Give Me Something (7 page)

“
Really?”

“
Yeah, it was kind of sweet.  He's really into you.”

“
That's good.”  The voice inside my head went into an immediate debate with itself. 
Tucker Kline likes you.  This is awesome.  Why are you excited?!  I'm excited about the job.  No you're not.  You like him.  No I don't.  This is all about helping Nick.  Is it?  Yes.  Do not fall for him, Lila.  He's just a mark, nothing more.  I know.
Do you? 

“
He is good for you, Lila.  You should date a guy like Tucker and give up on Nick.”  She was so convincing that I seriously considered her words, but I kept thinking about what Nick had promised me.  She was wrong.  I wasn't wasting my feelings.  Nick was good for me.  He'd always been good for me.

At this point, what was one more lie
?
  “You're right, Brynn.  That's why I'm going out with Tucker tonight.” I started to put my plan in motion.  “But first... we need to go shopping.”

$ $ $

“What about this one?” Brynn asked holding up a purple satin, strapless dress.

“
Eh.” I shrugged at her suggestion.  We'd gotten off work at two, which left me exactly four hours to find something “sexy,” as Tucker put it, and get myself ready to blow him out of the water.

“
You're making this impossible.  Just pick a dress already,” she said, shoving it back on the rack.  “Do you even know where he's taking you?”

“
I have no idea,” I answered. “If I was a betting woman, I'd say some ritzy restaurant.”  Rich guys love showing off their “well-rounded palate.”  I'd heard that one more times that I could count.

“
Classy,” she smirked.

“
I just need to find the right dress,”  I walked around the rack hoping something would jump out at me.  “Something hot.  Something that screams 'you know you want me.'  Something that he'll wish was in a pile on his bedroom floor.  Something... ”

“
Like this.” I looked up to see Brynn pointing at the mannequin in the center of the store. 
It was perfect – a sleeveless, cowl-neck, twisted razor-back crepe dress in my favorite color green.  Even better than the color, the hemline hit just above mid-thigh, and I knew with my stems and a pair of strappy gold heels, there was no way that Tucker would be able to resist me.

“
Perfect,” I said, rushing over to look at the price tag. 
Hello zeros. 
I'd left work and come straight to the shopping center.  I hadn't really thought this whole shopping trip through.  I was pretty sure there was thirty-two dollars in my wallet, and that was nowhere near enough to pay for this dress.  I studied the hemline to see if there were actual gold flakes sewn into it.  “Why does this cost so freaking much?”

“
Designer tag, designer price.” Brynn shrugged, pointing out the well known name on the label.  “I've got fifty if that helps.”

“
It's still not enough.” I shook my head. “Thanks though.” I smiled at my usually selfish friend's giving gesture.   I gave the dress one last look with justified remorse.  “It's fine.  I'm sure I have something at home I can wear.”

Brynn's face lit up like a jack-o-lantern, “Wait, I've got an idea!” She smiled grabbing my hand and pulling me out of the store.

“Where are we going?” I said as she led me over the escalator.

“
That suit store upstairs.”

“
I don't think Tucker's going to get excited seeing me in a three-piece,” I reasoned as we took the escalator to the top floor.

“
We're not going for the suits,” she smirked as we walked through the door.  “We're going for the clientele.”  Her eyes narrowed as she surveyed the store.  After a few seconds, she nodded with a mischievous grin. “He'll do.” She dropped my hand and made her way over to the unsuspecting gentleman perusing the Calvin Kline section.  He was on the losing end of the ugly stick, and I could smell his designer cologne from where I was standing.  He was definitely not the kind of guy that Brynn usually went for.  The shocked look on his face when he turned around to find a beautiful, curvaceous woman tapping him on the shoulder led me to believe that she was not the type of woman that usually paid him much attention either.  Brynn leaned in, offered up a direct shot down her v-neck t-shirt, and nodded in my direction.  I smiled uncomfortably, trying to figure out what in the hell she was doing.  After a few minutes of flirty touches and batted eyelids, Brynn and her new found friend made their way over to where I was standing.  “Jessica, this is Derek.”  Confusion spread across my face as I tried to figure out who the hell Jessica was.  She nodded with wide eyes, and I knew she was talking to me.

