Chapter Nine - New Fire

The morning sun filtered into Noah’s bedroom like an unwanted guest. He stirred awake at the sound of his alarm beeping, reached across the bedside drawer and turned the alarm off. 

He didn’t get up; he just lay there, the silence of his small apartment magnifying the echo of Elliott’s voice from three nights ago. It’s not unusual for a stray to go back to the alley. That was where I picked you up from, wasn’t it?

The words had hurt him more than a physical cut would. And every time he closed his eyes, he could clearly see the disdain in Elliott’s eyes as he looked at him. He knew Elliott could be cold but what he saw was worse than that. It was cruelty stemming from jealousy. A side he never saw. 

Noah swiped the phone screen open, the brightness stinging his eyes. There were no new messages. He scrolled up through their one-sided chat history. He had left tons of messages that Elliott had read but not responded to. His last message, Can we talk? Please, was yet to be read. He stared at it until the screen timed out and went black, reflecting his hollowed-eyes. 

Noah sat up, rubbing his face with his palms. His skin felt cold. He had tried to be the bigger person, to explain, but the silence from Elliott showed he didn’t matter. He was only needed for pleasure.  

"I said get out. Go home. I’ll call you when I need you.” Elliott had said. 

Noah felt exactly like the "stray" Elliott had accused him of being. As he prepared for school, he remembered he had Elliott’s class for the day and wondered what it would be like. 

***

The atmosphere in the lecture hall was suffocating.

In the back row sat Dr. Aris, a senior supervisor with a clipboard and a face made of granite. Every word Elliott spoke was being recorded and his interaction with each student was being judged.

Noah sat far back in class and wasn't taking notes. He was barely paying attention; his mind being a chaotic loop, he had bags under his eyes. Elliott hadn’t looked at him once during the lecture, not even when their eyes accidentally met for a split second. 

When the lecture ended, the students scrambled to leave. Noah hung back, waiting until the supervisor had finished talking to Elliott and left the room.

"Elliott," Noah whispered, stepping onto the podium. "Don’t you think you are overreacting?"

Elliott didn't look up from his bag. "Professor Vance, Noah. And stay back."

Noah stopped. "What?"

"One of the terms of our arrangement was discretion," Elliott said, his voice tight and professional, though his hands were shaking as he packed his laptop. "We are not friends. We do not have 'talks' in public. If you have questions about the coursework, email the TA."

"You can't be serious," Noah whispered. "After what you said to me? After how you treated me?"

Elliott finally looked at him, and for a second, Noah saw the agony behind the mask. "There is a report, Noah. An investigation is being done. They are watching us right now. If you have any sense, you’ll walk away and act like you barely know my name."

Elliott turned and vanished through the side exit before Noah could respond.

"Rough day?”

Noah turned to find Sebastian leaning against a desk with two of his friends seated on the desk, a smug grin on their faces.

"You must really piss off the professor for him to snub you like that." Sebastian sneered. 

"Shut up, Sebastian," Noah said, his voice dangerously low.

“Come on, you hommies can’t take a joke?” Sebastian and his jeered. 

“Or maybe he’s the one the tip was talking about.” One of them said happily. 

The other continued, “Yeah… The inappropriate conduct between a professor and a student.”

“Oh please, the professor can do better than a wannabe scholar.” Sebastian sneered. 

Noah didn't even give him the satisfaction of a response. He walked out of the hall, his heart a block of ice. He didn't go to his next class. He didn't go home. He went to the one place that felt like the truth.

***

The club was mostly empty, the lights dim for the afternoon prep. He found Damien in the back.

"It was you." Noah snapped. "The tip to the school, it was you, right?"

Damien looked up, blowing a cloud of smoke into the air. "I already told you, I don’t tattle.”

“Well someone did. And you are the only one who knows.”

Damien puts off his cigarette.

“What do I gain if I snitch on you? Hmm? What you do with your life is none of my business.”

He moved past Noah. “If someone snitched, it’s because you two were sloppy. You both could barely keep your eyes off each other."

Noah followed him to the bar. Damein poured a drink and offered him. Noah sank onto a barstool, exhausted. 

On the stage, a new dancer was practicing. He was fast, fluid, and held a grace that Noah hadn't seen in years.

"Who's that?" Noah asked.

"Leo," Damien said. "New hire. He’s going to be the biggest draw this place has seen since you left."

Noah watched him. Leo moved effortlessly, completely unaware of the darkness of the world outside. When the music stopped, Leo jumped off the stage, wiping sweat from his forehead with his tank top. He spotted Noah and grinned. His smile was bright, electrifying. Without meaning to, Noah’s lips started to twitch upwards. 

Noah caught himself, then looked away immediately and cleared his throat. 

"Hey," Leo said, walking over. "The 'Legend' returns."

"I’m not a legend," Noah said.

"People here talk about you like you are," Leo leaned against the bar, his eyes sparkling with genuine interest. "I saw your routine on the old tapes. You are good and…”

He weighed Noah from head to toe and back up. “Sexier in person.” he added flirtatiously. 

A nervous breathless laugh caught in Noah’s throat as a dusty rose stained his cheeks.   

"Thank you."

"Well," Leo reached into his pocket and pulled out a marker, grabbing a napkin from the bar. He scribbled a number down and slipped it into Noah’s hand.

His touch lingered. For a heartbeat, Noah forgot how to breathe. He felt the prickling warmth spread over his body.

Leo leaned closer, "If you ever want to hang; get a drink or two with someone who would very much like that, call me."

Noah looked at the napkin, then up at Leo. For the first time in forty-eight hours, Noah didn’t feel like a tool for pleasure to be bought, or a problem to be managed, but as a person. And it felt good. 

He took the napkin. "I will take you up on that."

"See ya around, Legend," Leo winked and headed back to the stage.

Noah smiled. His eyes remained fixed on Leo, there is a longing there of what might have been if he wasn't tied up in an exclusive contract. His fantasy is cut short with vibration of his phone in his pocket.