9. February 2024
9
February 2024
A s the final notes of a Chopin nocturne played out, Willow leaned on her knees and waited for the stitch in her side to ease. Around her, the other dancers snatched up their water bottles and towels and began their cooldowns.
‘You okay?’ Lili asked beside her.
Straightening, Willow swung a leg up onto the bar to stretch. Harrison walked by at that moment, and she avoided eye contact with him in the mirror.
Lili looked from Willow to Harrison’s back, then said quietly, ‘Uh-oh. What’s going on?’
‘Nothing.’
Lili tilted her head and gave one of her ‘don’t lie to me’ looks.
Sighing, Willow waited for Harrison to finish crossing the room. ‘Do you think I’m too heavy to lift?’
Lili’s mouth fell open. ‘What the hell? Of course not. Why would you ask me that?’
She glanced in Harrison’s direction. ‘ He told me that.’
‘Who? Harrison?’
‘He said dancers like me are best suited to the chorus and that there’s nothing wrong with that.’
Lili laughed, then, seeing Willow’s serious expression, fell silent. ‘He had to have been joking. Girls like you ?’ She leaned closer. ‘I guarantee you Cassie is the same weight as you.’
‘She’s also taller than me.’
Lili waved a finger in front of Willow’s face. ‘But that wasn’t your question. You asked me about weight . And stop talking as if you’re some kind of dwarf. Yes, you’re the shortest in a five-centimetre range of dancers—big whoop.’ She glared in Harrison’s direction. ‘I can’t believe he said that to you. He’s supposed to be your mentor, the hero who rescued you from the depravity of the suburbs or some bullshit like that.’
A smile came and went on Willow’s face. ‘He’s also my toughest critic.’ She looked back at the mirror, working up the courage to say the next part. ‘I saw Vaughn Gallo yesterday.’ Her attempt at a casual tone failed.
Lili quirked an eyebrow. ‘Again?’
‘He was here dropping off some documents and happened to pass by the studio.’ Her cheeks grew hot at the mere mention of him.
‘Did he now?’ Lili circled her foot, stretching out her ankle, eyes locked on Willow. ‘And what did Mr Gallo have to say for himself?’
‘We exchanged some friendly words.’ She cleared her throat, which felt extra dry suddenly. ‘And then he… lifted me.’
Lili’s foot stilled. ‘He what now?’
‘He lifted me.’ She met Lili’s gaze in the mirror. ‘With one hand, like I was made of feathers.’
Lili switched legs. ‘So, you were just casually chatting, and he said “come here and I’ll show you how strong I am”?’
A smile crept up on Willow’s face. ‘I mentioned that I was destined for the ensemble?—’
‘Because you’re such a beefcake?’ Lili smirked.
‘And he said that he could lift me one-handed. For whatever reason, I decided to test that claim.’
She laughed once in disbelief. ‘So, you just ran at him and hoped for the best?’
‘I’m fairly certain that if Vaughn Gallo says he can do something, then he can do it.’
Lili regarded her for a long moment. ‘You like him.’
‘He’s intense, but he’s nice enough.’
She shook her head. ‘No, I mean you like him.’
Willow considered the accusation before replying, ‘I’m not afraid of him like some people are, if that’s what you mean.’
‘Well, you should be. He can’t be trusted.’ She lowered her leg and turned to face Willow properly. ‘No woman should feel safe with that man—even if he is hot in that dangerous, inked-to-the-brink kind of way.’
Willow shook her head. ‘You don’t have to worry. I don’t think he’ll be coming near me anytime soon.’
‘Good.’ Then Lili’s curiosity won out. ‘Why not?’
‘He got all weird after it happened and literally fled the building.’
Lili exhaled noisily. ‘The man’s known for being weird and intense. I mean, what sort of person pays for a box in pretty much every theatre in the city, then sits alone in it?’
‘A secure man with a lot of money who enjoys his own company?’
Lili gave her a doubtful look. ‘There are only two reasons I can think of. Either women know he’s dangerous and steer clear, or he knows he’s dangerous and stays away from them.’
Willow felt oddly defensive on his behalf. ‘He’s entitled to time alone, away from the pressures of his life, without being judged.’
‘His thug life.’
The other dancers began to gather up their belongings. Harrison passed by them on his way out, and the pair fell silent.
