by Layla Arts
“Because I don't want this,” she said this time sternly.
I stopped with kissing her, and I looked her straight in the eyes – she was serious about this.
Wait, how could she be serious about this? I examined her face to see if she was joking, but she wasn’t.
“W–what do you mean?” I questioned her, with a slight stutter. My hands drifted away from her body.
“I don't want this.” She repeated herself, and by the way she looked at me, it was evident she didn’t want to continue this. Vicky then walked a few meters away from me, and she glanced over her shoulder. “Let's play some tennis!” she said enthusiastically.
My eyes widened. “You want to play fucking tennis?” I asked in disbelief.
She nodded her head in excitement.
“You just agreed with me back at the restaurant to have sex!” I exclaimed in huge panic. I stared deeply into her eyes, and a smirk was planted on her face. Was it the alcohol that I had given her or did she just didn't want to do this anymore? I couldn’t get my head around it. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.
She wanted me.
She did, right?
“I said I wanted to know in which house, I never said I would do it with you.”
“But it is the same thing.”
“It's not, Hadrian. Use your ears for one time, for God’s sake.”
“I fucking use my ears, Vicky,” I spat out through gritted teeth.
“Well, then you would have understood that I was not even close to doing anything with you in the first place. You thought I want you so badly. But, Hadrian, I simply don't. You're the one here who cannot control himself on a daily basis,” she said and pressed her index finger harshly against my chest when she talked.
“You're childish,” I scolded.
“I am childish?!! Says the one who jumps around like a goddamned six-year-old who wants to have a toy from his parents, but is sadly not getting it,” Vicky said, and she walked past me. I frowned and followed her to the backyard.
“We can do it in the bedroom if you think that is easier!” I shouted at her.
She held her middle finger up while she kept going through with walking away.
“Or somewhere else,” I added doubtingly.
“Perhaps, nowhere? How about that?” Vicky questioned me sassily.
“Mm, I don't like that idea,” I replied.
“Well, I do.”
We had arrived at the tennis court, and I was looking at her in disbelief. I didn't understand her right now. How could she even decline such a fantastic offer to have me on the kitchen counter? Everyone dreams of me being intimate with them, but why did Vicky push me away all of a sudden? I hadn’t hurt her nor had been a complete ass this evening. She surely needed to have the desire to be with me.
“Why don't you want to do this?” I asked Vicky seriously.
She turned around towards me, and she came closer. I got more and more nervous by the time she finally stood in front of me. She placed a few pieces of hair away from my forehead whilst smiling sweetly.
“We can't have everything we want, Hadrian. Sometimes, things come easy to us, and other times it takes longer than we imagined it to be,” Vicky spoke. “Since we both know I will not do this tonight, can you bring me home? Or should I call a cab?”
Her words didn’t hurt me, but it got me outrageously mad. Did she think she could play with my feelings so easily and not feel the consequences? The fact that she didn’t feel ashamed for the way she behaved towards me, made me wonder whether she was even worth everything at all.
I did enjoy her company this evening, but she slowly made me regret asking her to have dinner together. And because she turned against me from the moment we arrived at my residence, she didn’t make me want to have her around anymore. She was playing with me, and I wasn’t going to spend the entire evening with someone who didn’t take my actions seriously.
“You know what, Vicky,” I said bitterly, “you should go outside and call a cab because that is probably something you prefer way more.”
I couldn't stand to look at her once again this evening, so I left without saying any sort of goodbye.
***
I threw my keys onto the wooden desk, sat down in the chair, and screamed out of frustration. I had a horrible night, and I didn't sleep well. My entire mood was ruined by Vicky, and I wanted to yell at her and say how obnoxious she was last night. I understood that I couldn't force someone to have intercourse with me, but at least she shouldn't be playing around with me in such a pathetic way.
I heard loud giggles coming from downstairs, and I peeked through the curtains.
There she stood with the rest of the dancers – being excited about tonight's first show. I was absolutely pissed after last night, and that meant I was not going to behave nicely to all of them. I grabbed new files and opened the door. I slammed it shut loudly, and every head turned towards me.
The dancers were scared, and that was exactly what I wanted. I stepped down the metal spiral stair and came closer to the group of girls.
I cleared my throat before I spoke to them.
“As you all know, tonight is our first show; that means everything needs to be perfect. You won't go home after your last practice, but just shower here in the bathrooms and get yourself ready. You do your own make-up, but you are demanded to keep yourself to the instructions regarding it. I don't want to see rainbows on your eyelid.” I paced back and forth on the ground, and my employees kept following every movement.
“Tonight will be a huge success, so that means all of you will come here again tomorrow at nine a.m. sharp. I do not care if you have family plans, want to go shopping with your friends, or work at a cheap café. You need to be here whether you like it or not.”
I locked eyes with Vicky – she wasn't pleased with my choice of words. But she had to deal with it. It wasn’t as if she was an angel herself.
“C'mon! Start dancing! We don't have all day!” I forced them angrily.
My focus was on my phone. I answered a few of William’s text messages. This guy was getting on my nerves faster than I had imagined.