“
Nice to meet you Derek,” I quickly extended my hand to him with fake enthusiasm.  As he slipped his clammy little hand into mine, I realized that Brynn may have had a few tricks up her sleeve that I didn't know about. 

“
I told Derek about your wallet getting stolen and he graciously offered to front you the money for your dress.” She beamed, placing her arm on Derek's shoulder. “Jess will pay you back as soon as possible,” she added with false sincerity.

“
It's really not a problem,” he said, revealing his Rolex as nonchalantly as he could.  This guy was a flasher.  Not a trench coat kind of flasher but an “I've got lots of money” flasher.  In our brief interaction he also managed to produce an iPhone 5 from his pocket and mention that he drove an Escalade. 
Overbearing much? 
It would have been a lot easier if he just showed us his black AmEx card. 
We get it. You're rich. 
Did he really think we were talking to him because of his good looks?  The solid gold chain he was rocking was enough to keep any respectable woman away from him.  My guess: he was a nerd in college who spent way too much time in front of a computer.  Between porn searches and his online dating profile, he'd developed some stupid app that sold for a few million, and here we were.

“
That's so nice of you.  Can you believe that someone took it right out of my purse when we were eating in the food court?  You can't trust anybody these days.”  I shook my head with a sigh.

“
That's a shame.” Derek smiled trying to comfort me.  “It's really no problem at all.  I'd be happy to buy the dress for you.”

“
You really don't have to do this, Derek,” I brushed my hand down his arm.  “I don't need a new dress for my grandparents' anniversary party.  They probably won't even notice.  I mean, they are getting older.  This could be there last anniversary together,” I added with a sniffle.

“
It's really not a problem,” he urged before moved over next to me and placed his tiny mitt on the small of my back.  Shy Guy had a sudden boost of confidence thanks to Brynn and my flirting. “We can't have you going to your grandparents' – ” He paused.

“
Sixty-fifth,” I interjected.

“
Sixty-fifth wedding anniversary celebration in last year's dress,” he grinned with a suddenly developed overwhelming amount of confidence.

“
I did promise this sweetheart of a guy your phone number in exchange for his help,” Brynn gave Derek one last shoulder pat.

“
It's the least I could do,” I reassured, knowing there was no possible way that I was giving this guy my real number or paying him back.  I'd never see him again.  The three of us made our way back down to the dress shop. 

“
So tell me, Derek. What is it exactly that you do?”  I had to know.

“
Ever heard of Plight of Disaster?”

“
The video game?” Brynn asked.

“
I made that,” he boasted.

So close!
I fought back a giggle at my keen observations.

As Derek settled up with the clerk, I pulled a scrap of paper from my purse and wrote down my number. 
867-5309.
And yes, I sung the number to
Jenny
as I wrote it out
.

“
Here you are,” he said, handing me the bag with a very self assured nod.

“
And here you are.” I folded the paper and handed it to him.  He quickly took it from my hand and placed it in the inside pocket of his jacket.

“
I'd really love you to wear that dress on our date,” he added patting his hand on his chest, securing
my
digits against his chest.

“
Of course.”  I leaned in and placed a kiss on his cheek.  “I'll bring you a check to cover the cost of the dress when we meet up again.”

“
Can't wait!”  I felt a little bad seeing his excitement for our
date
, but then I looked down at the shopping bag in my hand and shut it down.

“
Well, Jessica, we better get going.” Brynn slipped her arm under mine and started to lead me away from our new number one fan.

“
Nice work,” I said as soon as we were out of earshot.  “Where'd you learn to do that?”

