The Devil Wears Prada (40 page)

 “We
were actually just discussing where we would be going next,” Lily stated
crisply, extending her hand to Christian, who, it finally occurred to me, was
alone. “We must’ve gotten so caught up that we didn’t even
realize we’d stopped in the middle of the street! Hah, hah! How do like
that, Andy? My name’s Lily,” she said to Christian, who shook her
hand and then pushed a curl away from his eye, just like he’d done so
many times at the party. Once again I had an odd feeling that I could be
entranced for hours, maybe days, just watching him push that single, adorable
curl away from his perfect face.

 I stared
at her and at him and became vaguely aware that I had to say something, but the
two of them seemed to be holding up just fine on their own.

 “Lily,”
Christian rolled the name around on his tongue. “Lily.Great name. Almost
as great asAndrea. ” I had the presence of mind to at least look at them,
and I noticed that Lily was beaming. She was thinking to herself that this guy
was not only older and hot, but he was also charming. I could see the wheels
turning, weighing whether I was interested in him, if I’d actually do
anything because of Alex, and, if so, if there was anything she could do to
expedite it. She adored Alex because, really, how could you not, but she
refused to understand how two people so young could spend so much time
together—or, at least, that’s what she claimed, although I knew
that it was only the monogamy part that really blew her away. If there was a
speck of a chance of some drama between Christian and me, then Lily would die
fanning the fire.

 “Lily,
it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Christian, a friend of
Andrea’s. Do you always stop in front of Benihana to talk?” His
smile actually prompted a shooting-sinking feeling in my stomach.

 Lily
threw back her own brown curls with the back of her hand and said, “Well
of course not, Christian! We just had dinner at Town and were trying to figure
out a good place to get a drink. Any suggestions?”

 Town! It
was one of the hottest and most expensive restaurants in the city. Miranda went
there. Jessica and her fiancé went there. Emily talked obsessively about
wanting to go there. But Lily?

 “Well,
that’s weird,” Christian said, obviously buying the whole thing.
“I just came from a dinner with my agent there. Strange that I
didn’t see you two…”

 “We
were all the way in the back, kind of tucked behind the bar,” I said
quickly, regaining a modicum of composure. Thankfully I’d paid attention
when Emily had made me look at the tiny picture of the restaurant’s bar
listed oncitysearch.com when she was trying to decide if it was a good date
place.

 “Mmm.”
He nodded, looking a little distracted and cuter than ever. “So, you
girls are on your way to get a drink?”

 I felt
an overwhelming need to shower the Benihana stink from my clothes and hair, but
Lily wasn’t giving me a chance. I briefly wondered if it was as obvious
to Christian as it was to me that I was being whored out, but he was hot and
she was determined, so I kept my mouth shut.

 “Yep,
we were just discussing where to go. Any suggestions? We’d both just love
for you to join us,” Lily declared, tugging on his arm playfully.
“What’s around here that you like?”

 “Well,
midtown isn’t exactly known for its bar scene, but I’m meeting my
agent at Au Bar if you girls would like to come along. He just ran back to the
office to pick up a few papers, but he should be there in a little. Andy, maybe
you’d like to meet him—you never know when you’re going to
need an agent. So, Au Bar, how about it?”

 Lily was
peering at me with an encouraging look, one that screamed,He’s beautiful,
Andy! Beautiful! I may not know who the hell he is, but he wants you so pull
yourself together and tell him how much you love Au Bar!

 “I
love Au Bar,” I said somewhat convincingly, even though I’d never
been. “I think it’s perfect.”

 Lily
smiled and Christian smiled and together we set off for Au Bar. Christian
Collinsworth and I were going to get a drink together. Did this qualify as a
date?Of course not, don’t be ridiculous, I berated myself.Alex, Alex,
Alex, I silently chanted, both determined to remember that I had a very loving
boyfriend and disappointed with myself for having to force myself to remember
that I had a very loving boyfriend.

 Even
though it was a random Thursday night, the velvet rope police were out in full
force, and, while they had no problem letting the three of us in, no one was
offering reduced admission of any sort: twenty bucks just to get in the door.

 But
before I could hand over my cash, Christian deftly peeled three twenties from a
huge wad he pulled from his pocket and handed them over without a word.

 I tried
to protest, but Christian put two fingers to my lips. “Darling Andy,
don’t worry your pretty little head about it.” And before I could
move my mouth out from underneath his touch, he reached his other hand behind
my head and took my face in both hands. Somewhere deep in the recesses of my
completely addled brain, the firing synapses were warning me that he was going
to kiss me. I knew it, sensed it, but couldn’t move. He took my
split-second hesitation to move away as permission, leaned over, and touched
his lips to my neck. Just quickly, a brush, really, with perhaps a little
tongue, right underneath my jaw and near my ear but still firmly on the neck,
and then he reached for my hand and pulled me inside.

 “Christian,
wait! I, uh, I need to tell you something,” I started, not quite sure
whether one uninvited, nonlip, minimal-tongue kiss really demanded a whole long
explanation of having a boyfriend and not meaning to send the wrong signals.
Apparently Christian didn’t think it was necessary, because he had walked
me to a couch in a dark corner and ordered me to sit. Which I did.

 “I’m
getting us drinks, OK? Don’t worry so much. I don’t bite.” He
laughed, and I felt myself turn red. “Or, if I do, I promise you’ll
enjoy it.” And he turned and walked toward the bar.

