Taking Something (11 page)

I pushed through the growing crowd, across the sticky floor of the bar, and approached her. The two girls she was with eyed me cautiously as I tapped on her shoulder. They had the same brown eyes and hair as Gia. They had to be related. She leaned over and said something to them. By the way they both questionably looked at me, I assumed she’d told them who I was.

“Hey,” I smiled as she turned around.

“Hi,” she said, her eyes wide. “What are you—” She stopped talking when I put my hands on her waist and pulled her close to me.

“Dance with me,” I insisted. I was expecting protest, but instead she let her hips move with mine to the tempo of the music. She stretched her arms up around my neck as the beat slowed. Or at least I think it slowed. It could have stopped for all I knew.

All I could do was look in her eyes, which were full of trepidation. Our rhythm synced almost instantly, as if we were made to dance with each other. I knew she could feel it too because she didn't pull away. Something was definitely happening.

“Thank you for today,” I whispered in her ear. “You were amazing.” My cock started to swell as we moved. Not at all what I had intended, but it felt pretty awesome. She felt so damn good pressed up against me. I lowered my forehead to hers and wondered what she would do if I pressed my lips to hers.

She wants it
. I went for it.

“Let's go get a drink,” she suggested before my mouth landed on hers.

No, she doesn't.

She dropped her arms from my neck and grabbed my hand, leading me toward an open table in the back. When she sat down, she removed her hand from mine and I immediately missed the feel of it.

“What are you doing here?”

“What are you doing here?” I asked playfully. A waitress came by and took our order. “Water,” I requested. I'd had enough tonight. And I needed a clear head when dealing with this one.

“Same,” she told the waitress. “Night out with my sister and cousin,” she answered. “Your turn.”

“I had a meeting with Landry,” I told her, pulling out a chair and settling in. I saw her eyes scan the room as the same look she'd had the morning I'd said his name reappeared. “He's gone.” I saw the concern fade from her face.

“Where's Sadie?”

“You're her assistant. Isn't that your job?”

She rolled her eyes and sighed. She made me want to be defensive. I felt like everything was an interrogation with her.

“I'm kidding,” I said, dropping the sarcasm. “She's at home. Probably wearing out her phone.” I held up my phone so she could see the countless missed calls and texts.

“Why haven't you called her back? She's probably about to lose her mind.”

“I was getting ready to go and I saw you. Couldn't leave without one dance,” I confessed. “I had to see for myself if you moved as good as you looked.”

She let a small smile show, and that was enough for me.

“It was fun, right?” I placed my hand on hers and felt her warmth once again. Maybe I'd read her all wrong. Maybe she wasn't a stone-cold bitch. Maybe she was a stone-cold fox and I had been too stubborn to see it. Maybe the reason she'd been so pissy to me was because she was into me. I was starting to think that I really did have the
hots
for her.

Her eyes flickered to our hands as she watched me trace my finger across the top of hers.

“What are you doing?” She retracted her hand.

“I know you felt it, Gia. Don't act like us dancing together didn't make you wonder what it would be like.”

“What what would be like? Us sleeping together?” Her teeth clenched.

“Maybe,” I shrugged.

“You are so full of yourself.” She stood up. “Go home, Nick.”

Shit. Maybe not.

“Wait.” I grabbed her hand. “I'm sorry.” She looked at me full of disbelief. “I mean, I swear I just wanted to dance with you. That's it. I shouldn't have been a dick just then. Please. Just sit and talk to me for a little bit. I'm not ready to go back home to Sadie yet,” I confessed. She hesitated but finally reclaimed her seat.

“You make me nervous, Nick,” she confessed. “You're pretty good at convincing people to do things they know they shouldn't.”

If you only knew.

I could have thought of about a million things I wanted to convince her to do, including coming back to my hotel room and continuing what we'd started on the dance floor. If she kept leaning forward with her elbows on the table and giving me a sneak peek down her tank top, there was a pretty good chance I was going to bury my face in her perfect tits.

“Things with Sadie aren't quite how you imagined?” she asked, pulling me from my wishful thinking.

I took in a deep breath.

Tell the truth or lie?

“Not exactly. I mean, she's great and all,” I said, covering my bases. “But I think we jumped in too fast.”

“Ya don't say?” she said, biting back a laugh, which made me smile. I liked this playful side of her.

“I should have taken your advice, because now I can't even meet a buddy out for a drink without having to make up some elaborate excuse. Sadie is...a little unstable,” I confessed.

“You're telling me?” she scoffed. “I know all about unstable Sadie. I've been picking her up off the ground since 2004.”

I wasn't expecting her confessional. She was usually the first to defend Sadie when it came to me, but now she was venting. To me, nonetheless.

“She really is a pain in the ass sometimes.”

“Why do you stick around?” I’d been hesitant to ask after what happened last time but couldn’t keep the question in any longer.

“It's complicated.”

“Not the way I see it. You could have your own career. Your own assistant. You don't have to sit around and take shit from Sadie Sinclair.”

“There's a lot more to it. Let's just say Sadie was there for me once when I really needed her.”

“So,” I said slowly, “what you're saying is that Sadie isn't all bad? That she is capable of caring about people other than herself?”

“I wouldn't go that far,” she acknowledged. “But for whatever reason, she helped me out. Now I feel like I owe her, and that's why”—she cast her eyes at the dance floor and then the bar, any and everywhere to avoid looking at me—you of all people should get sticking out a situation for the greater good.”

“I'm not.”

“Really?” She was still skeptical. “You mean if you weren't working on Sadie's album you'd still be invested in this charade of being her boyfriend?”

“Charade? What makes you think it's a charade?”

“Just because you’re sleeping with someone doesn't mean it's real, Nick,” she reasoned. “Have you ever thought about actually getting to know her?”

