And off we went. The first thunderous chords rang out, echoing through the room. And I took off. I was in my own world, just me and Beethoven, but I was still connected to earth, through Teddy, through his hands on my shoulders. He was feeling everything with me, long fingers tensing, relaxing, thumbs moving. We rode the first movement together.

Then the lovely second movement, which I used to find overly sentimental, but now just found sweet and open. Like last time, his fingers relaxed to the point of feeling like they were going to slip off, but they were there.

Then the third movement, pounding, ponderous, vivacious, fast, dark, brooding, busy, carrying us to dizzying heights, almost careening out of control, but I was just able to hang on, borrowing strength from Teddy's strong hands on my collarbones, applying pressure, feeling that pressure through my body, so sensual, arousing me, though surely no one could see that. Then down, down, to the main motif, quiet, quiet, back to earth.

Over.

We stayed there, heads bowed together, as if in prayer. I slowly raised my head, to clapping. Teddy kissed the top of my head, and I rose, so he could take me in his arms.

I knew it had been good, because I had basically no memory of it. That was always the way. I closed up the piano and walked toward the others.

"So that's what you're playing for your audition, I take it?" Mike asked in his soft voice.

"Actually, no, I'm playing a Mozart sonata," I responded with a smile. "It's technically a little more difficult, with a little more discipline. This one's more about passion."

"And it shows, Miss Tinker Bell," Mike said, kissing my hand, a very touching gesture. "It must be a hell of a piece, for you to pick it over this one. I don't think I've ever heard the Pathetique played so well, ever, and I've heard it a lot. So you must have a lot of confidence in the Mozart."

"Come on, everyone, let's get back to the festivities before they send out a search party. Between us, four of the most eligible bachelors at the party are out of circulation," Janelle noticed with a laugh.

Everyone rejoined the party, where we didn't seem to have been missed, though everyone was immediately surrounded by a group of people.

Teddy stopped me just before we went through the doors. "Kiss me," he demanded. I kissed him, and he opened my mouth with his tongue, tasting me, putting his hands on me, making me moan and reach for him and undo his pants.

"No, you can't do that," he protested.

"Why not?" I asked, frustrated. "You can grope me but I can't grope you?"

"Because when I grope you it doesn't show for the entire world to see," he laughed. "Let's just kiss, okay?"

I sighed. "Fine," I said, lifting my mouth. I kissed him, hard, pushing him against the wall, pressing my body against his.

"Oh, god, Birdie, you're killing me, Jesus," he moaned against my mouth. He touched my breast, slipping his hand inside my dress. "What the fuck, no bra?" he asked.

"Where on earth would I fit a bra in this dress, hmm?" I asked, pushing myself against his hand.

"And this isn't just kissing, mister," I murmured.

"I can't help it," he breathed back as his lips ghosted against my neck. "You're so fucking hot." He reached under my dress, feeling around, pushing his fingers past my underwear, feeling my wetness. I moaned.

"Please stop," I whispered. "You're driving me crazy."

"Okay, okay," he whispered back. "Later, we'll finish later." He kissed me, warm tongue curling into my mouth. I locked on to it, pushing back with mine. He moaned too, more excited than he wanted to admit.

He took my hand and pushed open the double doors. He grabbed two glasses of champagne from a passing waiter and handed one to me. "Drink this, and try to look normal," he advised.

"I'll try," I gasped, downing half the flute in one gulp. I nearly ran into Gethin's back just inside the door. He turned around, lifting his arm to put it around me.

"Look at you, little one," he said with a smile. "Playing the piano always brings out the best in you, don't you look gorgeous." He bent down to kiss my cheek. "You have the loveliest roses blooming in your cheeks right now."

I smiled at him and didn't say anything.

We roamed the room, Teddy and Gethin introducing me to their friends. We ran into their old girlfriends everywhere. It was easy to tell which was which, because Geth's seemed glad to see him, whereas Teddy's seemed like they'd happily stick an ice pick in his head.

