The girl in the gilded cage *Completed*

Very awkward

*Josh*

The next day, I am sitting outside my trailer when a young girl walks up. She is a pretty blonde, 17 years old, and her name is Katja Markovich. It was her brother Lucas who fell from the low tightrope. The family works with the horses… mostly the parents, but Katja is training hard and doing bits as well. "Hi, Josh."

"Good afternoon, Katja. What brings you this way?" I ask her, sending her a smile. Admittedly, she makes me a bit nervous. I don't really know why; there's just something about her. She seems too grown-up for her age.

She smiles at me and sits down on the narrow steps next to me, forcing us to sit really close together. "As this is the night, my mom sent me to ask if you would join us for dinner tonight as a thanks for helping my brother."

"Tell your mother thanks for the invitation, and sure, that sounds great. Maybe then I can get some real food for once," I say, chuckling, trying to get rid of the uneasy feeling of having her this close to me.

She puts her hand on my thigh, too far up for my comfort, giving it a squeeze. Then she gets up. "See you at dinner then, Josh. I will save you a seat next to me."

"Yeah, see you," I say, watching her flounce away. Am I totally crazy here, or is she flirting with me? I just have to ignore it. First of all, I have no such interest in her, and secondly, she could actually be my daughter, and it feels really awkward, honestly.

*Malina*

"Are you okay, Malina? Does it hurt anywhere?" my brother asks me, and I shake my head. Luckily, I was only training on the low rope when I fell, and I only have a couple of bruises. "Nothing broken, I'm fine."

My brother looks me over anyway, making sure I really am okay. He looks at me thoughtfully. "You haven't fallen down for years. What happened?"

"I don't know. I must have slipped or something," I say. But I know what happened. I heard Katja Markovich talking to one of her friends about Josh, and I lost my concentration. That girl might be young, but she isn't innocent at all. But Josh wouldn't be interested, would he?

My brother helps me to my feet, dusting some of the sawdust off me. "You need to keep your head straight, Malina. If you had been up on the high line..."

"I know, I know. No distractions. Focus on the act." That is my life in a nutshell. If you can call it a life. Always focus on the act, the job. No fun and no distractions. But lately, my mind has gotten more and more distracted, even more since last night. That hug, his warm embrace, the scent of him… warm, masculine, and spicy… still lingers in the back of my mind.

No, I need to expel Josh from my mind. I mean, that would never lead anywhere anyway. He is too old, he is a famous actor, and he will be leaving for his real life before I know it. No, it is better to forget everything about him. Everything about that smile and those lips. Everything about those eyes and those soft-looking half curls. Yeah, I have no place or time for romance.

*Josh*

"Welcome, Josh. Come in, come in, sweetie." Gallina, Katja’s mom, opens the door for me, and I offer her the flowers I brought. "Well, thank you. You didn't need to."

"Oh, nothing special, just some wildflowers I picked out in the field. Thanks for having me," I say, smiling. I hadn't been able to find a place nearby to buy her a bouquet, so I picked one from the fields behind the circus.

She smiles at me and closes the door behind me. "You know what? These are much prettier than the store-bought ones. Dinner will be ready in a minute, just sit down."

I shake her husband Sergei's hand; he is a strict but friendly man. Then I say hi to Lucas and Katja, noting how Katja looks at me. I almost curse when I realize the only place to sit is next to her. But I can't really ask people to switch seats, so I sit down. She won't try anything here in front of her parents, right?

"Once again, thanks for helping Lucas," Gallina says, putting the food on the table and sending me a warm smile. She is still a strikingly beautiful woman who moves with airy grace, her body still athletic even though she is in her late forties.

I look at the food and smile at her. Saying the truth, "No problem at all. Wow, this looks absolutely delicious, Mrs. Markovich."

"Do call me Gallina, and thank you," she says, beaming. I load up my plate, and we start eating. The conversation is easy, and I like both Gallina and Sergei. Lucas is a great kid. Only Katja worries me; honestly, the way she looks at me scares the s**t out of me.

Suddenly, I feel her hand on my thigh, rapidly sliding up higher, and I take my hand down to remove hers while trying to keep smiling and having a conversation with her father.

But only seconds later, her hand is back, and when I try to remove it gently, she squeezes her hand rather hard. s**t, what am I to do? I don't want her hand there, but if I use the force necessary to peel her hand away, her parents will notice, and I kind of don't want that either.

I glare at her, trying to tell her to get her hand off me, but she just smiles and winks at me. Her fingers are stroking my inner thigh as I hold her hand in place, keeping her from running it up higher. I am still wondering what to do, trying to eat with one hand.

How much of an insult would it be to excuse myself and leave? Probably very much, and I am very uncertain how her father will react if I expose her. Maybe he will think I have initiated it in some way.

"Please stop, Katja," I whisper through the side of my mouth when her parents are busy looking at Lucas, who is excitedly telling something he had seen this morning.

She smiles at me, slowly licking her lips, making me swallow. She definitely acts very mature for her age, and she literally scares the s**t out of me. Honestly, I don't know how to handle someone that young coming on to me like this. "Just relax and enjoy, Josh," she says in a whisper, pretending to pick her fork off the floor, allowing her to lean in closer.

My appetite is pretty much gone, and I am pushing my food around the plate. I will be happy when I can leave for the safety of my own trailer. And I think I need a serious talk with Katja alone about what is appropriate and what is definitely not.

I manage to hold her off long enough for everyone to finish up their food. Then, in a small moment of me being focused on something else, her hand slides to my crotch, trying to grab me through my pants, and I fly up from the seat. "Thank you for a great evening. I better get back to my own trailer now."

I almost run from their trailer before they can say goodnight, needing to get away from Katja as fast as possible. Ugh, what the f**k? That had been a real nightmare.