The Little Barmaid Read online

  “You never did text me,” I said, wondering if it was even worth bringing up. “I hoped you would.”

  Her expression became carefully neutral and she looked anywhere but at me. “I’m not that kind of girl.”

  I frowned. “What kind?”

  “Whatever kind you think I am. The stammering, starstruck kind that’s happy to just be something on the side—”

  I shook my head and cut her off. “I’m not that kind of guy.”

  Her eyes were wide. I understood her reluctance. I mean, what kind of normal relationship could she ever have with me? My life was bizarre. And I had a reputation as someone who didn’t date. Hell, I hadn’t had a relationship in years. But that had been because I hadn’t met anyone I liked. This was different.

  She liked me. I liked her. This was where I figured out how to make a move.

  “Do you want to help me with this dance number?” I asked her.

  Nailed it. It wasn’t even a lie, either. Ursula and I hadn’t exactly mastered it this morning. I could use the practice.

  “You want to dance with me?” she questioned. “Aren’t you supposed to be doing this number with Ursula?”

  I nodded. “I am, but she went out to lunch. I keep messing up this one sequence. Maybe you could practice with me?” I extended a hand to her and gestured toward the open, vacant studio.

  Her big blue eyes searched my face for a moment and then she put her hand in mine. “Sure. That sounds fun.”

  * * *

  The dance number wasn’t particularly difficult, just a modified foxtrot for the most part with a more difficult sequence containing a few lifts and a kiss at the end, but Ursula and I had struggled this morning. I just wasn’t feeling it with her (in so many ways). I didn’t like to think that I ever had the ‘two left feet’ problem, but the dance just didn’t come very naturally with her. I knew we’d get there eventually, but it wasn’t there yet. The same wasn’t true for Ariel. It was like our bodies had been made for each other and we’d just been waiting for the music.

  Ariel floated over the floor like she was a spirit, gracefully turning and spinning as I led her through the routine. She needed almost no instruction, picking up the steps almost as soon as I taught them to her. She followed well, clearly having extensive experience at ballroom dance. Having her in my arms felt fantastic. It was kind of like driving a tractor all morning to suddenly get an upgrade to a Ferrari. Ariel was the luxury, high-performance vehicle of dance partners, and I was more than ready to take her for a test drive.

  Everywhere our bodies met felt electric. Her tiny hand was in mine and my other hand was on the small of her back, having drifted there from her waist as we moved. I was probably holding her closer than I needed to, and the disparity in our heights and strides suggested a wider dance frame, but I couldn’t resist it. The way she looked up at me when she wasn’t spotting her turns made my heart pound.

  When we got to the lifts, I took my time walking her through the choreography without the music playing. Ariel was shorter and lighter than Ursula, so the lifts were easier for both of us. Ariel also seemed more experienced with them. For all of Ursula’s dance training, she hadn’t yet mastered the technique of holding totally taut and still while being lifted. But lifting Ariel up by the waist and watching her kick in the mirror did things to me that Ursula didn’t manage. Touching her made me feel lighter than air.

  How were we so good together? It felt like Ariel and I had been made for this dance. When I’d taught her all the choreography and turned the music on again, the number seemed to flow totally naturally. It was a shame to think that Ariel would be wasted in the chorus line for this number. She really belonged front and center.

  Technically, she was excellent. At any point it was obvious that she knew exactly where her body was in time and space. The awareness of one’s body in dance is always essential, but especially when dancing with a partner. When a ballerina swings her leg up over her face, she could as easily kick herself in the nose if she doesn’t have that control. Or, she might kick her partner in the face, which would be even worse. It was clear to me that I would have no such problems with Ariel, and so I danced better too. We floated through the number without errors on our first go around, a feat that Ursula and I had not managed in almost four hours of rehearsal.

  The number ended with an assisted pirouette and penché where Ariel turned over and over before extending her back leg up past her head and I held her waist and steadied her. Then I flipped her, putting her back over my knee and leaning down to kiss her. It was a very romantic, ballet-inspired ending to the number, only sexier. Once I had her bent over my knee with her hand around my shoulders and our faces inches apart, I couldn’t resist it. I hadn’t kissed Ursula in the rehearsals today, it was unnecessary (and unwanted). But I was going to kiss Ariel.

