22. Zane
TWENTY-TWO
ZANE
The suit itches.
Formal suits always itch, which is why I avoid wearing them, but at a function like this, the dress code is a requirement, not a request.
The half-mask I wear covers my upper face, and it’s a testament to its creator that it sits comfortably on my face instead of making me want to rip it off every ten seconds. It’s still hot, of course, but the suit is worse.
I fucking hate suits.
“How do you wear these suits on a regular basis?” I complain to Jayce, taking a sip of my wine. “I’m ready to tear this jacket off and throw it into the river already.”
Jayce smiles and lifts his champagne flute to me. “You’re weak, that’s all.” His mask is more elaborate than mine, with intricate gold details that look good contrasted against his dark skin. “You wear it well, though. You could stand to wear a nice three-piece more often.”
Richard would approve. He hates that I “dress down” on a regular basis, but I’m not going to be uncomfortable on ten to twelve hour work days because of someone’s delicate sensibilities.
Events like this are the only exception to my rule.
“I’ll pass,” I tell him, scanning our surroundings.
I’m still not sure the danger has passed.
The guest list had been carefully curated, but then, so had the one at Genevieve’s party.
Assassins are nothing if not resourceful, and if I’m not careful, I could find myself being thrown over the railing.
I hate this paranoia.
I hate that my thoughts circle back around to Hyacinth, who wants something from me that I can’t give him.
He’s not wrong to want someone willing to display him openly. I know that.
But that person can’t be me, no matter how embittering that thought is.
Maybe it’s time to try to find a woman I can stand and get married, committing myself to the sham. It isn’t as though I don’t like some women, but I do lean in the other direction when given a choice.
“Jayce!” a woman’s voice calls out.
We both turn to see a Black woman in a stunning red dress approach us. Her mask is as elaborate as Jayce’s, with red feathers and red rhinestones decorating it.
“Tiffany! I didn’t expect to see you here,” Jayce says.
She leans in to kiss Jayce’s cheek, but the masks make it difficult. They both laugh and give up that attempt.
“You didn’t say you were invited,” Jayce comments. “I would have escorted you.”
Tiffany laughs. “I didn’t know you’d be here either. It’s a good thing I recognized that mask, or we might have walked right past each other.”
Jayce notices me staring. “Zane, this is my sister, Tiffany. Tiffany, this is my friend Zane Vilani.”
“I didn’t know you had a sister,” I comment mildly.
“I live up north in Benton, usually,” Tiffany says. “I was in town for work, and this invite crossed my lap.”
Given that he knows about some of my proclivities, I doubt Jayce would appreciate me flirting with his sister. But I smile at her, lifting my glass in a salute. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Your mask is exquisite.”
It’s certainly more elaborate than the green and gold one I’m wearing.
“The pleasure’s all mine,” Tiffany responds. She glances around the deck of the riverboat. “I wonder how long it’ll be before everybody ditches the masks. It’s making it hard to network when I don’t know who to approach.”
“Maybe that’s the point,” Jayce says. “Instead of working, you should be enjoying yourself. Dancing the night away with a mysterious stranger.”
Tiffany rolls her eyes. “My brother wants me to have a whirlwind romance and get my heart broken. Don’t you have your own love life to worry about? A cute stranger who makes you go breathless?”
For some reason, Jayce goes utterly still. “No,” he says in a clipped tone. “There’s nobody for me right now.”
I arch a brow. That’s a strong reaction that indicates there’s absolutely someone for him right now, but that it isn’t working out for one reason or another.
I wonder if he has his own bad decision on the side.
For some reason, that makes my lips quirk, but I stop before it can become a full smile for him to take the wrong way. “Pity. He’s always on my case to find someone. You’d think he’d be just as determined to find someone for himself,” I tell Tiffany.
Tiffany nods. “Right? But it’s none of my business.” She bumps Jayce with her hip. “Can you be a darling and get me another glass of wine?”
Jayce sighs, but he nods. “Fine. Zane—no, never mind. I’m getting myself another one, and I only have two hands.” He walks toward the open bar and gets in line for another drink.
Tiffany stares after him, then shakes her head. “He’s hiding something from me, huh.”
“From both of us,” I say. “And here I thought we were friends.” I chuckle. “Well, we all have our secrets.”
Like the fact that I fucked the man trying to kill me, however how temporarily it had been.
I wonder how much Tiffany knows about the darker side of Jayce’s business—or his own less than gentle proclivities.
I won’t ruin the illusion she has of her big brother.
