Chapter Eight

Layla smiled at her reflection in the mirror, pleased with her appearance.

Tonight was the anniversary of Kaleido Stage's first show, and, as usual, her father was throwing the company a big party at his hotel to celebrate. Layla typically wore one of the many modest cocktail dresses in her wardrobe to such parties, but tonight she had decided to try out a riskier look. She wore a short, black halter dress with a dramatic plunging neckline that almost reached her navel, and she had piled her long blonde hair on top of her head in a stylishly messy updo. Heavily-rimmed smoky eyes, pale pink lipstick, and lariat-style necklace completed the look, the teardrop-shaped diamond resting in the valley between her breasts.

There was a knock on the door as Layla spritzed some perfume on her wrists and neck. She told whoever it was to come in, unsurprised that it was Macquarie.

"Your father is waiting for you downstairs, Miss Layla," the maid announced, her eyes going wide when she saw Layla's reflection in the mirror. "Oh, my…!"

"Do I look okay?" Layla asked, concerned by Macquarie's reaction. She knew it was a different from her usual style, but perhaps she had taken it a bit too far. "Should I tone down my make-up? Or maybe wear my hair down?"

"N-No, you look gorgeous, Miss Layla," Macquarie said, her cheeks lightly flushed. "Very sexy! I was just surprised, that's all."

"Good. That's just what I'm going for."

Layla sensed that Macquarie was about to say something else, but at the last minute, the maid shook her head. "You should hurry. You know your father doesn't like to be kept waiting."

"Of course. I'll be right down."

After slipping on her Manolo Blahnik heels, Layla left her bedroom and headed downstairs. Her father was waiting for her at the bottom of the staircase, a disapproving frown on his face when he saw what she was wearing.

At least she had prepared herself for his reaction.

"Layla, isn't that dress a little too…adult for you?" he asked.

Layla resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "You do remember I'm going to turn nineteen next week, don't you, Father?" she reminded him. "I am an adult."

"I know. It's just hard to believe sometimes." When she reached the bottom step, he smiled and kissed her cheek. "You look beautiful as always," he said.

"Thank you."

The car ride to the hotel was uneventful, the two of them sitting mostly in silence in the backseat. When they arrived, her father took her by the arm and escorted her to the ballroom where the anniversary party was being held.

Her father had spared no expense, the ballroom beautifully decorated in a stark black-and-white theme that made the red roses used in the flower arrangements seem to pop even more. Half the room was filled with round tables, covered with black silk tablecloths and gold-rimmed china, while the other half had been designated as the dance floor, a handful of couples already twirling to the music of a talented pianist hired as the entertainment for the evening.

As they entered the ballroom, her eyes quickly scanned the vicinity, searching for Yuri. It didn't take long to find him. He was sitting at one of the tables near the dance floor, along with Kira Voronova and a couple of other new recruits whose names she had yet to learn – a fact that caused her to frown. However, the moment Yuri's eyes met hers from across the room, her lips curled up in what she hoped was a seductive smile, and she nodded in silent acknowledgement of him.

"Layla, let's make the rounds first," her father said. "There are some people I'd like you to meet." Which was code for "I invited some big-shot Hollywood directors and producers to the party to try to convince you to become an actress like I want."

Inwardly, Layla sighed. For once, it would nice to attend a party where she didn't have to socialize with complete strangers, but she knew it made her father happy, so she smiled obediently and let him lead her toward a recent Oscar-winning director and his date.

"Of course, Father."

Yuri initially had not wanted to go to the party. To celebrate the anniversary of Kaleido Stage's opening seemed somehow disrespectful to his father's memory, but as one of the current headliners, he was, of course, expected to attend. If he skipped, he was certain to earn Kalos's ire, so to keep on his enemy's good side, he came, slipping into his usual charming "Yuri Killian" mode as he pretended to make merry with the other performers and crew members in attendance.

Currently, he was chatting with the juggler who had impressed everybody at the audition, Kira Voronova, and a couple of her friends and fellow trainees. He thought their names were Piper and Audrey (or maybe Aubrey?), but he wasn't a hundred percent certain. The three of them made up his unofficial fanclub. He often caught them watching his practices with Layla, giggling and blushing whenever he would flash them an appreciative smile. Yuri wasn't particularly attracted to any of them, but he found their crushes cute, and he had to admit it gave him a bit of an ego boost.

"…and then I couldn't find my –"

Yuri abruptly cut short his sentence, his attention diverted from the conversation by the arrival of Layla and her father.