As I walked away, I got stopped by a hand resting on my shoulder; a familiar touch I didn’t want to feel at this moment. I turned around, and was again met with the eyes I stared into with happiness yesterday evening. She looked at me as she felt quite guilty – I didn't pity her.
“What do you want?” I asked her rudely.
“Can we just talk for a minute?” She begged me slightly.
“We had enough time last night, but you wasted it,”
“And I am sorry for being so rude an-”
“And for playing with me?” I asked her bitterly. “I don't like this Vicky, you know that.”
“But you tried to get into my pants, so I wanted to get back at you.”
“That is not funny,” I spoke too loudly, and a few heads turned around. I took Vicky by her arm – perchance too harshly – and dragged her along to a spot where people couldn't hear us. Her eyes stared at me in a way I could only describe as regret. However, I could be wrong. “I thought I could have you, but then you decide just to walk away and leave. It was embarrassing,” I complained.
“And that was rude–”
“More than rude, Vicky.” I corrected her.
“Don’t act like you are a saint, Hadrian.” Vicky came back at me.
“Am I acting like saint then?” I said this time angrier.
Vicky folded her arms against her chest. Evidently, she wasn’t pleased with what I thought about the situation. “You have been since day one,” she growled. “You have been running after me from the day I auditioned. Yesterday I wanted to make you feel that you cannot have me that easily. You cannot wrap me around your finger, and think I will give myself to you after we had a couple of drinks and enjoyed our evening –”
“I didn’t enjoy my evening.” I interrupted her shamelessly.
“Don’t fucking lie
to me, Hadrian.” Vicky threatened lightly.
I raked my hand through my hair and walked a couple of meters away from Vicky.
“You only say that because you couldn’t get what you wanted the most. When are you going to realize it was completely justifiable what I did? You needed a reality-check and be thankful I have been the one to give it to you.”
“Why do you put so much of your energy into making me realize that I will not get you?”
“Because you act way too cocky, and you should understand that not everyone is going to accept the way you handle things – the way you handled me.”
“You hold a grudge against me,” I said.
“I never said that,” Vicky fired back. “It is just time for you to open your eyes.”
“And I need you to get out of here and start to practice your routine. You have much work to do, and please keep your distance from me during this evening.”
The way she walked away from me didn’t make me feel empowered. I sat down and threw the files I was once holding away.
From the moment she entered the club, she has been causing too much trouble for me. Yet, I didn’t feel sorry for the way I treated her. Was Vicky speaking the truth about how I behaved towards her? Perhaps I was, but I wasn’t going to tell her she was right. If I would, she was going to think she had all the power she could have. I wanted to show her that she shouldn’t mess with me.
Charles knocked on my door, and I told him to get inside. He handed me a paper with the songs printed on it. While I stared at the paper, I didn’t feel excitement regarding the show anymore. Normally, I’d be extremely pumped, but the fact there was – again – drama with Vicky made me aware she was on my mind. I wanted to focus on the Empire, and she had to fuck it up.
When I denied that I enjoyed myself with her, I noticed how angry she got. It was understandably rude for me to say I didn’t enjoy last night, but I didn’t want her to feel like she shouldn’t feel offended by her demeanor from yesterday. I knew Vicky was going to be on my mind this evening and that I was going to focus on her even if I didn’t want to. But I couldn’t help it anymore.
06
Vicky West
I was a bitch to him yesterday.
A selfish, arrogant, pathetic bitch. I should've been nicer toward him.
Then again, he deserved to be played around with, since he thought he could get into my pants with ease. Most people thought that I would give him access downtown shortly, but that was not happening. I was not easy to get, and I was most definitely not giving Hadrian the benefit of the doubt. As Red said, he held a reputation, and I wasn’t thrilled about it.
I wiped my sweat off my face with the towel I brought along. This was the last day here at the Empire before the schedules would be changed drastically. I knew I had to talk to Veronica about the hours at the café. As I thought back at the café, I remembered Hadrian and I sitting there, having normal conversations.
Now, he suddenly wanted distance. I didn't understand him, since he was searching for me the entire time and didn't think one freaking second about distance. Besides that, he was mean because he had put an indirect comment about the café. Of course, he did that to annoy me. I had figured him out way better than before.
“Do you want to grab coffee?” Red asked me joyfully.
“Sounds okay,” I mumbled.
I was a bit off today, but perhaps I’d be incredible at the show tonight.
Everyone was nervous, and we all wanted to perform so well. We just didn't know what we could expect. This was a huge deal for everyone, and if you failed, you obviously need to leave the club immediately – there wasn’t any room for mistakes.
I was wearing my backpack when Red and I walked to a small coffee stand. While we sat on a bench, I sealed my eyes and appreciated the kisses from the sun on my exposed skin. I crossed my legs and placed my sunglasses in front of my eyes. It was just four p.m., and the streets were quite empty this time.
“Our boss is a fine material,” Red suddenly announced.
It was that we were friends now, but I was on the edge of spitting my coffee into her face.
I gave Red a side-eye.
