Babes Stripping For Love

Hot and cold Charlotte thought. She was done crying, for the time being anyway. She remembered when Seamus was kind to her after she got back from the hospital the night she sprained her ankle. But now weeks later he was back to being a cold housemate, thinking only the worst of her, making her hate him with great passion.

“Why do you need to go back to Babes?  You should find another place to work where you don’t have to parade half-naked.” Seamus said after he overheard her conversation on the phone telling the person on the other line that she was going back to Babes the next day. His eyes were on her as she put her phone down on the table and joined Seamus for breakfast, sitting in front of him just like she usually does.

“I’ve had the clear with my doctor. And I would, soonest I find another place to work. I told you this before.” The younger woman rolled her eyes as if she was tired of having to repeat the same answer over and over again.

“Why do you insist, you’re being stubborn. I’m not pushing you to pay me back, I’m urging you to wait until you find a better job. Do you seriously think your dad would approve of your current employment?” Seamus knew that he was playing the dad card, but he really wanted her to stop dancing there. It was part jealousy, part possessive, and all kinds of emotions that he didn’t want to attach himself to the beautiful ballerina in front of her. If he couldn’t have her, at least she should save herself for someone she deserved. Someone better than him, and obviously better than Rockford.

The moment Seamus mentioned her dad, Charlotte went stiff. Her eyes were glassy, her shoulder tensed, her fists curled and her mouth opened then closed seconds later as if she didn’t know how to answer his question. She knew that he was right, Charlotte knew that her dad would not approve of her current employment. And she hated that Seamus could read her easily.

“You don’t… just… I…” She stammered, her brain fogged with desperation, debt, sadness, and humiliation, all rolled into one huge fuckery where she was handling it all alone. She had never felt so alone in her entire life.

Charlotte didn’t want to tell him that she was propositioned yesterday by her former mentor. Yes, Yanis Morozov, the man who had sexually assaulted her had learned that she was desperate for a job. He had offered her to be his assistant, then insinuated that she would be staying with him for the job. She was hearing his degrading tone, and he was right, it was desperation that didn’t make her hang up on his call. Charlotte had been shaken to the core the moment he ended the call.

She was barely twenty when he forced her to her knees. Charlotte had been too busy for romance, too busy honing her ballet skill, and who at that moment had trusted her mentor unconditionally. She had let him take advantage of her, telling her that she should stop being naive, that she must learn how to quickly progress if she wanted to be the next prima ballerina. The mentioning of the title had made her endure the darkest hour in her life. She had succumbed to his lust and was left broken and devastated.

“Charlotte?” The man in front of her sounded concerned when he put his hand on hers. Their fingers entwined over the dining table, their breakfast forgotten.

“I don’t… have a better offer,” she cleared her throat and blinked her eyes repeatedly trying to chase away her tears. Though she failed when tears rolled down her cheeks and she cursed while quickly wiping her tears away. Her mind was instantly taken back to the day when the snowstorm hit and she was trapped in the studio alone with her predatory mentor.

“Hey, it’s okay,”

“Don’t, I’m not okay, this is not okay, nothing in my life is okay,” she jerked her hands away, her shoulder slumped and she almost stumbled back as she stood abruptly and her chair almost made her fall.

Seamus was at her side instantly, but when he crowded her with his presence her mind short-circuited and she jerked away from him, almost pushing herself back. He didn’t understand what was happening to her, but he recognized fear when he saw it and Charlotte looked terrified, though he couldn’t understand why.

One moment they were talking, the next second she acted like she was having a panic attack.

“Charlotte, look at me… you’re not okay, but you will be. Your dad made sure of it, he’s trusting me to keep you safe.” Seamus stepped closer, and when she didn’t pull away he rested his hand on her shoulder, giving her a relaxed touch, silently telling her that he was there for her.

And when Charlotte slowly stepped closer to him, he was taking it as a sign and swiftly pulled her into a platonic embrace, carefully holding her in his arms. He didn’t want to scare her away, and when she shuddered he cooed in her ear and rubbed her back softly, telling her that he will keep her safe.

There was more to her panic that she was letting on, he will dig deeper into her past later, he thought. But at that moment, Seamus didn’t let go of her, he did take her back to her room. And when it was she who was reluctant in letting him go, he stayed with her, laying beside her on the bed while she lay on his chest until her sob faded and was replaced by a gentle sound of regular breathing indicating that she was fast asleep.Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

Did she even sleep last night? the question lingered in Seamus’s mind. Charlotte did look a bit tired. And the moment it was safe for him to get out of her bed, he slowly shifted his weight and positioned a pillow for her to hug.

Once he was back in his home office, Seamus called his PA and told her that he was going to work from home. Minutes later he got in touch with his friend Bruce, who owns a security company, and gave him Charlotte’s name and brief detail. Seamus told him that he wanted detailed past events that might’ve spooked her and gave the scare.

It was lunchtime when he was out of his home office and decided to check on Charlotte while taking his lunch break. She was not in her room. When he found her, she was sitting on the back terrace. Her hand was holding a book but her gaze was far away beyond the manicured backyard.

“How are you feeling?”

She raised her gaze to Seamus and blushed beautifully. “Better, sorry for the little meltdown earlier.”

“Don’t ever say that, but if you want to talk I’m here, okay?”

“Okay,”

“So, do you want to talk? or how about lunch?”

“I’m not hungry,”

“Right, how about you accompany me for lunch, Marjorie had the chef prepare your favorite.” It wasn’t a complete lie, it was him that had told Marjorie to tell the chef to prepare her favorite food. Seamus wanted to make sure she eats, he wanted her to keep her strength and not wallow in issues that had her crying to sleep hours earlier.

Seamus couldn’t help feeling overly protective of her. Though he tried and measurably failed, just like so many times before since Charlotte invaded his personal space.