Tethered

by L. D. Davis

  I smiled at him and introduced him to Emmet before stepping towards the doors. Already we could hear the loud music, laughter, shouts, and what was probably a jolly good time on the other side of the doors.

  “You complimented Felix well,” Rocco said, pulling open the doors.

  I looked at him curiously, but then the doors were open and the noise filtered out and I was distracted. Emmet and I stepped inside and took a good look around. There were no less than two hundred people inside. Though the penthouse was very spacious, it felt cramped having so many bodies in the space. Instantly I recognized half a dozen celebrities – from local celebs on up to the powerhouse couple whose faces were almost daily splashed on some tabloid.

  “Are you okay?” Emmet asked in my ear.

  “Sure,” I said absently. “Why?”

  “You’re squeezing the hell out of my hand.”

  I hadn’t even realized it. I apologized and tried to pull my hand from his, but he held me firmly.

  “It’s okay,” he said soothingly.

  I sighed and smiled a little. “I don’t know why I’m so nervous. I’ve been hanging around Felix for weeks and he’s never made me feel nervous.”

  “Too much power in one room, maybe,” Emmet suggested.

  “You have an incredible pair of eyes,” a woman I recognized from a soap opera said to me and then turned to the other woman at her side. “Doesn’t she have incredible eyes? You take one hell of a picture.”

  Emmet and I looked at one another and then back to the women, but they had already moved on. An uneasy feeling began to grow in my gut and I unconsciously gripped Emmet’s hand in a vice hold again. I only realized it because my hand started to tingle.

  We moved through the crowd. I knew a few people from working and through Felix. A very recognizable runway model I had met months ago rolled her eyes at me but couldn’t keep her hands off of Emmet. I felt some satisfaction when he blew her off and wrapped his arm around my waist, drawing me close. More and more people were saying things like “Good job” and “Nice photos” and passing me their information to get in touch after the party. I was growing increasingly nervous as we slowly moved towards the other side of the room. I felt like everyone was looking at me, though I couldn’t imagine why. I wasn’t a celebrity. I was just Donya and in the grand scheme of things, I ranked about where the servers were.

  “Do you know what any of them are talking about?” Emmet asked in my ear.

  “No,” I said, but that wasn’t quite true. I had a very strong feeling what it was about, and it was only a matter of moments before we would find out.

  “Donya!” Felix shouted my name from a few feet ahead.

  He pushed his way through people and ripped me from Emmet’s hold by lifting me off of my feet for an embrace. When he put me back on my feet I stumbled slightly in my heels, but Felix steadied me even though he was clearly unsteady himself. I couldn’t miss the heavy scent of alcohol on his breath just before he kissed the corner of my mouth. I glanced quickly at Emmet and nervously forced a smile as I tried to pull away from Felix, but he wasn’t finished with me yet. He went in for another kiss, except this time his lips crushed mine and he tried to slip his tongue into my mouth.

  “Felix!” I forced a laugh and shoved him away. “Stop kidding around.”

  I stepped back to Emmet, ignoring the murderous gaze in his eyes as he looked at my friend. I nudged his hand with mine. Stiffly, his hand closed over mine.

  “Felix Hunter, this is my…this is Emmet Grayne,” I said and cleared my throat nervously.

  Felix regarded Emmet coolly and nodded in his direction. He turned his attention back to me and openly ogled my body.

  “Spicy,” he said and winked at me.

  I smiled and said “Thank you for the dress. It’s perfect.”

  “Anything for you,” he grinned. “I was expecting you to bring your girlfriend. I was going to push her off onto Dave and sweep you away somewhere private.”

  Emmet’s hand gripped mine as if he expected Felix to actually pick me up and take me away.

  Dave Cowell was a year older than Felix and just as successful an actor. The two became good friends while filming the movie that changed Felix’s career.

  I peered behind Felix and saw Dave talking to a beautiful blonde.

  “I think Dave will be okay,” I said teasingly.