“What?” I asked her confusingly.
“Everyone knows he can be an arse. But after all, he looks handsome, and I think he is a suitable one night stand. Have you seen those arms, Vicky? I want to touch them, and his face is better than every man who ever stood on the cover of Vogue,” She spoke dreamily.
“I'm getting concerned right now,” I said and placed my coffee on the bench.
“Would you have sex with him?” she asked me bluntly.
“I wouldn't,” I confessed. “He isn’t kind-hearted, so I don't feel myself getting all excited about him.”
“Then there is something wrong down there because he is pure pleasure.” Red pointed out honestly. I rolled my eyes at her words and tried to focus on the things Hadrian wasn’t involved.
But telling myself strictly not to think about Hadrian caused me to think about him more. He had captivated a part of my brain, and I never imagined he would. Somehow, I felt agitated when people talked like this about Hadrian. I knew him in a way others didn’t – well, the majority of the dancers didn’t. I had got to know Hadrian in a way I never expected.
“How is your costume?” I changed the subject drastically.
“I have tried it on a few days ago. It is black leather with sleeves. But the cleavage is almost popping out of it – I don't mind. What is yours like?”
Red leaned her head back and started to enjoy the sun herself. Thankfully, we were done with discussing the subject ‘Hadrian’.
***
I moved around in front of the mirror while holding my costume – I couldn’t wait to put it on. It was mostly black lace, and you could perfectly see through it. Yet she had covered my breast entirely. It was not slutty, far from it. It was incredibly beautiful and wonderfully designed. I sat on my chair and laid the costume down on my lap. It was going to be a good show.
I reminded myself to get a shower, so I stood up and grabbed my supplies. They had placed a towel on my chair – the other dancers had already showered.
To my luck, I had found the showers. Every cabin was clean, and I locked it behind me. I hung my towel and stripped off my training clothes. I turned the shower on and stepped underneath the running water. It felt good to take a break from all the chaos downstairs.
While I stood under the shower, I started to sing along with the song that I had on my mind since this morning – the echo was wonderful inside. I didn’t sing too loudly because that would gain the other employees’ attention.
Once I was done with the song, a hard smack of the door was heard, and I turned the water immediately shut. I grasped the towel quickly, and wrapped it around my naked and wet body. I stood still and listened to the voices which were heard.
“Michelle c'mon.”
“I'm coming, Hadrian, just wait a second.”
I stiffened and slapped my hand over my mouth. I let myself fall quietly on the small bench that was placed in the cabin while listening to them. I couldn't get out of here; they would see me. I couldn’t give a crap about Michelle because we were used to seeing one another in the dressing room. But I needed to avoid Hadrian at all cost. He couldn’t see me like this, at all.
Another shower was on, and a low voice spoke after the water fell down.
“Come and join me in the shower, Michelle.”
I gasped, but needed to be silent after all.
“You sure?” Michelle asked.
“Definitely, babe.”
I was freaking out.
Back in the days, I heard my friend’s brother and his girlfriend having sex, which was already traumatizing – I felt as if I was going to witness a similar thing.
I heard Michelle walking up to Hadrian, and I wished I could just vanish. I heard Hadrian locking the door from the shower cabin. It didn't take long before I heard loud moans, groans, and name
s being called. I closed my eyes and kept calm. I didn't want to hear this next to me, and not even after the incident with Hadrian. He surely was not trying to put any effort in me, he just went to the next dancer.
It didn't surprise me a lot. He had told me that he mostly liked all of this, as a result of loads of women who were desperate for him and his abilities.
“Hadrian,” I heard Michelle moan.
How was I going to face Hadrian later today? I couldn’t pretend like nothing had happened because I heard him with Michelle in the shower cabin – and I was definitely never taking that shower spot.
It took approximately fifteen minutes before the whole show was over, and I heard Michelle leaving the bathroom.
I was entirely up for a confrontation with Hadrian, but I was too much in shock to even properly react towards him right now.
When I heard Hadrian leaving the shower, I grabbed my supplies and got my costume on. My hair had dried very well, so it didn't look like I just left the shower. I couldn't be mad at Michelle because she didn't know what Hadrian had done to me.
I actually felt sorry for her.
She didn't know about the previous actions at his home or at the Empire. She thought he was choosing her out of all these women, when in fact, he had chased me for days.
I made the decision to see Hadrian, so I walked over to his office. I could care less if he didn't want to talk or had no time – I wanted to make something clear right now before it was too late.
I was walking up the spiral staircase and had the perfect view over the Empire. I understood why his office was here; he wouldn’t miss out on anything. However, I had to get back to reality and focus on why I was standing in front of Hadrian’s door.
I repeatedly knocked harshly on the door, and I opened it without getting a reply from Hadrian.
My eyes landed on Hadrian who stood there only in his towel. I wanted to turn around because I didn't need to be reminded of the noises I heard a few minutes ago. After all, I could hardly let this go.
“Vicky, what a surprise,” Hadrian said, and he looked at me unhappily. “What are you doing here? I told you I wanted some distance.” He reminded me of his words a while ago.