  Ariel froze in surprise when she realized what I was going to do. Time slowed down.

  The sound of clapping pulled us out of our fantasy. We were no longer alone. Ursula was staring at us and applauding sarcastically.

  “Having fun?” she asked us, sneering.

  11

  Ariel

  I felt like I’d just been caught with my hand in the cookie jar. One second I’d been dancing with Derek, then he’d been almost kissing me, then I’d been ready to be kissed by him, and now I was staring at a woman who could make or break my career like it was a nail. I wriggled awkwardly out of Derek’s embrace and swallowed hard.

  I don’t belong here.

  This is not good. This is the opposite of good.

  God, she looked so incredibly angry.

  Her eyes focused on me like I’d just slapped her. Her skin was pale and the hand that was grasping her cup of designer coffee was so tight that the liquid was bubbling up out of the lid and dripping on the floor. Was she going to lunge at me like an angry lion? Could I take her in a fight? Were they dating? What the heck was going on? Thoughts flew through my head faster than I could sort through them and the entire time, Ursula just kept on staring.

  “I asked Ariel here to help me with that last sequence,” Derek said, straightening and looking from Ursula’s disapproving frown to my sheepish, guilty expression with a placid, totally neutral look on his face. He didn’t sound embarrassed. If anything, he sounded a bit annoyed. “You know the one I kept missing this morning?”

  Ursula raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

  He nodded and pressed his dark hair back from his face. “Yes, I think I’ve got it down now,” he replied. I couldn’t tell if he was at all concerned at being caught kissing a chorus girl for real. Maybe he did that kind of thing all the time. I hoped that wasn’t the case, but it was certainly a possibility. I didn’t know how to resist Derek, let alone whether I ought to be trying. But by Ursula’s expression, I’d just crossed a serious line.

  “Shall we give it a try?” Ursula asked, stepping forward and then between Derek and me. I shuffled back awkwardly. It was probably my cue to leave. “No,” Ursula said, looking over her shoulder when I tried to bolt. “Stay and watch. Let’s see if you helped warm him up.”

  “Are you sure? We’re probably about to—” I said, gesturing toward the door.

  Warm him up? Gross.

  “No,” Ursula said again, snapping out the word from between deep red lips and a furrowed brow. “I think we’ll do better with an audience. Maybe that’s what we needed all along.”

  Derek seemed at a loss.

  “Ursula—” he warned, looking at me with an undecipherable look on his handsome features. “Let her go. I don’t want to get her in trouble.”

  She laughed lightly. “Come on, Derek. Don’t be silly. If you wanted to practice with me, you should have just asked. You didn’t need to go grab some random chorus girl.”

  “She’s not—”

  I shook my head at Derek. Don’t defend me, I begged him with my eyes. You’re only going to make it worse for me.

  He must have gotten the picture because he fro
wned and fell silent. Ursula could easily get me fired. All she had to do was look at me wrong and she’d get me canned. I hadn’t realized she was this jealous or possessive of Derek, but apparently, I’d made a big mistake.

  Ursula took the remote from his pocket and turned the music on. All I could do was stand back at watch. I settled in nervously.

  The music started and they started to dance. Ursula was good. At least as good as I was, probably better. She was taller than me, curvier, and much, much sexier. She and Derek went through the routine focused entirely on one another and making me feel like I was the one who had interrupted something private. I felt like I should leave. This was their intimate moment. Derek had just been dancing with me to tide him over until Ursula returned, and I’m sure he just got carried away with that kiss at the end. After all, it was an easy thing to do…

  By the time the final steps came and the kiss at the end, I was mortified. What had I been thinking? Ursula was obviously the star of this show. Not me. I shouldn’t pretend differently, not even in my mind. She kissed him like he belonged to her, holding him for a long time as the music cut to nothing. I looked down, ready to be anywhere else but here.

