Nobody's (21 page)

We made our way toward one of the dinner tables. As they engaged in their conversation, I listened to the sound of the music playing. I watched the dance floor as the ambient sound of their discussion grew more and more faint. Thomas and Anthony flanked me on each side of the table, each of them looking at me to make sure that I was enjoying myself. I was just happy to be there. The food was decadent and the atmosphere was unlike anything I could describe. But everywhere I looked, there were people who were so accustomed to living this life that they seemed bored by the whole experience. I wondered how long it would take to get to that point. It was definitely much longer than Thomas was going to have me employed.

I was a glutton. Nothing was holding me back and by the time we were finished eating. I could feel the fabric of my dress beginning to strain around my waist. Nobody noticed though, as they consumed their wine and lost their focus from all of the alcohol.

“He wants to kill you, you know that, right?” Anthony said to Thomas.

Thomas sighed as the two of them continued to discuss men and business that I wasn’t privy to. I was admittedly a bit bored having to listen to their conversation. I let my guard down for just a moment and Anthony realized that none of this was interesting to me.

“Angel,” he said. “Thomas has been telling me that you’ve started taking lessons. Is that true?”

“I’ve only just started.”

“But you are better than you were before, right? I mean, you’ve made some progress.”

“Not much. My body is still a long way from learning how to move correctly.”

“Well, I’m sure you’ll get there eventually. Perhaps a demonstration.”

“What?”

“I think I speak for Thomas when I say that I’m eager to see you out there. It would be a shame for you not to get some practice in. Thomas, you don’t mind if I take her out for a test drive now, do you?”

“Not at all,” Thomas said. “Angel.”

Thomas looked at me and I nodded my head. Then Anthony offered his hand to me and led me away from the table. I didn’t object to dancing with Anthony. The entire time I spent with Marcus was nothing but trying to understand and learn concepts. This would be the first time I would actually get to apply all of those things. But I thought that the next opportunity I would have to dance would be with Thomas. I was almost disappointed that it wasn’t him on the dance floor with me. When I looked at him, I could see him sitting at the table by himself, a barely there smile on his face. Anthony took me into his arms and I turned my head to him.

“Well, let’s see what you’ve learned, shall we?”

I nodded then turned my attention to the music. I listened to the timing and rhythm of it, trying to find the place for all of the steps to fall upon. Then without thinking, Anthony started to lead me around on the floor. The way he held me was different. It was a lot more firm than Marcus had taught me. His arm was tight around me and his hand clasped my back like a vise. The song continued and I started to get my rhythm. It wasn’t long before I no longer had to think about what was happening and I could allow my body to follow Anthony’s lead.

“Very good,” he whispered to me. “You follow like you’ve been doing this for years.”

I smiled politely at him, half-concentrating on the way he was holding me so that I could continue to follow.

“Have you given any more thought to my proposal?” he asked me.

The suddenness of the question caught me off guard and for a second, I stumbled just a bit.

“I’m sorry,” he said to me. “I suppose now isn’t the right time.”

“No,” I said. “It’s my fault. I wasn’t paying attention.”

I nodded to him and we once again began to move around the floor.

“I’m not sure,” I said. “I’m still weighing my options.”

“Options? This isn’t an option, Angel. It’s an opportunity. Your contract with Thomas is almost up, is it not?”

“Yes.”

“Well, now you don’t have to worry about finding employment when he’s done with you. In this job market, in this economy, rarely does someone get another offer before their current contract is up.”

“I don’t know…”

“Of course. I don’t mean to pressure you. It is your decision.”

The song came to an end. We stood in the middle of the floor while everyone else clapped for the band. Anthony leaned in and whispered to me.

“My offer still stands. All you have to do is say yes. You’ll get every dollar and not a penny less.”

When he pulled his head away from me, I could see the seriousness in his eyes. Then he smiled at me and nodded. Before I had a moment to react, the loud sound of clapping interrupted the tension I was beginning to feel.

“Well done,” Thomas said as he approached the two of us. “It looks like you really did learn something from Marcus.”

