Temps turned over her shoulder toward me, and I quickened my steps, pulling up alongside her.The flush under her cheeks deepened as she looked sheepishly between Lizzie and me.That look of embarrassment had my cock kicking against my zipper.
“It was an accident!He jumped out from a corner, and my first instinct was to swing!”
I couldn’t help but laugh, smiling as we walked up to the ticket booth.“That’s not a terrible instinct.It might come in handy someday.”
“Huh,” Lizzie turned down the corners of her mouth, “that’s what I said.”
I nodded back at Lizzie, joined with her in a private understanding of each other, and I was smirking at her before I could think better of it.
Warning, Professor Harkert.These are your students.Pull up.Don’t get sucked in.
“Welcome, folks!Get ready for the show of a lifetime!Get your tickets here, and be entered into an exclusive giveaway for a behind-the-scenes look with Ring Master himself!”
Temps was already at the counter as Lizzie and I walked up behind her.Lizzie squeezed in next to her stepsister, clearly not giving a single fuck about anyone who was standing in the other line.I rolled my eyes, stepping to that other side and waiting for the next cashier to open up so that I could buy my ticket.At least, this would actually be cheaper than going to the club, far less money spent on cover and drinks, even if The Knotted Broomstick did have a three-drink maximum.
We paid quickly enough, and then Lizzie was dragging Temps toward the popcorn vendor.I could tell that Ms.Chamberlain pulling Ms.Montgomery somewhere was par for the course.Still, there was something in the way Lizzie looked at Temps while they waited for their popcorn that struck me.It was ridiculous of me to assume, but there was something familiar in that expression, in the way Lizzie tracked Temps’ movement, because I was guilty of it myself.
No.You’re seeing things.Just make nice and get the hell out of here.
And then the two of them were running back toward me, and it was Temps this time who I caught lingering her stare on Lizzie.
Am I seeing things?Jesus, do I need to get laid that badly that I’m turning the two girls I need to stay away from into a porn stereotype?
“Let’s go, teach.”Lizzie looped her arm through mine, surprising me and knocking me off balance just slightly.I corrected easily enough, and she grinned up at me as she pulled both Temps and me along into the tent.“Show’s getting started soon.”
I didn’t know what it was about her, but I found myself as helpless to resist the pull of this woman as she happily led me into the circus portion of the carnival, as her stepsister did.She was enigmatic that way, and I looked across her at Temps with a brow cocked.
“She’s rather demanding, isn’t she?”
Temps laughed, her stunning, sweet face lighting up.“Oh, you have no idea.”
Lizzie rolled her eyes.“You both love it.So shush.”
Oh, I like that.Note to self, make Temps smile more often, and make Lizzie act like a little brat, too.
The thought was so unbelievably wrong, and I had to shake myself, pulling myself upright as the three of us found our seats in the front row of the tent, much to my chagrin.
“Lizzie, the front row?”Temps cocked her head, obviously just and thrilled about the choice as I was.
“I want to be able to see.”She squinted, pretending like she was an elderly woman or something.I couldn’t stop the laugh, and we all sat down on the wooden bench, Lizzie in the middle, and our feet resting on a layer of straw that had been put down over the top of the parking lot’s asphalt.We were in an unused property at the end of Water Street, and this was a common spot in town for traveling events to set up, the city renting the space to make a little money.
“Welcome, everyone!”
The overhead light in the tent went dark, a spotlight finding an empty spot inside the ring where I had to assume the infamous Ring Leader would appear.
“We are so glad that you have joined us for an evening of death-defying stunts and awe-inspiring tricks in our circus here at Illusion de Lumière!We kindly ask that you avoid flash photography as it interferes with our acrobats, and we don’t want any accidents, now do we?”
The crowd answered with a resounding, “No!”
“Excellent!Then do sit back and relax, enjoy the show, and be sure to scream loud for our amazing performers as they test the limits of physics and reality!”
Deafening cheers roared out of the crowd, Lizzie putting her hands around her mouth to amplify her shout as Temps and I clapped quietly.The room went dark again, not a single light in sight, and a low, music box-like melody began to play from somewhere unseen.
It continued for several moments, the people inside the tent growing a little restless as the darkness persisted.Next to me, I could sense Lizzie shifting in her seat, and her hand patted around on the bench between us.
“Ms.Chamberlain?”I whispered.“Did you lose something?”
I squinted to see in the dark, and her fingers wrapped around the edge of the bench, squeezing.