He sucked in a sharp breath. Layla always looked beautiful no matter what she wore, but tonight she had never looked sexier, dressed in a very low-cut, figure-hugging dress and stiletto heels, a large diamond dangling tantalizingly in between her breasts. He couldn't help but stare, Layla's heavily outlined eyes catching his even halfway across the room. She smiled and nodded to him before Mr. Hamilton pulled her away to talk to a couple Yuri didn't recognize.

"Yuri?" Kira waved her hands in front of his face. "Uh, Earth to Yuri?"

Startled, Yuri turned his attention back to his fangirls. "Oh, sorry, Kira," he apologized. "You were saying?"

She arched a plucked eyebrow. "I wasn't saying anything. You were."

"I was?" He couldn't recall. "Sorry, what were we talking about?"

"You were telling us a story about your first show at Kaleido Stage," Piper said.

"Oh, right," he said, remembering where he had left off. "Anyway, so I couldn't find my costume…"

Yuri continued with the story he was telling, but his eyes kept drifting over to Layla, who was still making the rounds with her father, greeting Kalos and other important investors. She again caught him staring and bit down lightly on her bottom lip, a gesture that always drove him wild with desire.

"Yuuuuuriiiii…"

"Hmm?"

"You're not paying any attention to us," Kira said, following his gaze. "Not that I really blame you." She sighed, fingering the rim of her glass. "I'm not into girls, but even I have to admit Miss Layla looks incredibly hot in that dress."

"You look beautiful tonight, too, Kira," Yuri assured her. He finally tore his eyes away from Layla and smiled at the girls; as sexy as Layla looked, for tonight, they had to be strictly professional. There were too many people around to risk being caught in a compromising position. "You all look great," he added, not wanting the other girls to feel left out.

"You really think so?" Piper asked, patting the back of her elaborate updo. "It's the first time any of us has been to a fancy party like this, so we weren't sure what to wear."

"We spent hours getting ready," Audrey (or Aubrey, whatever her name was) admitted.

"Well, it was worth all the effort."

At the front of the ballroom, the pianist began playing a new song. Kira jumped up from her chair. "Oh, I love this song!" she gushed, grabbing Yuri's hands and pulling him out of his seat. "Come on, let's dance!"

"Kira, no fair! I want to dance with Yuri, too."

"Me, three!"

Yuri laughed. "You can all have a turn, but Kira did ask first…"

"Awww…" the two of them chorused in unison as Kira took him by the hand and pulled him to the center of the dance floor.

It wasn't until Kira wrapped her arms around his neck that Yuri realized the song currently playing was a soft, romantic ballad. Sighing, he placed his hands on her hips and tried to keep some distance between them. After the way Layla had reacted after the auditions, he didn't want to give her – or Kira – the wrong idea.

"I'm glad we finally got some time alone together," Kira said.

"Oh?" He glanced over her shoulder, wondering where Layla had gone.

"Did you really mean what you said earlier?"

"About what?"

Frankly, Yuri didn't really remember anything he had said since Layla walked in the room. He really needed to stop thinking about her. It was just a silly dress, after all. He had seen her wearing much, much less many times before.

"You said I looked beautiful tonight," Kira reminded him, a faint blush on her cheeks as she stared up at him. "That wasn't just some line, was it?"

"No, of course not." He had said it without thinking, but Kira did look especially pretty, wearing a dark purple beaded dress, her flaming red hair framing her face in wild curls.

Kira smiled, the space between them becoming smaller as she moved closer toward him. "You look pretty good yourself," she said, her voice lowering an octave. Her hands, which had been wrapped around the back of his neck, traveled downward, skimming the lapels of his jacket, and despite himself, Yuri felt the stirrings of an arousal. "Yuri, there's something I've been wanting to tell you since I joined Kaleido Stage," Kira continued, looking up at him with half-lidded eyes. "I think you already know, but I –"

Before she could finish what she wanted to say, however, Layla come up behind her, tapping Kira on the shoulder. "I'm sorry, Kira, but do you mind if I cut in?" Layla asked. "I need to talk to Yuri."

With some reluctance, Kira pulled away. "Oh, of course, Miss Layla." Smiling at Yuri, she said, "Thank you for the dance. Maybe I'll see you later?"

"Sure," he agreed, although he planned to avoid her for the rest of the evening if he could. Yuri knew exactly what Kira had been about to tell him, and while he might have been open to it at another time, he wasn't interested in dating anybody as long as he and Layla had their "arrangement".