‘We have the whole weekend off,’ Lili said. ‘Why don’t we forget about lifts and weight—and Vaughn Gallo—and go out for a few drinks. The season hasn’t started yet, so no one will judge us.’
‘Not true. The dietician will judge us harshly.’
Lili waved the comment away. ‘We’ll jog the calories off on Sunday. It’s not like she weighs us.’
‘She doesn’t need to. A single glance as I enter the room and I swear she knows exactly what I’ve eaten.’
Lili stretched her arm above her head, trying to loosen up her shoulder. ‘There’s a new bar in Federation Square. Only opened last week. We could go check it out, have some bubbles and a dance—with our heels touching the ground.’
‘How very normal of us.’
Lili nodded in agreement. ‘I hear it has this amazing retro interior and music to match.’
‘Sold.’ Willow grabbed her bag. ‘Let’s get out of here.’
They said their goodbyes to the remaining dancers, then headed for the door. Willow almost ran straight into Harrison as she stepped out into the hallway.
He caught her by the arms. ‘You ladies off?’
‘Yes,’ they replied in unison.
Harrison eyed Willow as he released his grip on her. ‘Any plans for the weekend?’
‘Movies, markets. The usual,’ Lili answered confidently.
Willow dropped her gaze to the floor the second the lie exited Lili’s mouth.
‘Well, have fun.’ Harrison waited for Willow to look up. When she did, he said, ‘See you both bright and early on Monday.’
Willow offered him a smile before he walked away, then saw Lili’s disapproving look.
‘What?’ Willow asked.
‘You have no game face.’
‘He knows me well enough to know when I’m lying.’
‘It wasn’t a lie,’ Lili laughed. ‘We will go to the markets at some point, and we usually end up at a movie after a night out.’
‘You conveniently omitted the night out part.’
Lili linked her arm through Willow’s and walked her towards the lift. ‘It’s none of his business. He lost the right to know your whereabouts the moment he told you that you were too heavy for lifts.’ She glanced over her shoulder. ‘Let’s go misbehave.’
The bar was nestled between two cafes and surrounded by an interesting mix of architecture. There were fairy light trees in the beer garden and a clear view of the river. Inside, bright décor surrounded a generous dance floor. Willow and Lili paused inside the entrance to admire the scene before heading to the bar to order drinks. With a champagne in hand, they found a free table and stole some stools from a group nearby. It took the entire glass of bubbles before Willow felt her exhaustion begin to melt away.
‘Another?’ she asked, standing.
Lili’s eyebrows lifted. ‘So it’s like that? Okay.’
Willow returned to the bar and ordered two more drinks. On her way back to the table, a man in his late twenties, with wavy hair and a red shirt, stepped away from his group of friends to block her path.
‘Let me give you a hand carrying those.’ He moved to take the drinks from her.
‘No, I’m good, thanks.’ She raised the flutes. ‘Two hands, two drinks.’
A smile stretched across his face. ‘What’s your name?’
His beer breath had her sidestepping him. ‘My friend’s waiting, sorry.’
When she arrived back at the table and handed Lili her drink, Lili nodded in the direction of the group of guys. ‘Red Shirt has been watching you since we arrived.’
‘Well, he picked the wrong day to make a move. I really can’t be bothered tonight.’
Lili observed her for a moment. ‘We don’t have to stay.’
‘I want to stay.’ She took a sip from her glass. ‘I just don’t want to be bothered by drunk guys.’
‘Fair. I’ll do my best to keep them away from you.’ Lili pulled her chair closer. ‘Did I tell you about the bad date I had last week?’
‘Only a summary. You know I’m all about the detail.’
Lili went on to tell the full story of the date her father had set her up with, insisting he was just what she needed despite having never met the man in person.
‘I ended up faking a cat emergency and leaving before dessert,’ she finished.
‘I’ve often wondered if I should get a cat for that very reason.’
‘You have Frank.’
Willow made a thoughtful face. ‘I’m not sure an axolotl emergency produces the same level of panic. It usually leads to more questions, people wanting to know why I have such a strange pet.’
Laughing, Lili rose to her feet. ‘I’m going to the bathroom.’
‘Okay.’ Willow dragged the flutes closer to her and watched Lili disappear into the crowd.
