Page 6 of Dance With Me
Saturday morning, and Seb was almost finished with his last lesson of the day, teaching a group of five-year-olds ballet. He loved teaching the young ones. They were so receptive, listening intently to what he was saying andalwaysgiving it their all.
“Mr Nissim, Mr Nissim, can we play a game before we finish?” He would never get used to being called that. Mr Nissim was his father.
“You know you can call me Seb.” He laughed. “What do you want to play? How about a game of musical statues? You know what to do,” he said, turning away and starting the music.
They played for a while, Seb dancing around the room with them, and as they finished, one of the parents popped her head around the door.
“Er, Seb. There’s a bit of a problem with your car. You might want to come and take a look.”
“OK, let me just finish up here, and I’ll be out.” Seb turned off the music and helped the children pack up their belongings.
He waited until the last child had left and made his way out of the studio and to the car parking spaces, wondering what on earth could be wrong.
“What the fuck?” He looked at his car to see a huge scratch down the driver’s side and all the tyres slashed. Under the wiper was another note. He looked around, but there was nobody and nothing else appeared out of place.
Did you like the pictures? I’m always watching you, Seb.
Jesus, could this get any creepier? He’d made a report to the police on Wednesday morning about the photographs, and they’d said to let them know if anything else happened. They’d given him the name of an officer to call should he need to report any more incidents and told him to start a journal of every time he was contacted and any pictures of damage or notes left. He took pictures of his car and saved them to his phone.
Seb got the card out of his wallet and called the number he’d been given. After waiting for several minutes, he eventually got through to the detective and was told someone would be with him within the hour to take his statement. Seb went back into the studio, packed up his stuff, and locked the door behind him.
Seems he had an hour to kill, and the coffee shop next door, The Coffee Mill, was warm and inviting. He entered and stepped up to the counter to order himself a latte. His friend Hayden, who was the manager, waved at him from the kitchen. Seb waved back, happy that his friend was working today.
He sat down and pulled his phone out. He needed something to do while he waited and he scrolled through his social media, catching up on his friends, realising that he’d been out of the loop for so long.
After about half an hour, the police arrived. He went out to meet them and explained what had happened, how he’d been teaching at the time and hadn’t seen anyone. Unfortunately, as no one else had seen anything, all they could do was take photographs of his car to add to his file at the station. Seb couldn’t help but feel frustrated with the whole process, but honestly, there was nothing more they could do.
He’d just called a tow truck and was heading back to his coffee when a shiny black car pulled up. With the tinted windows, he couldn’t see who was inside and, for a moment, his heart raced, wondering who was driving. He was pleasantly surprised, though, when out stepped Joe.
“Hi, Seb. Everything alright?” Joe looked as gorgeous as ever, and Seb was momentarily left speechless, but a frown crossed Joe’s face as he looked at Seb’s car.
“Hey, Joe. What are you doing in this neck of the woods?” Seb finally asked. He plastered a smile on his face. He wasn’t expecting to see Joe today, but he was looking mighty fine wearing a pair of black, fitted jeans, dark boots, and a tight grey T-shirt. He just hoped Joe hadn’t caught him ogling!
“I was just driving past. I’m going to go to Wales for a walk along the beach. What’s happened here?” he asked, walking around the car.
“Oh, just kids, probably.” Seb shrugged. He really didn’t want to go into the whys and wherefores of how his car was sitting at the side of the road with four flat tyres and a huge gouge down the side. “I’m just waiting for a truck to take my car to the garage, then I’ll be getting a taxi home.”
“I can wait with you and drop you off at home if you want. Save you the cost of an Uber.”
Seb really wanted to say yes to Joe’s offer, but it wasn’t fair to make him wait with him, was it?
“No, it’s OK. I don’t want to put you out. You had plans.” He was really hoping he’d stay, though, so he could get to know him a little better. An hour or so in Joe’s company sounded like bliss.
“It’s no bother,” Joe said with a shy smile on his face. “Really. Why don’t we go and get a drink over there and wait for the truck?” Joe pointed back at the coffee shop.
Seb couldn’t say no to that, so they walked back over and pushed open the door. Seb sat at his table from before, and Joe ordered drinks for them both but added a blueberry muffin for himself.
“So, this tango. How’s it coming along? I must admit, Seb, I don’t think I’m going to be any good at this. I have two left feet where dancing’s concerned.” He went on to tell Seb about the Christmas party debacle and how he’d ended up in A&E.
Seb couldn’t stop laughing. Tears wet his eyes, and as they carried on talking together about nothing and everything, Seb realised how much he was enjoying Joe’s company. He was so easy-going, and they laughed effortlessly with each other. In another world maybe, but Seb stopped that thought in its tracks.
Before long, the tow truck arrived, and Seb went out to see the driver. He arranged for his car to be taken to the nearest garage where he’d pick it up Monday morning. He’d have to ask Natalia or Dom to drop him off.
He went back inside, ready to thank Joe for waiting with him, but was surprised to see that Joe had bought some lunch for them both.
“I hope chicken salad is OK. I asked the manager what you liked, and he said that’s what you usually ordered.” Joe gave a crooked smile, and Seb thought it was the most adorable thing he’d ever seen.
“Thanks, you didn’t have to bother.” Seb touched his hand as he sat at the table, and Joe looked down, a pretty pink hue colouring his cheeks.
