"You okay?" Macy asked, seeing me look so introspective.
"I was just thinking I'd go up to my room."
"Oh come on!" Macy said. "Jane's taking us all dancing."
"You have to come," Nicholas said.
Mia came up, dancing from side to side like a big, goofy hillbilly. "We're gonna do the Cotton Eyed Joe just for you."
I laughed. "Just because I'm from Texas doesn't mean I know how to do the Cotton Eyed Joe."
"But do you?" Macy asked.
"Yes." I said, with a deadpan expression that made them all laugh. "They taught us that in elementary school," I added. I knew they would think that was funny, but it was an actual fact, so I easily remained serious. "They really did," I said. "In P.E. class. I thought all school kids learned line dances."
Macy and the others who were standing around all started chiming in on whether or not they learned any line dances in school. They were all still comparing stories and laughing when I told them I was going to my room. Several of them begged me to go out, which made me feel very loved, but I just didn't want to—not without Lane.
I walked up the stairs to my room. The first thing I noticed when I came inside was the box and packaging that had come with Rhett's necklace. I cringed when I looked at it and wondered how I could get it back to Rhett or if I even should.
I wished I could just teleport it to him and get it out of my room. I hated to throw it away, but I also hated looking at it—so much that I went ahead and brought it downstairs right then and there. I repackaged it all (minus the necklace itself, of course) and put it in a Walgreens bag. I wrote Rhett's first and last name on it with a permanent marker and brought it to the front desk at the gallery just so it wouldn't be in my room.
It might've been a silly thing for me to do, but I felt better once I got back to my room and found that there was no evidence of the necklace at all. I sighed, and sat down on the edge of my bed, smiling at the memory of the way Lane said he couldn’t take it anymore, and the way he looked at Rhett like he was crazy.
I wanted to talk to Lane so badly. I was tempted to be hurt that he left the banquet so early, but then I remembered he had no way of knowing when I was coming back. I would have called him right then, but I didn't have a cell phone. I had gotten used to not having one, so even though I could now afford it, I hadn't yet made that commitment.
There were two phones on the second floor at the collective—one near the women's showers and one near the men's. Both of them were sitting next to a couch, and usually at least one of them was open. That wasn't the case this time. I went to the one near the women's shower, and saw that one of my friends named Alice was sitting there having what looked like a serious conversation. I quickly ducked around the corner so I wouldn’t interfere with her call.
I was on my way to the men's phone when I had a thought… Why are you calling him on the phone when he lives in this very building? Why don't you just get on the elevator and knock on his door? What if he's not home? What if he went out? It's as easy as riding up there to find out.
I was having this whole conversation in my head as I walked down the hall, and I turned on my heel when I made up my mind to go up the elevator and knock on his door. I had been living at S&S for more than a year, and I had never been up to Lane's apartment. My nerves reacted accordingly.
I got into the elevator and turned to press the button, feeling like I was riding up there to audition for a part in a movie or something else extremely nerve-racking like that. I reached out and hit the bright, shiny button at the top that was labeled PH for penthouse.
Nothing.
I expected the button to light up and the door to close, and neither of those things happened. I pressed it again, and nothing. At that point the door started to close, but because the button hadn't been pushed, it opened again in a jerking motion like it was confused. I pressed the button a little harder, but still nothing. I pressed the number 6 randomly just to make sure I wasn't doing something wrong, and the button lit up instantly.
The doors closed, and before I knew it, I was on my way up to the sixth floor. The door opened and I stared at an empty hallway briefly, feeling embarrassed as I pressed the button to take me back to the second floor. Before I hit the number 2, I tried the PH button again, but nothing happened, same as before. I pressed 2 and rode the elevator down, feeling deflated.
The door opened again on the second floor, and I saw Luis standing there. He was our handyman, but he'd been at the banquet, so he was dressed in nice clothes instead of his usual work uniform. I was flushed and frustrated, but I gave him a little smile.
"Why the long face?" he asked when he noticed my expression.
"I can't get the button to work, but I don't want to bother you with it on your night off. I'll just take the stairs. I forgot all about doing that."
"Where are you going?" he asked, looking concerned. "To the gallery?"
"I was trying to go up to the top, actually."
"To the penthouse?" he asked. The door started to close again without me pushing a button, and Luis reached out to stop it so that we could finish talking.
"Yeah, but I'll just take the stairs."
"It's no wonder you couldn’t get it to work. You have to have a key. Even from the stairwell, you need a key to access the top floor."
"Do you mean you need a key to make the button work in the elevator?" I asked as what he was saying sank in. I shifted to stare at the buttons again, noticing three different keyholes on the plate.
Luis stepped into the threshold so the door would stay open. "Yes, ma'am you do."
"Oh, I've never been up there before, so I didn't know. I guess I'll just have to call him. I'm glad you told me so I didn't try to use the stairs." I started to walk away, but Luis put out a hand to stop me.
"You happen to be in luck, because I have the key."
I felt relieved for a second and started to take him up on the offer, but then I changed my mind. "That's okay," I said. "I better call him first." Luis stopped me again, using a hand on my arm. He had never touched me before, and now he had done it twice in a row, so I stopped and looked at him.