She had only been gone a few seconds when Red Shirt showed up at their table and sat down in Lili’s chair. He really had been paying attention.
‘My friend’s sitting there,’ Willow said as politely as she could manage.
He grinned. ‘Not right now she’s not.’
The instant fatigue Willow felt. ‘Can you move, please?’
‘Only after you tell me your name.’
All politeness left her body. ‘I don’t want to tell you my name.’
He made a face like he was hurt. ‘Then at least let me buy you a drink.’
‘I have one already.’
Somehow, Red Shirt took that as an invitation to talk about himself. Willow looked around, willing Lili to return and save her. Her gaze caught on a familiar figure at the door, and suddenly she couldn’t hear a word the guy was saying. Vaughn Gallo had entered the bar, wearing a crisp white shirt rolled to the elbows. He was flanked by another man she didn’t recognise.
Vaughn did a quick scan of the room, and his grey eyes locked on hers. His gaze shifted to the guy seated opposite her. The muscles in his jaw moved. He said something to the man he was with before making his way over to her.
Panicking, Willow looked straight at Red Shirt and said, ‘You need to go.’
He paused mid-sentence. ‘Whoa. There’s no need to be rude.’
Vaughn stopped next to their table just as he said that, eyes on him.
‘Can I help you?’ Red Shirt asked, looking him up and down.
Vaughn’s gaze slid back to Willow. ‘Friend of yours?’
She shook her head.
Vaughn nodded slowly. ‘And are you enjoying this conversation?’
‘He was just leaving’ was Willow’s reply.
Vaughn looked back at the man. ‘Were you? Just leaving?’
Red Shirt raised his hands. ‘Listen, man, I didn’t know she had a boyfriend.’
Willow was about to correct him, then changed her mind.
Vaughn continued to stare coolly at him as he said, ‘She doesn’t need a reason not to speak to you. Go back to your friends. If I see you near her again, you’ll be thrown out.’
Standing, Red Shirt laughed. ‘Are you the bouncer now?’
Vaughn shook his head. ‘Actually, I’m the owner.’
Willow’s eyes sank shut. Of course he was. She should have known this was one of his bars. It had all the signature Vaughn Gallo markers.
Colour flooded Red Shirt’s cheeks, matching his attire. ‘Shit. You’re Vaughn Gallo.’ He quickly collected his beer from the table and backed up before turning and leaving without saying another word. If he’d had a tail, it would have been firmly tucked between his legs.
When Willow looked back at Vaughn, she found him staring at her with his usual unsettling level of intensity. He wore the same expression he had in the studio the day prior. She was at a complete loss for words.
Thankfully, Lili chose that moment to burst back onto the scene.
‘Sorry. The queue was long .’ She followed Willow’s line of sight to Vaughn, then flinched. ‘Oh God.’
‘Ms Chén,’ Vaughn said by way of greeting.
Lili looked questioningly at Willow.
‘Vaughn owns the bar,’ Willow explained as she chewed on her lip.
A look of understanding settled on Lili’s face. ‘Really? What are the chances?’
‘In this city? High,’ Vaughn replied, looking down at the four champagne flutes on the table. ‘What are we celebrating?’
Lili picked up her glass, which had barely a sip left in it. ‘Single life.’
Vaughn looked at Willow, and she felt ridiculously hot suddenly.
‘I see,’ he said. ‘Do you have a plan to get yourselves safely home when you’re done congratulating each other on this… achievement?’
‘Yes,’ they replied in unison.
He looked between them. ‘Good. Have a good night, ladies.’ He walked off towards the bar, rejoining the man he’d entered with.
Shaking her head as she stared after him, Lili said, ‘Of all the bars I could have dragged you to.’
‘It’s fine.’ Willow picked up her drink and finished it.
‘He could have at least offered us free drinks.’
That made Willow smile. ‘Especially at these prices.’
‘Let’s go dance,’ Lili said, setting her flute down on the table and pulling Willow to her feet.
Willow sank back down onto the stool. ‘No, I?—’
‘Oh, don’t get all weird just because Inky Capo’s here.’ She tugged Willow up again and began dragging her towards the dance floor. ‘You can just swing your arms to the beat if you want, but we’re dancing.’
Willow glanced over her shoulder and relaxed a little when Vaughn was nowhere to be seen.
