"Can do," Sven said, putting his arms around her as she settled herself next to him. He wiggled his fingers, holding them well away from her. "Look, Ma, no hands." He frowned. "Too soon?"
She shook her head, kissing him on the cheek. "You're an idiot."
"If I had a nickel for every time I'd heard that, my net worth would double," he told her.
"Go to sleep, Sven," she said, shutting her eyes, pointedly ignoring him. He sighed, putting his head on her shoulder.
"Sorry," he said softly.
"I know," Elmira said. "But don't apologize. Just don't do it again."
"On it," Sven told her, holding her tighter, and Elmira didn’t complain.
Chapter 6
Elmira was surprised Sven had offered to take her out to breakfast. Maybe he was feeling guilty about last night’s shenanigans; though there was no need. She was nervous. She wondered what people thought of them. Did they think he was her sugar daddy? Did she care? They were an odd couple, except they weren’t really a couple; Elmira had to keep reminding herself. For all she knew last night was a onetime thing. This whole thing was probably a Fashion Week romance. Nothing serious. So all this musing was a waste of time.
She started wondering what, if anything, it had meant to the man sitting across from her, calmly looking at the menu. It felt like she’d been analyzing the situation for hours, when the waitress finally came and took their order. When she left, things were even tenser. They had no more menus to hide behind.
Elmira fiddled with her pearl bracelet that her father had given her on her seventeenth birthday – she cherished it. Sven was taking her somewhere after breakfast. Since the next show she was scheduled to attend wasn’t till night fall anyway… He was trying to make conversation, but Elmira was barely responsive and started tapping her hand on the table. She couldn’t look at Sven. She wanted to crawl out of her skin. She wanted it to be a real breakfast the morning after with her lover, not whatever the hell this was.
*****
Elmira wasn't used to hanging out in Manhattan. Everything was different from the Lower East Side where she and Sascha shared an apartment, not to mention more expensive.
It was Fashion Week.
Crowds were expected, and all of the hotels gave a recommended list of places for visitors. It was for security purposes and for communication reasons. It could get a little crazy if you didn’t know where to go, but Elmira had Sven with her so she was good. She figured Starbucks was probably the best breakfast option if she wanted to save some of the money she was making. The coffee there was expensive compared to her usual haunts but it was on the lower side of coffee prices in the area. Of course Sven might offer to pay but she didn’t want to rely on that.
It was about seven thirty in the morning, and Elmira was still tired. She was supposed to be resting before regrouping with Sascha in readiness for the next show. It was difficult to sleep though what with Sven in her bed, when they were both sober. She and Sascha were used to sharing a room and Elmira rarely brought anyone to stay overnight. College wasn’t about those kinds of relationships. Oh well. She didn’t have to think about it today.
Sven was eyeing her across the table they were sitting at. Elmira leaned back in her chair, feet propped up onto the vacant third seat at the table. Her body faced sideways so that she could rest one of her arms on the table while she held up her phone in her other hand.
Sven snorted. A smile formed as he shook his head. "Did you sleep well?"
Elmira's eyebrows raised in question when she looked up. "Hm?"
"You look like you could fall asleep where you sit," Sven joked after taking a sip of his latte.
Elmira grinned. She wiggled her shoulders around in an exaggerated display of getting more comfortable in her seat. "Is that jealousy I hear?"
Elmira’s eyebrows twitched up twice in a lewd display, and Sven chuckled. Elmira finally asked, "So how did the ‘street party’ go last night?"
"I left early." Sven shrugged. He picked a bagel off of the plate in front of him and bit off a chunk before saying, "Better things to do than hang out with people I didn’t really want to be with."
"Oh.” The previous spirit faded from Elmira’s voice. “That kind of night."
Sven lifted an eyebrow at him in amusement. "Yeah that kind of night. You know, loud music, drunk people; same old, same old."
