CHAPTER 33
Theo
I didn’t know what the fuck was wrong with me, following Lex around the pool like a puppy dog. Serving her. Finding every excuse fathomable to touch her uninjured ankle. Meanwhile, my need to touch her in other places was growing exponentially.
This wasn’t supposed to happen. I wasn’t supposed to get to know her. I wasn’t supposed to care. But when I looked back on how all of it had transpired, I could only blame myself. I was the one who asked Lex for help, who crawled into bed with her in the staff room and brought her to my home studio to dance. I was the one who offered her a ride home and then barged into her apartment the next morning because something in my gut told me she was hiding something. And I was the one who invited her here to my house to spend the next seven days before we left for Vegas.
But why her? Why Lex? I’d never doted on any other girl. What made her different? I’d been surrounded by women my entire career. Confident women. Beautiful women. Sexy women. Limber women. I’d had them all with no shortage in sight. So why did life seem to stop when it came to Alexandra Quinn, the mousy, shy girl from Seattle? Why did I want to consume her in every possible way when there was more bad than good waiting for us on the other side?
After my rather bold “center of everything” confession, I began a new set of laps. And when I was finished, Lex was drying off by her lounge chair, her hair wet and stringy, dripping water down the lean curves of her back and waist, past the dimples above her more than perfect ass. It was hard not to look at her, and it was becoming a problem.
“How about we test that ankle of yours and go on an adventure?” I suggested as I toweled off.
“What kind of adventure?” Suspicion crept into her tone.
“There’s actually a place I’ve been meaning to scout for a potential music video. I promise, minimal walking. We can even stop by a hot dog stand for dinner.”
Her eyes lit up, and for some reason, that made me laugh.
“I’ll go change.”
Twenty minutes later, we arrived at the old LA zoo in Griffith Park. I ran around to her side of the car to help her out of the car. She said her ankle was fine, but I didn’t want to take any chances. I held the door and took her hand with my free one then offered my elbow once the door was shut. She took it.
I’d never considered myself a gentleman, but it wasn’t rocket science. It might have been bad timing. It might have been against the rules. But neither of those things stopped my heart from wanting to make Lex mine.
Lex was good, and sweet, and she had an innocence that made me want to teach her everything I knew and everything she was afraid to try. But there was also something more to her, an edge, a sass, and she challenged me.
“You should get back on the dance floor tomorrow. Maybe in the morning. We could go over a few tracks together if you’re up for it.” My suggestion was nonchalant, but I definitely had a hidden agenda. I wanted to feel the high that came with having Lex in my arms, supporting her, watching her, and moving in sync with her.
“Okay,” she said, her eyes bright. She still hadn’t moved her arm from mine. “Let’s do it.”
I smiled down at her, knowing that if anyone were to glance at us, they’d assume we were a couple. I liked it. A little too much.
We walked past the merry-go-round parking lot and started the hike toward the main section of the zoo. I’d been here before, so I had an idea where I was going. We grabbed a water at the nearest vendor cooler then continued our short trek across the space.
“What did you say this place was again?” Lex’s eyes were filled with curiosity.
Rumor was, the old LA zoo was haunted, and after learning the history, I could understand why. “A zoo,” I told her simply. I didn’t know why I got off on her curiosity, but it meant I knew something she didn’t, giving me something to teach her.
Lex laughed. “Where are the animals?”
I bit my lip and pointed at a set of metal cages. “It shut down years ago. They kept the property open for hikers and history, I guess. It’s become a unique landmark. I’m sure a studio will buy it eventually, or they’ll tear it down and build a shopping mall or some shit, but for now, it’s a fun walk.”
“A fun walk, huh?”
“Just wait and see.”
I took her through the repurposed lion’s den and found the doorway I was looking for, the words “At your own risk” colorfully painted there.
She froze in my hold. “Um, Theo. Should I be afraid?”
I chuckled. “No, absolutely not.”
“I get the feeling these areas haven’t exactly been tended to. What’s in there?” She must have asked another dozen questions as she let me tug her along the pathway and down a flight of stairs. There, at the bottom of the stairwell, she saw it.
Traces of art appeared along the way, but this was the place I wanted to come back to, where graffiti—no, art—decorated every wall, every cage, every surface around us. We had just walked into an ocean of endless color, some abstract, some clearly meticulous in its design. Words like “Believe” and “Harmony” stood out among the rest.
“Wow” was all she said as we walked past concrete walls and rusted iron cages set on either side of us. “Is this where they kept the animals?”
“The big ones, yeah. After they abandoned it back in 1966, the riffraff went crazy tagging the walls, thinking it would all just get knocked down, but for some reason the city kept it. They turned it into a park and allowed the tagging to continue. Pretty smart of them, if you ask me. I hope they keep it open forever—as a reminder of where LA came from, what it still is, and how much it’s also changing.”
“Did you come here as a boy? When you were among the riffraff?” She smiled, and I smiled back. I loved that she cared about where I came from and wanted to know more, even if it wasn’t the prettiest story.
“I did. It was nice to have a place to express ourselves, where freedom was allowed.”
“Show me something you did.”
“It’s long gone now, covered up by someone else’s masterpiece. I just visit to remind myself where I came from.”
Her eyes lingered on me for a split second before she swung her head around the space. “This place is cool. It reminds me of an eighties music video.”
Count on Lex to hit the nail on the head. “That’s exactly what I was thinking. I’d love to use this whole space. The cages, the staircase, and maybe do a big dance number out in the main area with the carousel backdrop. You can see it too, can’t you?”
She nodded. “Yeah, that would be epic. Who’s it for?”
My vision was full-blown now, not just as a vague thought in my head. “Winter. She’s going to love this shit.” An idea sparked. “We should pitch her this concept.”
She gave me a good-humored eye roll over her shoulder. “We? Nah. This is all you. Winter hates me, remember?”
I moved past her toward the cage and jumped onto the brick footer that the iron was wedged into. “She doesn’t hate you. Winter can be protective, but she means well. She just doesn’t know you yet. Trust me, when I show her this concept, she’s going to forget all the drama of last week.”
She nodded, a shadow overcasting her features. “Okay, what can I do to help?”
The ideas were spinning so fast, I couldn’t keep up with my thoughts. “She’s dropping her next single, ‘Caged,’ in three months. The video shoots in two.”
“How is that going to work with the Vegas show?”
“It’s going to be insane. We’ll be in rehearsals for it around shows in Vegas. Casting for dancers in LA next month. And then shooting for two days only on Winter’s days off. I haven’t had time to focus on this with the show and everything.”
“Can’t you use the same choreography from the show?”
I nodded. “That’s the plan, but I haven’t gotten the gig yet.” I let out a laugh. “She wants to see concepts this week.’
“But it’s your choreography.” Lex’s astonishment was refreshing. Sometimes I felt so bubbled into my own little world that I forgot what reality looked like.
“Yeah, well. It’s kind of her tactic to make people work harder for her. If they always have that fear of competition, they’re bound to.”
I could almost see the gears shifting in Lex’s brain. “So, then I’ll shoot you running the choreo against the backdrop. You can show her what it could look like.”
A grin stretched my face as I reached into my back pocket and started thumbing through my playlist. “Let’s do it. I’ll edit the footage tonight and send something rough over to Winter in the morning as a little preview of this week’s pitch. You’re a genius.” I winked at her and caught her blush.
I’d been hesitant with Lex today, biding my time before I made another move. Yesterday was intense, and I didn’t want to risk the rejection while wounds were fresh. But as my eyes traveled to Lex’s mouth for the hundredth time that day, I didn’t think I could wait much longer.