Chapter 7 #2
I slowly opened the door and stepped inside, standing a little awkwardly past the doorframe.
Demetrius still really intimidated me with his presence, and I didn’t quite know how to act around him yet, so I continued to stand awkwardly, looking around the room at everything he had out on display.
There were old fans from Don Quixote, autographed pictures of him and other famous dancers, and a few old posters from previous seasons, some of which featured him as the main character.
He looked up from his computer and, probably sensing my awkwardness, gave me a warm smile. “You look very nice. Red is a lovely color on you.”
I blushed at the compliment. “Thank you. I hope this is appropriate for today.”
“Very appropriate. Isaac’s changing; he should be ready shortly. You can sit on the couch if you’d like.”
I walked over to the couch and sat down, crossing one leg over the other as my eyes drifted to all the display things in the office.
The longer I looked, the more my mind flooded with memories of the last time Demetirus and I were alone together—the strength of his scent, my first time perfuming, and him ordering me out.
My body grew more flushed with each thought.
“How was your day?” he asked as he continued working at his computer.
“Fine, busy day,” I replied. “Yours?”
He glanced up, catching my gaze with a quick smile. “Fine, busy day as well.”
Isaac burst into the room, freshly showered and full of energy. He walked straight to Demetrius’s desk, clapping his hands in excitement.
“Dem! I’m so pumped! Are you ready to go?” he asked Demetrius.
I grinned, pretty sure he hadn’t seen me yet. Demetrius flicked his eyes to me briefly as well, sharing in my smile.
“Almost ready,” Demetrius returned to his computer. “Just let me finish this one email…”
“I can’t wait to see Ivy. We’re going to have a lot of fun tonight. Preston keeps talking about when she licked his neck…” Isaac leaned his arms down on Demetrius’s desk.
“Lucky for you, you don’t have to wait too long to see her again,” Demetrius interrupted him, gesturing to me on the couch.
Turning around, Isaac let out a slight gasp, locking his eyes on mine. “Sneaking up on me, Ivy? I punish girls for being sneaky.”
My breath hitched, but I managed to control myself. I stood up and walked over to him, poking my finger into his chest. “I believe I was here first, no punishment necessary.”
With a dramatic flourish of his hands, Demetrius closed his laptop and stood up. “Alright, let’s go!”
***
The Worley Interactive Museum was housed in a large grey building in the downtown arts sector of the city. From the outside, nothing hinted at anything out of the ordinary. The inside, though, was a splash of chaos and color—very much like Isaac.
Demetrius and Isaac escorted me to the front counter to turn in our tickets. I eagerly glanced around, taking in the excitement of the designs while we walked down the hallway near the first few exhibits.
“Ivy, I’m in charge tonight, and I’ll lead you around for some fun,” Isaac stated confidently, holding my hand and pulling me along with him. Demetrius casually followed behind, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
The first exhibit featured a giant projector that cast a silhouette of whoever stood in front of it, while the screen alternated the color of the silhouettes and morphed their shape. We walked up to the screen, analyzing its effects.
As I stood waving my arm around in the air in front of the projector, Isaac called out to me. “Dance for us, Ivy!”
“You brought me here to dance more?” I laughed. “Good thing I’m wearing shorts underneath this dress.”
Don Quixote was the first ballet to come to mind.
I started moving, lifting my leg, and gesturing with my arms. My silhouette projected onto the screen, turning my shadow into various colors of the rainbow.
I continued on with the music playing in my head as Isaac cheered me on and Demetrius watched with a warm smile.
This piece was supposed to be a duet, and for the most part, I could fake it without a partner.
But soon enough, I reached the point where a partner would normally lift me into a fish dive—a pose that required a man to hold me off the floor.
I was about to stop when two strong arms wrapped around my waist and under my leg as the bold scent of dark chocolate and roasted coffee beans drifted in the air.
Demetrius effortlessly lifted me and guided me into the pose, my back nestled against his chest. Onlookers applauded his efforts while several of the smaller children watching gasped and pointed.
He set me down gently back onto my feet as we both laughed and gave a quick wave to the few people around us.
“I thought I’d jump in. I instantly recognized the choreography,” he said with a certain amusement in his tone. His hand lingered on my lower back for a brief moment, his fingers flexing against my skin before his hand fell away.
