Rookie (18 page)

“I’m wiped. How about you?”

She nodded as she took a cautious step into the room.

Lifting the sheet, he nodded at the bed.  “Let’s get some sleep, huh?”

Grinning, she nearly skipped to him, stopping only to slide into his bed.  He got in and held her close to his body.

“Sleep, Rookie.”

With that smile still on her face, she did as he’d ordered.

Fourteen

The sun trickled through the blinds while birds chirped and waves crashed against the shore.  A cool breeze rocked the blinds and stroked Sidney’s body, gently waking her from sleep.  At first, she didn’t want to open her eyes – wanted to live in the dream that had kept her comatose for the past few hours.  She didn’t want to rise from the bed and start a new day.  She wanted to relive the images plastered in her brain: The touches, kisses, caresses.

But her body began to ache slightly and in a pleasant way.  Her eyes fluttered open, searching for a clock.  The firm mattress gave as she shifted, the soft sheets like heaven against her bare skin.

Her heart leapt as she realized she hadn’t dreamt of the wonderful activities that had played in her mind.  She was in Rob’s bed and naked but for a t-shirt.  It had happened.

Heat flushed her cheeks as she gathered the sheets, yanking them over her body.  But it didn’t much matter as there was no one in the room to see her.  Rob’s side of the bed was empty but there was a folded piece of paper bearing her name on the nightstand, propped against his alarm clock.

With eager fingers, she opened it, her heart floating.

Sid,

Sorry to leave so early but I have a meeting.  Hope you’re okay with everything.  If you need to talk call my cell. 

We’ll talk tonight.

Love,

Rob

She bounced out of the bed and skipped for the door, ignoring the tiny aches in her legs and other regions.  She crossed the hall to her room, note still clutched to her chest, and gathered up clean clothes. 

As she stepped into the shower, face lifted to the spray, all the joy that had radiated inside of her fled.

“Idiot,” she muttered, turning her back on the water and opening her eyes.  “It was a one-time thing.  He said so last night.  He made sure you knew that, too.  He was only doing you a favor.  It’s not like he’s going to take you out for a fancy dinner and propose.”

Disheartened, she quickly showered, dried off, and dressed.  With no luster, she pulled a comb through her wet hair before fastening it into a ponytail.

Pasting a neutral look on her face, she headed for the stairs, hoping that Mrs. B didn’t have a clue as to what had happened the night before.  Sidney was always one to make her own bed so hopefully Mrs. B wouldn’t be able to tell that Sidney hadn’t slept in her room.

When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she heard a familiar voice chatting with Mrs. B and her heart fell. 

Lexie.

Would she be able to tell by looking at Sidney’s face?

Sidney could only hope that she wouldn’t be obvious.

“Hey, what’s up?” Sidney asked, plastering a smile on her lips as she entered the kitchen.

“Hey, girl,” Lexie said, sipping coffee from a purple travel mug.  “I’m taking you shopping.”

“Really?”
Sidney grimaced.  She’d only gone shopping with Lexie once and it had been enough.  The girl was relentless and thorough meaning that shopping trips with her seemed to last an eternity.

“Oh, don’t fuss,”
Lexie frowned.  “The studio party is coming up in a couple of weeks and you don’t have a single thing to wear.  I should know – I rifled through your closet.”

“Wonderful,” Sidney sighed as she accepted a mug from Mrs. B.  “Let me at least get a couple of cups of coffee in me.  You’re like an over caffeinated two year-old when you shop.”

Mrs. B laughed while Lexie pouted.

“We’re only going to one store,”
Lexie said.  “I know that it will have what you want and if not, we can order something.”

“And how do you know this?” Sidney asked, suddenly suspicious.

“Because we’re going to Salek’s,” Lexie said, smug.  “I happen to know the manager.”

Sidney’s heart stopped. 
Manager?  Could she possibly be talking about…

“Duh.”
Lexie rolled her eyes.  “Mel is the manager.  Well, sort of.  She’s there overseeing stuff while her company takes over the store.  Cool, huh?”

