Page 4 of The Ringmaster's Secret
She sat alone at a table nearby, her meal untouched as she observed us. I noted how her eyes lingered on the interactions, a slight furrow marking her brow as she absorbed the dynamic. Her isolation from the group was a choice that intrigued me. Was it professional detachment or something more personal? After dinner, the corridors behind the main tent bustled with activity as performers readied themselves for the evening's show. I navigated through the chaos with a practiced ease until a sudden turn brought me face-to-face—or rather, body-to-body—with Ava. She collided into me with an oomph, her papers scattering like leaves in a gust. Instinctively, my hands shot out, steadying her by the shoulders. Her skin was warm under my palms, and I felt her tense up at the contact. "Sorry," she muttered, a flush creeping up her neck, visible even under the stage makeup.
"It’s alright, Ava. Always on the move, aren't we?" I said, my voice low, trying to ease her embarrassment as I helped gather her papers.
"Yes, always," she replied, her eyes meeting mine for a fleeting second before she hurried off. The brief interaction, charged with heat, lingered in the air and in my mind.
I thought of her as I moved on to the dressing rooms where a young acrobat was practicing his routine. His movements were hesitant, the fear of falling etched into every line of his body. "Relax, Tomas," I coached, "trust your training and the rig. You’ve got this."
Ava paused by the doorway, watching. I was aware of her presence, could feel her gaze analyzing my every move. It was disconcerting yet exhilarating to perform not just for the crowd, but for her—especially her.
"Thank you, Dante," Tomas said, a newfound confidence in his voice as he mastered the trick. I nodded, giving him a reassuring pat on the back before exiting the room, catching Ava’s eye as I passed. Her eyes flicked away quickly but the tight puckering of her nipples didn’t go unnoticed by me. She must have felt it too because she crossed her arms across her chest, eyes anywhere but on me. I kept walking, my cock twitching painfully as I left her behind me.
A few minutes later, I found myself in the training area demonstrating a new rigging setup to the rigging crew. "And remember, safety is as crucial as the performance itself," I instructed, securing a harness with deft, sure movements.
Ava sat on a crate, pretending to be engrossed in her clipboard. Yet, I could tell her attention was divided between her pretense of work and the lesson I was giving. She observed intently as I showed the crew the knots and checks, her fascination barely veiled.
When the demonstration ended, I crossed the distance to her. "Taking a break or learning the ropes?" I grinned.
"A bit of both," she responded, her voice steady but her cheeks tinged with color from either the sun or me. I hoped to hell it was me.
The day’s interactions with Ava were revealing, each moment peeling back a layer of the professional facade I wore everyday. As I walked back to my quarters under the lengthening shadows, she haunted my thoughts. There was something about her, something below the surface that she hid from everyone else. I’d just left her and already I couldn’t wait to see her again. I had the sense that she was the thing I’d been missing all these years.My entire life, really. The way her warm eyes looked up at me, so big and round, made my heart pound in my chest. I couldn’t get her off my mind, and that’s a feeling I’d never felt before. If I was being honest with myself, that feeling also kind of scared me.
As dusk finally settled over the circus, painting the sky in hues of deep purple and gold, the main tent buzzed with the electric energy of anticipation. Performers, clad in vibrant costumes that shimmered under the overhead lights, stretched and practiced their final moves. I stood at the center, feeling the weight of their expectations and the thrill of another night's performance heavy on my shoulders. I lived for this part of the job. When adrenaline crowded out everything else. The world, the chaos, the gaming sense of loneliness all quieted and I was just doing my job under the Big Top.
