Read Online LUKA (The Rhythm Series, Book 2) by Jane Harvey-Berrick - Free Book Online Page A

understudy who knows all the roles for your gender, and you can get called on to dance at short notice. You have to know all the parts in case anyone is injured or on vacation.
    “Sure, why not.”
    “Good. It’s basic backup work, nothing you can’t handle,” and she gave a quick smile that showed me her real personality. “Get yourself to the Dominion Theatre at 10AM tomorrow—it’s just off Tottenham Court Road. Report to Kathryn, she’s the Dance Captain. You’ll learn the routines in the morning, rehearse with the other dancers in the afternoon, and go for costume fittings. All being well, you’ll be on stage by Monday night or maybe the Sunday matinée. Any questions?”
    “Do I get a contract?”
    She laughed. “Smart boy! Yes, you do. What’s your name?”
    “Luka Kokot.”
    “Well, Luka, you’ll get your contract when you turn up for work tomorrow. Don’t let me down.”
    “No, ma’am.”
    We shook hands and I headed back to the locker room a little dazed. Landing a job was the last thing I had in mind. But yeah, definitely worked for me now that Seth . . .
    I turned the thought off and hit the showers.
    By the time I got out of the studio, it was early evening and I was hungry. I’d slept through breakfast, skipped lunch to get to class, and now I could have eaten the ass-end of a mule.
    A burger bar was calling my name, and I sat down to a Whopper with everything and a chocolate milkshake. I could eat whatever I wanted and never put on an ounce. In fact, keeping my weight up could be an issue on tour. Although Ash had ensured that we stayed in nice hotels with good food, and not the shithouses I’d been in on the German and Australian tour last year. But sometimes nothing beats a greasy burger.
    I stopped off at a pub for a beer. I loved London pubs—they were different from anywhere else in the world. America did bars, but London did pubs. The one I chose was off of the main street, and I’d only found it by accident. It was really quiet and only seemed popular with old guys who took three hours to drink a pint of dark bitter ale, and laborers from a nearby construction site. You could order eel pie with mashed potatoes. It sounded disgusting—and I really wanted to try it sometime.
    No one hit on me and no one spoke to me, other than the heavily made up woman serving at the bar. Her earrings jangled when she moved her head, and a man could get lost in that cleavage for a week and never see daylight—if you didn’t mind sleeping with a woman older than your grandmother.
    “You look like a man who has a lot on his mind, luv,” she said, pulling a pint from the barrel with arms that looked as if they could crush a bear.
    “Yeah, some,” I smiled at her.
    “Well, you know what they say, ‘the only easy day was yesterday’.”
    It was quiet, no music or TV allowed, and I watched the dust swirls caught in the evening twilight as I sat nursing my drink. No one bothered me here. I sat on a threadbare bench seat and let the tiredness settle through me. Perhaps it was a mistake going back to work so soon—my body needed rest. But the thought of having nothing to do and no one to do it with was not the liberation I’d expected: it was depressing.
    Images of Seth pressed into my brain. How had I not noticed that he had the same eyes as Sarah? I remembered her talking about her brother, and Seth had even told me that his sister had taught him some dance moves.
    I sipped the cold beer and let my eyes drift shut.
    I’d slept with both of them—what a clusterfuck.
    I listened to the conversations going on around me—bets on horse-racing mostly, but also a few comments about women. The same all over the world.
    I finished the beer and headed home. My exciting evening included working out how Sarah’s washing machine operated, and watching TV.
    Tomorrow was going to be a long day, but I was looking forward to it.
    I was surprised to see a fancy white Benz parked outside Sarah’s