Chapter 14
Crossed Signals
Wrong time, wrong place
After the group is done sharing our auction experiences with the trainers on the flight home, Amethyst gives me a nudge. “Hey, there’s a rave happening tonight. Want to join me?”
Having turned her down before, I’m quick to say yes even though I’m feeling drained after my afternoon on the beach. I’ve wanted to hang out with her outside of class for a while now. “Sure, but I have to warn you. I’ve never been to one.”
“A virgin, huh?”
I shrug. “I’m more into classical music.”
She says with a teasing grin, “Then this should be fun.”
Once the jet lands and the limousine drops us off at the Luxe, I drive behind her in my car.
We end up at an old brick warehouse teaming with activity.
The moment I step out of my car, I can hear the hard thump of bass emanating from the building.
And as soon as we walk through the entrance, I’m blasted by it.
I can feel the vibration of the music coursing through my body while we’re getting our hands stamped, and I look at her in astonishment. I yell above the music, “I’ve never experienced anything like this!”
“You ain’t seen nothing yet,” she yells back. Behind the DJ on stage, rays of light stream across the room and cut through the darkness in pulses of electric blues, greens, and purple. I’m surprised that the entire floor of the warehouse is filled with people moving to the music.
Taking my hand, Amethyst warns me, “Stay close,” as she leads me into the crowd.
The dancers part to make room for us as she takes me to the center of the action. A cheer suddenly rises from the crowd when the music starts to build, and I get a feeling that something big is about to happen. Then the beat drops, and the entire room starts to shout and jump, including Amethyst.
I just stand, watching. It seems it’s less about dancing and more about simply moving to the sound. I see some people bouncing to the beat, while others sway, and a few seem to be lost entirely to the music—moving in a chaotic, joyful way.
All of it blends into a greater collective, with hundreds of bodies moving to the same beat.
“Dance!” Amethyst shouts. I roll my eyes but give it a half-hearted try. I feel awkward at first trying to match the energetic rhythm and wind up laughing at myself. But several people dancing around me encourage me to continue.
I close my eyes and simply give into the beat. When I finally move in synergy with the people around me, I feel it and let out a cry of excitement.
“That’s it!” Amethyst cheers.
I have no idea how long we’ve been dancing when she taps me on the shoulder and points to the bar area. As we make our way toward it, she leans in and yells, “It’s important to stay hydrated.”
I nod in agreement.
As we approach the bar, I notice they have a roped-off seating area. I scan the people seated there and catch my breath when I see Leōn. I grab Amethyst’s arm, stopping her dead in her tracks.
“What’s up?” she laughs.
“Don’t look, but I’m pretty sure one of the Doms from the Training Center is here.”
What are the odds that Leōn and I would meet up here? It’s as if I manifested him by simply thinking about him!
Without trying to be obvious about it, Amethyst glances in his direction. “You’re right. I had no idea the Dom you have the hots for was into raves.” Turning back to me, she smiles. “Why don’t you go say hi?”
“That’s okay…” I laugh nervously. Suddenly feeling awkward, I turn my back to him, hoping he won’t notice me.
“No need to play shy,” she says, nudging me toward him.
With Leōn involved in a deep conversation with the man beside him, he takes no notice of us.
Even though I’m dying to talk to him, I mutter, “Let’s just go.”
But Amethyst doesn’t hear me over the music and waves her hand until she gets his attention. When he finally notices, he gestures for her to join him, but she shakes her head and points to me.
My heart starts to race when I dare to meet Leōn’s gaze, but I’m disappointed when he barely glances at me before continuing his discussion with the gentlemen.
“Well, that’s rude,” Amethyst says.
Although I feel slightly hurt, I explain to her, “He’s only looking out for me. The Doms aren’t supposed to fraternize with any of us outside of the Training Center?”
“I’ve never heard that.”
Remembering the conversation I had with Mr. Onassis when Matisse gave me the coat, I tell her, “Mr. Onassis told me the program has a strict policy of zero contact outside the building. And neither Leōn nor I can afford to get in trouble again.”
She frowns. “Still, there’s no harm in just saying hello.”
I sigh as I glance back at Leōn. I understand I have no right to be upset…but the way he brushed me off still stings. Rather than dwell on it, I tell Amethyst, “Sorry to cut out on you early, but I’m tired and heading out.”
“Don’t let it ruin your night,” she urges.
“No, really. As much fun as I’ve had tonight, the auction really zapped me.”
She can’t hide her disappointment but nods. “See you on Monday, then.”
I turn to face the crowd and half-joke, “Now, let’s see how many hours it takes to make my way out of here.”