“Yeah,” Sidney said, sipping her coffee, hoping the hot liquid would make her sluggish mind get it in gear.  “I didn’t know she was back.  I thought she was out of the country or something.”

“She came back two days ago, but she’s been tied up in meetings and stuff,” Lexie explained.  “She’ll be at the store today and she told me to bring you in and help you find something for this party.”

Just what she needed today of all days – Melanie bustling about, being nice.

And did her return explain the mysterious dinner meeting Rob had had last night?

Sidney’s stomach turned at the thought of Rob spending an evening with his
ex only to come home and be manipulated into sex by his friend.  What kind of person was she?

“Are you okay, Sidney?” Mrs. B asked
, concern mixed with something else in her eyes.  Did she know?  “You look a little pale.”

Swallowing, Sidney nodded.  “I’m fine.  I’ll just grab my bag and put on a pair of shoes.”

“Don’t you want to eat?” Mrs. B asked.

“Not hungry right now,” Sidney said with a forced smile.  “But thanks.”

“I’m taking her out for lunch,” Lexie said.  “I hired a driver and everything since my cousin won’t let Sidney out with just little old me.”

Sidney paused on her way out of the kitchen to throw a questioning look at
Lexie.  “A driver?”

“Yep,”
Lexie said, rolling her eyes for the hundredth time that morning.  “You know Moe, the guy who works the gate at the parking garage?”

Sidney nodded as she pictured Moe, young, huge, and extremely sweet.

“Yeah, so hurry.  He’s picking us up any minute.”

Sidney rushed up the stairs to gather her things, wondering how the hell she was going to be able to look Melanie in the eyes.

***

“This one is adorable, Sid,”
Lexie said, holding up a low cut, short dress emblazoned with so many sequins that it caught the store lights and lit up the ceiling.

“Um, no,” Sidney said.

“I agree,” Melanie said as she crossed the store to join them.  She gave both girls a quick hug before stepping back to study the dress.  “Sidney has a more subtle style.  She likes quiet, simple things.  Am I right?”

Sidney paused for a brief moment, wondering if she’d just been insulted.  One look at Melanie’s face put those fears to rest.  Melanie was only stating the obvious and had nailed it.

“Yes, you’re right,” Sidney said.  “And I definitely don’t want to look like a disco ball.”

“Hey,”
Lexie pouted as she held the dress out so she could admire it.  “I was thinking of getting it.”

Melanie laughed.  “It’s not you, either,
Lex.  I already showed you the dress I think you should wear.  It much more suited to your skin tone and body shape.”

“I know,”
Lexie sighed.  “I was just thinking about being a little flashier this year.”

“You don’t need to dress flashy to be flashy,” Melanie said, draping an arm over
Lexie’s shoulders.  “You have enough personality to light up the room.”

With a roll of her eyes,
Lexie gave her friend a squeeze.  Sidney wished fervently for a hole to open up beneath her feet.

“I have the perfect dress for you, Sidney,” Melanie said with a snap of her fingers.  “Hang on.”

Sidney nodded but Melanie had turned her back and didn’t see.  She waded through the racks and racks of dresses, leaving Sidney to shift from foot to foot, wondering if Melanie would return with something hideous.

“This is it,” Melanie said a few minutes later, holding up a simple black dress.  “Follow me to the changing rooms and you can try it on.”

Feeling as if she had no choice, Sidney did as she was told.  When they reached the rooms, she took the dress from Melanie and entered a tiny cubicle with a full length mirror on one wall.  After closing the door, she shrugged out of her shorts, t-shirt, and flip-flops.  Hesitating only slightly, she pulled the dress over her head and fussed with the thin, scrunched shoulder straps.  Turning toward the mirror, she was surprised at how she looked.  The dress fit well, clinging a bit to her body, accentuating her under-exaggerated curves.  It hung to just above her knees while the modest neckline dipped ever so slightly to give just a hint of cleavage.  With the right strapless bra, she might even look as if she had a chest.

