by M. L. Ray
“No, no, no,” Juno waved her hands, “nothing like that. It’s just he’s very… he has a very strong presence, sometimes. Arturo is a man who knows what he wants and isn’t afraid to say so.”
Levi ignored the tug of jealousy in his chest. “He likes you.”
“Yes, and it’s not that I don’t find him attractive, it’s just… he can be a lot.”
Levi grinned. “Yeah, I know the type. In some ways, he’s a lot like Ferdie, and my brother Knox.”
“He went to the same school as the two of you, did you know that?”
“I did. I don’t remember him at all, so obviously, back then, he was a lot less… present.”
Juno chuckled. “Maybe. Or maybe he was overshadowed by Ferdie too.”
“At least in our friendship, yes.”
She smiled at him. “He had that effect. I do miss him, that Ferdie, the noisy, carefree, sober Ferdie. Although it was hard to discern the sober Ferdie from the high one sometimes.” But she laughed softly.
She’d opened up to him more about her brother and it seemed to Levi that some of her anger at Ferdie was dissipating.
Now, she glanced at her watch and grimaced. “I hate to love and leave you, Levi—hey, that was kind of a haiku, ha ha—but I have a rehearsal.”
Levi walked her to the company building, and they hugged goodbye. “Thank you for helping me decorate.”
“You’re welcome. We can get together soon, right?”
Levi smiled down at her, wanting to stroke that sweet little face, wanting to press his lips against that perfect mouth, knowing he couldn’t. “Of course. Very soon.”
Juno grinned and kissed his cheek. “Ciao.”
“Ciao.”
He watched her go inside, turn and wave at him. Why did this girl make his chest hurt so bad? He smiled to himself. He’d made the mistake of telling Knox about Juno, or rather, how he felt about her, and now Knox wouldn’t let it go and Levi… didn’t mind. He knew he should, he should disapprove of Knox’s teasing seeing as Juno was more or less Levi’s ward…
She’s a grown adult. She came to you for friendship and that’s all. Levi wandered through the streets and wondered if Arturo was coming on too strong for Juno’s liking. He could imagine it.
He felt his phone buzz and pulled it out of his pocket. “That’s a coincidence.”
Arturo laughed. “Why is that?”
“I was just… wondering if you were free for a drink.” Levi grimaced at his awkwardness.
“You’re in luck. Look to your left.”
Levi looked around to see Arturo sat at an outside table at a local bar. Arturo waved his hand and Levi smiled and joined him. “Hey, buddy.”
“Long time, no see. It’s been a few weeks.”
“It has, I’ve been moving into my new place.”
Arturo nodded approvingly. “Cat told me. She really came through for you.”
“She certainly did.” Levi ordered a beer and indicated the waiter should bring another of whatever Arturo was having.
Arturo was watching him. “You’ve been spending time with Juno.”
Instantly, Levi was on his guard. “I have. She needed…”
“A brother.”
“Yes, that’s it.”
Arturo smiled… smirked and for a moment, irrationally, Levi wanted to punch his friend. He shook himself, What the hell?
“She’s very…” Arturo cast around for the right word. “Sometimes I can’t figure her out. She’ll be responsive one moment, distant the next.”
“Responsive in what way?” Levi hated himself for asking.
Arturo shrugged. “In any way.”
Levi toyed with his beer bottle. “Are you and she…?”
“I’m sure you would know if we were. Not that nothing has happened, it’s just Juno seems to have a block when it comes to… well, you know.”
Levi looked away from his friend. “None of my business, dude. Can we change the subject?”
“Sure.”
They chatted for a little while longer, but Levi had tuned out most of the conversation. So, Juno and Arturo were… what? Lovers? Almost lovers?
He looked out over the campo and his attention was snagged by a woman staring at him and Arturo. Isabella Papini. Her lovely face was hard as she stared at them, and there was something else in her expression too that Levi could not make out.
Fear.
