by Jaye Diane
“Everything’s fine,” Emerald said, unable to hide her disapproval.
“I’m sorry!” Allison raise her hands up as if she was surrendering. “I didn’t mean to offend you.”
“You didn’t,” Emerald said with a sigh, “I just don’t think you should be asking about our private business.”
“You’re right,” Allison said. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t say sorry anymore,” Emerald said, forcing a smile. “It’s fine, really.”
“Thank goodness!” Allison said, a small blush rising on her fair cheeks. “I don’t usually behave this way. I’ve had a little too much to drink.”
Allison laughed and Emerald joined in, seeing the warmth in the other woman’s eyes.
“So do you think we could get together for lunch one day?” Allison asked. “I’d really like a chance to get to know you.”
“Sure,” Emerald said, though her nerves were probably too jacked up to go out anywhere any time soon. “That would be nice.”
“Oh, good,” Allison said, grabbing a drink off the tray of a passing waiter. “I’m so excited! I’ve never bothered to get to know any of Linc’s other women. You could always tell they were a passing fad. But you…I can tell you’re special.”
“How do you know that?” Emerald asked faintly. Her heart felt like it had expanded and was about to bounce out of her chest.
“Hey, Emerald!” Ines, Devin’s older sister, looped her arms around both women’s necks, squeezing them close. “Hey, Ally!”
Ines, looking beautiful in a cherry red dress, was clearly drunk. Like all the Jamison siblings, she had her father’s hazel eyes and mother’s black hair and olive complexion. She kissed Emerald’s cheek then kissed Allison’s and hung on to them both.
Emerald found herself laughing as she scanned the crowded room for Ines’ husband or any close family member. She’d never seen Ines lose her composure or even get buzzed. To see her drunk was quite a sight.
“I want to dance!” Ines yelled, slurring her speech.
“Sweetie, what have you been drinking?” Allison asked Ines. She slurred her own words, causing Emerald to laugh again.
“Grace!” Emerald called, seeing Grace walking in the opposite direction, weaving through the crowd. “Grace!”
She saw Grace’s profile as she walked out of the room; Grace had her phone to her ear. Her phone conversation, plus the music, seemed to make it impossible for her to hear Emerald.
“No, no, no,” Ines said tauntingly, shaking her head.
Emerald scanned the room again, wondering where the hell everyone was. The Jamisons and Phillips -and their spouses- comprised of more than a dozen people and yet she couldn’t find a single one of them. What the hell was going on?
“I can’t hold her up anymore!” Allison complained. “My shoulder hurts!”
“Mine too,” Emerald said, looking for Lincoln. He was nowhere to be seen either. “Where the hell is everybody?”
“They’re upstairs in one of the bedrooms,” Ines said, “Peyton announced that she’s pregnant.”
“What!” Emerald shouted, “And they left me out of the private party?”
Peyton, Robyn’s older sister, already had a four-year old daughter. She and her husband Keith must be cornered by the entire family. Emerald’s already sensitive feelings took another hit but she told herself that she had no right to expect to be included. She wasn’t actually related. It would be nice to pretend she was a part of the family but she wasn’t and she never would be.
“Why aren’t you with them?” Emerald asked.
“I was in the hall when Peyton was talking but I didn’t go in,” Ines suddenly stopped smiling and drooped her head. “I can’t let my mother see me.”
“See you drunk?” Allison questioned.
“I’m not drunk,” Ines denied, but all of her words slurred together.
Emerald and Allison’s gazes connected over Ines’ head and Emerald laughed again. She was using both arms to hold Ines up and she wondered if she could let go and call someone on the phone. Ines was slender and petite but she was unsteady on her feet and at times was not on her feet at all.
“Where’s Enrique?” Emerald asked, mentioning Ines’ husband.
“I don’t know.”
“What’s going on?” Jared Jamison appeared beside them. He looked like Devin just older and with lighter hair and skin. “Ines?”
“Daddy?” Ines yelled over the music.
