by Wendy Owens
Oddly enough, there was something comforting in the idea of discussing it—something even more comforting in the idea of having a girlfriend. I hadn’t had a real girlfriend since Laney. When I started seeing Ashton I inherited all of his friends, but they were always clearly loyal to him.
“Honestly? It started off pretty good. He took me to this great restaurant in Midtown,” I began to retell the evening’s events.
“Ooh! Where did you go?” Paige asked, absolutely panting with anticipation, savoring every detail.
“Some place called Gilt,” I replied, remembering how impressed I was with the location and decor.
“Are you fucking serious?”
“Umm—yeah, I mean, I think that’s what it was called,” I said, doubting my memory.
“That place is so expensive and posh! This guy must be loaded.” Paige looked like she might leap from her seat with each piece of information I gave her.
“I don’t know—maybe—he’s some sort of investigator,” I added.
“Well then he must have some dirt on some pretty powerful people,” she suggested, giggling.
I smiled, “I doubt it’s anything like that.”
“If a guy took me to a place like that I would totally jump his bones,” Paige informed me.
I gave her a disapproving look before reminding her of the boyfriend who she could barely detach her lips from. “I bet Christian would love to hear you say that.”
“Maybe he should take me to some nicer places.”
“Let’s just say the restaurant was great, but the company, not so much,” I offered, wanting to make sure she understood the evening was not as dreamy as she seemed to be imagining.
“What happened?”
“When we got there he had already ordered for us ahead of time. He told me he had asked the chef to prepare something special. At the time I was kind of amazed, but now, looking back on it, it was really annoying. The food was great, but it would have been nice if he had let me pick for myself,” I explained.
“That doesn’t sound like too terrible of an offense,” Paige argued.
“Oh, just wait. So by like the millionth course he had had enough to drink to put down a buffalo, and he started talking about himself in the third person.”
“No! He didn’t!” she exclaimed.
“Yup! And it gets worse; he calls himself by his last name, which is Stryker. He proceeds to tell me about how ‘Stryker has trouble with ladies getting too attached,’ and ‘Stryker always gets his man.’”
“Oh my God! I think I just vomited a little in my mouth.”
“I know, right?” I squealed. “I ended up getting drunk just to be able to put up with him.”
“So, why were you out so late? Where did you go?” Paige was clearly puzzled.
“Oh, this guy was a piece of work. He wouldn’t let me leave. I told him I had to get up early, I had a headache, and at one point I even told him I had to wash my hair.”
“Ouch.”
Taking another bite I chewed, swallowed, and started laughing. Looking back on the night it was funny now.
“He didn’t seem to take a hint,” I added.
“Why didn’t you just get up and leave?”
“I didn’t want to be rude. I knew the place was expensive, and I had agreed to go on a date with him,” I said, defending my actions.
“Oh, honey, you’re a New Yorker now, you better learn to get rude.”
I couldn’t believe in only a week’s time I had come to absolutely adore Paige. I was certain I couldn’t have picked a better girl as my roommate. She always made me laugh, and I admired the way she lived her life exactly the way she wanted.
“I guess I do need to figure that out. Ugh, he seemed like such a nice guy when we were at the park. And he was hot, so damn hot!” The story felt even more ridiculous as I retold it. Paige was right; I could have saved the entire night by just getting up and walking out.
“The douchebags always are.”
“He ended up dragging me all over the city, one club to the next, most of the night was a blur. He even flirted with other girls right in front of me, but I really didn’t care by that point. I just wanted it to be over.”
“At least you got a free dinner out of it,” Paige said, attempting to point out the brighter side of the evening.
“Yeah, apparently if you pay a lot for dinner that must mean you will get laid. When he dropped me off he started groping me and trying to stick his disgusting tongue down my throat.”
“Gross!”
“I know! I barely got out of his clutches; thank God we have a security door. I think he would have followed me all the way into the apartment had it not been there.”
“No worries, I would have kicked his ass,” Paige reassured, sticking up two fists and give me her best vicious facial expression. A deep belly laugh erupted from me at the image of her petite frame in the stance.
“I bet.”
“I’m serious!” she defended her capabilities. “Okay, maybe I would have called Christian and Colin, and they would have come down here to kick his ass.”
“Please, no. The last thing that night needed was for Colin to show up. He’s such a pig.” I rolled my eyes, leaning forward and placing the half empty bowl on the coffee table.
Paige looked at me, clearly perplexed by something I had said. “Why would you call him a pig?”
“You can’t seriously be asking me that. You do remember I met Bailey, don’t you?” I asked, eyebrows raised.
“That psychotic bitch? That’s how you’re making your judgment? She chased after Colin the entire time she lived here. He was never interested. She waited until he was totally wasted and then was all over him. He told her the next morning it was a mistake and even apologized to her—more than I think the whore deserved,” Paige snarled.
“That’s a little harsh, don’t you think? I was drunk last night and managed not to sleep with my date. Seems like a lame excuse,” I argued.