  “Come on,” he nodded back the way he had come. “You need to see something.”

  He took a hold of my wrist and pulled. I held tight to Emmet’s hand as the three of us, linked, walked through the party goers. When Felix finally stopped and released my wrist, I moved around him to see what he wanted me to see.

  I gasped and threw my clutch over my mouth. Emmet cursed beside me. We finally got to see what everyone had been talking about.

  “Fucking awesome,” Felix said excitedly.

  Displayed as a focal point of the room were three large photographs. The first one was the RollingStone cover. The shot was that first one I had posed for with my fingers on Felix’s hard stomach and his ear between my teeth. It was blatantly obvious that I was topless. Even as my face warmed with embarrassment, I couldn’t deny that the photograph was incredible. Felix and I looked like a great fit in the picture as his arms rested on my legs, and though the other girls’ faces couldn’t be seen, their many hands all over him somehow gave the photo an erotic feel.

  The second canvas was another photograph without the RollingStone logo on it, but it was from the same shoot. I was standing high on the back of the stool with my hands twisted in Felix’s hair while carefully hiding my breasts behind his head and my own arms, but you could see the curves of each breast and the curves of my bare torso down to my hip hugging jeans.

  The third picture was taken without my knowledge. I was facing a shirtless Felix and buttoning the shirt he had given to cover me with one hand, but my other hand was in his. We were just officially meeting at that moment, but the captured moment appeared more intimate than it really was. We looked like a love-struck, lustful couple that just fucked and were in the process of getting dressed. Even the way my knee was bent towards him looked intimate, as if I was about to walk into his arms.

  “Oh, shit,” I spat out. I looked at Felix with wide eyes. “How did you get these?”

  He pinched my chin between his thumb and forefinger. “Sometimes you’re too damn cute,” he grinned. “I’m me. I can get stuff like this. I have smaller proofs in my bedroom for your portfolio, too. Glen told me to give them to you.”

  Glen was the photographer and I had just shot with him earlier in the day. Why didn’t he give them to me?

  “You want to get your friend a drink and come with me to get them?” Felix asked suggestively.

  Emmet began to move and I was afraid of what he would do. I put my hand on his chest, trying to appear casual. I grinned at Felix as I felt Emmet halt.

  “You’re such a flirty bastard. Go find a girl who cares. You can give me the proofs over that lunch you owe me next week.”

  I nudged him playfully and pulled Emmet away into the crowd.

  *~*~*

  I sat quietly without objection as Emmet told the limo driver where to take us. Despite the thick tension in the car between us, he still wanted to take me out for coffee and a donut, and honestly, I was relieved that he still wanted to go.

  After we walked away from Felix and my partial nude photographs, Emmet had banded his arm around my waist possessively. I felt tension in his body and saw fury in his eyes, but despite that, his social skills never wavered. Samantha had pounded social skills into us at a young age. We had a lot of practice before Fred was retired and he would have business associates over for dinner. As we got older, we were allowed to go to the occasional function that required fine dressing and impeccable social skills. I supposed that being at his fancy elite school only reinforced those skills.

  We mingled and chatted. He made a couple of new friends with a couple of guys who were als
o studying prelaw. I networked, reacquainting myself with the few people I already knew and established new friendships and business contacts. I received many complements on my photographs. We sipped on non-alcoholic beverages and tried some hor d’oeuvres. We danced very little and observed a lot. Through all of it, Emmet kept his arm around my waist. If that arm got tired, he would smoothly glide behind me, placing both hands on my waist and move to my other side, always leaving at least one hand on me through the night. If it appeared that I was going to move away from him or if Felix came near, he would hold me closer and tighter. He didn’t have to say it, but it was clear that leaving his side was not permitted.

  Emmet and I left the party a little after two in the morning. I didn’t get to tell Felix I was leaving because once we decided to go, Emmet held me tightly and lead me out of the penthouse. Now he settled onto the seat beside me, but this time he didn’t make any effort to touch me or my bracelet. It was silent in the car. The only noise came from the traffic outside and the soft hum of the engine.