When I nearly nod off at the wheel, I’m extremely grateful to make it home in one piece. I’ve decided there will be no more raves for me until this course is finished. But still, I’m really glad I went tonight—despite that odd encounter with Léon.
Hopefully, now that I know he doesn’t seem that interested in me, I can finally stop obsessing about the guy.
After such an eventful twenty-four hours, I sleep like the dead and don’t wake up until the afternoon the next day. As I lay there, relaxing in bed, it suddenly dawns on me that it’s Sunday.
I pop up in bed, grab my phone from my purse, and see that it’s dead.
“Fuck!”
I totally missed my coffee date with Gwen.
Plugging it into my charger, I wait impatiently for the time it takes to finally turn on.
I quickly check through the messages and my heart sinks when I see that Gwen has left me a ton of them and the latest ones show her increasing concern.
I immediately call her without bothering to read them all, not wanting Gwen to worry a second longer than she has to.
“Where the hell are you, Soph?” she demands as soon as she picks up.
“I’m sorry, G! I just woke up.”
“Soph, I thought something serious had happened! I waited for you for over an hour because I knew you would never ghost me like that.”
“I’m so sorry!” I cry, hating that I made her worry. “I got home late and forgot to charge the damn phone.”
“So, nothing’s wrong?” she asks, sounding guarded.
“No, I’m totally fine.”
“Why were you late getting home?”
“Amethyst invited me to go to a rave when we got back from the auction.”
“Oh…” she mutters. I can tell she’s hurt.
“It was a spur-of-the-moment thing, G.”
“You do know how much I look forward to our coffee chats every week.”
I want to sink into the floor hearing the pain in her voice. “I do, too!” I exclaim. “I feel terrible that I missed it. Can we meet up later today?”
“No, I’m not in the mood. Besides, it sounds like you need to rest.”
I cringe. “Please don’t be mad at me, Gwen! You know I would never do anything to hurt you.”
She huffs and the long pause that follows starts to make me nervous. “Well, I will accept your apology, but I reserve the right to be annoyed with you today.”
“Only fair,” I concede. “Would you still like to hear what it was like to have sex on the beach in Rio de Janeiro?”
“What?” she squeals. “I love Rio! But how the heck did you find a beach that wasn’t packed with people? Wait…did you—?”
“No!” I laugh before she can finish. “I did not have sex in public. Well, not exactly.”
“Okay, you win. I want to hear every juicy detail.”
Breathing a sigh of relief knowing that Gwen isn’t mad anymore, I share everything, minus the part about Anton and the meaningful conversation I had with Headmaster Wallace.
Even though I hate keeping things from my bestie, it’s the right thing to do for now, and I did promise the Headmaster I wouldn’t say anything.
“So, what about you?” I finally ask after I’ve answered all her questions. “Has Helen Fontaine finally stopped harassing you?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” she states firmly.
I sit up in bed. “Come on, G. I told you everything.”
Except I didn’t…
“I found out something terrible about my—”
I get a notification that Headmaster Wallace is calling. I suddenly feel sick, unsure if it’s good or bad news about Anton. But the timing couldn’t be any worse! “I really hate to do this to you, G. But I have to take this call.”
“Fine,” she grumbles just before the line goes silent.
I groan, knowing that I’ve upset her, but I take a deep breath before hitting the answer button and say with a trembling voice, “Please tell me everything’s okay.”
“Durov has been located.”
“Is…” I can’t even finish the thought.
“He’s alive but in need of care.”
“Oh, thank goodness!” I burst into tears of relief. “Do you know what happened?”
“It’s best if he tells you himself. Which is part of the reason for my call. Durov wanted me to ask if you would be free on Wednesday before class.”
Even though I’ll have to rearrange my schedule to accommodate him, I immediately answer, “Of course!”
“Good. Then I’ll let him know.”
My voice chokes up when I tell him, “I’m just so glad he’s okay…”
“I am too, Miss Lane. Thankfully, our prayers were answered. I’ll let you get back to relaxing on your only day off.”
“Thanks again for calling me. I’ve been so worried.”
“I know you have. You did well this weekend. You should be proud of what you’ve accomplished despite the circumstances.”
“Thank you.” Although I appreciate his kind words, all I can think about is how I’ve really fucked things up with Gwen.
“Good day, Miss Lane.”
As soon as he ends the call, I immediately call Gwen back, but it keeps going to voicemail. Knowing this can’t wait, I throw on some clothes and drive to her apartment. But Gwen isn’t there and she keeps ignoring my calls.
The only thing I can do is leave her a note and pray that she’ll call me back once she’s cooled down.
I can’t blame her for being mad, and I hate that I can’t fix it.
Especially when I feel certain Gwen was about to share something important just before we were interrupted by Headmaster Wallace’s call…