It's A Shame (27 page)

Chapter 26

I was working at the shop, trying to push my thoughts into the things I used to live for… fashion, clothes, designers
, SHOES.

Well, it was pretty but it wasn’t working. The whole time I spent here all I did was think about Cole, Kyle and ‘what the
hell was going on?’

I stood up when Karen walked in.

“Lunch?”

“Um
…No.”

“Since when don’t you eat?”
She looked at me like I’d totally lost my mind. 

If only she knew…

“I feel sort of nauseous. I want to hurl, but I’m a big baby, I’m afraid to…”

She looked at me rather confused.

“I’ve lost so much weight…never mind.” I rolled my head back trying to stretch the muscles in my neck and back. I knew the stress had to be getting to me if I wasn’t hungry, but the less I told Karen at this point, the better.

“So nothing…?” Her eyes zoomed in on mine.

“No girlfriend, but...” I looked at my purse, then my desk. “FUCK!”

I jumped up and
ran toward the bathroom. I frantically pulled down what I had to pull down, and lifted what I needed to lift. Needless to say afterwards, I was ready to lie on the floor. I was bone tired and totally exhausted, mentally and physically.

I opened the door and stepped into my air-conditioned apartment
thankful something went my way today. The cool air coated my sweat-coated body like a slow-motioned ice cube trickling slowly down my skin.

I was so exhausted I barely made it into my bed
room. My legs felt like lead. I think I remembered flopping onto the bed, and I wouldn’t have believed I fell asleep that way, if I didn’t wake up fully dressed the next morning. I never… and I mean
never
went to sleep with makeup on. It is my number one golden rule. But the proof was all over my pillow and smeared evenly across the sheets. I grunted as I rose out of bed and made my way to the bathroom.

One look in the
mirror, at my more than ugly visage, and I sat on the floor, with my head in my hands, thankful for the coolness permeating my jeans. I leaned back against the marble tiled wall, grateful for it’s icy cold surface.

What the hell happened
?

I walked out int
o the living room to find Cole lying on the couch. One foot on the floor, the other over the end of the sofa, fully dressed, shoes on…

I remembered another time when his shoes were on…leaving a stain in my rug that took me the better part of two hours to get out. When was that?  The night after they found Laur
… I violently shook my head.

“
Ace? Baby?” I shook him gently.

He sat right up. “What’s the matter?”

“Last night…I don’t remember,” I mumbled.

“
Mmmm. Umm.” He said looking like he was trying to get his brain working. “I came in from work and found you passed out on the bed. You looked totally washed, so I let you sleep and came in here to work.” He stretched his arms and bent to the side. “Damn, my back.”

He
sat up and rubbed his lower back.

I got that crazy uneasy feeling that had become a permanent
mood of late.

“Want coffee?”

“Yeah, that’d be great baby.” He struggled up to his feet and bent backwards, moving side-to-side trying to stretch out his muscle aches.

I made us coffee and
set his mug in front of him taking a sip of mine. My stomach curled.

“Sorry
, babe,” I said as I made a beeline for the bathroom. He followed me and tried the door, but I locked it.

“Grace?
” he asked after knocking softly.

“Not now…” I moaned.

“Baby open the door, let me in.”

“No…please leave me alone. Please.”

“You okay?” When he received no response, he continued, “Alright, I’ve got to get ready for work. I’ll be in the guest shower.”

“Whatever…”

Th
ere were times when a girl needed her privacy.

When I finally got out of the bathroom, my stomach
was still queasy. I slowly dragged my feet into the living room.

No Cole.

“Ahhh shit!” I flopped on the couch and didn’t move till the sun began to set.

“Grace…baby…” I heard his sultry voice…my heart started racing, the beat a bit erratic…I was dreaming.

“Yes
Ace.” I answered my dreamboat.

“Grace… sit up baby.”

“I am.”

“No, baby, you’re not.”
I heard him chuckle softly. Then I felt an arm dig under around my back raising me up.

“What?”
I was more than annoyed.

“Lemelson called, he needs us to come down to his office
,” he said slow and deliberate.