Kira returned back to the table with her friends as Layla took her place in Yuri's arms. "You two seemed…cozy," Layla remarked. "Is something going on between you and Kira that I should know about?"

"We were just dancing," Yuri said, deciding it best to change the subject. "So, what did you need to talk to me about?"

"Oh…" She averted her eyes. "Nothing, really."

"Layla…" He frowned, his suspicions pretty much confirmed. She was jealous of Kira. "We need to be careful tonight," he reminded her in a low voice. "You know how easily rumors can get started, especially at Kaleido Stage."

"I know, but it would be even more suspicious if we avoided each other the whole night."

She made a good point. They were stage partners and the current headliners of Kaleido Stage; people would expect them to spend at least some time together at the anniversary party. If they didn't, it would only provoke rumors of a different sort.

"Besides, you're the one who keeps staring at me," Layla said with a slight smirk on her lips.

"Everybody is staring at you tonight," Yuri said in his defense. "Your new look is causing quite the commotion."

"Do you like it?"

"You look absolutely amazing."

In fact, it was taking nearly all his willpower to keep his hands on her hips, his fingers itching to explore underneath the stretchy fabric of her dress. Yuri tried to distract himself but that proved difficult to do when Layla bridged the small gap in between them, pressing her body against his. They were so close that he was certain she could feel his growing erection through his pants.

Yuri groaned, one of his hands unwittingly moving to caress her butt. "You have no idea how much I want to fuck you right now," he whispered in her ear.

"Oh, I think I do…"

Fortunately – or not, depending on how he looked at it – the music changed to a more up-tempo number, bringing an end to their dance.

"I should probably go mingle some more," Layla said, stepping back and dropping her arms back to her sides. "I'm sure there are more people my father wants me to meet."

"Right." He needed to do the same. Most of Kaleido Stage's biggest sponsors were in attendance, and it couldn't hurt to have them on his side whenever he decided to put his future plans for Kaleido Stage in action. "See you later?"

"I'll be around."

As Yuri watched Layla walk away, her hips swaying from side-to-side, he let out a sigh.

It was going to be a long, frustrating night.

"Your father certainly knows how to throw a party," Sarah Dupont said. "This is his best one yet!"

Layla nodded her agreement, although privately she thought it was as boring as all her father's other parties. She had attended so many over the years, they all sort of blended together in a blur of half-remembered faces and conversations. "Father wanted to celebrate Kaleido Stage's anniversary in style."

"I'll say he succeeded. Speaking of style…" Sarah gave Layla the once-over. "I'm loving the new look. Who knew the lovely Miss Layla could be so…edgy?" Leaning closer to Layla, she asked in a lowered voice, "Tell me, is it a guy?"

Layla held back a gasp, trying keeping her face impassive. "Pardon?"

"Or is it a girl? It doesn't matter to me if that's the way you swing…"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Layla said, grabbing a glass of punch from a passing waitress.

"Yes, what are you talking about, Sarah?" Yuri asked, joining their conversation. After their dance earlier, he had been careful to approach Layla only when she was in the company of other people, much to her disappointment.

"Layla's love life," Sarah replied. "You wouldn't happen to know who her secret lover is, would you, Yuri?"

"A secret lover? That's news to me." His face only expressed mild surprise, even though Layla felt as if she was about to have a heart attack, wondering if Sarah had somehow uncovered their secret. "As far as I know, Layla has no interest in dating."

"Yuri's right." Recovering fast, she took a sip of her punch and waved her hand dismissively. "Relationships are a distraction. I want to focus only on the stage."

Sarah frowned. "There's more to life than Kaleido Stage, Layla."

"Not for me," she said. "Besides, I've never seen you with a boyfriend, either."

"Oh, well…" A faint blush colored Sarah's cheeks, and she glanced in the direction of a nearby group of men, among them Kalos. "There is somebody I'm interested in, but… Never mind, never mind!"

Layla arched an eyebrow. Was Sarah in love with Kalos, of all people? As the most senior cast member of Kaleido Stage, she did seem to share a closer relationship with the boss than the rest of the troupe…

Before she got a chance to pry further, however, Ken Robbins, one of the stagehands, came up to them. "Sorry to interrupt, Miss Dupont, but Mr. Hamilton is requesting that you sing a few songs for the guests, if you wouldn't mind."

"Oh, I suppose I could perform a song or two," she readily agreed. "Any special requests?"

"How about 'Both Sides Now?" Yuri suggested.

She smiled. "I think that can be arranged."

