Tangled Encounters: A Sapphic Circus Romance

  Cirque Callisto Series Book One

  Madison Niscole

  MN Books LLC

  Contents

  Preface

  Before you read…

  Prologue: Ozzie

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Epilogue: One year later…

  Acknowledgments

  Author’s Note

  Reviews

  Social Media

  About the Author

  Also by Madison Nicole

  A sneak peak into Deathwalker…

  Chapter 1

  Preface

  Tangled Encounters is the first book in the Cirque Callisto Series, a four book interconnected standalone series. Each book can be read on its own but is best read in numerical order. Enjoy!

  Copyright © 2024 MN Books LLC. All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  Created with Vellum

  To those who wanted to run off with the circus when they were younger…

  I promise you still can.

  And my mom. You’ve always encouraged my dreams and my unhinged antics. Thank you for being my number one fan.

  Before you read…

  This book contains adult themes such as sex work, explicit sex scenes, misogyny, homophobia, kink, slut shaming, and more. This book is intended for mature audiences and reader discretion is advised. If you have any concerns about the content of this book feel free to email the author, Madison Nicole at info@madisonnicolebooks.com, your mental health matters.

  Prologue: Ozzie

  Several months ago…

  There are moments in time that etch themselves on your skin and send you spiraling towards another path. Today was one of those days. Last night had been a fucking disaster. Sean was an absolute asshole. The decision to break up with him at that moment was one of the easiest ones I had ever made. Especially after he tried to thrust some woman on me in an attempt to get us all to sleep together and then proceeded to get mad when I said no thanks.

  I didn’t really know why he thought he could handle two women at once, when the reality was, he could barely handle one. Not to mention we had never talked about adding someone else into our very new relationship, if you could even call it that. I felt like we were still in the beginning stages of defining what we were. Our relationship label was like a slightly upgraded form of a situationship, honestly.

  Being queer was also not synonymous with doing whatever sexual bidding your partner wanted without actually talking to your partner about it. It was an easy split for me. I liked Sean well enough, but not that much. It had just sort of happened since we worked and trained circus together. We were both looking to slide our bodies together in more ways than one, and that was sort of that.

  We weren’t that serious, but I did feel comfortable with him and he ruined that when he tried to claim I wasn’t queer. He thought because I didn’t want a threesome; I didn’t want women at all. Women were lovely, but I didn’t appreciate being blindsided by him last night.

  I was too old to be dealing with this fucking shit. But I had hoped that we could still work together in peace. After all, we had met in our current circus group and we were professionals. It felt like a very obvious thing to act like adults at our jobs. But alas, that was not the case.

  Instead, the shitstorm continued as I walked into our training facility, and all eyes whipped to me. Attempting to stand tall, I painted on a grin and set my stuff down, trying to gauge the weird tension in the room. My skin felt itchy and like I wanted to crawl into a hole to avoid everyone’s harsh gaze.

  It couldn’t have been all from the break up last night? How had news traveled so fast? I knew for a fucking fact that I was nicer and more enjoyable to be around than Sean. Plus, I was a more talented and dedicated performer. No one could juggle like me and I certainly held my own in the other disciplines. There was no reason all of that would mean nothing to them after a fight between two romantic partners, right? Swallowing, I tried to ignore the slight nausea rolling through me.

  Christ, I don’t even know why I engaged in our stupid relationship, anyway. The sex was good, but not that good. It had obviously been a judgment error, and yet here I was anyway, trying to just do my job while the whole room seemed to be waiting for me to fall on my face. This would all blow over soon enough. Someone else would have other gossip to share and soon our breakup would be in the past where it firmly belonged.

  “Ozzie.” Brittany, one of the other professional members of the company, strutted over to me with her hands in fists like she was ready to brawl.

  Oh god, oh god, oh god. It was probably nothing. She sounded like she was looking for a fight, but it couldn’t have anything to do with the blow up from last night. Why would anyone else need to be involved?

  “Brittany, how’s it going?” She wasn’t my favorite person, but again I did my best to mind my own business and do my job as opposed to getting wrapped up in the bullshit that was the gossipy cliques of the space.

  It was truly the antithesis of circus. It should have been about community, creating art, being inclusive and instead, this place was like a country club. Where money and connections were more important than your skill, talent and artistry. Unfortunately, it was my best option right now with where I lived. They had the best access to training facilities, coaches and paid opportunities. So it felt like my only option despite it being like high school all over again. My anxiety was already high in the space sometimes but today it felt dialed up to an almost full body discomfort.

  “Not good, Ozzie,” Brittany said, scowling at me. The annoying gremlin in my head wanted to mess up her perfect blonde high ponytail just for the fun of it. It would undoubtedly bring me a small semblance of joy.

