“I’m sure whatever you do, it’ll be great.”
It was slightly weird seeing Sparkles like this. The atmosphere of all our interactions was at Joker’s Sin, and briefly outside his apartment building. I felt like I was looking at the real Sparkles…No, this was Lane. Almost like two different people. His hair was still hot pink, but his face was free of makeup, he had dance attire on, and he wasn’t giving me biting remarks.
“Let Atlas know I’ll call him later, if that’s all right? I have a full day of classes.” He folded the paper.
“Well, if you’re at Joker’s Sin tonight, you can always talk to him then.” I shrugged, trying to give off a “whatever” vibe. I didn’t want Sparkles to know I wanted to see him, but from the twinkle in his eye, I suspected he caught on.
“I’ll be there tomorrow. I have class until ten tonight; I’ll be far too exhausted.”
The tinkling of the chimes when the door to the studio opened sounded, pulling us from our strange staring contest. I heard Nolan ask if he could help someone.
“You have another class now?” I asked.
Sparkles was about to answer when a deep voice spoke, making him freeze.
“I’m Dorian Birch. Lane is expecting me.”
The confident and sassy Sparkles I knew changed before my eyes when that man spoke. It almost appeared like he was afraid, uncomfortable.
“You okay?” I took a step closer to Sparkles so no one could hear us.
“Huh? Oh, yeah, I didn’t eat breakfast, I’m a little shaky is all.” I knew he was lying, and part of me wanted to protect Sparkles. Get him out of there.
“When’s your next class? We can go grab a quick bite.” I gave him a smile, hoping he’d mirror it, but at that moment someone walked over.
“Lane? Are you ready for our meeting?” the man, Dorian, I assumed, said.
Sparkles looked down and took a noticeable breath. I didn’t like seeing him like this, and it made me react.
“Seems someone double-booked him for the morning. I’m Max Fazio.” I took another step and was now between Sparkles and Dorian and I held out my hand.
“Good morning, Mr. Fazio. I’m Dorian Birch.” He tried to see behind me, but my broadness was blocking Sparkles. “You and Lane have an appointment?”
“We do.”
I was surprised Sparkles wasn’t snapping at me to shut up and mind my business, but that also told me he didn’t want to talk to this man.
“Perhaps you can push it to lunch? Lane planned this meeting with me last night, and I am booked up for the rest of the day.” Dorian’s smile was sharklike. I hated him and I didn’t even know him.
“Max,” Sparkles whispered. “It’s fine. I’m okay.”
“But you need to eat and—”
“I’ll make sure Lane eats,” Dorian said.
I turned so my back was now to Dorian, and I put my lips to Sparkles’s ear. “I don’t want to leave you with this guy. I can get rid of him.”
Sparkles’s cyan eyes looked up at me, a small smile playing on his lips. “Go. Really, I’ll be fine.” I went to say something else, but he stopped me. “I need you to go, Max, please.”
I wanted to argue with Sparkles. I hated this feeling, but I wasn’t anything to him, I didn’t have a say, and I didn’t want to cause more problems, so I gave him a slight nod.
“Fine.” I turned, keeping eye contact with Dorian all the way out until I saw that Nolan guy. “Who is he?” I asked him once Dorian and Sparkles were whispering to each other.
“No idea.”
“Take my number down, will ya, and if there’s a problem, call me?”
Nolan narrowed his eyes at me. “And who are you to Lane exactly? Because there was a Max he spoke about from Joker’s Sin who was a walking, talking mess. You wouldn’t be the same Max, would you?”
“Um. No, that guy sounds like a douche. Here.” I grabbed a piece of paper and wrote my cell number on it. “I don’t trust that guy, just…if there’s an issue, call.”
He took the paper and promised to call if needed. I stepped out of the studio to see two guys in suits. I recognized one of them from the bar.
“Well, if it isn’t Heineken Man,” I said.
He smirked like he knew a secret I didn’t, and at that moment he probably did. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up at the coincidence.
