The next few weeks sped by, and the date of the wedding drew closer. Clare became more and more stressed, and they started to argue nearly every day over the slightest thing, a cup not put in the dishwasher, the cap left off the toothpaste, even Joe breathing too loudly. It was ridiculous and more than a little annoying.
Joe had started to think he’d made a huge mistake proposing to Clare, and his mood reached an all-time low. He knew that it could just be the pressure from the wedding arrangements, but he wasn’t convinced. They’d managed to book everything, and he’d hoped some of the tension would ease, but he’d been wrong. It had only got worse.
The only light in his now very dark, miserable days were his lessons with Seb. Tuesday’s lessons were spent with Clare, but on Wednesdays and Thursdays, it was just him and Seb. He enjoyed his time with him, but even Seb had started to become withdrawn; the little touches and looks they had shared previously were less frequent. Joe didn’t know what was happening, but he didn’t like it. Seb wouldn’t talk to him. And it was driving Joe mad.
About eight weeks before the wedding, they were at a Tuesday night session with Clare. The dancing had been going well until Joe started to dance like he’d never had a lesson in his life.
He’d suddenly realised that if he and Clare continued to improve, his time with Seb might come to an end sooner than he’d thought. Selfishly, this was all he could think about, and his concentration wavered. He led Clare across the studio floor, but his feet didn’t do what his brain told them, and he stumbled with her in hold. They both fell and sprawled across the wooden floor, Clare landing on top of him.
“What the hell, Joe!” she seethed. “Have you learnt nothing these past few weeks? It’s like you’re not even trying.” Joe looked at Clare and could see the tears in her eyes. She picked herself up from the floor and wiped herself down. She snatched up her bag and walked to the door. “I’m going. I can’t even look at you right now.”
Joe hung his head. He felt tired and beaten but made no comment when Clare left the studio. Fucking hell, this was all he needed. He looked up, looking for something, anything, that would tell him what to do next. He was torn between speaking to Seb and going after Clare, but he decided to follow her out. He called to her but was just in time to see her get into a familiar car and drive away. Guess it would have to wait until later. Joe went back into the studio.
“That went well,” he said as he rubbed his eyes. “I couldn’t have fucked up more if I’d tried.” He sat on a chair, his arms resting on his thighs. “I don’t even know why I’m doing this.”
“Hey, we all have off days, even us professionals,” Seb said gently as he stroked Joe’s back, eventually resting his hand on his shoulder. Joe felt his touch like a balm to his soul.
“Thanks,” Joe replied, patting Seb’s hand, then bending to collect his things from the floor. He turned to apologise to Seb and saw him looking at his phone, a frown on his face.
“Everything alright, Seb?”
“Sorry?” Seb asked, looking over at Joe, a worried look on his face. “I was miles away.”
“I just wanted to apologise for my and Clare’s behaviour tonight. It was unforgivable. We’ve been at each other’s throats these last couple of weeks. I’m putting it down to wedding nerves but…” Joe didn’t finish the sentence, not even knowing how to explain what was happening in his life.
Seb seemed distracted, as if he wasn’t really hearing anything Joe was saying.
Joe repeated his question. “Are you OK, Seb?”
Seb blinked as if hearing him for the first time. “I’m good; I just have a lot on at the moment. What with Natalia moving to London, employing a new teacher, dealing with the stalker.”
“What the fuck did you just say?” Joe moved to stand in front of Seb. Stalker, what the hell?!
“I-I-I,” Seb stuttered as he turned away, and Joe noticed tears shimmering in his eyes.
“You have a stalker? Why haven’t you mentioned this before? Is this why you’ve been so distracted these past few weeks?”
A single tear tracked down Seb’s cheek. “Yeah, it’s been going on for a while now. Remember when my car was vandalised? That was him… her. Fuck, I don’t even know who’s doing this.” Seb covered his face with his hands, and his shoulders shook as he sobbed.
Joe drew him into a hug, cradling his head as Seb cried into his shoulder.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Joe asked softly.
Seb looked up at him, and Joe took in the dark circles beneath his eyes. Seb must be exhausted, and he was annoyed with himself for not having noticed before. He’d been too wrapped up in his own world. Everything else had seemed to fade into oblivion.
He gently swept the tears from Seb’s cheeks. “Come on, let’s go and get a drink, and you can tell me about it.”
Just when Joe thought he would refuse his offer, Seb nodded. His gaze dropped to the floor. “Yeah, I think I’d like that.”
Joe helped him close the studio and walked him out to his car. “Where do you want to go?” he asked, his hand hovering at the small of Seb’s back.
“Would you mind if we went back to my place? I need to feed Rocco and let him out.”
“Of course, I’ll follow you there.” Joe waited while Seb got into his car, then moved to his own.
Twenty minutes later, Joe was parked beside Seb’s car. He got out and followed him to the front door.