  “Oh…Um… Well, okay,” I said. My throat felt scratchy, and I fought the urge to clear my throat. What if I just didn’t ask? Then maybe it would go away? Today I wanted to train like usual, not see Sean’s stupid face and then leave and go home. The end. I let the silence drag on and begged whatever god existed out there that she would simply leave. Apparently, no one was answering prayers today.

  “You’re not even going to ask me why it’s not good, Ozzie?” She practically spat my name out. Her venomous words made me flinch, and I desperately looked around for something to get me out of this awkward conversation.

  “Uh, I—I feel like you’re going to tell me whether I ask or not, so why don’t you just say it, Brittany,” I said, trying to match her snarky tone. It came out high and squeaky instead. Damnit. I wasn’t ready for this today. My emotional walls were crumbling from last night and all my bad bitch energy had been used up telling Sean to go fuck himself. The only thing left was a growing pit in my stomach from her menacing gaze.

  “Sean told us all about your blatant disrespect last night,” she hissed at me. There were more people inching closer to our little confrontation. I felt like a feral cat in a cage. Suddenly, the space felt too small. There wasn’t enough oxygen in the room as they loomed closer, throwing accusatory stares my way. I clamped my mouth shut and inhaled deeply through my nose, praying that enough air was getting to my brain. My stomach rolled as I tried to figure out what to do.

  “What’s going on? We just aren’t seeing each other anymore. He was kind of a dick to me and said some hurtful things about my identity,” I said. The words tumbled out in a rush. “He’s the one you should be mad at, not me!” The words felt childish even as they came out. In reality, none of them should be involved in any of this, anyway. It was our private business. Couldn’t they just leave it alone?

  Brittany’s mouth dropped open. “How dare you try to manipulate the situation and take no accountability, Ozzie.” She looked like she was going to lunge at me, and then suddenly Sean was there, pulling her back into his arms.

  What’s actually happening right now? I took a step back and nearly tripped over my bag. The surrounding circle kept getting smaller and smaller and frantically I looked for a way out.

  “Ozzie, please stop trying to play the innocent party here. You went off the rails last night. You need to apologize to me.” His tone was so patronizing that my mouth dropped open. Did we experience the same thing last night? Because in what world would I need to say sorry to him?!

  �
�Sean, you can’t be serious. Why are you lying like this?” Tears pricked the backs of my eyes and I tried to calm my racing heart. None of this was going as planned. My skin felt hot, and I blinked a few times, trying to regain focus. I could calmly explain our fight last night, right? Then everyone could go on about their day and forget it ever happened, just a lover’s spat. I tried to convince myself it was possible despite the disapproving looks around me.

  “I told them about your other thing too,” he scoffed at me, keeping an arm around a scowling Brittany. Nearly every single person in the gym was bearing witness to this now. My vision started to go fuzzy as tears gathered in my eyes.

  “About what, exactly?” My voice came out in a whisper, and I dug my fingernails into my palms.

  “I told them about the whore you are and how you make money.”

  It was like a dagger to the heart and a punch to the gut all at once. I lost my footing and stumbled over my bag, crashing to the floor. Scrambling up, I wiped at my eyes.

  I should have never told Sean I had an OnlyFans. The facade this man had put on to act like a safe and genuine person when we were alone was truly Oscar worthy. Instead, he was a manipulative asshole who traded information about people whenever it was convenient for them and made villains out of people who didn’t deserve it.

  Don’t cry in front of these assholes, Ozzie. Just get out.

  “Why are you doing this?” I asked, my voice cracked. This was going downhill really fast.

  “You sell naked photos of yourself, people deserve to know the truth,” Brittany said, pointing her finger at me and everyone in the crowd seemed to gasp collectively.

  “I’m allowed to do what I want with my own body. And these are not your secrets to tell,” I whispered, looking down at the floor. I didn’t expect people to understand why nudity was empowering to me, but they sure as shit didn’t have to shame me for it.

  “You work with children!” Sean threw it at me like holy water on a sinner’s face.

  “And you’re the one who is going around telling people!” I said tears were flowing freely now. The pain in my chest radiated through my body, and my tears turned to snotty whimpers. This was absolutely horrible.

  “Well, we all voted and you’re fired. I already talked to Leslie about it.” Sean smirked, and it was like another emotional bomb went off inside me. My composure was fractured into a million little pieces and there was no way I could recover from it.

  Leslie was Sean’s aunt and barely here so she let Sean and his other little minion’s run the place. Today, apparently, they had decided that instead of treating me like a human being they wanted to slice me to pieces and leave me flayed open, to gawk and jeer at.