I walked over to my bike and sat on it…waiting. There was no way I was leaving until I knew those guys were gone. Heineken Man saw me, and I winked. Yeah, I knew that look I was getting. He wanted to stomp me into the ground. Good thing I had a helmet.
Chapter Ten
Lane
Dorian’s demeanor didn’t change for a second. Not while Max spoke to him, nor when he left. When Nolan asked if I wanted him to go pick up some sandwiches or something to eat, Dorian simply thanked him and told him to get whatever we normally had, that he would be leaving shortly.
Now Dorian Birch and I were alone. I didn’t have a class for a little while, and Alexandra wasn’t teaching until later this afternoon.
“So,” he said as he slowly walked around my studio. “A dance studio, huh?” I didn’t answer—no, he wouldn’t get an answer out of me. Hell, I was starting to regret telling Max to leave. “You always did like dancing around my house.” He turned, his blue eyes narrowed. “Naked.”
“That was a long time ago.” I took a step toward the small podium by the door where Nolan usually stood.
“And you go by Lane Ashley now?” Dorian ran a finger along the barre, his eyes watching me through the mirrored walls.
“That’s actually my real name.”
He nodded. “Suits you, I suppose.”
I hated how Dorian was toying with me. I wished he’d just say his piece and leave. I was fucked no matter how this went; I just wanted him out of my space.
“You’ve gone by many names, haven’t you?” he asked as he rested his elbow on the barre. “There was Devon, Joseph, Felix, and the one I knew you as, Charlie.” He chuckled. “You had blond hair, then. Though, this new look, it’s radical, I’d say.”
“I know why you’re here, so let’s just stop the games, Dorian, okay?”
Dorian stood up straight. His eyes were like a storm, he was gritting his teeth, and a few seconds later, he was in my space. He had me pressed against the wall, his hand on my chest.
“But I thought you loved games, Charlie…Sorry, Lane. Aren’t they your specialty? Don’t you give it your all, take what you can carry, and then play hide and go seek?” He sneered at me, a look of pure hate and disgust. “Well, boo! I found you.”
“Congratulations.” My voice was a whisper; it was taking everything in me not to cower.
“Seven years later, and you finally grew some balls, huh?” With Dorian’s other hand he gripped my cock. “But I guess you always did have them, didn’t you? You played me for years. Waiting, calculating. And then, bam.” He squeezed my balls so hard, I shouted in pain. “You were gone and so was seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars of my money.”
“I earned that!” I snapped, and with all the force I could muster, pushed him away from me. He was way bigger and didn’t go far, but I was able to breathe.
“Earned it?” he yelled. “I didn’t know you were working for it. I was under the fucking impression you loved me!”
“Loved you?” I huffed. “You don’t know how to love anyone other than yourself, Dorian. People are objects. You buy things and you buy people. You trapped me in your home. You treated me like a thing, had no regard for my feelings or my thoughts. Didn’t you once tell me I was to be seen and not heard?”
“You never argued with me about how I treated you.” He made to move toward me, but I pivoted to the side and over to the podium.
“Argued? Are you serious? Anytime I disagreed with you, or said something you didn’t like, I paid the price, didn’t I?” With the podium between us, I felt more in control. “Well, in the end all that abuse, all that torment, cost yo
u seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars.”
“Abuse?”
“Oh, right.” I chuckled darkly. “It’s only abuse if you say it is, and you never do. I was done. I did my time. I got what I needed from you, and you took almost my entire soul. And what, you’re back for your money now?”
Dorian’s hands clenched, fists I’d felt pound into my body too many times. “As if you have it. No, I know you don’t. Not with you keeping your mommy all cozy in that facility upstate. Hefty price tag to keep her there. Plus this studio, your apartment, that purple shitbox you call a car. No, I doubt you have enough with all the interest you’ve accrued.”
“Interest? What the—”
“Yeah, I did the math, Lane. Let’s see, you’re up to two million now. Do you have that in your safety deposit box?”
Hearing him talk about my mother, the safety deposit box, knowing he had his hands in my whole life, was like a bucket of ice water being dumped on me. He knew I didn’t have it. He came here to take what he could.