He smiled. "Is it Lane Alexander you're going to see?" he asked.
"Yes sir," I said. "But I can just call him."
Luis continued to smile patiently. "I have orders to use my penthouse key anytime you want to go up there," he said. "In fact, Lane would be most upset with me if he knew you wanted to get up there and I didn't help you."
I stared at Luis with a perplexed expression. "Why doesn't he just unlock it if he wants you to let people up there anytime they want?"
"He doesn't want me to let anybody up there. He wants me to let you up there."
"Specifically me?"
Luis nodded. "Specifically you. Zoe Etheridge."
"He told you that?"
"Yes ma'am, he did. He specifically said, 'Luis, if Zoe Etheridge ever asks you to take her up to the penthouse, do it. Don't ask her any questions, just let her go up, and tell her I'm room number one'."
"He said that?" I asked. I was more nervous than ever as I shifted in the elevator.
Luis got my body language hint that I was planning on letting him take me upstairs, and he stepped inside, letting the door go before reaching for his keys. "Yes, ma'am, he said those exact words. I thought by the way he said it that I was gonna be unlocking this thing for you all the time." He paused as he pushed the PH button and then stared at me. The button-push was a success, and the elevator started moving instantly.
"How long ago was it that he told you that?" I asked.
"It's been a long time," Luis said. "It was way back when you first moved in. This isn't your first time going up here, is it?" he added curiously.
"Yes. That's why I didn't know I needed a key. Do you think he still wants you to let me up there even though he told you that a long time ago?"
Luis smiled at me. "Is a blue bird blue? Is the pope catholic?" he added when I didn't answer.
"Lane would be most upset with me if I didn't make sure you found your way up there, Ms. Zoe."
I took a deep breath, trying to understand the weight of what Luis was saying. "You're acting like he likes me," I said after a few seconds of Luis grinning at me.
He shrugged meekly. "I'm just doing what I think Lane would want me to do, that's all."
The door dinged as it opened, and Luis pointed to the left as he held the door with one hand. "It's number one. It's to the left."
I was so happy about Luis having orders to give me a ride up there anytime I wanted, that I smiled and kissed him on the cheek on my way out of the elevator.
He grinned and bowed at me. "The elevator works from that side," he said. "And so does the door in the stairwell, if he's not at home or you change your mind."
"Thank you," I said, waving and peering at him as the door closed. He smiled and waved at me in a sweet, shy way.
The hallway in the penthouse was entirely different than it was on the other floors. The elevator basically opened up to a small foyer with mirrors and striking art deco patterned wallpaper that gave the walls a metallic appearance. It was small, but so beautiful that it took me a second to remember that I was looking for a door.
Not including the elevator, there were two doors. One was labeled with a 1, and the other with a 2, and I walked toward the one that said, 1, doubting the whole time that I was making the right decision—not about going up there to see Lane, but about the door number. I was almost certain Luis had told me to go to number one, but it made sense that Theo would have that one since it was his building.
I stopped and looked back-and-forth from number one to number two for a second. There was a small hallway, and at the end of it, I could see a door that led to the stairs. I got so nervous about picking a door and knocking on it that I almost went for the elevator or the stairs instead. As much as I tried to talk myself into doubting, I knew in my heart that Luis had told me to go to door number one.
I walked over to it and stared at the number for what must've been at least thirty seconds before knocking. Finally, I gave a tap, tap, tap.
Nothing.
Again, tap, tap, tap, this time a little harder. I stood back, crossing my arms in front of my chest and feeling more nervous than ever.
Within a few seconds, I heard the doorknob begin to open. And there he was.
Chapter 17
I swallowed as I stared into the ice blue eyes of Lane Alexander staring back at me from the other side of the doorframe. Lane. He was standing there in his full-fledged glory with his arm propped on the doorknob of the open door. The corner of his mouth turned up in an easy grin.
"Where's your shirt?" I asked.
"In the hamper."
"Your body is amazing," I said, knowing as it came out of my mouth how cheesy it sounded. I cringed at myself, but it was basically impossible not to act like a goober with him standing there looking like that. He had on jogging pants that rode low on his hips, and his torso looked like it belonged to a lifeguard. "I'm sorry, it's just right here in front of me, and it's hard not to notice how… You must work out."
Lane smiled and gestured for me to come inside before turning to jog off, into his apartment. I slowly walked inside as he swiftly made his way across the living room and into the kitchen. There was a T-shirt draped over the back of a barstool, and I watched as he stretched it over his head and pulled it on. He did all this as he began walking back toward me, and before I knew it, we were standing in his living room face to face.
"Is this better?" he asked, referring to his shirt, but not taking his eyes off of mine.
"Yes. And no," I said, grinning.
We were quiet for a few seconds before he said, "I can't believe you're standing here."
"I can't believe it either," I said. "It's so beautiful." I looked around at the huge living room that opened to the kitchen, which was set two steps higher than the living room, giving the living room a sunken-in appearance. It was just gorgeous. There were floor-to-ceiling windows lining the wall, and I glanced out at the city lights. "And I didn't know you need a key to get up here," I said. I glanced at Lane again.