For the next hour, the pair danced to Cyndi Lauper, Rick Astley, Toto, and The Bangles. Many of the songs were before their time, but they knew most of the lyrics.
‘Drink?’ Lili signalled when New Kids on the Block came on.
They were four drinks in and both lightweights when it came to alcohol, so Willow declined. ‘I’m strictly water from this point on.’
After a quick water break at the bar, they returned to the dance floor for a final dance before their planned departure. A remix of ‘Fresh’ began to play, and they both burst out laughing. Harrison had a playlist of classically arranged pop songs for studio time, and this was one of their favourites.
‘I can’t listen to this without doing pirouettes,’ Lili said, getting into position and completing a turn.
Willow laughed. ‘I’m not doing turns on a rare night off.’
With an exaggerated smile, Lili continued to do perfect pirouettes in time with the music. Though it was a lot faster than they usually did them due to the fact that the version playing was not the classical one.
‘Everyone’s looking at you,’ Willow shouted over the music.
‘In a good way?’ Lili shouted back.
Laughter tumbled from Willow. ‘I can’t tell.’
Stopping, Lili grabbed hold of Willow’s arm as she waited for the dizziness to pass. ‘Seven’s not bad in ankle boots after a few drinks.’
‘I could beat that.’
Lili let go of her. ‘Go on, then.’
Willow got into position. ‘You’ll have to count.’
‘Sure. Ready?’ Lili stood up straight, preparing to clap her hands like Harrison would.
Willow pretended to be serious.
‘Five, six, seven, eight,’ Lili said through laughter.
Willow began to turn, feeling a brief sense of freedom as she lost herself in the familiar motion. The first five turns felt easy, but the room was definitely starting to blur as she arrived at seven. Her kitten heels were not exactly ideal. She felt herself start to tip at eight, then stopped with a sudden jolt. At first she thought she might hit the floor, but then her vision began to clear and she saw that she was upright. Upright and secure.
That was when she noticed a strong, familiar arm around her waist—an arm with a white shirt rolled to the elbow. His smoky scent hit at the same time her stomach dropped with the realisation.
‘Home time,’ Vaughn said into her ear.
The sensation of his breath on her skin had her head falling back and eyes closing involuntarily.
‘I’ve got her,’ Lili said, coming forwards to help.
Willow opened her eyes, feeling dizzy for a whole new reason. ‘That was eight turns.’
‘Well done. Let’s go.’ Lili snaked her arm through Willow’s and pulled her out of Vaughn’s arms. ‘I’ll get us an Uber.’
‘My driver will take you,’ Vaughn said, following them. He fetched his phone from his pocket.
‘Oh no,’ Lili said, not slowing down. ‘Now that I’ve witnessed this thing between you two first-hand, there’s no way I’m giving you her address.’ She tugged on Willow’s arm to get her to walk faster.
Willow looked over her shoulder and saw that Vaughn was still following them.
‘I could have both your addresses as well as all your family members’ within the next five minutes,’ he casually pointed out.
Lili exited the bar before turning to face him. ‘That is a very criminal, gangish thing to say. Though valid.’ She looked at Willow. ‘What do you think?’
Lili’s overprotectiveness was rather funny to Willow. ‘I think it’s a very generous offer that saves us $12 in fares.’
With a resigned sigh, Lili raised her chin as she looked back at Vaughn. ‘All right. Thank you, I guess. But to be very clear, we don’t owe you anything because of this.’
Vaughn gave Lili an amused look as he lit a cigarette, then took a long drag before replying, ‘Noted. This way.’
He walked ahead of the pair through the square, occasionally glancing back at them. A black Mercedes pulled up just as they reached St Kilda Road.
‘Finn will take you wherever you need to go,’ Vaughn said, opening the door and waiting for them to climb in.
Lili stepped slowly up to the car and peered inside, like she was bracing for a possessed clown to leap out. Satisfied that there was no one inside besides the driver, she climbed in.
Willow looked at Vaughn, and he looked right back. A part of her didn’t want to leave. Maybe even a big part. In truth, she wouldn’t have minded being wrapped in his smoky scent again. ‘Thank you.’
He held his cigarette away from her, eyes moving between hers. ‘Goodnight, Miss Hayes.’
‘Goodnight.’ She climbed into the car, and the door shut behind her.