  Watching these two lock lips was going to happen a lot on this movie. I might as well get used to it. But for some reason it made my heart swell with jealousy to even consider it. Which was, of course, totally ridiculous. I had no claim on him. He certainly wasn’t mine and never would be. He belonged with someone like her—someone on his level.

  “Well, aren’t you even going to clap?” Ursula asked when she finally pulled away.

  I clapped on reflex, even though I wanted to cry. I banged my hands together and tried to decipher the look on Derek’s face. I couldn’t. But deciphering Ursula’s didn’t take any effort at all. She was pissed, and I couldn’t really piss off Ursula. I needed her. She needed me too or, at least, she needed my voice. But it was obvious to me now that she wasn’t going to let me near Derek again.

  “I should really get back to my rehearsal,” I said, looking at the clock. “We’re starting up again in five minutes.”

  “I’ll walk you back,” Ursula said, leaving Derek standing looking confused in the center of the studio. “I need to grab some water.”

  As we walked down the hallway side by side, I prayed she wouldn’t say anything else. She’d made her point. But I guess she hadn’t rubbed it in enough because she stopped me from opening the door to the chorus girl rehearsal space and got right up in my face.

  “I trust I’ve made my point with you,” she said. “I’m really doing you a favor.”

  “A favor?” I asked. I managed not to sound disgusted, but only barely. She was throwing her weight around. While I knew that was her prerogative, I thought it was a bit low to act like she was some kind of altruist about it. She wanted Derek. Because she was a famous movie star, she’d get to have him. How that benefited me was a mystery. “How so?”

  “He’s had a lot of pretty little chorus girls,” Ursula said, laughing lightly and pressing a curl that had escaped my bun back behind my ear. I recoiled at the personal contact and she only laughed harder. “While he might notice when you’re around, I can assure you he doesn’t remember you when you aren’t. You utterly cease to exist when I’m in the room with him.”

  I didn’t reply. I just stared at her. Was that true about Derek? Did he sleep with all the chorus girls? I hated the idea that Derek only wanted to sleep with me, although another tiny, slutty part was excited by the prospect. My thoughts were all jumbled up. He seemed nice. Normal even.

  Or as normal as someone who was born a billionaire and became a movie star could possibly be. And he was so. Damn. Good looking. Being in close proximity to him was turning me into someone I didn’t recognize.

  “You’ll only be embarrassed if you let him seduce you,” Ursula said when I didn’t reply. “And you don’t want to mess with me, either. You’ll only get your face broken if you try fighting above your weight class,” she told me. “Be smart. I know this is your first production, so it’s probably a lot to take in. Take some good advice and keep your knees together. Derek Prince is going to be mine soon, but until he figures that out, he’s definitely not going to be yours.”

  “I don’t think—”

  “You’re right,” she interrupted. “You clearly don’t think. Go read your contract. It says you’ll do nothing to compromise my public image. I want Derek. He’ll be good for my image. Therefore, you can’t have him. How about you think about that.” Her voice was tart and her expression was plainly threatening.

  I don’t take well to being threatened, but I had no response to that. Actually, I did, but it was so profane that I somehow managed to stifle it. I took the high road and just got myself out of the situation before I could do something really stupid, like slap Ursula.

  I walked inside my rehearsal room and found that everyone was already in there. I was late. Everyone stared at me, and Mia regarded me with disappointment.

  “Why don’t you go ahead and join group two for now Ariel,” she told me. “Try and be on time, please.”

  Flo and Jess waved to me cattily as I took my new position in the back. I smiled back at them with an optimism that I had to manufacture. Lucky for me, their lack of confidence in me fueled my own.

  I could still fix this. I could still do this. I would succeed on this production. I’d survive Ursula. I would do it all, because I had to. Failure was not an option.

  I’d even figure out Derek. It seemed like he genuinely liked me. I’d be a huge fool to shy away from that. My sixteen-year-old self would kill me if I did. Besides, the surest way to make me do something was to tell me I couldn’t do it. Him. Whatever.