“Whatever. Colin and I argue sometimes, but that girl did everything she could to get her claws into him. I warned her to leave him alone, but she just wouldn’t listen.”
“He’s so cocky, and I just think he’s kind of a tool,” I defended my position, avoiding her intense glare.
“Colin!” she exclaimed. “I don’t think I have ever heard anyone describe Colin that way.”
“Well, how would you describe him?” I asked, wanting to turn the heat away from myself.
“He’s probably one of the most generous guys I have ever met. Take this apartment, for example: he charges me what it costs to break even on the loan,” Paige explained.
“Whatever. He just does that because you’re sleeping with his brother. If you two broke up, I bet he wouldn’t be so generous,” I insisted.
Immediately, I could tell I had gone too far. “You know, Emmie, you really shouldn’t talk about things you know nothing about.”
I should have shut up right there, but instead I went on the defensive. “Fine, enlighten me.”
“There’s a reason Colin doesn’t have a girlfriend. He doesn’t have time for one. His real estate business keeps him so busy that he can only make time for casual things, which he is always up front about with girls. I know a lot of guys who are not so honorable about the way they handle the same situations.”
“Really, your defense of him being a player is because he is too busy making a lot of money? So, now he’s shallow, too?” I argued, even more confident in my original stance.
“Do you know why Colin is driven to earn so much money?” I shook my head in response to her question. “When Colin was seventeen his parents were in a car crash, neither survived.”
“Oh my God, that’s terrible,” I gasped. Looking at him you would have never known he had been through something so traumatic. Of course, I doubt many would guess my husband had killed himself.
“He and Christian moved in with t
heir uncle, but that guy was completely useless. He was a videographer for some news station. He was never home. He never thought about who would get Christian off to school, or keep him out of trouble, or hell, even feed the poor kid. Do you think he made it to a single one of Christian’s football games growing up? No. But Colin did. All Colin thought about was his brother. Christian was only ten when it happened, and as soon as Colin turned eighteen he filed for legal custody of him.” I could see the respect now that Paige had for Colin. She admired him.
“That must have been hard on him,” I agreed at last.
“It never ended for Colin. He could see their inheritance from the life insurance policies, which wasn’t much, was dwindling fast, so when he was twenty, he took the last of it and bought his first investment property. I started dating Christian when he was sixteen, and the only thing I remember about those days is Colin either working or being with his brother. It’s never changed much either.”
“Are you serious? You’ve been with Christian that long?” I asked, a little shocked. I was certain by their behavior they were a new love.
“Yup, Christian tells me his whole life changed when he met me. It’s hard to believe we’ve been together five and half years. God love him, he is hot as fuck, but there is no way he would ever be able to hold down a real job. He was pretty messed up by his parents’ death. Colin did the best he could with him, but he was just a kid, too.”
“Well, you can’t tell by looking at him. Christian seems to have it together.”
“Oh my God, no,” Paige said, flashing me a horrified look. “He’s a hot mess. Fuck, I have to take him to AA three times a week.”
“Shut up!” I gasped in disbelief.
“I can party with the best of them, but Christian, he loses control. He doesn’t know when to stop.”
“I would have never guessed he had a problem like that.”
Paige pushed her lips together into a thankful smile. “That’s because of Colin. He gives up his own happiness to make sure his brother never has to worry about anything: money, a place to live, whatever it is, he tries to make sure he’s taken care of. Don’t get me wrong, Christian isn’t lazy, he helps Colin with the work on the places. It’s really sweet how much he looks up to his big brother. Sometimes, I don’t know, though, it’s like he checks out.”
“I had no idea,” I muttered, a wave of guilt washing over me about the way I had judged Colin without actually getting to know him. It didn’t change the fact that I thought his relationships with women were absolutely disgusting. But maybe I had been too hard on him.
“Yeah, I hope he hasn’t bitten off more than he can chew,” Paige added.
“What do you mean?”
“This warehouse conversion he’s got himself tied up in. He had to pull money out of all of his other locations in order to secure the funds to buy the place. If he can’t get an investor after the first unit is done, I’m not sure what they’re going to do. He thinks Christian doesn’t know, but he’s not an idiot; he can see how worried Colin is.”
It was becoming even clearer to me why Colin was so sensitive about the warehouse conversion. The future of both him and his brother were riding on it. I wished I hadn’t said the things I did about it, but I had, and God, he must hate me.
“Enough of this depressing shit,” Paige said at last. “I just wanted you to know you should give Colin a chance. He’s a really nice guy, and he thinks you’re smoking hot, so there’s that.”
“What?” The word slipped from my lips in disbelief.
“He told me last night,” Paige grinned.
“Oh.” It was the only word I could manage to speak. I wasn’t sure how I felt about this new piece of information. He never committed to women, which meant he was in fact a player, even if his motives were honorable. At the same time, he had been through so much heartbreak in his life, I could relate to that. Not that he would ever know my story.
“I almost forgot, Colin wanted to make sure I invited you to Half Kings next Saturday.”
“What’s Half Kings?” I inquired, remembering Colin mentioning it the night before, and trying to not think about the fact that Colin was asking about me.
