Diamonds Are Forever (3 page)

“There’s just no chemistry,” Gemma said, shaking her head.  “At least I don’t think so… I don’t even know anymore.”  Her lack of a romantic life had certainly dulled her senses in that department.

“Not every relationship will be so full of the fire you had with Tyler,” Armand said.  “Sometimes, this chemistry you say, it is not so obvious.”

Gemma groaned, hating how every man she encountered was compared to Tyler.  She understood that it was only natural.  She had dated him the longest and it was by far her most public relationship.  But it had taken her so long to
truly
get over him that the mere mention of his name still caused a slight knot in her stomach.  Luckily for her, the media attention around Tyler wasn’t what it used to be.  Ever since the success of
Carbine,
he had begun to be taken seriously by people outside of his already large fanbase.  As a result, he’d spent the last three years enjoying his successful transition into award-worthy acting jobs, temporarily putting his music career on hold.  They had only spoken once since their breakup over the phone, making arrangements on how to disassemble the home they had built together while dating.

“I’m supposed to feel
something
more though, aren’t I? Like, if not some kind of obvious chemistry, I should feel
something
when he’s holding me or kissing or even just being with me, right? I see that he’s gorgeous and technically ‘perfect,’ but I’m just not feeling that…
something.
”

“What can I say, then?” Armand shrugged.  “I am, after all, a romantic.  I cannot say that it is not important for you to feel that ‘something.’  But maybe, if not for you but for me, you give it another few weeks?”

“For
you?
” Gemma smirked.  “Alright then, for you.”

“You know, in the next couple of weeks we are going to be so busy with preparing all the costumes.  And when you are done at the end of the day, you are so broken from all the work that sometimes the only thing that can make you feel better is being in the comforting arms of a beautiful man.  At that moment, you will not be thinking if you are feeling this ‘something.’  You will just be happy to not be alone.”

Gemma laughed.  “That sounds like terrible reason to be dating someone.”

Gemma could feel everyone’s eyes on her as she walked in on Corey’s arm.  She had convinced him to wear a blazer that she had designed, her first ever attempt at menswear.  It was definitely a fashion risk for the normally preppy Corey, with its asymmetrical, unfinished lapels and the bright orange silk lining inside the grey-blue shell.  At first, she had felt kind of bad for ambushing him and making him stray from his militantly tidy wardrobe, but Corey also had an impressive lack of self-consciousness.  Any qualms he had about the jacket disappeared as soon as he found a new shirt to wear underneath.

She looked up to admire the matching, messy look she had given his hair by combing her fingers through his long locks and mussing up the near pompadour that he regularly sported.  Corey looked remarkably different with his new style, and surprisingly, he was having as much fun with it as Gemma was.

Giving him a mini-makeover was her personal consolation prize when she realized Gavin and Zoe wouldn’t be making it to Greyta’s opening.  They had both cited long workdays and a desperate need to just pass out at home.  Gemma knew they were telling the truth – Gavin’s agency had to deal with clients that had become free agents over the NBA off-season and it was all hands on deck.  Meanwhile, Zoe was shooting in Brooklyn all day for her new show,
Leadoff
.  Still, the news had come as quite a blow for Gemma.  She was looking forward to seeing them, but more importantly,
not being alone with Corey
.

She was still battling herself about whether or not to end it with him.  Every breakup she had ever had was mutual to some degree.  Damian had moved across the country and Lucas had moved across the world – there was just some sort of understanding that it was better that they ended things, perhaps in an attempt to prevent getting hurt.  And then there was Tyler.  With him, it hadn’t quite been so simple and to this day, Gemma wasn’t so sure it was actually mutual.  He had tested her with his words –
let’s break up.
  And she had agreed too readily.  But what the three situations had in common was that there was an actual
reason
to break up, an actual tangible factor that she could cite whether it was someone moving or things getting too complicated.