  Again, why did I get this involved? So many mistakes led to this moment, and I wanted to tell them all to fuck themselves, but the betrayal I felt was crushing. There was no room for bad bitch Ozzie right now, only a shell of who I was crumbling under the anguish of trusting someone I shouldn’t have.

  “You voted on it?” I gasped, finally finding the words. “But I’m one of the most booked performers and one of the hardest working professionals. You’re firing me because of personal things I told you while we were in a romantic relationship?” Even as the words left my mouth, I knew they wouldn’t make a difference. My fate was sealed the minute I had trusted Sean.

  I looked around at the faces surrounding me, no one—not a single person seemed to empathize with me. They all saw me as this weird, slutty villain that Sean painted me out to be, even though he was more than happy to date me until twelve hours ago.

  “You’re unfit to be a coach and a performer and we don’t want to associate with the things you associate yourself with,” Brittany echoed, and any fight left in me was gone. I took one more moment to plead with my eyes to those around me. People I thought who had my back, who were maybe not my friends but at least co-workers who cared.

  Some people looked away or down to the ground but a lot of them just shook their heads at me and seemed to think the only way for this to fix itself would be for me to be kicked out.

  “You better not show your face around here. You’re banned, Ozzie. You’re never allowed to set foot in this studio ever again. No recommendations or associations will ever be made from this company for you, Ozzie,” Sean said seriously.

  “Great. I wouldn’t want to be associated with the likes of you anyway. I quit!” Grabbing my things as quickly as possible, I practically fled to the door, fighting back the tsunami of sadness that threatened to topple me to the ground.

  As soon as I made it to my car and sat down, the tears erupted and my heart broke entirely. What the hell was I going to do now? I needed a new plan, and I needed one fast. So I drove home trying to think of a new future while the one I had imagined crumbled behind me.

  “Trevor! We have to move. We have to move right now.” Tears were still streaming down my cheeks as I slammed the door shut in our apartment.

  “Oz? What’s going on?” Trevor rushed in from his bedroom and he scanned my face. His dark hair was sticking out in every single direction humanly possible. If I wasn’t so upset I would have laughed, instead I felt like two seconds away from collapsing. “Is this about the breakup? I thought you didn’t even like him that much?”

  Sniffling, I dropped my shit on the floor and let Trevor usher me to the couch. “No, it’s not about that dumb boy. I was fired. Well, I quit. Okay… technically, I was kicked out of the company.”

  Trevor’s eyes widened, and his jaw dropped. “What? Because why?”

  “Because Sean spun this horrible story about me being this whore of a villain. When in reality his ego is hurt because I dumped him and now he says I’m unfit to work with kids or be a part of the company because I have an OnlyFans.”

  “It’s 2024. What the hell is wrong with him? Also, you never told anyone except him, so why is he sharing information that is not his to share?” Trevor asked.

  “That’s what I said. But they voted on it and I don’t want to be somewhere that doesn’t accept me for who I am. And I’m like the only queer person there and it’s not fun. This isn’t what I want.” I buried my head in my hands.

  “I know, Oz.” He wrapped his arms around me and let me cry until I had nothing left in my system to give. “Well, our lease is up in the next few months. You know I have connections all over. I’ve been over this place for a while now. You know I get itchy to go somewhere shiny and new. Let’s start another adventure together. Pick a place and a few new circus companies to browse, and let’s write a new story.” Trevor’s voice went wistful, as if this new imaginary place we would go together was magical and wonderful and exactly what we needed.

  He was always better at diving headfirst into the unknown while the idea sent a slight panic through my body. But what other options were there? There certainly weren’t any good ones here anymore.

  “Really? Do you want to do that?” Sniffling, I tried to imagine what a new start would look and feel like. Maybe it would be exhilarating as opposed to vomit inducing.

  “You and I both know that as performers, we can get booked everywhere. We’ve got the talent and the drive. We just need the opportunity. We’re both kick ass instructors and damn good at what we do. Let’s get out of here and go somewhere that feels better for both of us. We’ve outgrown this place. You know the dating pool is nonexistent. So let’s go fuck some shit up somewhere else,” he said confidently. I was jealous of how easy it was for him to decide his next move while I felt frozen in place.

  “I love you, Trevor,” I said, wiping at my face. If he believed we could do it then I could at least pretend to believe it too.

  “I’ll tell the leasing office that we aren’t renewing and then you get to researching some places you might like to try. Let’s narrow it down to a few places and see what opportunities are available.”

  “Okay, let’s do it.” Laughing nervously, I tried to bolster my own attitude. I could do this. I could do hard and brave shit.