“You can’t get blood from a stone, Dorian.”
He smiled, and it wasn’t charming, no. It was a look I’d seen many times. Usually right before the pain started. “No, you can’t, but let’s see how hard I can squeeze you until there’s nothing left. Leave you feeling how I did.” I stood closer to the podium. “When I’m done with you, I’ll let you know.”
“What do you want from me?”
“Everything. And I’ll have it or your mommy, your studio, your workers, even all the people in that apartment building you live in, will lose everything right along with you. Make no mistake, Lane, if you thought you lived in a world of torment back then…” He leaned closer and whispered, “you ain’t seen nothing yet.”
He pushed away, and the chimes above the door were the only thing indicating he’d left. I was frozen in place. I had no idea what Dorian would do, but it wasn’t going to be good. Even if I had the money for him now, he wouldn’t take it, no. I mean, he’d take it, and then he’d destroy me. I did more than steal from Dorian Birch, I humiliated him—and that was not something he’d ever let go.
When Nolan returned, he had breakfast sandwiches and coffee. I took them and went into my office, but I couldn’t eat anything. My stomach churned at the thought of food. I made a call to the facility my mother was at, letting them know if anyone came to see her, they were not permitted. I wouldn’t let Dorian near her. If I could do anything about this, I could at least do that.
I tossed the sandwich into the garbage and stared at my computer screen. I had no fucking idea what to do because I had no fucking idea what Dorian had in mind. It wasn’t like I could call the police and say, “The guy I stole from is bothering me.” I’d fuck myself in the process, and if I couldn’t make the payments, my mom would be tossed into a state-run facility. Alexandra and Nolan would be out of their jobs, but I’m sure they’d find work. But I was also sure Dorian would burn my apartment building to the ground with the people in it if I got him arrested.
No matter how I cut it, I was fucked.
Chapter Eleven
Max
I watched that douche walk out of Sparkles’s studio and climb into his car. After he drove away, I got off my bike and went inside to make sure Sparkles was okay. The entire time I waited outside, my skin felt too tight, like I needed to be in there or I was going to come apart. When I saw Nolan leave shortly after I’d come to sit on my bike, knowing Sparkles was in there with that guy alone didn’t sit right with me.
“You again?” Nolan asked as the door shut behind me.
“Yeah, my meeting with Spa…Lane was cut off, so I thought he’d have time to speak with me now?”
Nolan narrowed his eyes and smirked. “Convenient how you arrive mere seconds after his last appointment. One might think you were outside waiting.”
I had no time for this with Nolan. “Is Lane in or not?” I couldn’t see him, so I figured he was in the back or had left and somehow I’d missed it.
“You are an unhinged man,” Nolan said as he shook his head. “Are you a stalker or something?”
“If I was a stalker do you think I’d admit it?”
Nolan shrugged. “So, then, you are a stalker?”
I pinched the bridge of my nose, hoping it would relieve some of the pressure forming behind my eyes. “I need to talk with Lane, please?”
He huffed. “Wait here. I’ll see if he’s free—he went to his office.”
I sat down in one of the chairs, my leg shaking anxiously. After a few minutes, Nolan returned and said Lane would be out in a minute. I heard a crash and decided not to wait.
“Hey!” Nolan shouted, but I ignored it. I raced across the studio floor, my mind playing a bunch of scenarios in my mind. Does that asshole still have one of his guys here? Is Sparkles hurt?
I rounded the corner at the same time the office door opened, and a startled Sparkles yelped.
“Jesus!” he yelled. Nolan—who was apparently racing after me—slammed into me, making me push into Sparkles. “What the hell is going on?”
“Sorry, Lane, this nutjob wouldn’t wait for you.” Nolan took a step away and brushed invisible whatever from his clothes.
“Max not following the rules doesn’t shock me.” Sparkles rolled his eyes. “But it’s fine, Nolan, thanks.”
“Should I call the cops?” Nolan assessed me like I was going to accost Sparkles the second he was out of sight.
“No, really, believe it or not, Max is harmless…Well, maybe sanitize yourself if you made physical contact.”