She had to admit that Melanie was right: It was the perfect dress.

“Let’s see it,” Lexie whined from the other side of the door.

With one last glance, Sidney exited the room to stand before the other women.

“Perfect,” Melanie said with a grin as she stepped forward and slid the straps just off her shoulders.  “It looks great on you.”

“It does,”
Lexie said, smiling from ear to ear.  “You really need to get that dress.”

“Yeah, I guess I will,” Sidney said, her heart actually beating with excitement.  “Let me go change.”

Back into the dressing room, she removed the dress and carefully hung it back on the hanger.  As she stepped into her shorts, a voice outside chilled her heart.

“There you are, Mel.”

Rob.

What is he doing here?

“Hey,” Melanie greeted in a warm voice.  “I almost forgot that we were doing lunch today!”

“I’m sure my cousin had something to do with that,” Rob laughed. 
“How you doing, Lex?”

Sidney quickly threw on her t-shirt and slid into her flip-flops, her head tilted toward the door.  Crossing her fingers, she hoped that Melanie and Rob would leave for their lunch date and not wait for Sidney to emerge.

“I’m helping Sid pick out a dress for the studio party,” Lexie said.

Sidney’s heart sank.

“Sidney’s here?” Rob asked in a strained voice.

No longer able to hide, Sidney took that as a cue to leave the sanctity of the dressing room.

“Hey,” she smiled, the dress hanging over her arm. 

“Hey, yourself,” he said, his eyes flashing something strange.  “I didn’t know you were shopping today.”

“Oh, relax,” Lexie said.  “I have Moe driving us around.  She’s perfectly safe.”

“Oh, yeah,” Rob said.  “I know.  Good.  So, you, um, bought a dress?”

“Yeah,” Sidney said, holding up her arm.  “Well, I haven’t exactly paid for it yet.”

He nodded as Melanie’s glance skimmed off of Rob and fell on Sidney.  “Let’s get you rung up, Sidney,” she said.  She turned to Rob.  “And then you and I can go eat.”

“All right,” he said, smiling at Melanie.

The group headed toward the registers where Sidney quickly paid for her dress.  Once Sidney collected her bag, they all walked out of the boutique.

“Oh,” Rob said, his eyes flicking on Sidney’s face.  “Chad’s been scouting locations for a video shoot for you.  When you go in the office on Monday, hunt him down and he’ll go over it with you.”

“Okay,” Sidney said with a weak smile.  She dropped her eyes to the shopping bag dangling from her fingers.

“Ready to go?” Melanie asked as she wrapped her hand around Rob’s.  “I thought we could hit the bistro down the street.”

“Sure,” he said, giving her arm a gentle yank.  He glanced at Sidney and
Lexie.  “Talk to you girls later.”

“Have fun you two!”
Lexie called with a three-finger wave.  She slipped her arm into Sidney’s and led her to the waiting car.  “Come on.  We still have to find shoes.”

Groaning, Sidney allowed
Lexie to drag her to the car, her heart in her throat and her stomach at her feet.

***

Monday couldn’t come fast enough.  Life at Rob’s house had become tense and strained.  Rob spent as much time as possible away, not showing up for meals and coming home late at night.  His behavior should have upset Sidney, but it was sort of a relief.  At least she didn’t have to face him and worse – face the fact that he’d been right.  It had been a mistake for them to sleep together. 

She couldn’t understand what she’d been thinking that night.  All she’d meant to do was tell him what
Aliza had said but somehow, she’d turned it into a request for his services.  And now he was obviously embarrassed and ashamed and couldn’t even relax in his own home.

She knew what she needed to do – it was just going to be tough to do it.  She was going to have to find a new place to live and leave Rob’s house.

She arrived at the studio Monday morning – courtesy of Moe again.  Rob had left before she’d even gotten out of bed and had sent Moe to pick her up.  It was humiliating, to say the least, not to mention aggravating.  She hated feeling like she had a babysitter.