"I'm just mad it took you so long to find that out."
"Luis brought me up."
"I figured it was him or Carol."
"Did you give her permission to let me up, too?"
He nodded.
"I almost called you, but Luis offered. I hope it's okay."
"Of course it's okay," he said quietly. "Welcome."
I smiled shyly at him and glanced around. "I really can't believe how beautiful this is."
"Theo insisted I had the bigger of the two apartments since he's rarely here. The other one is just as nice, only a little smaller. We share the roof, but like I said, he's always out of town."
I took in my surroundings. The living room was so big that there were two distinct seating areas, one centering around a fireplace and the other around a television.
"Did you decorate this?" I asked. Noticing how perfectly masculine but still magazine quality it was. I had already spotted one of my paintings hanging on the wall near the kitchen. He had quite a few pieces from other S&S artists, but mine was in a prominent place on the wall.
"No," he said, laughing. "Theo hired someone to do everything. All this was here before I moved in." He looked around. "You know, except for my stuff, the art and all my personal stuff. I didn't choose the furniture."
"Well, it's wonderful. I especially like the painting with the birds."
"That's my best piece," Lane said.
I grinned at him. "You have a nice collection. I was just teasing about especially liking my painting. I'm honored to be on your wall with all this great stuff."
I paced in a small circle too take in my surroundings, but afterward, I stopped and stood in front of Lane. "Have you seriously been living right up here this whole time?"
"This whole time," he confirmed.
I knew he lived up here, but somehow I hadn't pictured it anything like this. "I've already been thinking," I said.
"Oh yeah?"
"Uh-huh."
"About what?"
"Us," I said.
He grinned a little. "What about us?"
"That we should stick with the plan till I'm done with my term at S&S," I said. "You know, so that it doesn’t cause confusion with the other artists. Would you be okay with that… just till August?"
"And then what?" he asked.
I shrugged. "Hopefully, I'll be selling enough art by that point to get my own apartment. Maybe even one in this very building. It depends on how the train series does at auction."
I had plans to auction off the entire collection just after release of the documentary on Netflix, that way interest would hopefully be peaked. I thought about selling it as one piece, but I ultimately chose to sell them individually. I was planning on doing it that way because I decided to keep painting number one for myself, and number sixteen, which I was giving to Fran since it was a depiction of her home and attached beauty shop.
We were doing it auction format in hopes to drive up prices. Lane told me this was a no-brainer if the documentary proved to be as popular as Jane promised.
"I just can't run the risk of getting kicked out," I said. "Not when my income is still this volatile."
"I'm fine waiting how ever long you want to wait," he said, "as long as you're not trying to hook up with a bunch of customers in the meantime."
"No fair," I said.
"Yes fair," he returned. "I'm the one who had to look at you with that crud around your neck tonight."
I smiled. "I gave it back."
We were both quiet.
"And I'm sorry I took it in the first place. I thought you were… I thought things were off with us or whatever." I felt like a big nerd putting it like that, but it was the truth.
"Things have never been off on my end, Zoe. As far as I was concerned, I just had to put you out of my mind until you finished at
S&S. I just assumed I'd be the one to sweep you off your feet after that."
"Really?" I asked.
"Yes," he said simply.
"You were gonna wait for me?" I asked.
He nodded. Lane had music playing on the stereo, and I had been so swept away by seeing him that I was just noticing it for the first time. The air between us was charged.
"Would it be kinda like we're promised to each other?" I asked. "For when August rolls around?"
"It would be exactly like that," Lane said, staring at me with those baby blues. He grinned. "Do you need me to get you a promise ring or something?"
I beamed uncontrollably at him before staring down at my hand, imagining what a promise ring from Lane might look like and what finger I might wear it on.
"What? Are you serious?"
"I wasn't, but if you'd wear it, I will gladly get you a ring. Is that really a thing?"
I shrugged. "I've heard of a promise ring before, but I don't really know what they're for. It seems like there wouldn't be too many people in our exact situation, so I can't see that it would be made for people like us, necessarily."
Lane reached out to touch my arm, which stopped me from babbling. "Zoe, would you wear a ring if I bought you one?" he asked.
"Lane, I would wear you around my finger if you weren't too heavy." I gestured with one pointer finger wrapping around the other. "And it'd really help if you were more circular shaped."
He reached out to take my hand, intertwining his fingers in mine, and causing chills to shoot up my spine. I shivered.
"Are you cold?"
I shook my head.
He grinned. "I'm gonna buy a ring for your finger, Zoe. You can wear it until August, and then you'll be mine."
If someone like Rhett had said that same phrase to me, it might not be so appealing, but it was a whole different statement coming from Lane. My only regret about it was that it wouldn't happen until August.
I was breathless with anticipation.
"That's gonna be the best day ever," I said.
Lane still had a hold of my hand, and he tugged me. I stepped toward him, letting him guide me where he wanted. He placed the palm of my hand directly on his chest, right over his heart, and I took his other hand and did the same thing with it, placing it on my chest over my heart. We stood still, hands to chests, with knowing expressions on our faces.
So Much for Boundaries (Shower & Shelter Artist Collective Book 3) Page 12