“I need to warn you about Rocco; he’s a big dog but will probably just lick you to death,” Seb said with a small smile. He still wasn’t himself, but at least he was smiling. Seb opened the door, and a beautiful Rottweiler trotted up to them as soon as they stepped inside. Joe bent down to greet the dog.
“Wow, he’s huge,” he said, gazing up at Seb from his crouched position. He stroked the dog, his fur silky soft. He was black and tan with a huge head and a muscled body to match. Rocco rolled on his back and offered Joe his tummy. How could Joe refuse the offer? He rubbed and scratched at his belly, and Rocco smiled. Yep, this was one happy dog.
“You’ve made a friend for life there,” said Seb. “He’ll never leave you alone now; you’re spoiling him with all those belly rubs. Come on, Rocco, leave Joe alone. To your bed now.”
The dog got up, licked Joe’s cheek, then obediently went over to his bed and flopped down with a sigh.
“He’s a handsome boy, Seb. And such a softie.”
“He really is,” Seb agreed as he walked away. Joe followed him into the kitchen where Seb put Rocco’s food out and refilled his water bowl. “Do you want some food? We’ve got some leftover Chinese in the fridge. Tea, coffee or water?”
“Chinese is good or we could just order pizza, and water’s fine, thanks,” Joe replied. “Can I help?”
“It’s OK, I’ve got it.” Seb got busy warming the food in the microwave. There was more than enough for them both.
Joe took time to look around the apartment. The living area was open plan, a small but functional kitchen leading to a compact dining area with a table and a couple of chairs. The lounge area was separated from the kitchen by a small half wall, and the decor was clean, if a little dated. A big sofa faced the wall where the TV was mounted, a coffee table positioned in front.
Once the food was ready, they sat around the small dining table and Seb placed some water out.
They ate in silence, but eventually, Seb put his knife and fork on his plate and pushed it away. He’d hardly eaten anything. He sat for a while, looking down at his hands. Joe studied them, admiring the other man’s slender, elegant fingers.
When Seb finally looked up and met Joe’s eyes, he seemed to have come to a decision.
“It started a few months ago, just texts and notes tucked under the wipers of my car. I didn’t think anything of it to start with. Sometimes, with the older students especially, they can develop crushes or, in extreme cases, infatuations. I thought that was what it was, but then the notes became progressively worse. One saying how they loved watching me dance and wanted to make me theirs.” Seb paused and blew out a breath.
“If that wasn’t bad enough, just after the first lesson with you and Clare, I had a rose delivered to the door with a note saying, ‘Always in my thoughts’. I was going to go to the police the following day, but when I got up the next morning, I found photographs of me in an envelope posted through the door. They’d been taken at various places, The Coffee Mill, the park, outside the studio. I reported it to the police, and we changed the locks and put in a new security system. Thankfully, we haven’t had any other issues here.”
Seb’s hands shook as he reached for his glass. “There was the car, but you know about that. There was another note on the car, asking if I liked the photos, and then a couple of weeks ago, I went dancing with some friends at a club in town. A guy started to dance with me, but before I could turn round to see who it was, he disappeared. Then I got this.”
Seb passed him his phone with the photographs and the message he’d received. Joe looked at them, his anger mounting.
“And you’ve no idea who’s doing this? None at all?” Joe asked, his voice tense.
Seb shook his head, biting his nails nervously. He’d pulled his foot up onto his chair and leaned on his bent knee. “I’ve been to the police and reported it all, but because there are no clues and I don’t know who it is, there’s not a lot they can do. I’ve had the odd message saying much the same as the first but nothing like the others. I’m starting to feel really scared, Joe.”
Joe put the phone down and reached across for Seb’s hand. He held on to it to stop it from shaking. “Is there anything I can do? I know that’s probably a really lame question but, even if you just want to talk or get away from here, I’m happy to help.”
Seb smiled weakly at Joe. “Thanks, that means a lot. Natalia and Dom know, but they’re not always around, you know?”
“Who’s Dom?” Joe knew he shouldn’t feel jealous, but he couldn’t help it. Was Dom his boyfriend?
“He’s a friend. I’ve known him for a year or so. He’ll hopefully be joining us at the studio when Natalia leaves.”
Joe tried to absorb all that Seb had told him, but he was finding it hard to take it all in.
“No ex-boyfriends who could do this? Anyone you might have upset?” Joe didn’t believe this for one minute. Seb seemed to be such a kind person.
“My only ex is dead. Daniel died about two years ago from an overdose. There’s been no one else.” Seb bit his lip, and Joe could see he was fighting tears.
Joe squeezed his hand. “I’m sorry, that must have been hard for you.”
“It was, but it gets easier as the days go on.” Seb paused for a while. “You know, when I was at the club that night, I thought I saw him, but it couldn’t have been.”
“Saw who, Seb? Saw who?” Joe asked, his thumb rubbing the back of Seb’s hand.
Seb looked at Joe, shell-shocked. “Daniel. I thought I saw Daniel, but how could I have, Joe? Daniel is dead.”