“How long will you be in New Valence?” I ask her.
“Just until the end of the week. I was meeting with some clients regarding a marketing contract.” Tiffany keeps talking about her work, something about a multi-million dollar marketing campaign. None of it holds my interest.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see a woman in a silver, full-face mask. I turn, but she’s already moved away before I can get a good look.
Not many people on the riverboat are wearing full masks.
I wonder what Hyacinth would wear, if he came to a function like this.
I grit my teeth, then force my attention back to Tiffany. “Would you like to dance?” I ask her in the space between sentences. I gesture toward the open area of the boat, where a few others have begun to dance. “I promise I won’t embarrass you too much.”
Jayce would kill me if I did half as much to his sister as I’ve done to some of the women he’s introduced me to, but I wouldn’t.
I couldn’t, not without thinking about Hyacinth in the process.
Everyone will be held to that standard now. I can’t have him, but he’ll still be a specter in my thoughts.
Tiffany smiles. “With an offer like that, how can I refuse?” She takes my hand and allows me to lead her to the open dance floor.
“I thought it was rather enticing,” I tell her, setting my empty glass on a passing server’s tray.
I’d hated learning to dance when I’d been a teenager, but as it turned out, it’s been a useful skill at functions like these.
My father had been right.
He’d been right about a lot of things.
What would he think about my sexuality?
My decision to hide it?
Would he encourage me to be out, or would he tell me to stay firmly in the closet?
Tiffany places one hand on my shoulder and clasps my other hand. I gingerly place my free hand on her side.
“You can go a bit lower than that,” Tiffany says with amusement. “I promise I won’t tell Jayce if you aren’t a perfect gentleman.”
“Ah, but I’d know,” I tell her, but I slide my hand a few inches down into a more comfortable position.
This isn’t like touching Hyacinth.
I wonder what dancing like him would be like. Not this casual series of steps, but something more intimate. He would move gracefully, pressing against me as he whispered in my ear, and—
I have to get him out of my head.
I can’t do that with Jayce’s fucking sister, but that simply means I’ll be making a detour to Club Neon before I return home this evening.
I have to find someone to replace Hyacinth in my thoughts before I get careless.
The music swells higher, and one of the couples dancing next to us does a twirl. Behind them, I spot Jayce’s familiar mask. He’s standing extremely close to another person.
He’s standing close to another man, who has his hands on Jayce’s hips.
“Huh. Who’s he talking to?” Tiffany asks. She has to lean in close for me to hear her over the music.
I shake my head. “I don’t know. I didn’t even realize Jayce swung that way.”
He’s willing to dance with another man in public, but wasn’t comfortable enough with me to tell me? It’s a bit galling, but now I want to know who has caught his attention.
Tiffany presses her body closer to mine.
A hand grabs my shoulder.
“Excuse me,” a familiar, soft-pitched voice says. “I think I told you what would happen if you touched anyone else.”
I don’t need to turn to know who that voice belongs to.
I should refuse.
I should walk away.
I should do anything but accept.
This is only going to twist me up more, making everything ten times more difficult, and muddy the waters.
I slowly turn and look at him, seeing the full-faced silver mask and the dress that was clearly tailor-made to go with it. The relief floods me upon seeing how feminine he looks in his full-body dress, which is the only thing that will make it possible to dance with him in public.
I’m not as bold as Jayce apparently is.
The threat hangs in the air. If I refuse, will Hyacinth attack Tiffany?
He’d have no trouble at all snapping her delicate fingers. With a well placed knife, her red dress would be dyed in an even deeper hue of crimson.
And if Hyacinth doesn’t kill me after that, Jayce will.
“So you did,” I say. “Tiffany, it’s been a pleasure. I’m afraid I have a prior commitment.”
Tiffany smiles. “Sure. I’ll try to find the people I’m supposed to be networking with.” She waves and walks off.
Hyacinth holds his hand out to me. The mask hides his expression. The only thing visible are his silver eyes, peeking through the eye holes.
I can’t read them.
I take his hand, drawing him close. “What are you doing here?” I ask.
“I’m here to make your life hell,” Hyacinth says. He squeezes my hand to the point of pain. “I’m not somebody you dismiss, Zane. You can’t replace me.”
“I didn’t dismiss you,” I say mildly. “You’re the one who walked away from me.”
I lead him across the dance floor, his large skirt billowing out as we turn.
“No. You didn’t want me there.” Hyacinth suddenly drops his hand to my waist and begins leading me in the dance. “You think I’m something to be ashamed of.”