She fidgeted in place. A squeak escaped the cup, her anxiousness clearly shared by the mouse.
“Sorry. For interrupting,” she mumbled. “I thought the floor was empty. No classes were scheduled, and I figured all the students had left by now.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Evie said, trying her best to make her voice sound calm. “I’m not a student. I teach here. I was just practicing on my own before going ho—Before leaving.”
The woman looked surprised, giving Evie’s body a quick glance. Evie felt unusually exposed under her eyes. She only wore gym shorts and a short tank top that covered her tattoo. She needed her skin free to properly hold onto the pole.
“Oh… You’re very good,” the woman said, clearly impressed. “I only caught a glimpse. Just now. You seemed really focused, and I didn’t want to say anything that would distract you. I haven’t seen you before, so I assumed you were one of the professionals who sometimes uses the studio.”
“I’m new.” Evie forced herself to walk to the door, holding out her hand. This frightened reaction to a woman who literally wouldn’t hurt a mouse was ridiculous. “I’m Evie. I work part-time here too.”
The woman took her hand, barely putting any pressure behind the shake. This close to her, Evie noticed there was a sliver of hazel in one of her icy blue eyes. “I’m Sam. Again, so sorry for bothering you.”
Evie eyed the squeaking cup. “You make a habit of adopting critters?”
Sam looked down again. “That’s not what… I’m not keeping it or anything. I’ll release it when I get home. I prefer letting them go instead of using the glue traps. They aren’t good for them.”
Sam put an elastic band around the cup to keep the lid in place. “Are you new to Chicago too? Or just the studio?”
Evie frowned. “Why do you ask?”
“You have a bit of an accent. A little southern, I guess,” Sam said. When Evie continued to frown, she blushed scarlet. “It’s not a bad thing. It sounds pretty. Or not pretty, just… I noticed.”
Sam looked down again. She hunched further. “Sorry.”
Evie didn’t know exactly what she should think of Sam and her weird comments. And the knowledge that they were all alone made goosebumps rise on her skin.
She took a small step back. “I have to get back to practicing, so…”
As she moved, her foot caught on the folded clothes she’d left by the door. She staggered, her stumbling halted when Sam grabbed her arm. The sudden touch made Evie freeze in place.
“Careful!” Sam pulled Evie a little closer, steadying her. “You almost tripped.”
Evie stared blankly up at Sam. She couldn’t speak. Evie’s uneasiness at being alone with her skyrocketed into outright panic, making Evie stand still as a statue.
Now Sam was the one to frown. “You okay?”
Evie couldn’t fully comprehend what she was saying. The words came out low. Muted by blood rushing in her ears. Evie wanted to leave. She wantedSamto leave. But she couldn’t move. And Sam was still holding onto her arm.
“Evie?” Sam shook her gently. “What happened? Did I do something?”
Sam pulled at her, meaning to drag her to a bench in the hallway. The hold wasn’t tight—Evie could barely feel it—but it still filled her head with dark clouds. Her body felt far away, her limbs no longer under her control. When Sam pulled her out of the door, Evie followed without thinking.
“Let her go.” A sharp voice cut through the fuzziness that had started to take over Evie’s mind. She recognized that voice. Evie and Sam turned towards it.
Natalya stood a few feet away, arms crossed. Her posture was tense, and her lip twitched as though she was holding back a snarl. She wore a short, black cocktail dress and sunglasses to hide her slitted eyes.
Sam took a quick step away from Evie. “I don’t know what happened. We were just talking.”
“Were you?” Natalya said. The question sounded like a threat. “Seemed very one-sided to me. Tends to mean she’s not interested.”
Sam’s eyes widened. The mouse inside the cup whined. “I was just—”
“Leaving?” Natalya walked up to Sam until she was right in her face. Sam had a few inches on Natalya, but Natalya was wearing heels, so they were at eye height. Under her rageful presence, Sam cowered until Natalya was nearly looking down at her.
Sam swallowed, clearly intimidated and taken aback by Natalya’s harsh tone. She started to ease around her when Natalya didn’t move. “I’m gonna go.”
“That would be wise.”