  Thanks Ursula, I thought to myself as I watched group one and picked out the weakest dancer; the one I had to beat to get back where I belonged. You can have my voice, but you can’t have Derek. I know what my contract says, and it had nothing in it about avoiding Derek. I’m going to make him mine and you can just deal.

  12

  Derek

  I had a production meeting with Clint for dinner that night. He was late. After the long day I’d had on set rehearsing with Ursula, I was exhausted and honestly a bit annoyed. I knew Clint was a busy guy, but come on. I was busy too. I had things to do like rehearsing, obsessing over whether I’d ever hear from Ariel again after Ursula’s power move, and dropping by Sebastian’s in the hopes of seeing her. But instead, I was waiting on his ass.

  Why he’d insisted on Estrella, an over-wrought and ridiculously romantic Italian restaurant, was also a mystery. This was ‘the date place’ right now. I’d already seen one proposal while I was waiting. It seemed like a very weird place for a business meeting, although I’d heard the clam linguine was revelatory. It had better be. It was the only thing I had to look forward to because Clint wasn’t here and being here alone made me feel depressed and chronically single.

  I ordered my food without him and munched on it petulantly while I waited. I finally manifested some courage and texted Ariel.

  Derek Prince [7:25 p.m.]: Hey. Sorry for the weirdness this afternoon with Ursula. I didn’t mean to make things awkward for you. She can be quite a handful.

  Ariel Cross [7:27 p.m.]: It wasn’t your fault. At least I learned to avoid her.

  Derek Prince [7:28 p.m.]: What are you up to right now? Want to go grab hamburgers again?

  Ariel Cross [7:29 p.m.]: I can’t. I’m right in the middle of a science experiment.

  Derek Prince [7:30 p.m.]: A science experiment?

  Ariel Cross [7:30 p.m.]: What do you think of my new look?

  I felt my jaw hit the floor. She texted me a picture of herself. A very special picture of herself. A very sexy, half-naked picture of herself.

  In the picture, Ariel was wrapped tightly in a towel. The towel was covering her up, but barely. Her skin was still flushed from a shower. The hesitant look in her eyes and sexy tilt of her smile took my breath away. Her ample cleava
ge was on full display. She was just one little slip away from being wet and naked on my phone. I considered her question long and hard (literally).

  Derek Prince [7:31 p.m.]: You’re a bit overdressed.

  Ariel Cross [7:32 p.m.]: Uh-huh. I meant the hair. I’m going to find out if blondes have more fun.

  Oh. Right. Her hair was no longer dark auburn, but a bright, shiny platinum blonde. I’d missed that. I’d been focused on… other things. She knew what she was doing. I lost all interest in my salad.

  Derek Prince [7:32 p.m.]: It’s nice. The color really suits you. Can I have another picture?

  Ariel Cross [7:33 p.m.]: Of my hair?

  Derek Prince [7:34 p.m.]: Of anything yours.

  I was, naturally, hoping for a picture without the towel. I received a picture without the towel a moment later. Unfortunately, it was not a picture of Ariel. It was a picture of a parrot. It was a very nice, very large blue and yellow parrot. Not what I wanted at all. Funny though.

  Derek Prince [7:35 p.m.]: That’s a macaw unless I’m mistaken. You have a pet bird?

  Ariel Cross [7:35 p.m.]: Technically this is my uncle’s pet bird, Flapper. He’s an asshole by the way.

  Derek Prince [7:35 p.m.]: I wanted a picture of you.

  Ariel Cross [7:35 p.m.]: You said anything mine.

  Derek Prince [7:35 p.m.]: I meant you.

  Ariel Cross [7:35 p.m.]: Well if you zoom in really, really close in, I’m totally naked in the reflection in his eye.

  Of course, I tried it, but Ariel was just messing with me. I felt foolish for trying.

  Derek Prince [7:36 p.m.]: No fair.

  Ariel Cross [7:36 p.m.]: If you want a picture of me, you send one of you back first. Even movie stars have to play by the rules here.