I was having a hard time focusing
, and understanding what he was saying. I rubbed my eyes and ran my tongue along my teeth. 
UGH… toothbrush
.

“Grace?”
he probed.

“Lemelson…the lawyer?”
I stood up and shuffled towards the bathroom.

“Yup.”

I quickly brushed my teeth as what Cole said sunk in.

“What the hell does he want?”
I yelled through the opened door.

“He want
s us to come down to his office.” he trailed off.

“
What day is this?” I asked.

“It’s Friday ten a
.m.  You okay?” he asked softly as he came to stand in the doorway.

“Friday? What the hell?”
I must have slept the whole day…and night. I stared back into his probing eyes reflected at me in the mirror. “Okay, give me a little bit. I need to shower.” I slowly turned away from him. “I have time for a shower right?”

“I think so…” he said. I could hear laughter in his voice.

“What?”

“What
, what?”

“What’s so frigging funny?”

“You.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, you’re adorable when your are a space cadet.”

“Space cadet
?” I opened my eyes fully.  “I’ll be ready in forty-five minutes.” I said definitively.

“Yeah…that’ll
happen,” he chuckled, than turned to walk away.  He actually laughed at me.

I took the challenge and rose to the occasion. I was standing at the kitchen counter
, in full ‘attorney’ attire, thirty minutes later. By that I mean I was dressed in a black pantsuit with black and white striped blouse, black stilettos, and black purse to match.
Does he think he’s dealing with an amateur here?

When Cole walked out of the guest room his eye
s were wide as saucers. I could almost taste the saliva in his mouth.

“Do I meet your approval?” I said
smiling as I spun slowly in a full circle.

“Fuck Lemelson, I want that,” he indicated my body with his eyes, “
…riding me.”

I couldn’t help myself, I laughed out loud.
“Ace…take a deep breath and put your indecent thoughts to the rear of your brain. Maybe we’ll get some good news for a change.”

I noticed
the smile fell from his face immediately, as the burning in his eyes grew in intensity.

“You deserve so much better than this…” he
turned his head and looked out the wall of windows, staring out into the New York nothingness that has become our lives.

“Ace, you keep talking like that and I’ll have to take you over my knee
,” I told him trying to keep our spirits light.

He shook his head, eyes still downcast.

“Well then, shall we?” he asked as he drew closer to me.

It was then I
noticed he was dressed to the nines. He wore a black suit that matched the black glossy color of his hair, a navy shirt and a green tie.
God, I loved that green.

“Um, sure…”
I mumbled, rethinking that offer to ‘ride’.

He looked into my tired eyes and I
instantly felt renewed.

“You and me?
” he asked.

“You and me
!” I replied.

We arrived in front of the building that housed Lemelson, Tailor and Swift. Almost sounded like a dry cleaning operation.
Cole opened his door and walked around to mine. I watched as he lifted his hand up to Ray, stopping him in his tracks, then opened my door.

He held my hand as he helped me out.

I looked up into the blue sky. It was so clear, so blue, not a cloud in sight. The sun sat high above us.

We rode the elevator up in silence. Neither one of us
was willing to say the first word, both of us unwilling to break the spell. Electricity flew in the air bouncing off of us, yet we managed to maintain our perfect control.

We walked into the reception area and I stood
behind Cole as he walked up to the woman behind the desk.

“Mr. Grayson
, good morning. Mr. Lemelson knows you are here,” she smiled. “Please take a seat and as soon as he is finished with his conference, I’ll escort you both in.” Her smile forced. Her voice was even toned. The kind of voice you would hear in an emergency room that would make you want to scream…the one that remained so calm when the world was crushing down on you. “Can I get either of you anything, coffee, water…?”

“
No. Thank you,” he said. The businesslike tone in his voice masked his impatience as he walked back over to where I stood, and placing his hand possessively on my lower back, guided me to a pair of chairs in the waiting area that faced the skyline of my beloved New York.

I stared out
the window, willing life…willing whatever power that be, to please find it in the stars to grant us an end to this torment. This wasn’t the life either of us wanted. We were both willing to fight for each other till neither of us had any strength left, but would we lose ourselves in the process. Would there be anything left to fight for?