What the hell? Levi stood up suddenly and Arturo looked at him with surprise. Levi threw some money down on the table. “Arturo, forgive me, there’s somewhere I have to be.”
“No problem, my friend.”
Levi took off after Isabella Papini. He wanted to know what the hell her problem was. He followed her through the streets of Venice. She was quick, but he eventually caught up with her. “Isabella!”
Isabella stopped. “What do you want, Zapata?”
He held up his hands. “I just… are you okay? You looked upset earlier. I’m just checking that you’re all right.”
“What the hell do you care?”
“I just want to know. If I’ve done something wrong to offend you…”
Her dark eyes were unfriendly. “I just don’t care for the people you call friends.”
Levi frowned. “What?”
Isabella made a disgusted noise and turned away and before he could stop himself, he grabbed her arm. She whirled back on him and slapped his face, hard. “Get your hands off of me.”
It shocked him into his senses and he let her go, his face stinging. “I’m sorry.” He kept his voice low, unthreatening. “I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean you any harm.”
The slap seemed to have shocked Isabella as much as it had Levi. “No, I’m sorry.” She sighed, rubbing her hands through her hair. “I’m sorry.”
They stood awkwardly for a moment, as people milled around them, looking at them curiously. Levi caught his own breath, waited for Isabella to speak first.
“I’m sorry,” she said again, her voice breaking a little. “It’s just… seeing you… reminds me of him.”
“Arturo?”
Isabella laughed humorlessly. “No, not Arturo Corri.” She looked bleak. “Federico.”
And as Levi stared at her, she began to cry.
Chapter Thirteen
Juno laughed as Jake tickled her. “Come on, I know you’ve hanging with some good-looking older men. Which one is your sugar daddy?”
Juno pushed him away, still laughing. She wasn’t fazed by his teasing—Jake knew her relationship with Arturo was (mostly) professional—she hadn’t told him about the kissing and the almost-sex. But, she realized now, she had told him about her crush on Levi Zapata.
Weird. It seemed so much easier to talk about Levi—as easy as it was to be with him. Was there sexual tension between them? Maybe, but it didn’t feel as threatening as when she was with Arturo.
Juno grabbed her en-point shoes from her locker and sat down to strap them on. Moriko was sitting with her head in her hands. “Hungover?” Juno nudged her.
“Period,” Moriko groaned. “Why, why, why, why?”
“At least you still have one,” an exceptionally thin dancer called Polly snapped at her, then looked apologetic. “Sorry. I may not have periods but I still get the mood swings.”
Moriko held out her hand for a fist bump and Polly obliged.
Claudia stuck her head around the changing room door. “Juno? Can I have a moment?”
Juno nodded and followed her mentor out to jeers of ‘Fired!’—she threw a discreet middle finger back at the room, grinning.
“Come walk with me, would you?” Claudia looked troubled. Juno waited for her mentor to say what was wrong.
When they were in the courtyard, Claudia motioned for Juno to sit with her on one of the decorative stone benches, and took her hand. “Juno, caro mia, there’s no easy way to say this. The board appointed Tudor Welch to direct the new show.”
For a
moment, the words didn’t sink in, then Juno snatched her hand away from Claudia’s. “They can’t.”
“I’m sorry, Juno, I know you had a bad experience with him.”
Juno closed her eyes, almost laughed. A bad experience? Was that what it was? Jesus.
“No. They can’t.”
“It’s not up to me, Juno, and believe me, I told them I thought it was a bad idea.”
“But they don’t care about a lowly member of the corps de ballet as long as they get a big name for one of their shows.”
Claudia looked at her sympathetically. “Juno… you’re not naïve. You know what this could do for our profile, for our company. Welch will bring in the audiences, the critics, the journalists. Maybe even royalty. That’s just the truth of the matter. Your personality clash with him, I’m sorry to say, isn’t something the board will even consider a factor.”
“And why should they?” Juno knew that she sounded bitter. She sat back down on the bench with a thump. “I have to quit.”
