Cake (6 page)

“I really do hate that you can wear almost all of this with your figure and I only get a piece here or there that will fit over my hips,” I say to her.

“Shut your filthy mouth.” Mads calls back as she changes. “I would kill to have your tits and ass. It’s way better than looking like a stick, which I have to constantly eat to ensure that the little I have stays.”

“Damn you,” I laughingly call back.

“Damn my fast metabolism that my super model mother gave me, who by the way, I haven’t seen in seven months. She’s in Europe ‘touring’ she tells the media, but the truth is, she’s staying away from the gossip rags about my father’s proclivity for young women. I’m still not speaking to the cheating dick.”

“Hearing you call your dad a ‘dick’ skeeves me out. I would appreciate you referring to him in any other way.”

“Not all of us had ‘Brady Bunch’ parents growing up. Hell, I would have settled for the ‘Adams Family’ over mine.”

“Speaking of growing up, I remember a promise of hearing about a certain teenage heartthrob.” With my schedule, I haven’t had time to follow up with her about him. Honestly, I can’t believe I had almost forgotten about it. Walking into my bathroom, I see Mads primping in front of the mirror. Leaning against the sink, I stare intently. “Spill.”

“I was wishing, and hoping, you had forgotten about that,” she says, applying my lipstick to her lips.

“No such luck. So unless you want to have your killer wardrobe supplier cut off, I suggest you start squealing piggy.”

“What can I say? The day I found out about my dad and Miss Teen Georgia, I bum-rushed him at his studio and really things get a little hazy at this point, as my evil twin took over and craziness ensued. Whatever I did or said must have pushed Nicky boy’s buttons, and now, I’m the object of his lust or so he says.” Stepping away, she turns towards me and places her hands on her hips. “He’s not my type, and that is that. I have tried repeatedly to get it through that inflated head of his, but it doesn’t surprise me that he’s not used to women telling him no. I’m not interested in being some conquest of his. So please, don’t listen to what he says or asks because you know me better than anyone. End of story,” she finishes and walks out.

I really should do as she asks, but the small yearning to help Nick Andrews out, which may be warranted because of the spark of interest behind her eyes that she evidently can’t hide, has me considering not listening to her.

“Move your ass, Bitch,” she yells.

Mads spends way too much time with rappers.

Way.

Too.

Much.

Time.

Walking towards her, I hear her whisper to Jonsie, “Cats rule and dogs die.”

“No wonder he hates you,” I say over his hysteric barks.

Mads offers to drive, and we swing by and grab a quick bite at a local deli. As we arrive, we actually find a decent parking space and only have to walk less than a block to the small gallery. Outside is a small media spot where partygoers have their photo taken for the local press. As much as I hate it, this is what sells for my boutique. Madison and I both dislike being in the paper, but Madison does it for me and never blinks an eye. That’s why I love her like a sister.

Lights flash from all the cameras around us as people shout for information from those attending. We move in, fake smiles ready for the feeding frenzy.

“What are you both wearing, Kylie?” a reporter asks.

“Madison has on an Yves Saint Laurent bustier dress and Gianni Versace black patent leather booties. Myself, I am wearing a very rare Valentino haute couture dress from my private collection.” Smiling, I turn and walk inside, trying my best not to flee faster than normal.

We both greet mutual friends as we walk through trying to admire the art. Sipping on a glass of wine, I stop to stare at a certain piece. I have to admit to falling in love with them all, but this one I adore. It’s a whimsical little girl with big soulful eyes looking so sad, almost lost. In my opinion, it calls to women of all ages, because at some point, we’ve all felt the deprivation of one’s self. Exactly as I feel right now.

“You know, I just don’t get it. I could wipe my ass and come up with something way better than some of this shit.”

Turning towards Dray, I shake my head, answering, “Do you have to be so crude?”

“Do you have to be such a prude?”

Rolling my eyes, I ask, “What are you even doing here?”

“What are you doing there? Ooh look, we sound like an excerpt from a Dr. Seuss book. You know, this isn’t the book that I thought we would write together.”

Curiosity killed the cat, so I ask, “Now what book, dare I ask, would you and I possibly ever write together?”

“I am thinking we could come up with, Fifty Shades of Red. You know, see how many shades of scarlet we can turn that tight round ass of yours. My palm is already itching just thinking about it. We could start tonight. I was actually on my way out when I saw you standing here waiting for me.”

I can’t help the blush that covers my cheeks. No one has ever dared to speak so crass and filthy to me the way Dray does. My palm is itching too, but it’s to strike his visible cheeks.

“Wow, if your cheeks get that shade of red, I can only wonder about your other ones.”

My voice comes out in a hiss, “You dick.”

Laughing, he smirks at me, “Don’t say I didn’t ask. Later, Kylie.” He nods as he walks away.

He’s lucky that we are in a public place, otherwise...I don’t know what I would do, but it would be painful. Jackass! Turning around, my peaceful outlook on the art is gone. Why did I ever think that I was going to agree to his ludicrous situations and turn the tables around? Why do I let him verbally terrorize me?

“You know, I can tell when Dray has been around. You look ready to explode and not in a good way,” Madison says coming to stand next to me.

Turning my head, I ask, “Please say you are ready?”

“Yep.”

“Let’s go.” Grabbing her hand, I almost drag her out without a word to anyone. Maybe I can find Dray outside and I can run him over. Twice. Pull forward, then back up again, and maybe pull forward one more time to make sure I got him.

“Want to talk about?” she asks as she drives me home.

“Nope.”

“Still planning his demise?”

