Page 26 of The Virgin's Dance
Ramona laughed. “Dude, chill. I’ll call him in the morning.” She chuckled, then Pilot heard her hesitating. “Is Boh really okay? I hear horror stories of how those dancers are treated.”
“She’s tougher than you think. A little anemia and an asshole like Mendelev are nothing to what she’s overcome in her life. Ro?”
“Yeah?”
“You think I’m too old for her?”
“Shut up.”
He snorted with laughter. “Say what you mean, sis.”
“I’m selfish. I haven’t seen you happier with someone … ever. Even if it’s only been what, a week?”
“Is everything too fast?”
“Dude, come on. What’s fast? You met, you were attracted, you went to the next level. It’s not like you’re moving in together.”
After Ramona had said goodbye, Pilot felt his body relax. He turned off his phone and went back to bed. Boh stirred as he curved himself around her. “Pilot?”
“I’m here, baby,” he said, “I’m here.”
Kristof was, as always, in a foul mood and there was the fact that he was here, in this toilet cubicle, lifting the lid to the cistern and not finding the small vial of urine he was expecting. He heard someone come into the bathroom and trying to get into his stall. Kristof opened the door and pulled Elliott into the stall. “You’re late, fuck nut.”
Elliott didn’t seem remotely bothered. He handed Kristof the sample. “Were you worried, Kristof?”
“Don’t talk back, you little asshole.”
Elliott’s eyes narrowed. “Your supply could always dry up, Kristof. Remember that next time you torture Boh into a hospital bed.”
Kristof laughed humorlessly. “So that’s what this little tantrum is about? Your girlfriend?”
“My friend, and yes. You do that to her again and I’ll go straight to Liz.”
“You’rethreateningme, you little punk? You’ll never dance again if you tell anyone about our little arrangement.”
Elliott squared his shoulders. He was shorter than Kristof by almost a foot, but he stood his ground. “To stop your bullying, I’d do it. Remember that, asshole.”
He stalked out of the stall, Kristof on his heel, ready to argue again. They both stopped when they saw Eleonor Vasquez looking at them quizzically. Her eyes lit on the urine sample in Kristof’s hand and he went cold.
Eleonor’s eyes fluttered around the room. “This isn’t my studio.”
Elliott took her arm. “No, Madam Vasquez. Would you like me to take you to it?”
She smiled at him. “Nureyev. Are you him?”
“I wish, Madam Vasquez,” Elliott grinned. “It’s Elliott, remember?”
Eleonor didn’t answer. She was looking at Kristof. “I know you.”
Kristof, the urine sample now firmly behind his back, nodded. “Eleonor.” Thank God she had dementia, he thought. Maybe she wouldn’t have known what was happening between him and Elliott. If Celine, or Nell had walked in …
He watched Elliott lead Vasquez out of the bathroom and felt the energy sap from his body. A close call. Maybe he should tone it down for a few days. When Boh came back, he’d go easy on her. He knew she knew the ballets like the back of her hand and if push came to shove, she could be off for a week and still be ready.
It pissed him off that she was with Scamo. His Boh was with that man … Kristof took credit for Boh’s talent entirely and to have her so far out of his control …no.Keep calm. She’ll come back.
For now, his bigger problem was if Eleonor had a lucid moment and was able to process what she had seen. It wouldn’t take a genius to figure out what he was doing and if she told Celine, it would be the end of him personally and professionally. Kristof found his hands were shaking and screwed them into fists. There was a way to deal with this, but he didn’t know if he had the guts to follow through. If he silenced Eleonor, he could never go back. For now, he knew, he was just a junkie asshole with an ego the size of a planet. Immoral but not … he swallowed hard.No, I am not even considering this.
He swiped the urine sample, poured it into his own marked container, and replaced the original back in the cistern. He would come off the drugs, clear out his system. Hopefully, if and when Eleonor remembered, he would be submitting his own urine for drug testing and none of this would make any difference. He would be kinder to Elliott too, the little weasel. Satisfied he had this under control, he left the bathroom and went to begin his day.