Ken escorted Sarah to the piano at the front of the room, leaving Layla and Yuri alone together for the first time since their dance. She expected him to excuse himself, as he had done all night, so she was somewhat surprised when he stayed, watching Sarah sing the song he requested with a look Layla couldn't quite read on his face.

"It's a pretty melody, but the lyrics are rather sad, aren't they?" she said.

"Yeah," Yuri said in a hoarse voice. "He loved this song, though." Clearing his throat, he shook his head. "Sorry, I'm acting strange."

"No, it's fine."

Layla started to reach for his hand but thought better of it at the last minute, clenching her fingers into a loose fist at her side. She suspected the "he" Yuri referred to was his late father. Though Yuri looked like he had been enjoying himself at the party, a part of him undoubtedly wished his father was around to celebrate the anniversary of the company he helped build with Kalos.

Maybe she should just admit that she had discovered his secret. It wasn't as if she planned to tell anybody else that Yuri was Aaron Brass's son. He could trust her not to spread gossip; she understood why he wouldn't want to live in Aaron's shadow. Then again, he had specifically asked her not to ask questions about his father. She doubted he would appreciate her snooping into his private life.

"Layla, something wrong?" he asked, breaking her from her thoughts.

"What?" She shook her head. "No, it's nothing. I was just –"

Looking over Yuri's shoulder, Layla let out a small gasp.

Just a few feet away, a handsome waiter was passing out appetizers to Kaleido Stage's head set designer Jean Benigni and the ballet instructor. "Oh, no, why is he here?" she muttered to herself, recognizing him.

Thinking quickly, Layla hid behind a surprised Yuri, her back against his.

"Layla?"

"Don't say my name so loudly," she said, hoping the waiter hadn't overheard. After a few more seconds, she whispered, "Is he still there?"

"Who?"

"The waiter."

"Which one?" he asked, a definite tone of amusement in his voice that annoyed Layla even though she knew Yuri had no possible way of knowing who she was referring to.

"Oh, never mind." Still careful to remain hidden behind Yuri, she turned back around and peeked over his shoulder at the spot where she had seen the man. She sighed, relieved to see that the waiter had disappeared, having moved to another area of the ballroom. "Good, he didn't notice me."

Yuri turned his head, side-eyeing her. "Layla, mind telling me why you're hiding from some waiter? Who is he?"

Layla wondered that herself, trying to remember his name. She was pretty sure that it started with the letter "M". Miguel? Marco? It wasn't Manuel… "Mateo, maybe?"

She hadn't realized she had said that last part aloud until Yuri turned completely around to face her, his eyebrow arched. "You don't remember?"

"No, his name was definitely Mateo," she decided, not wanting Yuri to think badly of her. Besides, the name did ring a bell with her.

"Okay, so why are you hiding from Mateo?"

"Oh…um…" Layla took a sip of her punch, silently cursing Yuri's curiosity. She never asked questions about the French girl she had caught him screwing on the flight back from Paris, so why couldn't he just leave well enough alone? "He's just a guy I once knew. Nobody important, really."

"Oh." She thought that was the end of it, but after a long pause, Yuri lowered his voice and asked, "Did you sleep with him?"

Layla's eyes widened slightly, and she looked down at the drink in her hand, not wanting to confess she had. As far as Yuri knew, he was the only man she had ever been with. After some of the rather judgmental comments she had made about his rumored sex life before, she hated to acknowledge that she was little better than he was.

"I won't judge you if you did," he said, seemingly reading her mind. "It's not like I'm some perfect saint, either."

He smirked, and Layla couldn't resist rolling her eyes. That was an understatement. Still, she was happy to hear that he didn't seem to care about her past…indiscretions, as she tended to refer to them in her mind.

"Just once," she finally admitted, leaning up against a nearby column. "A few weeks after Paris. He was working at an event my father made me attend. The party was boring, and I thought he was cute, so I…" She shrugged her shoulders. "Well, you know how it goes."

"Layla, you don't owe me an explanation."

"I know. I just… It was a mistake, that's all." She took another sip of her drink, wishing it was champagne. "The worst part is that he's an aspiring actor, and I kind of promised him that I would put in a good word with my father."

"Ah. So that's why you were trying to hide," Yuri guessed.

She nodded. "Mateo's a nice guy, but I'd rather avoid crossing paths with him if I can."

"That might be difficult to do. This party isn't that big, and he has to keep moving around the room."

"I know." Layla let out a sigh and set her empty glass on the tray of a nearby passing waiter. Why did Mateo have to get a job at her father's hotel, of all places? She never expected to see him again. "But as long as I stay ale—Crap!"