“Bravo!” Isaac exclaimed, clapping Demetrius on the back. “I’m surprised you still had it in you.”
“It’s in there somewhere.” He stretched his arms out, ushering us to the side. We stepped away from the projection, letting the next group of young kids in, who immediately tried to replicate my steps, bringing a slight smile to my face.
“Let’s move on.” Isaac pulled me to his side as we approached the next exhibit in an enclosed room.
Inside the room, large screens surrounded the walls and floor, and every few seconds, the images shifted.
Bright colors and crazy shapes formed across the screens, then disintegrated before forming a new random shape with a different color.
The room was designed to mess with one's sense of depth and stability, which I instantly felt.
“Whoa,” I said, swaying on my feet. Isaac gestured for me to go farther into the room, but my vision swam around. I took another step, but my head started to hurt.
“I’ve got you,” Demetrius whispered in my ear as he braced my back, holding my hand. “If you get too dizzy, close your eyes.”
“Thank you,” I whispered, squeezing his hand tight against mine as his scent drifted next to me. I inhaled his scent deeply as he slowly led me to Isaac, who was spinning around in the room.
“I’m so dizzy!” I laughed at Isaac.
“I know, me too! Isn’t it great?” Isaac laughed back before coming over to me. “Too much?”
“Just a bit,” I nodded, closing my eyes and resting my body against Demetrius. Wrapping his arm further around me, he guided me out of the room, much to my relief, as I let his delicious scent ground and recenter me.
Once outside the room, I let out a sigh of relief. “The illusions nearly broke my brain! Please, no more of that!”
Chuckling, Demetrius let go of me as I found my balance again. The moment his hands fell away again, a chill replaced the warmth that had anchored me, leaving me wanting more of his support. Maybe he instinctively liked to protect his pack…
Isaac pulled me into a big hug, replacing the loss of warmth with his chaotic presence. “I like to come here to get inspired for choreography. Let's go over here next.” He looked to the next exhibit and led me forward.
“This is supposed to be an emotion recognition AI bot.” Isaac pointed to a computer in front of us as we stood on a capture display. Seeing Demetrius hesitate to join us, I reached for his hand and tugged him toward me. I wanted to make sure he wouldn’t just be left on the side all the time.
Standing in front of the display, I read the directions off the wall. “Stand still for three seconds for the AI to capture your image.” Turning to Isaac, I asked, “Do we smile?”
“Do whatever you want, love.” Isaac squeezed my hand. We stood still for a few seconds while a bright flash captured our image.
“Come over here,” Isaac said, pulling me to the analysis screen. “It says that Ivy is…hopeful. That’s good!”
“Isaac is…flirty and Demetrius is…protective,” I giggled slightly. “That AI’s pretty good, although it missed ‘chaotic’ for you, Isaac.”
“I am not chaotic!” he playfully argued with me. “I’m creative!”
“I bet you were told that a lot as a kid,” I joked back, earning a laugh from Demetrius.
We moved to the next area, which had us choose between an art gallery for kids or an adult-themed section of more risqué pieces.
“Something tells me the kids' section is safe, and we should choose that,” I said sarcastically, pointing to the childish side full of bright, fun, safe colors.
“No way,” Isaac and Demetrius said at the same time, both with slightly mischievous grins on their faces. I was a little shocked to see Demetrius warming up a bit in this building. I hadn’t seen much of his playful side before this point.
“Come this way, beautiful, and try not to blush too much in here.” Isaac grabbed my hand as Demetrius followed behind.
The adult side was erotic, but also full of beautiful sculptures, large-scale paintings, and some thought-provoking pieces.
Isaac led me from painting to painting, pointing out every erotic piece as he whispered in my ear.
He constantly touched his hand gently on my shoulder as he nuzzled gently against my neck while he whispered in my ear.
I loved all of it so much, but it was slowly melting my restraint.
His lips looked ready to kiss. I wondered if he’d be surprised if I just kissed him here…
Sensing I needed to calm down a bit, I left his side and looked to Demetrius, who was staring at a picture of a sailboat facing down a huge storm.
“Do you like this painting?” I asked as I approached him.
“I do,” he replied, his hands crossed behind his back. “This painting makes me think of us with you joining the pack.”
I analyzed the picture further. “Am I the storm?”
“No, not like that.” He quickly tried to correct his thoughts. “You and the company.”
“We’re the storm about ready to hit you?”