Nolan’s nose scrunched in disgust, and I really had to ask myself why I gave a shit about Sparkles at all. Honestly, he was an asshole. A hot asshole, though. And when I looked into his eyes, sure, there was that twinkle of sarcasm, but there was fear too. Something was up, and I was going to push aside all his snarky bullshit and figure it out.
“Are you done being a twat?” I asked Sparkles, who hummed and looked at his watch.
“Yeah, I’m good for a while. Come on into my office.”
Right before Sparkles shut the door, I caught one more glimpse of Nolan and made sure to flip him the bird, finding joy when I heard him gasp.
“Do you like pissing people off?” Sparkles asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.
“Mostly just you.” I smiled because I was stupid when it came to him. But for a moment his face lit up, and I’d take being stupid for a moment just for that.
“Why’d you come back? I thought I said I’d contact Atlas about the show, and I’d stop by the club tomorrow?”
Sparkles’s office wasn’t huge and standing this close, I towered over him. Even though I felt I wasn’t threatening him, I also didn’t want to intimidate him. Especially when I said what I came here to say. There was a small plush white love seat against the wall, so I opted to sit there.
“You’re acting weird, Max…Well, weirder than normal. Are you taking up residence here or something?”
“No, just…I never left. I was outside on my bike, waiting.” When I said it out loud, I realized Nolan was right, I sounded like a stalker.
Sparkles rolled his eyes but didn’t move. He stood in the center of his office. “Yeah, I figured, judging by your timely entry. The question is why, and what do you want?”
“Seriously? That guy made you uncomfortable. I may not know you, but I could tell you didn’t want to talk to him.”
“You know nothing, actually.” Sparkles took a step toward where I sat. “You watch me at the bar, and I know it’s not because you want to figure out the inner workings of my mind; you want a fuck. You drove me home once, and I showed you where I work. You figured out my name, and now you think with all that, you understand me?”
“What?” I stood. Sparkles had inched closer during his speech. “You’ve got who I am all twisted in your brain. You judged me the second you saw me and because, yeah I found you hot, still do, you think my dick is the only thing that rules me?”
“And when or how have you proved otherwise?” he countered.
“When did you ever give me a chance, Sparkles?”
He huffed. “I’ve seen you flirt and fuck your way through Joker’s Sin and probably half of Haven Hart. Don’t act like I’m making a blind judgment here.”
“Oh, excuse me.” I held up both hands. “I didn’t realize liking and having sex made me repulsive.”
“I didn’t say that it made you repulsive.”
I knew our voices were rising, and I really did want to calm the mood and get to the point of me coming back in here, but every time Sparkles spoke, he twisted the conversation, and I had to address what he was saying.
“You compared me to herpes and told Nolan to sanitize himself if he came near me. So, tell me how that’s not making me out to sound repulsive?”
“You’re infuriating!” Sparkles stomped his foot, which I’d be lying if I said wasn’t adorable.
“And you’re trying to make me forget why I came in here. Well, sorry, sugar lips, that’s a no-go. So tell me I’m wrong, and that guy didn’t make you uncomfortable. Tell me it’s all in my head, and I read the situation wrong. Do that, and I’ll leave, and I won’t bother you again.” I stared into his determined eyes, saw the lies swirling there, and I had no idea how he’d answer.
“He’s my new landlord.”
I was not expecting that. I mean sure, I guess if he didn’t like him, but that guy, Dorian, didn’t look like a typical landlord.
“Your landlord? And what, he’s an ass?”
“Why do you think he’s an ass?” Sparkles’s brows furrowed, and a tiny wrinkle formed in the middle of his forehead, and I wanted to press my lips against it so much.
“Because you do.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Max. You don’t even know the guy. He’s just my new landlord, and I’m not keen on new people. I worry about my business, that’s all. You’re reading into things that aren’t there.”
Sparkles made logical sense. It was not impossible to assume I was wrong. Maybe this Dorian guy was talking about raising rent or something. That would make anyone afraid or not like a guy.
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