They were all models or actresses, legs up to there, towering over me, cheekbones that could slice fruit, wearing the latest in couture. But they didn't have the guy. They gave me looks that dripped condescension and dislike, and who knows what was said about me after we left?

I was starting to believe maybe Teddy was wrong, maybe Jennifer Jordan wasn't there, when suddenly she was, right in front of us, looking inhumanly beautiful. Long black hair fell in a sheet down her back, and her miles-long legs gleamed with a subtle tan, even though it was the dead of winter. Her dress, which had to be custom, was gorgeous, some kind of shiny peach color which hung perfectly off her rail thin frame. Like when we were in the nightclub, even this close to her, I could find no flaw in her face, her skin.

We saw each other at the same time, and she and Teddy stepped forward to kiss on the cheek. Even in the loud crush of the room, I could feel eyes on us, and I could see Janelle and Ronan watching out of the corner of my eye.

"Hullo, Theo," she murmured with a smile, expensive perfume preceding her in a gentle cloud. I recognized it as the fragrance which had lingered around Teddy's shirts last fall, and I remembered the hopeless feeling, the feeling of being adrift that I'd felt when I first smelled it in the warm laundry room, holding his dirty clothes and feeling sorry for myself.

"Jenny, you look lovely," Teddy returned, stepping back to slip his arm around my waist. She herself wasn't alone, and she introduced us to him, a Manfred something, who was a soccer player for one of the German teams. He was incredible looking, and obviously very into Jennifer. He kept his arm possessively around her, though he did seem to have a hard time looking away from my cleavage.

"You remember my girlfriend?" asked Teddy with a smile, giving me a slight squeeze. I held my hand out with what I hoped was a natural looking smile; there was no way I could hug and kissy-kiss with her.

"Tinker Bell, of course," she said with a vaguely predatory return of my smile. "From Diamonds, last summer," she continued. "Oh yes, Theo's told me all about you." She had a Geordie accent, because she was from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, in northern England, though it had obviously softened quite a bit due to the fact that she called London home and traveled the world for her modeling. And what exactly had she heard about me, from Teddy of all people?

It felt strange to me. I knew intellectually that Teddy had been with other women, a fuckton of other women, but this was the first time I was face to face with someone I knew he'd had sex with. It was hard to stand there and not imagine them together, with her long legs wrapped around him. I had to suppress an actual shudder at the thought of him entering her body as she welcomed him—I pushed the thoughts away, trying to clear my mind of the images that had crawled in like snakes.

That was all in the past, though. He was with me now. She had to live with the knowledge that he didn't love her, never would love her, and probably never had. His love was wrapped around me like a warm coat, and she would never get to wear it. Knowing this must be like breathing poisoned air for her. I wouldn't trade who I was, where I was, for any part of her glamorous life, body or face.

She looked me up and down, though not with nearly as much appreciation as Manfred. It made me feel awkward, knowing all I knew, and I tried to hold my body in a relaxed way. She herself was used to being looked at, photographed, all of it, and she looked smooth and unruffled as we faced each other.

She stepped away from Manfred's embrace to place her hand on Teddy's arm in a gesture I remembered well from the club. "How've you been, Theo?" she queried in a silken, intimate voice. "I haven't seen you in, what, it must be weeks." She cut her eyes quickly to me to see what effect her words were having.

"You know, the usual, just kicking around, getting through the holidays with a minimum of fuss and hangovers," he returned with a laugh. He pulled me closer, and I put my arm around his waist so it wouldn't look like I was trying to grab his ass in public.

"Yeah, yeah, lots of parties and such this time of year," she returned, nodding, a little sympathy in her voice. "Though I haven't seen you at many of them, Tink," she added playfully.

Did she call me Tink? Only people who knew me really well used the shortened form of my nickname. Teddy bristled slightly, and I knew he didn't like it, either.

"Well, parties aren't really my thing," I said with a smile. "You entertainment people really know how to tie one on, you know? I'm pretty quiet." I shrugged.

"Yeah, not much going on with you, is there?" she asked rhetorically, and even Manfred's eyes widened at the implied snipe. "Your dress, off a rack somewhere, isn't it?" she continued. "I'm surprised, if I'm honest, that Theo's publicist would let you attend an event like this in that," with a slight gesture at my body.