  Emmet was first to break the silence.

  “Did you sleep with him?” he asked tightly.

  I looked over at him, startled. “No!”

  “That one picture…”

  He didn’t have to say which picture, because I already knew which picture. It was the last one, the one that made Felix and I look like lovers.

  “I know how it looked,” I said, a little alarmed at the desperation in my voice. “But that’s not how it was. He gave me his shirt after the shoot and introduced himself.”

  “Everyone said that you took your shirt off yourself, no one told you,” he said, watching me carefully.

  I nodded slowly.

  Emmet let out a low curse and pushed his hair back.

  “Why, Donya? That’s not like you.”

  “You’re right,” I said with a small shrug. “It’s not. I was someone else. That’s my job.”

  He sighed. “I’m sorry,” he said meaningfully. “It was a shock to see you topless and pressed up against another guy for the entire world to see.”

  “You would have found out in a few days,” I sighed.

  “You did look…like a model,” he said reluctantly.

  I smiled. “Thank you.”

  There was a moment of silence. I looked out the window and Emmet looked straight ahead.

  “Are you sure you didn’t sleep with him?” he asked in a harsh whisper.

  “I am still very much a virgin, Emmet,” I said, patting his hand.

  He flipped his hand and laced his fingers with mine.

  “He likes you,” he said softly. “He’s attracted to you.”

  “Felix Hunter is attracted to anyone with a vagina,” I snickered, but stopped when Emmet didn’t laugh.

  “He bought you this dress,” he said, touching my knee with his other hand.

  I shifted uncomfortably. “He was just being nice.”

  “What would have happened if I had not come with you? Would you have gone with him to his bedroom?”

  “Emmet,” I sighed. “Give me some credit. Is that what you really think of me?”

  “No,” he said, shaking his head. He closed his eyes and let his head fall back on the seat. “I’m sorry. I’m just…jealous, and I have no right to be. I hated watching him touch you…and kiss you.”

  I sucked in a breath and let it out in a rush. I didn’t want to have to admit to him that I had made out with Felix in a limo much like the one we were in.

  “If it’s any consolation, I’m here in the limo with you. I’m not in the penthouse with Felix Hunter.”

  He opened his eyes and smiled a little. “I suppose that is true.”

  We arrived at the little coffee shop a moment later. We each ordered coffee and a slice of pie. We talked about the people we met at the party, laughing at things we couldn’t laugh at while in attendance and we discussed scandals that happened right before us. I teased Emmet about the super model that kept trying to pull him away from me and he teased me about the older gray-haired man that looked a lot like Hugh Heffner that invited me to his mansion in Newport, Rhode Island.

  When all of the pie was gone and we were on our third cups of coffee, the polite conversation ended.

  “I miss you, Donya,” Emmet said, looking me in the eyes. “There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t miss you.”

  I couldn’t hold his gaze. I looked at my coffee cup and stirred the spoon slowly. I had managed to keep that pain at bay for a long time. Though I still hurt from our break, I needed to be able to focus on my career. Now it was all pushing up towards the surface.

  “What happened with us?” he whispered.

  “You hid something very important from me,” I said softly. “I should have never found out the way I did, but that was no excuse for the cruel things I said to you. I hurt you, but hey, you got me back really good, right?”

  “Donya,” he said my name desperately and reached across the table to hold my hand, but I pulled it out of his reach. I knew without looking that I had hurt him in that small action.

  “Whatever you are feeling right now is not even a fraction of how I felt when you left,” I said and finally met his eyes.

  “I know,” he said. He fisted his hands on the table. “I know. I didn’t do the right thing, but I thought maybe we needed some time apart.”

  “You don’t walk away from a relationship every time it gets hard,” I snapped, surprised by the vehemence in my voice.

  He closed his eyes for a moment. When they opened, I saw his emotions like I was peering through a window.