Of course I had. And believe it or not, I had tried. Kind of. Sadie and I were just too different—or maybe too much alike—to be compatible, but I couldn't tell Gia that.

“You're right,” I agreed. “I should try a little harder. Maybe you could get me up to speed,” I suggested with an ulterior motive. “Tell me something about her I don't know.”

“Well, I don't think she's as strong as she puts on. She's spent her whole life in the spotlight and has constantly had to fight for everyone's approval. I think it's wearing her down a bit.”

“You're saying she doesn't like it?” I knew the answer before I asked the question.

She laughed. “I'm not saying that at all. She's just lonely. Which is why she was so quick to grab on to you.”

“Makes sense. So what am I supposed to do with that knowledge? I'm already with her twenty-four-seven. I'm not sure what more I can do.”

“Maybe you should ask her,” she said. “This is the 'getting to know her' part I was talking about, Nick. Talk to her.”

“Fine,” I agreed. “So then...why don't you tell me something about you?”

Ulterior motive, anyone?

“Me? I'm not really sure you need to know anything about me.”

“Let's just consider it practice. For talking to Sadie.” I offered up my most charming smile.

“Fine.” She gave up resisting me. She tried to fight back a grin, but it was no use. I'd already seen it. “What do you want to know?”

“Anything you want to tell me,” I answered, waiting anxiously for more information.

“Hmm.” She pursed her lips. “I hate seafood. It's gross. The smell. The texture. All of it.”

“Noted.” I grinned. “No dates to the Crab Shack.”

“Very funny.” She looked down her nose at me, trying not to smile, but I saw the corners of her lips turn up.

“What else?” I wanted more.

“My favorite movie is
Breakfast at Tiffany's
.”

“As long as it's not your favorite song, I'm okay with that,” I joked.

“God no. I hate that song,” she assured.

“No seafood, no cheesy '90s songs,” I said, tapping the side of my head like I was locking in the information she thought was trivial. But it wasn't. At least not to me. She might have thought I was kidding about remembering what she was saying, but I was damn serious. As cute as all the little tidbits about her were though, I wanted more. “How about something a little more substantial than eating habits and favorite movies?”

“Okay. Just as soon as you tell me what your favorite movie is. We might be wasting our time here if you say something stupid.”

“Believe it or not, it's actually
Breakfast at Tiffany's
.” I tried to keep a straight face, but it was impossible.

“Try again.” She didn't buy it.

“Okay, but you have to promise not to make fun of me.” I pointed at her, stressing the ‘not make fun of me’ part. She nodded in agreement. I hesitated. “It's
Toy Story
.”

“Seriously?” She waited for me crack a smile or tell her I was joking, but I was telling the truth.

“You said you wouldn't make fun of me,” I reminded. “It was the last movie I remember my mom watching with me. After that, she was too wrapped up in her own shit to hang out with her kid.” I felt like I was laying a guilt trip on her with my reasoning, but it felt good to get it out. Like maybe she would understand me a little more now.

“I love that movie,” she said, squeezing my hand with hers. “I actually just watched it the other day.”

“You're just saying that because you feel bad for laughing at me.”

“No, I'm serious. I watch a lot of cartoons. Keeps my mind off of how shitty actual human beings are.”

“Your turn.” I'd shared more than enough about myself with that last revelation.

“Well, I booked my first acting job when I was seven. A commercial for an amusement park, which lead into the gig on the show with Sadie.”

“So it was acting first, huh?”

“Not exactly. It was always singing first, but I had to get my foot in the door somehow,” she explained. “Wanna know a secret?”

Just one? How 'bout all of them?

“All right.” I played it cool, leaning back and resting my arm on the chair next to me.

“The television show with Sadie?” she started. “I could have had the lead role. It was offered to me first.”

“What? Why didn't you take it?”

“You know it was a show about a drama club, right?”

I nodded. I'd read a little bit about it online before I met Sadie.

“The supporting character was more about the musical theater side of it. She had a lot more singing parts than the lead,” she reasoned. “It was truer to who I was. I don't think I could have pulled off the drama queen role the way Sadie did. And I didn't really want to.”

“Good for you,” I said. It amazed me how true to herself she was. Didn't come across a lot of people like that in Hollywood. I wondered for a moment what it would be like to be that in sync with who you are. These days I wasn't sure who I was or what I was doing.

“Sadie would die if she knew that she hadn’t been the studios first choice,” she added. “Her head would probably spin all the way around.” She chuckled.

I had to laugh at the image and the fact that we both assumed Sadie would eventually display
Exorcism
-style reactions.

“You are nothing like the rest of the people around here. It's nice to be around someone who knows what she wants and doesn't hide the fact,” I admitted.

“I don't know about that,” she said softly, tucking her hair behind her ear. “I've made a few mistakes along the way.”

Now there were the secrets I really wanted to know. The nitty-gritty of Gia Grayson. But judging by the guarded look on her face, I knew better then to ask. For once, I didn't want to ask. I liked the fact that she'd confided in me on her own before. I didn't want her to tell me anything she wasn't ready to tell me. She looked over my head and signaled with her hand. I glanced back to see her sister pointing at her watch.

Looks like it is time for her to go.

I didn't want our conversation to end, but I knew I was already pushing the envelope by staying out as late as I had and Gia's sister and cousin were ready to leave. I was just happy that she wasn't ignoring me anymore. Even though I was sad that our conversation had to end, I considered it a win.

S
ADIE WAS
asleep when I finally made my way back to her place, which was two hours later than I'd planned. Gia and I had gotten so wrapped up in our conversation that I hadn't realized what time it was. I shouldn't have been surprised that when seven thirty rolled around I was awoken with a pillow across the face.