“Thank you, Mr. Livingston,” I said, half-embarrassed as the three of us stood in the middle of the floor while the next song started.

“Anthony, if you don’t mind…” Thomas said to him.

“Not at all, my friend.”

Thomas offered his hand to me and he quickly took me into his arms as Anthony made his way off of the floor. The way Thomas held me was noticeably different. His grip wasn’t nearly as firm but it was still solid enough to let me know that it was there. His hand caressed the bare skin of my back. The rigidness of his hands felt good against my flesh.

He led me around the dance floor with almost little effort. It helped that he didn’t say anything to me to distract my focus. I pressed my body up against his to try and get the rhythm of where I should follow. When I looked into his eyes, I felt hypnotized and no longer able to think about anything besides this dance we now shared together. It was beginning to get so easy that I didn’t need to focus any longer. I was back in the dance studio and doing everything Marcus had taught me. Only now did I understand what he was getting at.

The last thing I saw was Thomas’s eyes as I slowly started to close them. I tilted my head back slightly. I could feel Thomas’s breath upon my neck and a sigh escaped from my lips. The sound of it was lost underneath the music and conversation surrounding us. As I continued to dance with Thomas, I found myself beginning to sink more and more into him. My body rested in his arm and pressed up against him. My feet were following without thinking. Slowly, the sound of the people all around us, the band playing their music, even the other feet on the glossy wooden floor, all of it was beginning to disappear. My eyes were closed and all I could think about was the closeness I felt with Thomas. We had danced before but never like this. It had never felt this way before. It was like moving in a dream.

The song finally came to an end and we stopped moving. The sound of the polite applause returned me to the reality that I wasn’t sure I wanted to go back to. Slowly, I opened my eyes and Thomas was standing there in front of me, a slight smile on his face. I wasn’t sure of what to say or what to do. Thomas just stood there, in some sort of silent appreciation.

“I haven’t seen you here before.”

I turned to the side and observed an older man walking toward the both of us. He was bald, liver spots and blemishes occupying the top of his wrinkled head. His body drooped underneath his tuxedo and thick glasses sat on his face.

“Mr. Barnes,” Thomas said. “I’d like you to meet Angel. Angel, this is Steven Barnes. An old business acquaintance of mine.”

“Yes, yes, enough of that,” the old man said. “Why have you not told me about her sooner? The way you moved around the floor, young lady, it was quite the spectacle.”

“Thank you, Mr. Barnes,” I said to him.

“If you would do me the honor of this dance,” he asked me.

“She would be delighted,” Thomas interrupted before I had a chance to answer.

He winked at me and I softly nodded to the both of them. The old man took me into his embrace as he whisked me around the dance floor. The smell of the old man was unpleasant but not enough to cause me extreme discomfort. I guess it was the fact that he had such a lascivious look in his eyes that made me so uncomfortable. You would think that I would have been used to it by this point but that wasn’t the case. I had been with older men before. But Thomas had done something to me.

As I watched him at the edge of the floor, engaged in a conversation with his friend Anthony, I felt something I hadn’t felt before. It was a longing to be closer to him. I knew it was wrong of me to think that way. I thought about it and considered that perhaps it was only my desperation to get away from the old man who currently had me in his clutches.

The song ended and I couldn’t get off the dance floor soon enough. But just before I reached Thomas, another man insisted he dance with me. I looked at Thomas and he motioned with his hand for me to continue dancing. Remembering that I worked for him, I did as I was told. I soon became more and more accustomed to the wood than I expected to be. Each man asked, some of them practically begging, just for a dance with me.

When they all danced with me, they spoke to me about how elegantly I moved and how they had never seen me before. They talked about how nice my dress looked and how beautiful I was. This was later followed by what they did for a living and how much they made. Promises to whisk me away to some place where you could forget about all your troubles and cares. Each of their attempts to woo me inevitably ended with me telling them that I was in Thomas’s service and disappointment on their end.