Gathering the group around, I raised my voice, ensuring every person from the flyers to the fire-eaters could hear me. "Tonight, like every night, we give them a show that they’ll carry with them for days, for weeks. You are not just performers; you are magicians of the heart and soul." My gaze swept across the faces in the crowd, seeing the fire ignite in their eyes, the nervous energy morph into determined excitement. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Ava, half-hidden in the wings, her notebook forgotten at her side as she watched. Her expression, open and unguarded, reflected the passion of the words I spoke. She looked excited. Reallyfucking excited. I grinned, shooting her a wink before I thanked everyone for giving their all tonight and told them all to break a few hearts. It’s the thing we’d been saying before every show since I took over this gig. Because that’s what we did here—captivated audiences. Got under their skin and made them believe in the unbelievable again. Made them believe in things like love and joy and hope. For two hours every night, we gave them that.
As the show took off, with the roar of the crowd filling the tent, I felt that familiar rush, the symbiotic energy that flowed between us and the audience. Once the final act concluded to thunderous applause, I made my way to the ticket booth, ensuring everything was wrapping up smoothly. The night's work wasn't done until every last detail was checked. Ava lingered a few feet away, pretending to be absorbed in her notes, but her eyes didn’t miss a thing. I approached the ticket sellers, chatting briefly to confirm the night’s earnings and ensure there were no discrepancies. "Great work tonight," I told them, clapping a young ticket handler on the back with a friendly smile. As I turned, I caught Ava’s gaze, her admiration barely veiled, adding a layer of warmth to the cool evening air. As the last of the spectators filtered out, leaving behind the scent of popcorn and the echo of laughter, I found myself walking alongside Ava through the now-empty tent. The canvas cathedral that had roared with life mere minutes ago was silent, and our footsteps on the sawdust floor seemed loud, intimate.
"I’m thinking of adding a new act next month," I began, watching her closely to gauge her reaction. "Something daring, something that will make hearts race even faster. What do you think?"
Her eyes lit up, the professional curiosity mingling with a personal interest that was becoming harder to ignore. "That sounds incredible, Dante. Your vision for the circus... it’s compelling. It’s clear you really love this place."
The way she said it—the emphasis on 'love'—struck a chord. "I do. And I want those who come here to leave with a piece of that love, that wonder."
We stopped walking, standing amid the ghostly echoes of applause. For a moment, I considered reaching out, closing the distance between us, but the circus master in me held back."Thank you, Ava, for your hard work today. It doesn’t go unnoticed."
When we reached her caravan, she whispered a soft thank you and then vanished inside. I watched her for long moments as she sat at her small desk, the dim light of a single lamp casting shadows on her journal. She chewed on the end of her pen, as I tried to suppress the personal feelings that were knotting together inside of my stomach.
Chapter Four
Ava
Another day and another town later, the midday sun cast long shadows across the circus grounds, but inside the administrative office, I was shrouded in secrecy. I’d slipped inside unnoticed and now papers and files lay scattered across the desk like a map of hidden treasures, each document potentially holding the key to the darker side of the Misfit Cabaret. With the staff preoccupied with the setup outside, my heart pounded as I rifled through the drawers, searching for any hint of the illegal activities I suspected were entangled in the circus’s colorful facade.
As I sifted through invoices and emails printed out and carelessly tossed into a file, a sense of urgency drove my actions. Each piece of paper rustled like a whisper of the secrets they might tell. I was looking for inconsistencies, for names that appeared too often, for amounts that didn’t seem to match the modest ticket sales. My investigation was abruptly paused when I peered out the window and saw Dante crossing the grounds toward a secluded spot behind the main tent. Curiosity piqued, I left the papers scattered and slipped outside, careful to keep my distance as I followed him.
Concealed behind the faded canvas of a supply tent, I watched as Dante met with a group of stern-looking men. Their suits were sharply out of place against the backdrop of the circus's whimsy. Their conversation, though hushed, carried a weight that belied their calm exteriors. The tension between them was unmistakable, their body language guarded as they occasionally glanced around, as if feeling the weight of prying eyes—my eyes. I strained to catch fragments of their dialogue, the words ‘shipment’ and ‘tonight’ chilling me with their implications.