“No, not an option. Come on now, Juno. You don’t run away. That’s not you.”
“Yeah well, maybe it should be.” Juno rounded on her mentor, her distress making her feel wild, unhinged. “Maybe I get to do what every other fucker gets to do. Run away, leave, abandon those I care about…”
“Juno!”
Juno felt Claudia’s arms around her, steadying her but she struggled. “I can’t be here, I can’t be here…”
She wrenched herself away from Claudia’s grip and ran. Back into the building and out of the front door, pushing people out of the way blindly. She heard shouts after her… Jake, Moriko… but she kept running and running until there was no more land left to run.
She stopped at the end of a long jetty, staring out onto the water. Somewhere inside her, a voice was telling her not to be so dramatic, to be an adult, but the thought of being anywhere near Tudor Welch.
“Juno!” Jake and Moriko were puffing by the time they reached her. “For the love of God, don’t jump,” Moriko said, “it’s gross in there.”
But then she saw how stricken Juno’s face was and put her arms around her friend. “What is it, love?”
Juno closed her eyes, felt Jake’s arms around her too. Her friends had her back. Her comrades, those she loved. “Tudor Welch is coming,” was all she said, and she felt their arms tighten around her.
“We got you, boo,” Jake said softly. “That fucker doesn’t get to chase you out of your own company. Fuck him.”
“Yeah, fuck him. Ju, we’re in this, okay? We’re with you.”
Juno nodded, clinging to them. Maybe she could handle this. Maybe.
Maybe.
***
Cat Papini smiled at him as she opened her door. “Still not getting any from the dancer, hey?”
Arturo grinned. “You are in no way second best, I assure you.”
“Oh, I know.” She kissed him, her tongue flicking against his lips until he opened his mouth. “Hmm, cigarettes.”
“Sorry.”
“Doesn’t bother me. Come out onto the balcony, give me some small talk before we fuck.”
There was a bottle of wine and two glasses on the stone balcony. Cat poured him a glass, picked up her already-half full one. “Saluti, caro mio.”
“Saluti.”
They drank, gazing out at the city. “So, no progress getting into Levi’s pants, either?”
Cat grinned. “We’re two regular players. To be honest, I kind of respect Levi for not giving into me. And believe me, I’ve given him the full works and… nothing. He’s got it bad for your Juno.”
Cat caught the flicker of jealousy in her lover’s eyes. “Sorry, Arturo but it’s true. They’ve been spending a lot of time together.”
“I know.”
“How is the project with her going?”
“We’ve had to press pause. The company has a guest artistic director, and he’s been working them all twice as hard for a new show.” Arturo picked up Cat’s pack of cigarettes and took one, handing it to her, then another for himself, lighting them both. Cat took a deep draw and picked a piece of tobacco from her tongue.
“Have you given up on seducing her?”
Arturo shrugged. “No, not really. It’ll happen, it’s just a matter of when.”
“Confident.”
“Realist.” He grinned widely as they heard the door open and Isabella came into the room. She ignored Arturo.
“Cat, can I speak with you a moment?”
“Sure thing.” Cat shot an amused look at Arturo, who nodded back.
Isabella pulled Cat into her bedroom. “What is he doing here again?”
“Arturo?” Cat frowned. “What have you got against him now?”
Isa sighed. “Nothing, it’s just… I never liked him, Cat, you know that.”
“I do know that, but him being here has never bothered you before.”
“You weren’t sleeping with him before.” Isa took off her scarf and sat on the end of her bed. “I talked with Levi Zapata the other day.”
“I thought you’d sworn off any of Federico’s friends.”
Isabella looked uncomfortable. “He’s different. I think, I don’t know.”
“And?”
“And he says he didn’t know Arturo at college, either.”
Cat sighed. “Then what’s the problem? If Arturo says he didn’t know Ferdie…”
Isa sighed and nodded. “I know. It’s just that Ferdie…”
Cat sat on the bed next to her twin. “I know, cara mia. I know you miss him.”
