practice studio and Azriel was in the art studio planning to be a menace. It was the entire reason I introduced myself to Leif and Cullen. Rue as well for that matter. Rue represented Lust. The choreography was a little too obvious, but the way Rue danced it made me not hate it.

I wanted my boyfriends to like my friends. I knew they would once they met them, but they respected talent. Leif and Cullen both had it and I already knew Cullen had a large part in Leif’s new ballet.

Leif was frowning.

“I think using a piano, a violin, and maybe a cello for the score would have the ambiance I want and I think their styles would work well together. But I don’t know her and I barely know Orion. He might want to work with her, but I don’t know if she wants to work with him. I’ve had this ballet in my head for years and have been saving it for my thesis performance. I really don’t want my baby ruined because of drama with my composers. Dancer drama is bad enough every time a cast list gets posted.”

He wasn’t wrong. Things got ugly after The Nutcracker cast got posted, even though it was exactly how I would have done it if this was my show. I’d only met Harlowe once. She was nice, but I didn’t know how well she played with others when it came to creating.

I couldn’t speak for her, so I didn’t.

“Immortal Nightmare has a long history of working with difficult people. I don’t think she is, but if it turns out I’m wrong, Orion knows how to manage things so nothing blows up and the work still gets done.”

“She’s not,” Cullen said. “She’s low key and knows how to laugh at herself. She also didn’t ask us to dance in her videos for nothing or try to control what we do. She said she’d send us the music and whoever felt moved could join her. We can also film and edit it to show off our dancing for our own content.

“But Leif is right. She said she’d like to meet Leif and talk about scoring the ballet, but she didn’t say she’d actually do it and she didn’t mention needing help at all.”

“So, we set up a meeting and talk it out. We’re all adults. Misha is never in the dining hall and Harlowe rarely is too. I’d say we could do a picnic in the quad, but I hate the cold.”

“My dorm room is huge because they kept the three of us together. I have exceptions for things to cook with because the dining hall sets me off. I don’t have anything like a stove or oven, but I can cook us dinner. I know she likes grilled cheese.”

Leif moaned.

“Carbs and cheese are my weakness.”

“Girl, they are everyone’s weakness unless you’re lactose intolerant,” Cullen said.

“You should come,” I said. “You’ll be dancing a huge part and I want you to see my boyfriends aren’t that scary.”

“I’ll think about it. I get why Azriel is attacking Belinda now, but I don’t want to say something stupid. You’re kind of famous.”

“You say stupid shit in front of me all the time.”

“Yeah, but you know you aren’t my type and think it’s hilarious. Orion is my type and I don’t think Azriel is going to find it funny.”

They’d both find it funny because Cullen was never serious and if someone wasn’t interested, he backed right off. I fired off a group text because we had a plan to get everyone in the room and discuss this ballet.

I didn’t know if Harlowe even wanted to work with us. Orders or not, we’d never force her. We should at least give her the option.

Iheard her playing in the quad in the middle of my art history class. I could have taught this fucking class, so I wasn’t taking notes. This was an opportunity. I saw Misha’s text. I knew we agreed Misha would invite her, but there was no reason I couldn’t go talk to her.

I stood up and stalked walking out the class.

“Mr. Ivy, you cannot just walk out of my classroom!”

I tossed my middle finger over my shoulder and kept going. He didn’t know I was leaving for good. I could have been going to take a piss. What if I’d drank a big coffee before class? I could get a UTI. I heard that was a thing. I should get him fired for trying to assault my urinary tract. My dick was sacred.

I smiled. She was playing in front of the hot Lucifer statue. She’d met him, if just briefly, but she hadn’t figured out it was him. If I’d been the one to do that statue, I wouldn’t have gotten his nose and lips wrong. It was a shame he was such a nonce because he really was pretty.

She’d been playing for a while before I got Misha’s text. It was cold as fuck out here and she’d dressed for the video and not the weather. Harlowe played one more song and then dove for her coat. She started throwing layers on and went to grab her gear. I let myself be known and stepped around the statue.

“So, I’m not a musician, but I sleep with a talented, sexy one and pay attention. You should use the last song you were clearly suffering through because you decided to be sexy instead of practical in this weather,” I said, hopping on the base of the statue.

I was sure Lucifer was going to find it sacrilegious that my beautiful arse befouled his precious statue, but my arse was easily as nice as Misha’s, even if I wasn’t a ballet dancer. He should be grateful I was rubbing it all over his statue because it was the closest he was ever getting to it.

Damn it. She looked alarmed instead of turned on. Some of the plebs must have been sharing stories without context. Orion gave her the basics why I was fucking with Belinda in rehearsal and he said the AI photos grossed her out too.

“To what do I owe the pleasure? If you’re mad I talked to Misha, I didn’t know he was already feeding the cats.”