Later that evening, as the circus came alive with the night’s performance, the echoes of laughter and applause didn’t quite reach the depths of my growing unease. Hidden in the shadows beneath the bleachers, I watched the trapeze artists take to the air, their bodies spinning and twirling with a grace that made it all seem like a beautiful illusion. It was then I overheard two acrobats behind me, their voices low with concern, discussing the delayed payments and the unnerving disappearances of some of their peers who had asked too many questions. Each word twisted in my gut, a stark contrast to the joyous facade the audience applauded.
Dusk painted the sky in strokes of orange and purple as I made my way to the animal enclosures, pretending to check on the welfare of the creatures that brought the circus much of its wonder. Hidden behind my feigned concern for a limping elephant, I caught sight of Dante again. He was at the far end of the enclosure, speaking in hushed tones with the animal trainer. As I edged closer, the words became clearer, and what I heard curled inside me like smoke—talk of new arrivals, of keeping them hidden until the heat died down, of payments that would need to be made in more than just cash. As the sky darkened and the circus lights blazed against the night, illuminating the big topin a golden glow, the dissonance between the world Dante ruled and the one I was uncovering became starker.
Alone in my caravan later that night, the events of the day replayed in my mind like a film I wished I could pause and understand fully. I sat at the small table, my journal open in front of me, the pen hovering above the page. How much of what I had learned could I write down? How could I reconcile the magnetic pull I felt towards Dante, a man woven into the very fabric of these possible misdeeds? The words I finally scribbled down were a mix of cold facts and heated, confused emotions—a testament to the complexity of my feelings and the intricate web I found myself caught in.
The circus, with its allure and mystery, had always been a place where reality and fantasy danced closely. But now, as I delved deeper into its shadows, I found myself dancing a line between danger and desire, a line that Dante seemed to embody perfectly. With his commanding presence and his unexpected vulnerability, he was becoming more than just the subject of my assignment. As I wrote about him, my pen hesitated, my heart warring with my head. Was I getting too close, or was I finally getting to the heart of the story? Either way, I knew one thing for certain: my time at the circus was changing me, and Dante was at the center of it all.
Later, with curiosity getting the best of me, I found myself in the dimly lit dressing room of the performers, surrounded by costumes draped like specters and the faint smell of makeup and sweat, I discovered something unexpected. Behind a loose panel under the vanity, I found a stash of unmarked, sealed envelopes. My fingers trembled slightly as I slid one into my pocket, the weight of potential secrets pressing against my thigh. Whatever these envelopes contained, I was sure they held answers to questions I hadn't even thought to ask yet. As I ate dinner a while later, I sat alone at a small table, nibblingabsentmindedly on a sandwich. My ears, however, were feasting on the conversations around me. The crew’s banter, laced with laughter and complaints, occasionally dropped nuggets of information that caught my attention. Talk of Dante's late-night meetings and the shadowy figures who came and went after dark painted a picture of a man who was more than just a charismatic ringmaster. Every snippet of dialogue added layers to the mystery surrounding him, deepening the enigma that kept pulling me closer, despite my better judgment. As the crew finished eating, the air backstage was charged with the nervous energy of performers and the bustling of stagehands preparing for the night's rehearsal. As I meandered behind the main tent, ostensibly checking on costume changes, I stumbled upon a locked trailer tucked away in the shadows. Muffled voices seeped through its thin walls, their tones urgent and heavy with mentions of money and swift, hushed plans. I lingered a moment too long, my mind racing with curiosity and apprehension about what illicit dealings might be unfolding just steps away. My clandestine observations were abruptly interrupted when I sensed a presence behind me. Turning, I found myself face-to-face with Dante. His brow was furrowed, a mix of suspicion and something softer, perhaps concern, playing across his sharply chiseled features. My eyes were always drawn to him–the dark stubble on his jaw begged for the grazing of my fingertips and the soft curve of his full lips made me itch to taste. What would it be like to kiss a man like Dante–so in command and control of people and animals alike?
"Ava," he began, his voice low and steady, "this area is off-limits to staff without specific duties here. What brings you behind the tent tonight?"
