Page 77 of Fragile

Gabriel then swept me onto the dancefloor, we fit like a jigsaw puzzle and he nuzzled my neck, totally unaware that there were other bodies around us. His scent was extremely woodsy and my skin burned through the back of the dress where he touched me.

“Gabriel?” I whispered up at him whilst a slow song circled us. There were now several bodies on the dance floor.

“Hmm?” he said, drawing back and looking into my eyes.

“What are we doing?”

He smiled, “Dancing?” he replied like he was also questioning himself.

Our bodies swayed to the music, it felt so romantic.

“No, I mean. What are we doing? What’s going on with us?”

He drew back slightly. “I’m fucked if I know Leonie, but it feels good, doesn’t it?”

I nodded my head, “Yes, it does but…”

He placed a finger on my lips “No buts. Let’s not put a label on it. Just go with the flow. See where it goes.”

“OK, but I can call you my friend at least?”

Gabriel kissed my nose. “You can totally call me your friend Leonie.” And that was all I needed from him. Some type of validation.

And for now, having another friend would do.

Eleven

The following week was full on. I’d worked my notice at Aquarius and it had taken a while to sort all the paperwork for Felice’s, but I was now officially an employee. My training was going smoothly and I felt part of the team immediately.

Concerning our relationship, I didn’t push things with Gabriel and took every day as it came. I was careful not to appear like the clingy female I knew he would hate. At the back of my mind, Gabriel was my boyfriend, but I kept this to myself. I knew he didn’t like labels and as long as he didn’t see anyone else whilst we were sleeping together, I was fine with not acknowledging that there was an us.

I performed in the showcase and received my first standing ovation. As I had stood there, drinking in the applause, my eyes had fallen on Asher and the empty seat next to him, filling me with a moment of sadness. Gabriel had said that he couldn’t make it but then when I got to my dressing room, there was a bouquet of roses and a signed card.

You were amazing, well done, G x.

My tummy had flipped. The ink was still wet, and I partly wondered how he’d gotten backstage but then reminded myself, Gabriel was a resourceful man. Nothing was off limits. During my second routine, I had thought I’d spotted someone at the back of the room, by the door, watching me. The flowers validated that it must have been Gabriel and the fact that he’d made the effort smashed away any trace of sadness. That niggling worry that our relationship was only based on sex had faded.

I spent most of my time between class and my job at Felice’s and everything was going well without drama. Asher had gotten used to Gabriel and me being more touchy-feely, telling us to ‘get a room’ a couple of times but we kept the heavy stuff more private. My friendship with Ash was still strong although we didn’t see each other as much as he spent most of the time at Mark’s. This, however, provided Gabriel and me with more time alone.

I didn’t stop in Gabriel’s room every night as we’d agreed that it was important to have our own space. I was pleased with that, as I didn’t want things to fizzle out so soon. The fact that we were sort of seeing each other but already living together felt like we had jumped a step and so it was important to remain grounded. If I got ahead of myself in respect of our relationship, I knew he would pull away.

That old moody Gabriel was gone and in his place was someone that I could be myself around. It was almost like he had been guarded on purpose at first, but had now had let himself free. He was still bossy and controlling but I knew this was part of his makeup. He was that way with his friends too. And what a fun bunch they were, I’d been invited to one of their games nights and had thoroughly enjoyed myself. They were all characters and full of spirit, spending most of the time taking the piss out of each other and I had become closer to Max. Something I guessed Gabriel wasn’t happy about. I’d heard something from one of the guys about Max and Gabriel seeing the same woman at once until a death glare from Gabriel had forced those words to dry up in Luca’s throat.

At the weekend, Gabriel had caught me downstairs in the lobby, having just returned from work and he’d blindfolded me with his tie. He’d been dressed in a suit which fitted him perfectly, to the point where I imagined every woman at his workplace would be drooling over him. Gabriel was working for a company called Preston Jones, on various legal cases.

That evening he had escorted me to the basement in the lift and my stomach bubbled with giddy excitement at what was to come. To say he was a control freak, Gabriel could be considerably unpredictable.

When we got to the room next to the gym, he took the blindfold off and gave me the biggest surprise ever.

The old room that I sometimes used as a practice space had been refurbished into a dance studio; with spring-loaded floors, mirrors down one side, a barre, and a speaker system.

I was blown away and I couldn’t thank him enough. He’d also had the studio fitted with a phone and emergency lighting so that I’d never get caught in the dark again. It must have cost a fortune.

There was now no doubt about it, Gabriel Knight held my heart in his hands, and I embraced our time together. We didn’t walk hand in hand or go on many dates, but the time we spent together was priceless. Occasionally he would pick me up from work and take me out to eat, it was fantastic, almost like a real relationship.

Whenever that lump appeared in my throat due to those unspoken feelings between us, I swallowed it down. I knew he cared about me and for now that was enough.

My dance classes were going well but I’d had to work hard. The director of the next showcase suggested I write to a few agencies and invite them to the show. He said I was making solid progress and asked me what my ambitions were. I did speak about the Royal Ballet and he said that with more practice, there was no reason why I wouldn’t be ready.

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