Page 19 of Dance With Me
A single tear tracked down Seb’s cheek. “Yeah, it’s been going on for a while now. Remember when my car was vandalised? That was him… her. Fuck, I don’t even know who’s doing this.” Seb covered his face with his hands, and his shoulders shook as he sobbed.
Joe drew him into a hug, cradling his head as Seb cried into his shoulder.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Joe asked softly.
Seb looked up at him, and Joe took in the dark circles beneath his eyes. Seb must be exhausted, and he was annoyed with himself for not having noticed before. He’d been too wrapped up in his own world. Everything else had seemed to fade into oblivion.
He gently swept the tears from Seb’s cheeks. “Come on, let’s go and get a drink, and you can tell me about it.”
Just when Joe thought he would refuse his offer, Seb nodded. His gaze dropped to the floor. “Yeah, I think I’d like that.”
Joe helped him close the studio and walked him out to his car. “Where do you want to go?” he asked, his hand hovering at the small of Seb’s back.
“Would you mind if we went back to my place? I need to feed Rocco and let him out.”
“Of course, I’ll follow you there.” Joe waited while Seb got into his car, then moved to his own.
Twenty minutes later, Joe was parked beside Seb’s car. He got out and followed him to the front door.
“I need to warn you about Rocco; he’s a big dog but will probably just lick you to death,” Seb said with a small smile. He still wasn’t himself, but at least he was smiling. Seb opened the door, and a beautiful Rottweiler trotted up to them as soon as they stepped inside. Joe bent down to greet the dog.
“Wow, he’s huge,” he said, gazing up at Seb from his crouched position. He stroked the dog, his fur silky soft. He was black and tan with a huge head and a muscled body to match. Rocco rolled on his back and offered Joe his tummy. How could Joe refuse the offer? He rubbed and scratched at his belly, and Rocco smiled. Yep, this was one happy dog.
“You’ve made a friend for life there,” said Seb. “He’ll never leave you alone now; you’re spoiling him with all those belly rubs. Come on, Rocco, leave Joe alone. To your bed now.”
The dog got up, licked Joe’s cheek, then obediently went over to his bed and flopped down with a sigh.
“He’s a handsome boy, Seb. And such a softie.”
“He really is,” Seb agreed as he walked away. Joe followed him into the kitchen where Seb put Rocco’s food out and refilled his water bowl. “Do you want some food? We’ve got some leftover Chinese in the fridge. Tea, coffee or water?”
“Chinese is good or we could just order pizza, and water’s fine, thanks,” Joe replied. “Can I help?”
“It’s OK, I’ve got it.” Seb got busy warming the food in the microwave. There was more than enough for them both.
Joe took time to look around the apartment. The living area was open plan, a small but functional kitchen leading to a compact dining area with a table and a couple of chairs. The lounge area was separated from the kitchen by a small half wall, and the decor was clean, if a little dated. A big sofa faced the wall where the TV was mounted, a coffee table positioned in front.
Once the food was ready, they sat around the small dining table and Seb placed some water out.
They ate in silence, but eventually, Seb put his knife and fork on his plate and pushed it away. He’d hardly eaten anything. He sat for a while, looking down at his hands. Joe studied them, admiring the other man’s slender, elegant fingers.
When Seb finally looked up and met Joe’s eyes, he seemed to have come to a decision.
“It started a few months ago, just texts and notes tucked under the wipers of my car. I didn’t think anything of it to start with. Sometimes, with the older students especially, they can develop crushes or, in extreme cases, infatuations. I thought that was what it was, but then the notes became progressively worse. One saying how they loved watching me dance and wanted to make me theirs.” Seb paused and blew out a breath.
“If that wasn’t bad enough, just after the first lesson with you and Clare, I had a rose delivered to the door with a note saying, ‘Always in my thoughts’. I was going to go to the police the following day, but when I got up the next morning, I found photographs of me in an envelope posted through the door. They’d been taken at various places, The Coffee Mill, the park, outside the studio. I reported it to the police, and we changed the locks and put in a new security system. Thankfully, we haven’t had any other issues here.”
Seb’s hands shook as he reached for his glass. “There was the car, but you know about that. There was another note on the car, asking if I liked the photos, and then a couple of weeks ago, I went dancing with some friends at a club in town. A guy started to dance with me, but before I could turn round to see who it was, he disappeared. Then I got this.”
Seb passed him his phone with the photographs and the message he’d received. Joe looked at them, his anger mounting.
“And you’ve no idea who’s doing this? None at all?” Joe asked, his voice tense.
Seb shook his head, biting his nails nervously. He’d pulled his foot up onto his chair and leaned on his bent knee. “I’ve been to the police and reported it all, but because there are no clues and I don’t know who it is, there’s not a lot they can do. I’ve had the odd message saying much the same as the first but nothing like the others. I’m starting to feel really scared, Joe.”
Joe put the phone down and reached across for Seb’s hand. He held on to it to stop it from shaking. “Is there anything I can do? I know that’s probably a really lame question but, even if you just want to talk or get away from here, I’m happy to help.”
Seb smiled weakly at Joe. “Thanks, that means a lot. Natalia and Dom know, but they’re not always around, you know?”