With Corey, things weren’t complicated
enough
and neither had any intentions of leaving New York anytime soon.  He hadn’t even done anything to explicitly offend her, unless she counted mild obliviousness to lifestyles outside his own and perhaps his general inactivity.  After dropping out of law school, Corey didn’t seem particularly concerned with finding anything non-recreational to do.  At first, it was kind of fun to end her workday in the presence of a person so free and relaxed that his main focus was to help her have a good time, but it quickly grew repetitive.  Over time, it just added to the boredom Gemma felt around him. 
I can’t break up with someone by telling them they bore me… can I?
Gemma pondered the thought as she and Corey were ushered into the lounge.

Greyta was on the top floor of an old building by the Williamsburg Bridge.  Enclosed in a greenhouse-like arrangement of glass and metal framing, they were just high enough to catch a great view of the river and bridges.  The décor was largely French Industrial, with the exception being the ornate crystal chandeliers that hung from the metal framing.  The bar was a long stretch of unfinished wood, studded and trimmed with galvanized steel.  Perched atop the stools were familiar faces, most pulled from Mira and Hudson’s little black book of tastemakers and trendsetters.  Gemma smiled, excited to know those faces would be attending her own flagship store launch in a few months.

Plucking a flute off champagne off a server’s tray, Gemma let Corey lead her towards the back of the lounge and up a grand, winding staircase towards the mezzanine.  It was designed to match the bar with its unfinished wood and galvanized metal and proved to be a bit of a challenge for Gemma’s outfit.  She had opted to wear one of her own designs as well – a halter dress with a draped neckline that showed the perfect amount of skin.  The fabric was a light, dip-dyed robin blue silk and the hem was asymmetrical and frayed.  The longest parts of the hem skimmed her ankle, just long enough to snag on a metal bracket and tear apart with a single misstep.  She gathered the material gently in her hand, taking care not to wrinkle the dress as she held the hem above her knee and followed Corey to the VIP section of the lounge.  The bouncer at the top of the staircase was dressed in a rather unconventional manner, looking more like an old-time soda jerk in his pinstriped vest and short-sleeved button down.  He waved them in without checking their names on the list.

In the smaller, private mezzanine area, the décor was just a touch more refined.  It looked to hold no more than fifty people and had a cozier, more private feel despite its sweeping view of all the guests below.  The bar top was lined with stained, reflective glass and the barstools were upholstered with a tight-knit burlap.  Each stool had a number printed on it, from one to eight.

“I guess they don’t trust us to remember where we were sitting,” Corey laughed, pointing at the stools.  Gemma smiled politely at what she believed was a joke as he helped her atop seat eight.  “What are you drinking?”

“Gin and tonic?” Gemma said, not really sure if that’s what she wanted at all.  She watched as Corey ordered two.  He had a habit of getting whatever she was getting.  While it was cute at first, she found even this small gesture kind of annoying these days.

“Sloan! My man, you made it!” a voice called.  They both looked up, spotting Walter Tabor making his way towards them.  Walter was a childhood friend of Corey’s, as well as the starting quarterback for the Jets.  Other than Mitchell, Corey seemed to hang out with Walter most.

“Tabor,” Corey reached a hand out and pulled Walter in for a pat on the back.

“Looking beautiful as always, Miss Hunter,” Walter leaned in to give Gemma a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Thank you.”

“Damn.  You must be responsible for Corey’s getup,” Walter laughed.  “I can’t even get the man to wear my
jersey
to one of my games, but you got him to dress like
this?
You must mean something to this man, here.  He takes his wardrobe seriously.  I don’t know how you did it.”

“What can I say? She’s talented,” Corey said, reaching around her waist and giving her a quick squeeze. 
So cheesy. 
Gemma pressed her lips into a firm smile. 
I’m an asshole,
she thought directly after, well aware that she was looking for just about
anything
to add to use as ammunition to their impending breakup.

“Would you mind,” Walter started, looking at Gemma.  “If I stole Corey away for a second? I have a friend at that table over there who’s planning a bachelor party for a mutual friend of ours and we could use some of his input.  I’d invite you over too if I weren’t so sure that you’d hate our topic of conversation.”

“Oh, well, what could it possibly be about?” Gemma teased.

