Yes, Master

Chapter Nine: Cheating

  We walk back home in silence. As the full magnitude of what I just did hit me, I feel as if a weight has suddenly been placed on my shoulders. I had the most handsome boy in the country wrapped around my little finger. And. I. Just. Cheated. On. Him.  I try to come up with rationalizations, but I draw a blank. He kissed me. I kissed back. There are no two ways about it.

   I push open the door, running to my room before I have a breakdown. I see Lily sleeping, her pale skin looking translucent in the moonlight.  She looks like an angel, in a white nightgown with her hair fanning out around her.

  I feel bad about waking her, but I need to get this weight off my shoulders. "Lily," I say, shaking her gently, "I need some help."

  She lifts her head groggily and salutes me. I laugh.

  "Lils," I say hesitantly, biting my lip, "I cheated on Alexander with Curtis." 

  She gives me a look, cocking an eyebrow. "So?" she says.

  "Well, I cheated on Alexander with Curtis. Does the word trust mean anything?" I ask matter of factly.

  "Well, you never actually said he was your boyfriend. And Curtis thought you were his girlfriend. So really you never made up your mind between the two of them, so it's not cheating. Besides, from what I've heard from Curtis, Alexander seems to be, well, kind of mean," she says. 

  "But, Lily, things have gotten pretty serious between us. Plus, Alexander has quite a temper," I whine.

  "Listen, you wake me up in the middle of the night to ask me advice about something I don't know about at all. Then you complain. I'm going to sleep," she grumbles. With that, I lie down to sleep, my thoughts tumbling.

   The next morning, I go to work with a pit of guilt in my stomach. I see Alexander waiting for me outside his house and the pit only grows. He kisses me gently and I can't help but think that Curtis was a better kisser. We go in to the house, and he takes a to-do list out of his pocket.

  "Mother asked me to give this to you," he says. Lately, we've become so close that I've practically forgotten that his mother is my boss. Even her cruel taunts don't bother me that much.

  He leans in and whispers conspiratorially, "There's some big party next week. You in?" I gulp and nod.

  "Just make sure your "boyfriend" doesn't come," he says, half-joking, half-serious. Right now, I really want to spit out the whole story with Curtis. But I just stay silent. With promises of meeting later by the dressmaker, we part ways. I set to work, thinking about how I have to tell him. Soon.

   Later that day, we meet in the dressmaker's room. "Another dress, gorgeous?" she asks, winking.

   I put on a faux-aristocratic accent and say, "Oh, dahlink, you know it is in poor taste to wear the same dress twice."

  Alexander walks in. "What'll it be this time? Silk? Brocade? Money is no object," he says.

  The dressmaker studies my complexion and my body. She quickly sketches a picture and calls me over. "What do you think?" she asks, pointing at her sketch. Her sketch is of a loose, long dress. It has yellow lace straps and a long, airy, yellow skirt.

  "I love it," I say exuberantly.

  "Perfect. I have the perfect silk. I just got it in," she says.

  "And I'll find a pair of yellow shoes," Alexander pipes in.

  The dressmaker claps. "You'll be a dream," she says excitedly.

   We exit the dressmaker, and I decide it's finally time to tell Alexander. Finally time to come clean. "Alexander," I say hesitantly, "I kissed Curtis."

  He looks at me. "You kissed Curtis?" he asks, surprising calm. I nod fearfully. Before I even realize, he's pressed me up against a wall, his full weight pushing against me.

  "You let him kiss you? That filthy peasant?" he says through gritted teeth. He starts to feel up and down my body.

  "Your body is mine, no one else's," he says.

  "Get off of me!" I yell, struggling to push him off of me.

  "No!" he yells. "You kissed another guy. That is wrong!"

  "So is what you're doing right now," I comment.

  We hear a voice down the hall. "Alexander, where are you?" I shove him off of me and run down the hall. My only thought is: Curtis would never do such a thing.