“She’s drunk,” Emerald said hesitantly.
“No,” Ines wailed, “I’m not!”
Without another word, Jared picked up his daughter and threw her over his shoulder. Impressed by his strength, Emerald followed closely behind him, ignoring the stares of everyone as they climbed the stairs. She heard Allison teetering behind her and hoped that Allison didn’t hurt herself. She wasn’t exactly drunk but she wasn’t completely sober either.
Jared went to one of the bedrooms and lay Ines on the bed. Looking around, Emerald realized they were in the purple room. Each bedroom in the Phillips home had its own color scheme and name to match.
“Are you okay, baby?” Jared asked, a slight frown on his face.
Ines began to giggle uncontrollably.
“Emerald, please go down the hall and get Angelica. Everybody’s in the brown room.”
Emerald turned and rushed out of the room. She couldn’t remember which room was which but she found the room easily enough due to all the loud voices and cheers that wafted into the hall.
She knocked on the open door, feeling awkward but refusing to acknowledge those feelings too much. These were all her favorite people in the world; there was no reason to feel awkward.
“Excuse me, sorry to interrupt.”
It got quiet and they all turned to stare at her.
“Are you okay?” Lincoln asked, rushing forward.
“I’m fine,” Emerald said, wondering how many times she’d said those words in the past couple weeks. “Mrs. Jamison, Mr. Jamison needs you in the purple room.”
“Is he alright?” Angelica asked in her delicate accented voice, rushing away from where she stood near Peyton.
“He’s fine,” Emerald said, watching the petite woman rush from the room. “Is Enrique in here?”
She started to scan all the faces.
“He went to the store,” Devin said, “He should be back soon. Are you okay, Emerald?”
By now, Lincoln was standing close enough for her to touch. But she kept her hands at her sides.
“If I wasn’t, you would know!” She tried to joke. “I’m going to go back down to the party.”
The way they all gossiped, they would all know within minutes that Ines was drunk but she wasn’t going to be the one who snitched. She started to back out of the room.
“Emmy, wait!” Peyton said, skipping over quickly even though she was in a long blue dress and heels.
“What’s up?” Emerald asked, wondering why they all stared at her so intently.
“I have news,” Peyton said, smiling brightly.
“Peyton’s pregnant!” Marjorie yelled before Peyton could say another word.
“Thanks, Mom,” Peyton said sarcastically.
Marjorie beamed, not looking the least bit bothered.
“Wow!” Emerald said, giving Peyton a hug. “Congratulations! This is amazing!”
Peyton, looking very much like Robyn with long brown hair and light brown skin, did a little dance that made everyone laugh.
“I was wondering where everyone was hiding,” Emerald said, smirking at them. “This explains it.”
“Mom cornered Peyton up here,” Robyn said, shaking her head, “And a few of us followed.”
“No privacy whatsoever,” Peyton pretended to complain. But her happiness was obvious.
Emerald gave Peyton’s husband Keith a hug and said congratulations. Within seconds everyone was talking at once.
Emerald was so excited for Peyton but any happiness she felt was
marred by the fact that she had a crazed stalker on her. She tried to sneak out of the room to go check on Ines but Lincoln followed her into the hallway.
“What’s the matter?” He asked.
“Nothing. Quit hovering. Go have fun.”
“Where are you going?”
“Ines is in the purple room,” She’d try to be as vague as possible. “I’m going to talk to her.”
“She alright?”
“Seems to be.”
Lincoln suddenly scooped her up against him, juggling her until she was high up, his hands cupping her ass. Her feet dangled in the air and she glared at him.
“What are you up to?” He asked, making eye contact.
“Nothing.”
“What’s going on out here?” Quintin asked, sounding amused.
Lincoln dropped her as if she’d suddenly caught fire. She landed on her feet with a thud, causing Quintin to laugh.
“Emerald’s up to something,” Lincoln said, laughter in his own voice.
“No, I’m not. I’m just going to talk to Ines.”