  “I know,” he said again. “I wanted to come back to you, but by the time I stopped being an ass about it you were already in New York. I didn’t want to be a distraction to you.”

  This revelation hurt me instead of soothing. “You should have come to me,” I said bitterly. “Damn it, Emmet, I thought you hated me!”

  There were about twenty other people in the shop. I didn’t care if anyone had heard me.

  “When you got the bracelet at Christmas, why didn’t you call me?” Emmet asked accusingly.

  “I didn’t get the bracelet at Christmas!”

  He looked confused and then patiently said “I left it with Emmy to give to you.”

  “I didn’t get it until a few weeks ago.”

  He cursed and slammed a hand on the table. He looked away from me for a moment. When he turned back to me, he still looked accusatory, but only a little less than before.

  “Why didn’t you call me when you got it a few weeks ago then?”

  “Because I thought that if you wanted me to call you, you would have attached a note or something. You giving me the gift didn’t necessarily mean that you wanted to talk to me. Maybe you were feeling reminiscent when you bought it. Maybe you were saying ‘to hell with your kisses, Donya, and your stupid candy heart. I can’t give them back to you because I got hungry and ate them, but I’ll put them on this bracelet instead so no one will ask questions about why I didn’t get you a present.’ Maybe that’s what you were saying.” I crossed my arms, completely vexed.

  Emmet stared at me for a long time with his mouth slightly ajar. Suddenly, he burst into laughter. I tried not to react. I didn’t think it was funny. I was serious. But watching his green eyes twinkling with laughter made my smile come anyway. Then I was laughing with him. Then I was mad at him for making me laugh.

  “Stop making me laugh,” I said trying to suppress my smile. “I’m mad at you.”

  “What are you doing tomorrow?” he asked, ignoring my remark.

  “You mean today? Nothing. Why? You want to laugh at me some more?”

  “I want to spend the day with you. I know we can’t go backward, but can we move forward?”

  I pretended to think about it, but I didn’t have to really think about it. Of course I wanted to spend time with Emmet. It’s what I had wanted for months and months.

  “Listen,” I said with a long sigh. “I really want
to, Emmet. I really do, but you’ve already screwed up.”

  His eyes widened in surprise. “I’m sorry I was jealous at the party. I think I handled it pretty well.”

  “You mean other than holding me like a piece of property?” I countered.

  “Well…” he looked for the right words, but I cut in.

  “But that’s not where you screwed up.”

  “Tell me then so I can fix it,” he said anxiously.

  I leaned forward and looked at him hard.

  “You promised me a donut, but I got pie.”

  He smiled warmly at me. “I promise to give you a donut later.”

  He slid out of the booth and stood up and offered me his hand. I put my hand in his.

  “With sprinkles,” I added.

  “Hard bargain, Miss Stewart.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “Emmet!” I clapped my hands and jumped up and down.

  It was ten in the morning and I had just answered Emmet’s knock on our suite door. He stood on the other side holding two longboards under his arms. I hadn’t been on a skateboard in about a year, and I probably wouldn’t have thought about it if he didn’t come to my door with one.

  “Let’s get back to our roots,” he said with a grin that made my heart beat a little faster.

  I said goodbye to my mom and joined him in the hallway. I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him, knocking him back a few unsteady steps.

  “Whoa,” he laughed. “Had I known you would get this excited, I would have showed up with your board months ago.”

  We left the hotel, hand in hand, carrying our boards. Emmet was taking me to a skateboarding park. I didn’t even know there was any nearby. We walked down the sidewalk, chatting about nothing of importance. I barely paid attention to the people around us. I was happy to be holding his hand and on our way to do something we used to love doing together.

  “What the hell are you doing with that board?” I heard a familiar voice demand right in front of me.

  “Hey, Max,” I said to my agent. “This is my friend Emmet.”

  “I don’t care who he is,” Max said sharply and jabbed a finger at my board. “What the hell are you about to do with that?”