 To keep
from passing out or having to actually consider what had just transpired, I
scanned the dark, cavernous room for Lily. We’d been there less than
three minutes, but she was already deep in conversation with a tall black guy,
hanging on his every word and throwing her head back with delight. I weaved
through the throngs of international drinkers. How did they all know that this
was the place to come if you didn’t have an American passport? I passed a
group of men in their thirties shouting in what I think was Japanese, two women
flapping their hands and talking passionately in Arabic, and a young, unhappy-looking
couple glaring at each other and whispering angrily in something that sounded
like Spanish but could have been Portuguese. Lily’s guy had his hand on
the small of her back already and was looking utterly charmed. No time for
niceties, I decided. Christian Collinsworth had just massaged my neck with his
mouth. Ignoring the guy, I clamped my hand down on her right arm and turned to
drag her back to the couch.

 “Andy!
Stop it,” she hissed, pulling her arm free but remembering to smile for
her guy. “You’re being rude. I’d like to introduce you to my
friend. William, this is my best friend, Andrea, who doesn’t usually act
like this. Andy, this is William.” She smiled benevolently as we shook
hands.

 “So,
may I ask why you’re stealing your friend from me, Ahn-dre-ah?”
William asked in a deep voice that almost echoed in the subterranean space.
Perhaps in another place or at another time or with another person I
would’ve noticed his warm smile or the chivalrous way he’d
immediately stood and offered his seat when I approached, but the only thing I
could focus on was that British accent. Didn’t matter that this was a
man, a large black man, who didn’t exactly resemble Miranda Priestly in
any way, shape, or form. Just hearing that accent, the way he pronounced my
namejust like she did, was enough to literally make my heart beat a little
faster.

 “William,
I’m sorry, it’s nothing personal. It’s just that I have a
little problem and I’d like to talk to Lily in private. I’ll bring
her right back.” And with that, I grabbed her arm more firmly this time
and yanked. Enough of this shit: I needed my friend.

 Once
we’d settled into the couch where Christian had placed me and I checked
to ensure he was still trying to get the bartender’s attention (straight
guy at the bar—he may be there all night), I took a deep breath.

 “Christian
kissed me.”

 “So
what’s the problem? Was he a bad kisser? Oh, that’s it, isn’t
it? No quicker way to ruin a good fraction than—”

 “Lily!
Good, bad, what’s the difference?”

 Her
eyebrows reached up her forehead and she opened her mouth to talk, but I kept
going.

 “And
not that it’s at all relevant, but he kissed my neck. The problem is
nothow he did, it’s that it happened at all in the first place. What
about Alex? I don’t exactly go around kissing other guys, you
know.”

 “Don’t
I ever,” she mumbled under her breath before speaking up. “Andy,
you’re being ridiculous. You love Alex and he loves you, but it’s
perfectly okay if you feel like kissing another guy once in a while. You’re
twenty-three years old, for chrissake. Cut yourself a little slack!”

 “But
I didn’t kiss him… He kissed me!”

 “First
of all, let’s get something very clear. Remember when Monica went down on
Bill and the whole country and all our parents and Ken Starr rushed to call
that sex? That was not sex. In much the same way, some guy who probably means
to kiss your cheek but gets your neck instead does not qualify as
‘kissing someone.’ ”

 “But—”

 “Shut
up and let me finish. More important than what actually happened is that you
wanted it to happen. Just admit it, Andy. You wanted to kiss Christian
regardless of whether that’s ‘wrong’ or ‘bad’ or
‘against the rules.’ And if you don’t admit it, you’re
lying.”

 “Lily,
seriously, I don’t think it’s fair that—”

 “I’ve
known you for nine years, Andy. You don’t think I can see it written all
over your face that you worship him? You know you shouldn’t—he
doesn’t quite play by your rules, does he? But that’s probably exactly
why you like him. Just go with it, enjoy it. If Alex is right for you,
he’ll always be right for you. And now, you’ll have to excuse me,
because I have found someone who’s right for me… for right
now.” She literally jumped off the couch and skipped back to William, who
looked undeniably happy to see her.

 I felt
self-conscious sitting on the oversize velvet couch alone and looked around to
find Christian, but he wasn’t at the bar anymore. It would just take a
little more time, I decided. Everything would just sort itself out if I just
stopped worrying so much. Maybe Lily was right and I did like
Christian—what was so wrong with that? He’s smart and undeniably
gorgeous, and the whole take-charge confidence thing was incredibly sexy.
Hanging out with someone who just happened to be sexy didn’t exactly
translate as cheating. I’m sure there had been situations over the years
in which Alex had worked with or studied with or gotten to know a cool,
attractive girl, and he may have had thoughts. Did that make him disloyal? Of
course not. With renewed confidence (and a now-desperate attempt to see, watch,
hear, just be near Christian again), I began cruising the lounge.

 I found
him leaning on his right hand, talking intently to an older man, probably in
his late forties, who was wearing a very dapper three-piece suit. Christian was
gesturing wildly, hands flailing, with a look on his face that registered
somewhere between amused and supremely annoyed, while the man with
salt-and-pepper hair looked at him earnestly. I was still too far away to hear what
they were discussing, but I must have been staring rather intently, because the
man’s eyes locked on mine and he smiled. Christian pulled back a little,
followed his gaze, and saw me watching them both.

 “Andy,
darling,” he said, his tone entirely different from what it had been just
a few minutes earlier. I noticed he made the transition from seducer to friend
of your parent quite smoothly. “Come here, I’d like you to meet a
friend of mine. This is Gabriel Brooks, my agent, business manager, and all-around
hero. Gabriel, this is Andrea Sachs, currently ofRunway magazine.”