“So let’s go,” Lincoln said, taking her hand in his.
“No, you can’t come.”
“You two behave now,” Quintin said, wandering back into the brown room.
“Are you scared of Robyn’s dad?” Emerald teased in a whisper.
“No, of course not,” Lincoln said, backing her into the wall. He started to whisper too. “I just didn’t want him to think that something was going on in his house.”
“Oh,” Emerald nodded slowly, seeing that spark in his eye. “I see.”
She pulled him closer, deciding that a quick kiss might be just the thing she needed to improve her mood even more.
“Don’t start,” He whispered, but he leaned down so that his mouth was just inches away from hers.
“Just a small kiss,” She demanded, putting her arms around his neck.
“Oh no!” Grace protested, strutting down the hall. “I don’t want to see this!”
They hastily stepped apart. Emerald’s disappointment was strong but she managed to smile.
“So stop looking,” Lincoln suggest mildly, wagging his eyebrows.
“Gross!” Grace went on, rolling her eyes at him.
“Where have you been?” Emerald asked Grace.
“I was only talking on the phone,” Grace said defensively.
“Was it Ryan?” Emerald asked, having a turn wagging her own eyebrows.
“Who’s Ryan?” Lincoln questioned, taking a step closer to Grace.
“No one,” Grace snapped at him, then to Emerald, “And no, it wasn’t!”
Emerald could tell she was lying but decided to let her off the hook. She’d feel bad if Lincoln started interrogating Grace because of her. He stared at Grace with suspicion.
“Why is everyone up here?” Grace asked as she went into the brown room. “Do you realize how rude it is to have a party without any of the hosts being present? And where’s my mom and dad?”
“Peyton’s pregnant!” Marjorie called from inside the room.
Emerald heard Grace squeal as she walked away from the room. Lincoln followed her and she went to the purple room. The door was closed and she knocked quickly.
“Come in,” Angelica called.
Emerald walked in with Lincoln, resigned to the fact that she probably wouldn’t be able to ditch him while she checked on Ines. Ines was sitting up in the bed sipping water that Angelica offered her.
Allison was gone and Jared stood near the window looking bemused.
“What’s going on?” Lincoln asked, frowning.
“Ines is drunk,” Jared replied mildly.
“What?” Lincoln’s eyes widened. “I can’t believe that.”
“I guess there’s a first time for everything.” Jared shook his head.
“Do you need anything?” Emerald could see that Ines weaved as she sat on the bed.
“No, we are fine,” Angelica replied. “Go back to the party and have fun.”
“And when Enrique gets here tell him to come up.”
“Okay, Mr. Jamison,” Emerald said.
She turned and walked out of the room. Lincoln followed after her.
“I can’t believe Ines is drunk,” He said once they were out of earshot of the room.
“I can’t either,” Emerald returned.
“If it was anyone else, it wouldn’t even be a big deal. But Ines is always the good, calm one who barely even drank. And now she’s drunk.”
“It’s about time she let loose,” Emerald said with a wave of her hand. “But Angelica and Jared are freaked out.”
Lincoln laughed. “She’s always been perfect, that’s why.”
She and Lincoln walked down the stairs, and she could see that some of the family had rejoined the party. She looked at the clock on the wall and shook her head. With all that was happening, time was moving extremely slow. As soon as that ball dropped and everyone rang in the New Year, she planned to be the first one out the door.
Emerald was relieved that they didn’t have to look for parking. Her body ached in places she hadn’t even known could ache and she was very sleepy. Lincoln parked the car and they hurried out of the parking lot. He waved at the security guard as they exited.
It had been snowing when they’d left the party and it was beginning to stick. She was grateful that they had a three day weekend ahead of them. She could use the rest but what she could really use was time alone to think.
They waved at the doorman, wishing him a happy new year, and hurried to the elevators. Emerald’s phone rang and she took it out, thinking that it was probably Robyn, calling to ask why she’d left the party so abruptly.