"Oh," Elmira said again. She studied Sven for over for a minute, watching him play with the bagel in front of him before a smile resurfaced. "So... Better things to do like eat food you don't even like?"
Sven paused. "I like the coffee."
Elmira tilted her head down and lifted an eyebrow at him. The edge of her lips twitched as an incredulous grin started to take shape when she reminded, "It's Starbucks. Everybody likes their coffee."
“Yeah, and so I got up for the nice coffee at Starbucks in Manhattan while in a hotel which serves coffee!”
“Nobody likes coffee that much.”
“Pfft,” Sven pouted, slumping back into his seat. “You’re an idiot.”
Elmira’s mouth dropped open as if offended, but her eyes and slight dimpling of her cheeks gave her away. “I heard that buddy!”
Sven smiled but shook his head from side to side and ridiculed, “Well, good for you!”
The guy sitting at a nearby table lifted his head at their conversation, and an employee paused in their sweeping for a moment to glance over in their direction. Both Elmira and Sven turned their heads down. It wasn’t even eight o’ clock yet. It was still way too early for outbursts. Elmira took a quick bite of the muffin on her plate, and Sven looked back down at his phone.
Elmira cleared her throat. “Are you watching the show later today?”
Sven was still looking down at his phone when he shook his head. The vowel was drawn out when he replied, “Nooo.”
“You’re not?”
Sven frowned and placed his phone back on the table again. “Was I supposed to?”
Elmira huffed out a chuckle and shook her head at him in disbelief. “I guess not.”
“Just because Fashion Week is a client doesn’t mean I have to watch every show.” Sven sat up to lean over the table. He pressed both of his elbows against the surface after scooping up the remains of his bagel. He took a bite and affectionately mocked while chewing. “Do you need me there? Scared to go all by yourthelf?”
“Eat a dick Sven.” Elmira said nonchalantly staring casually around the café. She schooled her face, wanting to ask but embarrassed that she cared so much. “So what is it with you and Florica?”
“Yeah…” Sven's eyes squinted across the table, catching the change in Elmira’s tone but not catching on. “She’s an acquaintance; we hang out in the same circles, attend the same functions…we socialize. Why, do you have a problem with that?”
Despite her best efforts to remain impassive, she couldn’t help the grimace that made its way onto Elmira’s face. “I just…I’ve never liked her, you know? Always so vaguely patronizing. Nothing you can call out; just enough to make you gnash your teeth.”
Sven’s laughed. “Yeah, she is kinda passive aggressive.”
“Huh. Yeah that’s one way to look at it.” Elmira shrugged a shoulder.
“—there’s more here than just an annoying ex school mate. What’d she do to you?” Sven asked watching Elmira keenly.
“Are you gonna think I’m a crazy bitch if I tell that I didn’t like you going out with her last night?”
Sven laughed, “I already know you’re a crazy bitch, it’s one of my favorite things about you,” he said. “I wish you’d said something. I only went with her because you flounced out of the party and abandoned me.”
Meanwhile, Elmira beamed with silent laughter.
“Eat your muffin.” Elmira said.
Sven pinched off a piece of his bagel and flicked it at her. After a moment, he stressed, “I wasn’t drunk by the way.”
The laugh that left Elmira’s lips was light and goo
d-natured. It was the Elmira Olivette equivalent to ‘You’re not telling me anything I don’t know.’
*****
They dawdled after breakfast, not really feeling like parting ways yet.
But Elmira was heading back to her hotel and Sven was heading home and then to work. She had to meet with Sascha and probably her socialite so they could go to the show.
She took a breath to ask Sven if they would meet later for an after party or drinks or whatever. Sex.
But then she breathed out again without saying a word.
“What?” Sven asked, noticing.
Damn it.
Elmira hesitated but didn’t say anything, just shook her head.
“Olivette,” Sven said his voice at its graveliest, “you’re coming with me.”
“Eep,” said Elmira.
Except then, he took her to the zoo.
Which wasn’t so bad.