“Some little hole in the wall a few blocks away. Colin leases them their space so he likes to hang out there.”
“I don’t get it, why would he want you to invite me?” My curiosity was too peaked not to ask.
“I think some band is playing or something. He thought you might enjoy it, I guess.”
“We’ll see.” I pushed my tired body out of the chair, carrying my bowl to the sink to wash. “Shit, it’s getting late, I need to get some work done for school.”
I took refuge in my room with my art supplies. After a terrible date the night before, the last thing I wanted to think about was Colin… or any man for that matter. Escaping into a world with just my pencils and paper was exactly what the doctor ordered.
I watched the boy as he visually sized up the oversized canvas. He looked at me, the canvas, then the small doorway, then back to me. “It’s not going to fit lady.”
“It will fit, let’s try again,” I insisted.
“It’s eight and a half feet tall, so even if we got it through the doorway, it is not going up those stairs,” he argued. I had never felt such contempt for a delivery boy, but this kid was really starting to get on my nerves.
“If you get it in there I’ll give you an extra ten bucks.” I said, attempting to bribe him.
“First off, it wouldn’t matter if you gave me a thousand, it won’t fit. Second, ten bucks, you can’t be serious.” The disapproving glare he gave me made me realize just how embarrassingly low my offer was. Yet another reason this kid was asking for a kick in the nuts.
“What seems to be the problem here?” Damn it! Colin.
“Nothing, we’re fine,” I said dismissively waving a hand. It was too late; he had already spotted us and was only a few feet away now.
“She’s insisting this will fit, and it won’t. Look, I need to get back to the store. Do you need to return it, or do you have somewhere else you’d like me to take it?” the boy pushed, clearly as irritated as I was.
“No!” I exclaimed. “I need it, and if you would just try a little harder, I’m sure it would fit.”
“Em, if he gets it through that door there is no way it will make it up the hall and into your apartment,” Colin added.
“That’s exactly what I told her, man, but she won’t listen.”
“Fine, we’ll take it off the frame,” I snapped, annoyed they were joining forces against me.
“Wait, why would you do that? You can keep it at the warehouse, where you’re welcome to work on it whenever you need,” Colin quickly offered with his ruggedly handsome half smile. Damn that smile.
“No,” I answered. But nobody seemed to care what I said; the boy had already started to follow Colin with the canvas leaning against his body. I ran to catch up, pleading for them to stop. “No, really, that just won’t be convenient. I need to be able to get in and work on it at all hours; it would just be too hard. That’s why I didn’t have them deliver it to the school.”
“Nonsense, I’ll give you a key,” Colin said, holding the oversized door open for the kid.
I stopped for a moment, cocking my head, staring at Colin through squinted eyes. I couldn’t figure out his end game. He had been so rude to me that first time we met, and every time since he seemed to delight in frustrating me. Why be so kind to me now?
Following the canvas through the door, I continued to try and plead my case, but Colin wouldn’t hear it. I rode up in silence, attempting to think of other reasons this was not a good idea. The elevator came to a stop on the floor just above where I knew Colin’s loft was. When the gates opened it set off a reaction, triggering the overhead lights automatically. Sprawling out before me was a vast and open warehouse space, random boxes and construction supplies strewn throughout.
> “This floor has power so it should work for you,” Colin explained, slipping some money into the delivery boy’s hand.
“No, let me get that,” I insisted, digging into my oversized pockets, but before I could turn around, the kid had closed the gate the car already lowering him out of site. “I wish you wouldn’t have done that.”
“Nonsense,” Colin said, leaning the canvas against a nearby column. “It’s business.”
“Pardon me?” I asked, confused by his statement.
“After we talked the other day and you mentioned you sell your artwork I started doing some digging. I looked up your website, and I must say, your work is quite impressive,” Colin praised.
“You what?” I asked, trying not to reveal how flattered and mortified I was. Apparently you can be both at the same time.
“I have a proposition for you.” All right, I’ll admit it. I’m not proud of the first thing that popped into my mind after he said that.
“Oh?”
“Yes, I would like to commission you to do some work for the space downstairs. I think it would be great to have some large pieces to hang in order to show off the high ceilings to the investors.” When Colin proposed this, I felt a little embarrassed, and made a mental note to shame myself later. That was why he was suddenly being so nice to me. That was probably why he wanted me to go to the bar with them that weekend; he must have planned to ask me about this then.
“I don’t know…” I hesitated. “I’m super busy with my assignments for school.”
“Oh, please, I think they would be perfect. I can show you the colors of the room, and the rest is up to you. Complete artistic freedom, I promise.” I hated to admit it, but the idea of being commissioned to do such large pieces was rather exciting for me. “You would also have a couple months to complete them… maybe longer. Depends on how the construction timeline goes. What about fifteen hundred a piece?”
My heart skipped a beat. That was an entire month’s rent for each painting. While the size of the painting would justify the price, I had never made so much off a single one. Don’t let him see how giddy you are over the price, stupid, I silently scolded myself.