“Yep.”

Laughing, she answers, “Good girl.”

Days later, I’m working, sifting through old inventory with one of my head sales associates and friend Leo, for a V.I.P. sale starting tomorrow. Leo has been giving me questioning looks all day long. I’m waiting for him to spit out, whatever it is.

“So a little birdy named Jess, told me you actually confided to her about the love of your life. Now, I said to myself, she wouldn’t do that to me as I have been begging Kylie for that story for the last two years. So I’m going to ask nicely, one more time, for the 411.”

Shaking my head, I answer, “It wasn’t like that. I was having a private conversation with Mads when big ears McGhee must have overheard and inserted herself into the conversation. She really didn’t hear the entire story.” No, she just heard the one piece of information that no one else knows.

“Okay, so give it to me. Who am I going to tell? Tell Uncle Leo all about it. Please. Have you ever been in love?” He playfully begs, batting his eyelashes at me.

Blowing out my breath, I think to myself,
what the hell?
“Sit back, shut it, and let me tell the entire story before any questions. Agreed?”

He emphatically nods his head up and down.

“Have I ever been in love? Yes, what woman my age hasn’t? I guess you could say I have a one true love. Doesn’t everyone? Mine probably starts like ten-million other single ladies out there. Girl goes to college. Girl falls in love with cliché college coffee house hottie. In this case, his name is Trent Moss, who incidentally already had a beautiful sweet girlfriend, so I opt for next best thing, the ever-lonely best girl pal. Now, I know what you are thinking, everyone has seen this storyline in a movie, and knows how it works out. Said, best girl pal hangs in there long enough, and eventually, the man of her dreams notices, falls madly in love or lust, which I would take either, and they live happily ever after. Alas, in this story, that is a big fat no. You see, I was such a good,
sister figure,
that I totally screwed myself four ways till Sunday.”

I look over to see Leo staring intently at me, so I continue, “At the time, I didn’t know that Trent was an orphan and the only
family
he had was his foster brother Dray Savage. Yes, that Dray Savage. Trent never had a real family, so he loved that I was there for him no matter what, and he valued that before any girlfriend. Trent is, and always has been, the guy who loves everyone, and on his looks alone, you would think he would be this good-looking asshole, but no, he has the biggest heart. Tall, short, thick, or thin, he was nice to them all. He remembered your name after meeting you once and always made a point to smile your way to let you know he had been thinking of you. I’ve seen girls and guys alike vie for his attention, but he never once lost his patience. He just recruited them for his current
save the world cause
that he was associated with at the time and gained friend after friend. That was Trent. All-around. Great. Guy.”

Clearing my throat, I go on with my story, “When I first met him, his girlfriend at the moment was Summer. I sadly remember because her name irked me more than her granola-fed attitude did. She was the definition of a tree-hugger and had this annoying habit of not shaving. I just didn’t see what he saw in her at the time. Pretty? Yes, but if cleanliness is next to Godliness, than I figured he must be down with the Devil because those pits of hers were shaggier than Big Foot’s. Anywho, I joined all of the same clubs they were involved in and became Trent’s confidant, insinuating myself deeply into his life. He came to me first, a year later, when he decided that
Hairy McScary
wasn’t his thing anymore, and dumped Summer
the Bummer
. Now, was my chance. My time. I just knew that this was the moment I had suffered the last year for. All those achingly, lonely nights, where I wished that he would see me, would come to love me, had finally arrived; however, the next month he introduced me to Sheena, who he met while fixing her cafe latte. She was attending the medical school downtown and planned on joining Doctors Without Borders to save lives in third world countries after she graduated. He actually introduced me as his sister from another mister.”

Leo sputters as he exclaims, “He did not!”

“I kid you not, he did. Now, shut it if you want to hear the rest. So this was the process for the next couple of years. He was the best boyfriend to his usually long-term girlfriends, I the token best gal pal, and Dray was his best friend who I quibbled constantly with. We both were jealous of the other when it came to Trent. So every single time he finally ended his relationship, I would think: Here was my chance again. One night, our senior year in college, after his break up with Cara
save the wounded animal princess
, he drunkenly told me what I hated to hear. He said that he loved me like a sister and that Dray and I were the only two people that he could call family. That night, I let my heart silently shatter into a million pieces. I thought I saw something more, but as fast as I caught it, he shut it down while closing his eyes and pulled away.” My breath hitches in my throat at what happened later that night that is best forgotten. The same way Trent forgot it the next morning.

Not looking at Leo, I keep looking down to finish, “And that was that. I valued him in my life and knew that girlfriends didn’t last long in his. So, since college, Trent travels the world designing safe water supplies and saving lives. He really is one of the greatest men I know. When he comes into town, he spends his time with Dray and me, telling us about all of his travels and we usually spend a couple of days at the lake just the three of us. Dray and I, both, seem to hunger for his attention, so we set our differences aside and call a truce during that time because we both know he will be gone again soon.”

Finishing my story, I glance over at Leo as he sits in stony silence, staring back at me with his gaping mouth.

“Gawd! That is the most sadistic love story that I have ever heard in my lifetime,” he says with disgust. “Pass me the razorblade and let me cut your wrist for you, why don’t ya?” Rolling his eyes, he turns around and straightens the rack of clothing he is leaning against. “Here I am, thinking I am finally going to hear why this fabulous beautiful socialite is single. I could deal with the tragic story of her one and only love dying an untimely death or even getting jilted at the altar, but no, all I get is
Flowers In The Attic
, without the actual incest or real familial connection. I feel horribly cheated.”