AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Are you kidding me? This is the most exciting thing to happen to me all week!”
“You’ve just performed on stage for eight thousand people, andthisis the most exciting part of your week?”
“Yes, it is! Isaac, you still don’t get it. I haven’t had any sort of young adult life. I’ve been cooped up since I was fifteen-years-old. I’ve never snuck out to a bar, or even a coffee shop, with other people my age. I’ve mostly hung out with people who work for my stepfather—who’ve been paid to be there.”
“You know, whenever you say that, it makes me feel complicit. You pay me too.”
“It’s different with you,” she says, walking ahead of me out of the exit. The concert goers pile straight out onto the main drive, so we’re taking a back route past Reef Street and up the staff beach.
“Different, how?”
“I consider you more of a friend. I know that’s a little ridiculous because we would probably never hang out if you weren’t my security, but I feel like you’re on my side, you know? Not my stepfather’s.”
“Why do you think we wouldn’t hang out?” I ask, slightly offended.
“Come on Isaac, all your friends are guys, maybe with the exception of Tawny and Seleste, but that’s because they’re your friends’ girlfriends. I’m just a teenage girl who likes to prance about on a stage.”
“No you’re not,” I retort. “You’re more than that.”
We’re walking close together along a narrow path and, try as I might, I can’t help the back of my hand brushing against hers. At first she jerks her arm away and pretends to adjust her top, but then she lowers it again and we resume the occasional contact quite comfortably.
“In what way?” she asks, fixing her eyes straight ahead.
I don’t answer immediately. It feels as though we’re on the precipice of something and my words could topple us one of two ways. It could either keep us on the right track, or it could push us past the professional marker into more personal territory. The truth is, I’ve never had such a close bond with a client before. I’ve never had so much fun or felt so at ease with another woman before. I realize this is probably because she’s off limits so I can relax around her. But, for some reason, I feel I still need to be cautious with how I tread.
“You’re interesting,” I say. “You’ve had experiences that most guys my age have never, and will never, get to have. You’re wise too, beyond your years I’d say. You have a more sensible head on your shoulders than most people I’ve met.”
“That’s so hot,” she laughs. “Sensible. Great.”
“And you’re funny. You make me laugh. You never take anything too seriously, least of all yourself, and you’d be amazed at how rare that is. You’re kind and loving; you only ever treat your fans and your employees with care and respect. And, yeah, the fact you are pretty as fuck doesn’t make it any harder to be around you.”
Even in the dark I can see the blush flood her face.
“I’m pretty?”
I stop and turn her to face me. “Your face is plastered on the posters of about a million bedrooms across the United States of America. What do you think?”
The redness in her cheeks deepens. “Thanks for the compliment.”
I take a breath and feel the need to change the subject. This seems to be happening more and more when I talk to Aurelia. Encroaching on intimate territory and feeling the need to change the subject. “Chuck came to see me yesterday.”
Her smile falls and she chews the side of her cheek. “What did he want?”
“I think you know.”
Her chest rises and falls as though she’s containing something. “How much did he offer you?”
“We didn’t get that far. I made it pretty clear I wasn’t going to entertain any sort of arrangement that required me to spy on his daughter.”
“Right,” she nods. “And… how did he react?”
“He wasn’t happy, but he let it go.”
“Is that why he came to the concert last night? I was surprised to him there.”
“I may have guilted him a little.”
Her lips twist into a small smile. “My mom called too,” she says. “She’s bringing Coralie and Noémie here on Tuesday. Did you have something to do with that also?”
“No, no. That wasn’t me.” I don’t want her to think I’ve had to force her entire family to behave like that’s exactly what they are. “But that’s great. I know you’ve been missing the twins.”
“Thank you Isaac,” she whispers and I wonder if she can see through me.
The air around us feels warm, as though it’s wrapping around us both. I take a step backwards, instinctively. “No problem. Now, let’s go. We have an exceptionally dull staff party to get to.”