I swallowed, trying to think of an appropriate response. I was very aware of being watched, possibly recorded, and I didn't want to do anything untoward. Next to me, Teddy stiffened and took a breath, getting ready to say who knew what?

"Yes, we didn't know we were coming until very last minute, so I went out with Geth's sister, Janelle, and was lucky enough to find this. Jan did the alterations herself," I continued, gripping Teddy's waist tightly, willing him not to open his mouth. My dress was stunning, and I felt pretty in it; I had nothing to be ashamed of. From a distance we just looked like four people exchanging pleasantries, but that would change as soon as he began speaking, I knew.

Her eyes narrowed at my words, at my familiar use of Janelle's name, and I knew in a flash that they hadn't gotten along. She looked back at Teddy, plucking at his sleeve, and in that small gesture I saw her frustration, her anger, her pain. "Theo, maybe we could have a dance and a chat later? Alone?"

This time it was Manfred who bristled, his arm snaking back around her. She flicked it off with an impatient shrug of an elegant shoulder, keeping her eyes on Teddy the whole time.

Teddy looked at me, brows drawing together, holding me protectively, gauging my reaction to one of the most beautiful women in the world blatantly propositioning him right in front of me. I looked over his shoulder and saw a camera pointed right at us, a red light indicating we were being recorded.

Fuck.

I tried to smile at him, to let him know I was fine, but he was having none of it. He turned back to Jenny, furious, removing her hand from his forearm as he spoke. "You must be out of your fucking mind," he said in a low, tense voice. "I told you 'no' when I saw you last, and I'm telling you 'no' again, yeah?"

"Theo, you were so pissed on whiskey last time we saw each other," she said with a conspiratorial smile, effectively closing the handsome Manfred and me out of their conversation. She looked at him, and the only reason I could see her mouth quivering was because I was standing so close to her. "You couldn't possibly have meant half the shit you said. I mean, we didn't exactly do a lot of talking, but come on."

She was only looking at him, but those last words were for my benefit, I knew.

I bit my lips together, trying to figure out how to end this interaction with a minimum of embarrassment for all of us, a minimum of hurt for her.

"What?" He was disbelieving. "You've got some nerve, standing in front of me insinuating god knows what after insulting my girlfriend to her fucking face—" I saw her flinch at his use of the word "girlfriend".

"And all this while your 'date' can't take his eyes off her tits," he continued, sparing Manfred a glance. Manfred had the sense to step away as he averted his gaze from my front, where it had indeed drifted again during all this. Oh Jesus.

"Teddy," I said quietly. He turned, visibly softening as he looked at me.

"It's all right," I said, nodding as I spoke. I glanced at Jenny, and she saw the expression on my face. Her eyes widened with shock.

"Cheeky cunt," she said venomously. "Don't you dare stand there and—and—pity me." And she turned and walked away as quickly as she could in her teetering heels, keeping her eyes resolutely on the ground in front of her.

After giving us a look of apology, Manfred went after her. I sighed and turned to Teddy, putting my hands on his chest, leaning into him. I felt his arms come around me, felt his breath in my hair. Hopefully we just looked like a couple enjoying a moment.

"Jesus, I'm sorry," he said, his arms tightening. "Do you want to leave?"

I pulled away to look into his troubled eyes. "No," I said firmly. "I told you, I'm fine. Poor Jenny is the one who needs your sympathy," I said, running a hand through his hair to try to calm him. "I don't think I've ever been called a 'cunt' before, let alone a 'cheeky' one," I mused, trying to bring a little levity and lift his mood.

He smiled at my words. "You are the most amazing person I've ever known," he said, closing his eyes as he hugged me. I hugged him back, hard.

"Let's just forget all this, hmm?" I requested when he released me. "We still have some time before midnight. Let's enjoy what's left of our evening?"

He nodded at me, dropping a kiss on my nose.

I nodded back, determined to put poor, lonely Jenny out of my mind.