She looked at the Caller ID. It was Robyn. Lincoln looked at her questioningly and she showed him the screen before answering the phone.
“Miss me already?” Emerald teased by way of greeting.
“We just got home,” Robyn said, sounding upset. “There was a note here. For you.”
“What?” Emerald asked in a frightful whisper. She stumbled back as if she’d been pushed. If Lincoln hadn’t grabbed her, she would have fallen.
“What’s wrong?” Lincoln asked as the elevator door opened with a ring.
“He left a note at Robyn’s and Devin’s place…” Emerald shook her head, her mind struggling to digest this horrible information.
“Why would he come here, Emerald?” Robyn exclaimed.
“I don’t know,” Emerald said, a tremor in her voice. “I’m so sorry, Robyn. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s not your fault,” Robyn replied grimly. “Devin’s on the phone with the detective. They want us to bring the note in.”
“Did he slip the note under your door?”
“No. It was taped to Devin’s Porsche, in the parking garage.” Robyn snickered. “We’d just parked and hadn’t even gotten out of the BMW when we saw the note taped to the other car.”
“Shit.”
“Do you want to know what it said?”
“No, I can already imagine.”
“Do they want us to come over?” Lincoln asked, breathing harshly.
William, the doorman, was watching them with obvious concern.
“Do you want us to come over?” Emerald repeated the question to Robyn.
“No,” Robyn said quickly. “We’re going to go back to my parents’ house and we’re going to stay there until this gets…settled. Knowing what he did to your car…there’s no way we can stay here.”
“I can’t believe this shit,” Emerald whispered.
“I can’t either. What, Devin?”
“Is she okay?” Lincoln inquired, asking about Robyn.
“She’s taking it well, I guess.” Emerald listened to Robyn and Devin talk for a few seconds. They were discussing what stuff to pack. “They’re going to go stay with Quintin and Marjorie.”
“Good.” He stepped onto the waiting elevator, taking her with him.
“Go get some sleep,” Robyn
said, “I’ll call you in the morning.”
There was so much more that Emerald wanted to say. She wanted to apologize and she wanted to console her friend. But Robyn was obviously handling it a lot better than she, herself was.
They said their goodbyes and she and Lincoln quietly entered his apartment. After hanging up their coats, they silently walked to the living room and sat down on the couch.
“We’ve got him now,” Lincoln said as he removed his shoes.
“Why do you say that?” No way would she get her hopes up again without plenty of information.
“That entire condo is surrounded by cameras. There’s no way out of it now.”
“You’re right,” Emerald instantly brightened. “Oh thank God.”
As soon as the security tapes were viewed, it would be over. All the dots would be connected and the miserable asshole would finally be arrested. She didn’t feel completely relieved but knowing that it would be over soon was enough to take some of the weight off of her shoulders.
She found some pajamas to wear, used the bathroom, then got into the shower. She sighed heavily and began to quickly scrub her body with a soapy washcloth. She was so tired and she prayed she’d be able to get some sleep once she lay down.
Feeling a draft, she turned just as Lincoln stepped into the shower with her. The cool air hardened her nipples and she shivered. He readjusted the shower curtain and joined her under the enormous showerhead.
The extra-large bathtub and showerhead fit two comfortably and yet she was very uncomfortable. She’d told him when she’d gotten her period, which had been an uncomfortable experience all on its own. But she guessed he’d forgotten.
“Um, Lincoln, do you mind?” She asked, hesitantly. This was completely new territory for her and she struggled to meet his eyes. “I kind of need to shower by myself.”
“I do mind,” He whispered and her eyes became transfixed by the water traveling down his shoulders to his pecs and down his hard abs.
She didn’t dare allow her eyes to travel down any further. She’d only end up miserably frustrated and she had enough to keep her awake tonight without adding sexual frustration to the mix.
“I’m serious, Lincoln,” She said, her voice sounding strangled. She cleared her throat and went back to washing. “You really need to get out. Now.”