By the time I managed to get off the floor, after excusing myself to rest my now suddenly aching feet, I had lost track of Thomas. Even Anthony was nowhere to be found. I looked around the grand ballroom but still there was no sign of them. I would have noticed if they were gone. A man like Thomas stood out like a sore thumb, even among his well-off brethren.

I stood next to the entrance of the grand ballroom, wondering where Thomas was, when William greeted me.

“Miss Angel, how are you doing this evening?”

“I’m doing fine. Um, where’s Thomas?”

“Mr. Livingston informed me that he was retiring for the rest of the night and I’m to escort you back to the hotel whenever you’re ready.”

“I’m ready now.”

“Very good.”

Thomas had left me there and didn’t even say anything. I was confused. I was upset. I was even a little disappointed. I almost wanted to confront him as to why he had just left me there but thought better of it. I was still his employee and it was his prerogative.

When I got back into the suite, I still couldn’t find him initially. I eventually discovered him in the bedroom, already undressed and prepared to sleep. He laid in the bed peacefully, his expensive suit gone and nothing but his rigid body on display. I sat on the bed and looked down upon him, all kinds of thoughts running through my head.

“Did you enjoy yourself?”

My body jerked back. His eyes were closed and I expected him to be sleeping already.

“Yes, I did. You didn’t tell me that you were living.”

“You looked like you were having a good time. I didn’t want to interrupt you. I suppose I could have told you but I couldn’t object to you doing what you were doing. And neither could you.”

“Is that what you would have me do? Dance with other men while you run away to the hotel suite?”

He slowly opened his eyes and stared at me.

“Yes, Angel. Is that a problem?”

“No. It’s just… I thought that I was going to dance with you. That’s why I was taking those lessons.”

“We did dance. It’s not a problem for me to have you dance with someone else. Angel, is there something wrong?”

“...No,” I sighed. “I just wasn’t expecting it, that’s all.”

I didn’t want to tell him what I was thinking when I was out on the floor. I didn’t want him to know that I wanted to dance with him instead of everyone else. I didn’t want to make this anything more than a business arrangement.

“I spoke to Anthony again,” I said. “He told me that the offer was still on the table. As soon as our agreement is up, he’s giving me the opportunity to work for him. And for only one night.”

“It’s a great opportunity, Angel. You can take it right now if you wanted to.”

“I know… But I want to finish out the final days of our agreement before I make that decision.”

He scoffed at me for a second then looked down at my dress.

“You look beautiful tonight,” he said to me.

“Thank you, Mr. Livingston,” I grinned at him.

I leaned in closer to him and kissed him upon the cheek, pressing my body up against his. Slowly working my way up the side of his face, I whispered into his ear.

“Will you be having me tonight, Mr. Livingston?”

“We still have a few days together. For now, I’d just like to spend the evening in peace and silence. I think you’ve worked enough today. Besides, you have to wake up early tomorrow.”

“As you wish,” I sighed, remembering that I had another lesson with Marcus early in the morning.

I just wanted to enjoy this moment with Thomas. I rested my head upon his chest like I always did. Still in my evening dress, I realized how tired I was. After a long day, I didn’t have the strength to change. So much had happened and I was still trying to understand it. Life with Thomas was never boring but now there were only a few days left before he would be done with me.

Chapter 19

I started to get into a routine. I would wake up early for lessons with Marcus. Then I would take a break during the day and later that evening, Thomas would whisk me away to some extravagant gala where I was given the opportunity to demonstrate everything I had learned.

The flattery never ended. All of the men I danced with complimented me about everything. But it wasn’t just about my new talent. They told me how great I looked in my dress. They told me how much elegance and class I seemed to have. They told me how beautiful I was. If I wanted to, I could clear all of these men out one by one.

If I were to do that, however, Thomas would have to be the first. Even though he was the one urging me to continue to learn how to dance, I never spent much time with him. I was too busy with other men, at Thomas’s request. By the time I was finished, Thomas was there to bring me back to the suite for some peace and quiet together. But he never wanted anything from me. It had been so long since we’d had sex I was beginning to forget why most men hired me in the first place. I had already figured out that Thomas wasn’t like most men but this only confirmed it.