At first, she thought that maybe it was some elaborate joke. But it stayed totally cool, and she didn’t get licked by any giraffes, and right around the time Sven bought her a backpack shaped like a lemur she decided that maybe this was just a legit attempt at relaxation and quality time. She was cool with that.
Maybe a bear would eat her and she would never have to go back to work.
They strolled around for a couple of hours, and after awhile, they start playing the ‘Which Animal Would You Want To Be?’ game.
For herself, she thought about choosing something slinky and sexy, like a jungle cat, or a … zebra. But this was Sven she was talking to here, so she decided not to bother. Instead, she picked a gorilla. Those dudes had it made – they just sat there and ate and got huge, and instead of being frowned upon or dateless or told by Sascha that they seriously need to work out their priorities in life if they ever want to snag a man even half as good as Matthew McConaughey, they just get hailed as being magnificent.
That right there, was the life.
Then she turned the question back around on Sven. She was expecting his answer to be lion, or Tyrannosaurus Rex, or something, so she was pretty surprised when what she gets was:
“Penguin.”
“A penguin? Seriously?”
She couldn’t hold back a little laugh.
It was just – penguins were so cuddly.
And sort of girly.
Sven raised his eyebrows at her.
“You think that’s funny?”
She fought her smile off of her face.
Serious business, this penguin-being.
Right.
“No. No. Not at all. I’m just … surprised.”
“Really? Why would you be?”
“I was thinking you’d go for, I dunno, dinosaur.”
“Why would I want to be impractically huge and extinct?”
“And awesome.”
He didn’t even dignify that with a response. Clearly somebody hadn’t watched Jurassic Park - or The Land Before Time- enough.
“Penguins have it made, Olivette. Maybe better than any of us. Their natural markings result in instant elegance. An eternity of tuxedo-esque splendor. They may be birds, but that doesn’t mean that they succumb to the ridiculous preconception that they have to fly just because of it. They waddle. They congregate. They – do their own thing. They’re nature’s best dancers. They frolic, untouched by the arctic cold, and put their own spin on the fine musical stylings of everyone; from Prince to Stevie Wonder to Sinatra. A man who wouldn’t enjoy the life of a penguin is a man who will never garner my respect, no matter how hard he may try.”
Elmira stared at him. “How many times did you see Happy Feet?”
He was so pokerfaced, Lady Gaga should write a song about it.
“What’s Happy Feet?”
Ehh, fine, she would let him have this one.
“Never mind.”
He stared with uncharacteristic contentment down at the penguins. They did look pretty frolicsome. After a few seconds, he hummed a few bars of something that sounded a whole lot like ‘Somebody to Love.’ Amazingly – improbably – one of the penguins looked up at him, almost like … like it was reminiscing over the good ol’ nonexistent days when it used to get its penguiny groove on and have its voice provided by Hugh Jackman.
Sven chuckled gleefully.
She couldn’t help thinking this was maybe the most touching human-animal interaction she had witnessed since she watched that video on YouTube of those two guys in the 70s going to Africa to reunite with their pet lion. And this time, ’Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing’ wasn’t even here to manipulate her emotions.
Flippin’ Aerosmith.
She reached over and patted Sven on the shoulder.
“Careful now, Olivette,” he said. “I don’t want to sustain any injuries from your gargantuan ape paws.”
“Oh, shut up, penguin licker,” she said fondly.
*****
Sascha Rowan was not ashamed to admit that she knew nothing about fashion. It wasn’t her thing. Mathematics and fucking, sure she could talk about those all day. But fashion? She knew just enough to get herself decked out in the right duds every morning.
Which made her life a little awkward, considering her best friend lived for this stuff and had successfully found a job as a high-profile blogger for fashion week. Elmira wanted to talk about clothes and make up the whole time and Sascha wanted to talk about the models wearing them.