She spotted him again, holding out a tray to Mr. Kenneth, one of Kaleido Stage's biggest investors. Fortunately, Mateo's back was currently toward her, but if he turned around…

"Kiss me, Yuri."

"Here?" His eyes widened. "But the guests –"

There was no time to care about that now. Layla reached for Yuri's tie and yanked him downwards, crushing his lips against hers just as Mateo pivoted around. She kept one eye on the handsome waiter as she continued kissing Yuri, only pulling back when she saw Mateo returning to the kitchen, apparently not noticing her from their spot behind the column.

"Thanks," she said, pushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear, "and, um, sorry about that. It was the only thing I could think of to do."

"I didn't mind." Moving closer, he placed his hands on both sides of her head, palms pressing against the column, and leaned forward so that his mouth was right next to her ear. "Not at all."

"Yuri…"

"That really is one hell of a dress," he said, his eyes roaming to her low-cut neckline. "I bet it would look even better off."

"Yuri, we can't do this here, remember?" Layla whispered, her eyes darting around the room. Fortunately, thanks to Sarah's impromptu concert, nobody was paying much attention to them for the moment, their eyes glued to Kaleido Stage's glamorous diva. Still… "Someone might see us. My father might see us."

"Shall I get us a room, then?" he asked, his lips brushing against her jawline.

A small gasp escaped from Layla's lips, and she started to nod, wanting nothing more than to go somewhere more private and rip off all of Yuri's clothes, but getting a room in her father's hotel didn't seem like the smartest idea, either. Everyone who worked there probably knew who she was. If a maid saw her entering or leaving Yuri's hotel room, there were bound to be rumors.

"I have a better idea."

After making sure that nobody was looking their way, Layla took Yuri by the hand and led him out of the ballroom, taking him down a seldom used hallway. At the end of the hall was an elevator marked "For Private Use Only". Layla paid no mind to the sign, quickly pressing a few numbers on a nearby keypad.

"Where are we going?" Yuri asked as they waited for the elevator.

"The penthouse. My father keeps an apartment here at the hotel for entertaining his business associates."

And probably some girlfriends, she silently added. As far as she knew, her father hadn't seriously dated anybody since her mother's death, but she wasn't so naïve to think that he had been living as a priest.

It didn't bother her…much.

"Is that wise? What if he decides he wants to spend the night after the party?"

"He won't," Layla promised. "He already has plans to take the red-eye to London for a business meeting. We'll have the whole place to ourselves." The elevator doors slid open, and Layla stepped inside without hesitation. "Coming, Yuri?"

Yuri paused for a moment, still seeming unsure, but eventually he joined her, moving to stand behind her.

As the doors closed and the elevator started its ascension, Yuri wrapped an arm around Layla's tiny waist, his other hand slipping inside the top of her low-cut dress to fondle her breast. Layla softly moaned, but she didn't protest as he rubbed his thumb over her nipple, playing with it until it was hard.

By that time, the elevator had come to a stop at the top floor of the hotel. Yuri pulled his hand away as the doors slid open, and Layla walked over to a door labeled Penthouse 1. As with the elevator, she was required to input a special PIN on the keypad in order to unlock it. Her father was in the habit of changing the codes every so often, so she sighed in relief when she reached for the doorknob and felt it turn easily in her hand.

She entered the apartment and flipped on the switch beside the door, Yuri right behind her. He let out a low whistle as he took in the impeccably decorated living area.

"Swanky place," he said, walking over to the wall covered in large picture windows to look down at the city nightlife below. "I thought the view from my apartment was great, but this puts it to shame."

"I like the view at your place, Yuri," Layla said, joining him at the window. "It's beautiful."

Yuri glanced over at her, and Layla felt her cheeks warm, wondering why she had said such a thing. Besides, she hadn't brought him up there to enjoy the view, as spectacular as it was. Remembering the real reason why they were there, Layla wrapped her arms around Yuri's neck and kissed him.

"Want to show me the bedroom?" he asked.

Layla nodded and wordlessly led him down the hallway.

DISCLAIMER: Kaleido Star doesn't belong to me.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Haha, sorry to cut things off just when they were getting to the good part, but we'll pick right back up at that point next chapter! Speaking of which, Chapter Nine should be posted soon after the start of the new year if all goes well. Again, the holidays might interfere, so no promises, but that's what I'm aiming for. Thanks for continuing to read!

Feel free to follow me on Tumblr! My username is kaleidodreams.