5. Promise

“WHAT do you mean you gave him your number?!” Thalia’s voice echoes through the cafe and I feel myself growing ashamed when a few heads turn around to look at us with slight annoyance. 

“Hush!” I hurry to make the brunette shut her mouth before she makes a fool out of both of us.

She rolls her eyes and leans back into her seat, covering her face with both her hands. 

“From what you know, he could be a fuckign serial killer! Didn’t your parents warn you about men like those?! Did I fail to mention men are pigs and they will-”

“Oh, Stop it!” I started to feel a bit uncomfortable with her fussing like this and I started doubting my decision to exchange numbers. “He also has no idea who I am-” I huff and bite my lower lip, looking out the window, watching the first drops of rain start to fall.

Thalia turns silent and I feel like she is weighing this all in her mind once again. Truth was, it sounded a bit crazy. In a world like this, with a name like mine, you could never be too cautious. My father had insisted on having my own bodyguard, always being followed around and protected, but with someone like Thalia, I did not need protection.

Thalia was a beast. She was also my most trusted friend, since we’ve grown together since too long to even remember when we met. She was a few years older than me, and she was my only friend outside the pack. She might have been the only person I have ever trusted to allow inside my life, close enough to know the littlest details there were to know. 

“I am glad you took my advice of giving your V-card away before your marriage.” she eventually finds her courage to speak again. “Though, I never advised in getting a friend with benefits-” she huffs and leans in, bringing her face closer to mine, her voice dropping so only I could hear her. 

Her eyes narrow on me again and I feel like she’s going to restart her scolding and her life advice. 

“The moment he does something that seems even mildly off, you tell me-.” she hisses, showing off her teeth. 

She’s angry. She’s worried, and for the first time since we’ve known each other, I wonder if she was jealous. She had hinted to different things before, things that could have been very intimate between us, but I never took that path with her. 

“I’ll rip his balls off and feed them to the fish-” she smirks widely, exposing her white teeth to me. 

There is something twisted in that smile, and truly, I am happy to have a friend like her. I am happy to know someone has my back, in a genuine way, not because they feel like I’m too weak to care for myself.

“He’s twice your size, Thalia!” I chuckle and she leans back, rolling her eyes, giving me a pensive look. 

“What’s his name again?” 

“He said he’s David. But something tells me he lied-” my nose wrinkles and Thalia chuckles.

“I think he smelled you out too! You definitely don’t look like a freaking Roxanne!” she burst into a laugh, shaking her head.

I smile at her amusement. That was the only name I found available in my head to offer at that moment. It came as a happy surprise to know he does not recognize me. And for the first time in a long while, I felt at ease that someone was not into ballet. It was a niche, only a certain kind of people liked it.

It only now settles for me… ballet. Ballet was my life! Would my husband force me to quit? The smile falters from my face and I suddenly realize that my escape might have actually been my doom. How did I not see it until now-

The phone in my pocket suddenly starts to buzz and for a moment, my panicked mind seems to take a break, everything emptying at once. I pull it out and it seems that my reaction is so obvious that even Thalia picks on it.

“The only thing-” she leans in and grabs my phone before I could open the message. “I beg of you, Maddy.” her voice grows serious, and her smile fades. “Please, Do not fall in love. You’re far too deep into your decisions, far too important things have started to play out for you. The marriage, the upcoming shows-” her lips press into a thin line and her brows come together in a deep worry.

A joyous smile crosses my lips and I feel confident. This is all just for fun! This is all just a business type of relationship! We both benefit from it. No strings attached, no nothing. Just benefits! 

“I promise I will not fall in love with this David-” I speak his name in a mocking way, and it seems that Thalia is just as confident as I am. 

She smirks and hands me my phone back. 

“I want all the spicy details-” she winks at me and I chuckle. “Because you seem to be glo-wing. Only a magic wand can do that to a woman. A certain kind of wand-” she winks again and I feel myself grow red with embarrassment.

I roll my eyes and start to reply to the text, before another buzz comes in, and another... and another and my eyes round with a bit of fear.

"Is he being a creep already?" Thalia leans in, to see what was happening. 

"It's not him... I need to get to the dance studio-" I murmur and before she can say anything, I put down my credit card. "It's on me! Get anything else you wish for. I'll see you later alright?!" 

And with that, I rush out the door, to get to my car and drive off to the dance studio.