“I don’t miss him.”
Cat nudged her sister. “You can tell that to everyone else. But I was the one person who knew you two were in love. I just never knew why you kept it a secret.”
Isa shook her head, but said nothing more. After a beat, she nodded at her sister. “Do you trust him?”
“Who? Arturo?”
“Yes.”
Cat considered. “I’m not sure I trust anyone but you, Isa. But do I think he’s on the level? Yes.”
“Despite the fact he wants to fuck someone else?”
Cat shrugged. “That doesn’t bother me. It’s not like I’ve ever considered Arturo marriage material. Nor myself for that matter.” She grinned. “Look, I better get out there. Do you want to join us for dinner?”
Isa shook her head. “No, thanks.”
“Suit yourself.” Cat kissed her sister’s cheek. “I’m glad you’re talking to Levi. There’s a man I could trust.”
Isabella nodded. “I think so too.”
Isa waited until Cat had left her side, closed the door behind her, then went to her nightstand and dug around for the photograph.
Federico. His gorgeous face broken with laughter; with a group of friends she didn’t know. She’d taken it from his room that last night, when they’d argued about his drug use for the final time. He’d been so much thinner in this photo, almost haggard. He hadn’t eaten for lord knows how long, his eyes were hooded and sad. He was hiding something, she knew, and it had to do with his sister. “I let her down, I let her down…”
But he wouldn’t say what he’d done. Isa stared at the photograph, stared at the man she’d loved for so long, even before he’d loved her back, but then her eyes shifted to the background of the photograph and she saw him, the man who, she had to admit, scared her—and not just because of the malevolent look in his eyes as he stared at Federico Martello,
But because of the fact he was in her apartment right now with her sister.
Arturo Corri.
Chapter Fourteen
Tudor Welch was torturing her. It had been three weeks since he had arrived at the ballet company to direct their new show and not once had he even acknowledged Juno beyond barking orders at the entire corps de ballet. His eyes slid over her during rehearsal, neither praising nor faulting her performance and Juno wondered if he’d been warned to leave her
alone.
Whatever his reason for leaving her be, she was grateful. She wouldn’t enjoy this production, but at least it was only for a couple of months. Jake and Moriko helped, running interference when it looked like Tudor would put Juno in the spotlight but he never did. He was still an absolute tool, of course, treating everyone like crap, even Fausta, who, for once, was united with her colleagues in hating him.
But there was no doubt Welch was a genius choreographer. Even with his rough methods, he pushed the dancers to their limits and although they were flagging with exhaustion after every practice, they all knew they’d upped their game tenfold.
But Juno was on edge the whole time, waiting for the moment he would corner her, or speak directly to her. When they were lined up at the barre, ready to begin, Tudor pacing up and down like a tinpot general, she felt sick every time he came near her. When she changed after practice, she made sure she wasn’t the last person left in the changing room, or if practice went long, he asked Jake to walk her home.
And at home, she locked herself in, even closing the shutters on her window, despite begin on the second floor. Juno hated that this man, this monster, was in her city.
The only comfort she got was that Levi often came to see her at the company, and that she knew Tudor had seen them together. Levi’s height and build massively outdid Tudor’s but Juno knew of old—Tudor only bullied people his own size or smaller. Like most bullies, Tudor Welch was a coward.
But it was like water torture, waiting for him to acknowledge her, turn his malevolence on her. It finally happened one Sunday afternoon when he’d unexpectedly called them all in on their day off. The corps were exhausted and even Fausta, their principal, looked shattered.
As they trudged into the studio, Tudor was waiting. With him, a slender, elegant dancer who Juno vaguely recognized. She watched them, an impassive expression on her face.
Tudor waited until they were all ready. “Right. So, here’s the thing. So far, this production is shit. A real dog turd. And that’s down to you.”
There was no reaction to this, just several sets of eyes staring back at him with hatred in him. Tudor smiled. “You think I’m kidding. I’m not.”
