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“He doesn’t like me at all.”
He didn’t answer. He was asleep on the bed in his clothes. I undid buttons and belt, took his shoes off, found the spare blankets and tucked him in. He actually looked angelic. Aleks, who had had a wild and carefree existence, but was now shackled. The word vanilla circled, and I wondered whether I should do an internet search on brothel menus.
Chapter 36
Alekswasstillcomatose,but the early morning hum of electricity and water pipes had begun, so I knew other people were up. I went down to see if breakfast was available.
Will was alone at the table. “Hey, Treadwell,” he said as I sat down beside him.
“Can I ask you a personal question, Will?”
He gave an intrigued nod.
“Have you ever done… had… taken part in… See, I don’t even know how to say it.”
“What, babe?”
“A threesome. Have you ever…?”
He laughed. “This is where I want to say ‘yeah, lots of times,’ to look cool. But that sort of thing hasn’t gone well for me in the past. The truth is, no. Never done that. I’m not the slut you all think I am.”
“Oh.” I couldn’t ask Justin. He might answer loudly or doomfully in the hearing of, well, everyone. Also, I thought he would have told me if he had.
“Why d’you want to know?” asked Will.
The story poured out in a whisper as the others arrived for breakfast.
Will laughed again, which was a little annoying. “You’ve nothing to worry about, Malph. The way he snogs you in front of us all? That’s a warning-off thing. There’s no way…” He paused. “He didn’t even like the other one checking you out yesterday.”
As if on cue, Aleks and Pasha came into the hall and made their way over to us.
“I am too old for this, everything hurts,” complained Aleks. “Ah, no don’t worry, angel, is just hangover. This one, he is fine. Is seven years younger, big difference is making.”
Pasha’s wide smile held no remnant of the previous night’s antagonism. “I was always better at taking the drink,” he said. “You are just not want to admit in front of your girl. I could tell you some things.” Thankfully he didn’t, distracted instead by food and coffee.
Pasha taught our class that morning, and I grudgingly had to admit that it was good.
“You are good,” he, possibly equally grudgingly, stated. “Long line.”
“Wants to shag you,” whispered Will. “That’s what it was all about.”
In pas de deux, things got weird again. Pasha joined us for the class and said that he should dance with me.
“She should have as many partners as possible,” he said. “For experience?” His outstretched hand offered an ‘out of the frying pan’ style escape from Colin.
“If we’re swapping round, I’d much rather dance with Will,” I petitioned Mr. Timms, knowing that the old teacher liked our partnership.
“Sorted,” said Will, hands on my waist.
“There’s no point in fighting the Treadwell,” Colin advised Pasha. “She’s a fiery one. You’ll come off the worst.”
I got my way. Pasha got Simone and sulked.
“He doesn’t remember,” I told Will on the way into the great hall at dinnertime. “They were both drunk. But it’s still uncomfortable, and I really don’t want to speak to either of them right now.” A hidden disquiet lurked, an undefined worry that evaded inspection.
Will put forward an interesting solution. “Let’s go up to the circle. It’s all dark and moonlit, nothing vanilla about it, or you.”
Pulling our coats on, we were waylaid by Sun in the great hall.