“I won’t get into anything inappropriate,” Corey said, putting his hands up in front of him and shaking his head.  “Don’t you worry.”

“I’m not worried,” Gemma said.

“I won’t be long.”

“Take your time.”  Gemma gave him a playful wave as she watched them walk away.  She sipped on her gin and tonic and turned to face the view of the river.  She had really held out hope that Zoe would show up at Greyta, mostly because Zoe had yet to meet Corey.  Gemma knew that of all her friends, Zoe would be the one to share her feelings about him being wrong for her.  Not only that, she’d probably also help put the breakup speech into the perfect words – words that Gemma would actually say, since Zoe herself would choose a blunter route. 
You bore me
, she’d shrug, keeping it simple and turning on her heel to go about the rest of her life with no regrets.

With her little black straw, Gemma pierced the olive in her drink.  She had kind of also been hoping for Zoe to come and balance Leah’s words from the other day.  Forty-eight hours later, Gemma was still thinking about them.

Indeed, she had been lucky with guys.  She
had
dated the most eligible bachelors, all perfect men in their own individual ways.  And she was only twenty-two.  Gemma wasn’t sure if this meant that there were better options to come or if the best were already behind her.  What if she “let go” of Corey only to find that he was her last chance at the perfect man? What if there were bigger compromises in the future than not having “the right chemistry” with a man that everyone else seemed to love? He really was perfect on paper.

And yet somehow, Corey inspired nothing in Gemma.  It was a strange sensation to look at him and recognize that he was wonderfully sweet with the looks of a storybook prince but
still
feel nothing
.
  She never felt compelled to kiss him.  She always had to force a laugh at his jokes, only
pretend
to be interested in his stories.  She went along with their dates in the same passive, dutiful manner that she had attended her high school classes.  But then everyone else managed to see something in him.  And they didn’t even seem to be trying the way Gemma was.

Squinting, Gemma looked towards the back corner, watching as Walter and his friends laughed loudly, clapping at something Corey had said.  Corey bowed in an exaggerated manner, wearing his famous megawatt smile.  Gemma found it so incredibly cheesy but even his guy friends were charmed by him. 
God
.  Was that Corey’s only appeal to her? That everyone else seemed to like him? Gemma shook her head to herself as she turned back toward the windows. 
Maybe I
am
just missing something.  Maybe there really is something I just haven’t seen yet.
 
I mean there has to be.  I know it
, Gemma decided.  She rattled her glass. 
Or maybe I’m just drunk.

Looking down, her eyes focused on the mere ice cubes left in her gin and tonic. 
Oops. 
She had hardly noticed the fact that she had finished it in record time.  Clearly, she had a lot on her mind – which of course meant that she deserved another one.  Right?

But right as she was about to flag down the bartender for another, she felt an arm slip around her waist.  Instead of the silly little squeeze he had done before, Corey let his hands slide to her hip as he drew closer.  Gemma felt a warm, tingling sensation run up her spine. 
Hm.  That’s more like it. 
She closed her eyes, letting her head drift back against Corey’s chest.  She didn’t like being this indecisive about how to deal with him, but she was in no mood to handle the breakup verdict tonight.  Besides, there was suddenly something surprisingly…
comforting
about being in Corey’s arms.  It was sort of that “something” she’d been waiting so long for.

Maybe Armand was right.  She just needed some time.

Either that or this isn’t Corey
, Gemma realized, her delayed reactions suddenly realizing that the body behind her felt nothing like Corey’s.  Her eyes snapping open, she spun in her seat, looking up at the smiling face behind her.  The stranger was taller than Corey, his broad shoulders and chest filling out the simple charcoal t-shirt he was wearing.  His hair was dark and cropped short and his warm brown eyes were focused completely on Gemma.  She felt her sight come slowly into focus, realizing that he was no stranger at all.

“Long day?” Damian looked at her, amused.  He brushed her hair from her face, holding his hand to her cheek for a moment before pulling away.

“Damian!” Gemma screamed, jumping off her seat and throwing her arms around his neck.