She laughed. “I've been doing that since my boobs came in.  Just because I was rich didn't mean I didn't like seeing what I could get for free.”

“You're awful,” I joked and nudged her shoulder with mine.

“
Please. You loved it.” She nudged back.  “And, might I add, you seemed right at home once you figured out what I was doing.”

“
I may have dabbled in the art of deception,” I laughed. 
Understatement of the year.

“
No matter how we got the dress, there is no way that Tucker is going to be able to keep his eyes, or hands, off of you.”

I nodded in agreement.  Not only did I score a fab dress, I was about to bring Tucker Kline to his knees.

Chapter 5

Just as predicted, the restaurant was overpriced and over-appreciated.  The tiny portions and fancy garnishes had done nothing for my appetite.  I was used to having a rich guy wine and dine me. However, unlike the rest, Tucker was surprisingly easy to talk to.  He was uncomplicated and laid back.  We'd spent dinner discussing books, movies and music.  Despite the lack of sustenance, we had a great time getting to know each other.  I even told him a little bit about myself – my real self.  He just made it so easy; it was hard to remember that I was actually supposed to be pulling one over on him. He was surprised that I was an art nerd and even more surprised that, unlike most females, I hated chick flicks.

“You're just full of surprises, aren't you?” he asked.

“
You have no idea,” I mumbled.

“
So, what's the deal with you and Nick?” Tucker asked as we drove away from the restaurant.

I placed my hand on his thigh and gave it a little squeeze.  Jesus, he was in good shape. “You have nothing to worry about.  Nothing is happening between Nick and me.”
Right now.

His hand came down on top of mine.  “What about that kiss the other night?”

“One time thing.  We were both drunk.” I lied.  “It wasn't that great anyway.”  I lied again.

He pulled my hand to his lips. “Good to know.”

“Why are you asking about Nick?”

“
I just wanted to hear your side of the story.  I asked Nick about it earlier and he said pretty much the same thing.  Said you were too much like his sister and that the kiss was weird.”  He pulled into the parking lot of the club Nick worked at.  “Plus, I reserved a table for us here tonight.  I didn't want it to be awkward.”

“
Not at all.” 
Weird?  Really, Nick?
I knew Nick was just playing his part by saying that nothing was going on between us, but it still stung a little.

By the time Tucker and I had walked into the club and over to the booth he'd reserved for us,  I
was already working out a plan that would show Nick how
sisterly
I could be.  I decided that if I was going to be on Tucker Kline's arm I'd make it worth my while.  Maybe letting Nick see what he was missing out on would make him want to start this thing between us sooner.  As I slid into the booth, the stunning dress I was wearing started to inch up.  I noticed Tucker's eyes on my thighs as he scooted in next to me.

“
Like what you see?” Tucker checking me out was an open window to start a steady stream of flirting.

“
I do.” He pressed his side up to mine and quickly tugged the hem of my dress down.  “I don't really like everyone else staring at it though.”

“
You're the one who told me to wear something sexy.” I reminded, resting my hand on his arm.

“
What was I thinking?” He grinned. His eyes lingered on mine until the waitress came to take our drink order.  The music tempo started to pick up and the dance floor quickly became congested.  I recognized the perfectly executed conglomeration of hip-hop and Motown.  Nick was working.  He had a magical way of selecting beats and lyrics from two completely different genres and melding them together.  While Tucker handed the waitress his credit card to start a tab, I let my eyes find Nick. The DJ booth was situated on a small raised stage to the left of the dance floor.  I admired him from a far.  The white v-neck t-shirt he was wearing clung to his lean frame.  As he raised his headphones up and placed them on, his t-shirt rose up slightly to reveal a sliver of tanned skin above the waistline of his low-slung jeans.  I could see the heads of many dancing girls swivel around to look at his normally hidden tattoos.  I wanted to scream at them that he was off limits, but I knew I couldn't.  Instead, I turned my attention back to Tucker.