Elmira was walking in one of the fashion shows as some sort of publicity stunt for the designer; using ‘plus sized’ chicks in her shows would make her more ‘relatable’ or some shit. Elmira desperately needed her friend to attend, so how could Sascha refuse her? She would do almost anything to keep her best friend happy.
They even went shopping for a new ‘fit for her to wear which Elmira was ecstatic about.
“What kind of fashion is it anyway?” Sascha asked her during their short car journey to the location. She really didn’t want to have to watch her best friend parade around in something that might make her look stupid, so she hoped it was at least legit.
“The main designer is Atalia Tirtzah, she’s an absolute genius!” Sascha raised her eyebrows and gave her best friend a pointed look, “No she really is! Her whole new collection is inspired by her dog,”
“What,” Sascha deadpanned.
“It’s great Sascha! Seriously, you’re going to like it,” Sascha really wasn’t convinced, but sighed internally and resigned herself to what was probably going to be a night of awful craziness. And her choker was already feeling uncomfortable around her neck. She tugged on it as they got out of the car until Elmira batted her hands away and told her to stop fidgeting with it.
“Okay best friend! I have to go in the back way but here’s your ticket!” She handed it to her excitedly, “You can get a drink and find your seat, it should be at the front,”
“Thanks Elly,” She gave her a hug and wished her luck for the show and they parted ways.
As Sascha flashed her ticket at the door and entered the warehouse she immediately felt on edge and out of place. She wasn’t used to being in these spaces on her own. And her socialite had bailed; she had a party on some yacht to attend. The money was too good to pass up she said. Sascha sighed inwardly. The endless pursuit of money bored her to tears. And it wasn’t because she’d grown up in the 1%, or maybe it was. She had seen firsthand what money could turn people into. She was determined that that would not be her.
She followed Elmira’s advice and made a beeline for the bar, maybe it would all be a little more bearable if alcohol was involved. Alcohol always made things better, right? Glancing around she saw that a majority of the guests in attendance were holding fancy looking drinks rather than something simple so she ordered herself a glass of champagne because why the hell not?
Taking a sip of her drink, she began to make her way toward the staging area. She didn’t know anyone there to talk to so there was no reason for her to stand around alone looking like an idiot. At least if she sat down
people would be less likely to notice her.
A helpful attendant pointed Sascha to her seat, which was as Elly had said, right at the front. She checked her watch as she sat down. She had around fifteen minutes to wait before the show was about to start. She started absent-mindedly browsing the internet on her phone and checking her emails, not that she was expecting anything interesting.
“Hello there,” Sascha startled at the voice as she hadn’t realized anyone had taken the seat next to her.
“Uh…hi,” She said a little dumbly, the woman who had spoken was quite possibly the most beautiful woman that Sascha had even seen. She wanted to slap herself for sounding so stupid.
“Surely a woman like you can’t be here alone?” Sascha felt her skin flushing red at this woman’s obvious flirtations.
“I…um…my best friend is in the show,” Sascha said quietly, so quietly in fact that the woman had to lean in a little closer to be able to hear her. Not Sascha’s intent but she wasn’t complaining.
“Oh! You must be Alexandra Rowan, am I correct?” Sascha immediately made a mental note to kill her best friend for revealing her full name to anyone.
“It’s Sascha, but yeah that’s me.”
“Well it’s wonderful to finally meet you Alexandra,” Sascha was mildly ticked off that this woman had still used her full name but decided not to say anything else, she didn’t want to come off as rude to someone who obviously worked closely with her best friend, “I’ve heard so much about you,”
“Are you a model too?” Sascha asked and then immediately regretted it as she’d basically just admitted to this woman’s face that she thought she was gorgeous. The woman grinned but before she could reply her phone lit up and she checked it quickly.
“Sorry, I need to go. May I see you after, Alexandra?” Sascha nodded and the woman smiled at her once more before walking away. Sascha watched her all the way until she had disappeared into the backstage area. Sascha let out a deep breath as she tried to digest what had just happened.
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