their escorts. She was very wise when it came to throwing successful parties.
Escorts on the island were not for sex; they were social and dining necessities for unattached and widowed women in order for them to attend the parties. Kristen looked closer at their tuxedos. They were not cheap, but they also were not designer issue. They had that shiny rented look to them. She nudged Linda and whispered.
The girls enjoyed their male company and conversation during the elaborate dinner, but kept their eyes discreetly searching around the room for other choices. If they were truly escorts, then the men would understand. After dessert, Kristen and Linda graciously excused themselves and slowly made their way to the far side of the room. They grabbed Melanie by her arm as they walked past her and pulled her up. Kristen said “Sorry Melanie, you are going to have to suffer with the rest of us.” The Frenchman stood up to protest her departure. His attempt was futile. Melanie just smiled at him and said good-bye.
The trio found another table near the dance floor and lowered themselves to sit. The Frenchman defiantly came right back to Melanie and regained possession. He took her out on the floor for a slow dance. It was not long before Linda was soon scooped up and Kristen was left to sit by herself. She looked around at what prospects were left and saw Anthony standing over by the bar area talking to a group of men. She turned her chair slightly to avoid looking straight at him.
He must have just arrived. She thought about inviting a man to dance to save face, but she remained still and confident. One of Ariel’s daughters, a girl self-titled with the name Kittens, saw her and sat down next to her. It was obvious that she had a few drinks in her.
They talked for a while and then Kittens decided to give Kristen a short history of all the men in the room. She told her interesting facts about three of them when Kristen stopped her and subtly pointed towards Anthony.
“What about that one? Do you know anything about Anthony Fiore?” Kittens sighed “Oh yes, Anthony! Every girl in Palm Beach wants to know about him. But he is a true enigma and no one can get through to him. I have never seen him with an actual girlfriend. Though, I have heard rumors about some girl that broke his heart in New York. Then I think she got killed somehow. That’s all I know. He seems to date a lot, but usually just socially. I have never seen him on many second dates.”
Kristen looked again at Anthony and felt sad for him. When she was with him in the Bahamas they were so intimate and free with each other that she felt there had been a strong bond between them. She didn’t think he was hiding his heart from anyone. Anthony noticed her and gave her a nod and a sad look. Kristen returned a small smile. He never came over.
Kristen’s spirit was no longer at the party. She thanked Kittens and then went back over to Ariel’s table and watched Melanie and Linda with their partners from a distance. Kristen didn’t dance and Anthony didn’t either. He just stayed in the same place as different groups of friends approached him. He seemed to be enjoying himself.
The party ended at midnight and Linda and Kristen went to the front steps to retrieve their cars. Melanie left with her Parisian. Linda said “We will call you in the morning to go shopping if Melanie ever surfaces. We are not leaving until Monday.” Linda studied Kristen with a worried look. “Are you going to be alright?” As the valet pulled up, Kristen said “I’m fine. Thanks for coming.” She gave Linda a half-hug and climbed into her car.
Kristen wearily drove home. She walked into her house and sat down at the kitchen table. She opened her small clutch to look for some aspirin and noticed that her phone indicated that a text came in. It was from Anthony. All he had done was type out his phone number and put a question mark after it. Kristen felt better but didn’t think she was brave enough to call him back. She said out loud “Can’t he make a better attempt than that? Does he really care if he hears from me?” She wondered what prompted him to contact her and where he went after the party.
That night, her moments with Anthony vividly played themselves out in her dreams. They were together as long as she did not wake up.
14 TESTING THE WATERS
Kristen woke up early and walked down to the beach. It was a cold morning and the wind whipped through her hair as the ocean angrily pounded the shore with its waves. Kristen preferred the wilder days to the tranquil ones. It was raining hard and it masked the tears that slowly escaped from her eyes. It was the perfect setting to match the turmoil that was going on inside of her.
Kristen knew she should be happy that Anthony sent her a message, but she wouldn’t let herself get hopeful and project that they were going to be together again. This had been something special and she had to guard herself and not anticipate anything or it would really do a number on her. She didn’t know why she let him make her feel so down. Maybe she just was feeling tired.
She walked for a long time picking up small shells and tossing them back in the water. She put her cell phone down, took off her leather sandals, and began walking out into the water up to her waist. She was too upset to worry about any sharks this time.
She could feel the warmth surround her as the swell came up higher. Her toes dug into the bottom and she felt the sand sift through them as it loosened and sunk her deeper. She just wanted to emotionally release herself, and she thought this would revive her. Taking a deep breath, she let the next wave submerge her. Kristen kept her eyes tightly closed as the tide then lifted her up and carried her away. She could feel her body being tossed in different directions as the wind changed its mind. She remembered she was near the tunnel and almost wished that it would pull her to its core.
When she opened her eyes, she saw that she was an uncomfortable distance from land. She looked sadly towards the horizon and then turned around. Laying back she watched the dark clouds grow blacker as another wave swept into her and washed her gently back up on the shore.
Kristen sat on the beach for a long time with her head down as the fog enveloped her. She began feeling cold, so she stood up, shook out her sandals, and made her way back to the street. As she looked up she noticed a dark car was sitting far down the block. She couldn’t tell what make it was or if anyone was in it. She hoped it was Anthony, but that was too much to wish for.
Her phone vibrated and then rang. Kristen looked toward the car and then to the phone to see who was calling. It was only Melanie. She said “Well, I feel like sludge because I stayed up all night, but let’s go shopping!” Her enthusiasm perked Kristen up and she said “OK, I’ll meet you two over at Neiman’s in an hour.” As she was hanging up, the car slowly made a U-turn and drove off in the opposite direction. Kristen thought it had out of state plates, so it couldn't have been him.
The afternoon lightened up and being with her friends brought Kristen out of her melancholy. They decided to get manicures, see a movie, and then hit up the clubs off the island. Melanie didn’t mention her friend from France. If she wasn’t offering information, Kristen knew better than to ask.
After the girls returned to Los Angeles, Kristen felt a little lonely through the weeks that followed. Melanie and Linda were two of her favorite friends. Besides Ashley back in Chicago, her other girlfriends never seemed to fill the void. They just all seemed to use each other to get through the week-ends or to have someone around so they weren’t alone if they wanted to go out. Some of them didn’t even talk to her unless it was the day before they were supposed to do something. Many of her acquaintances, especially the Palm Beach ones, couldn’t even be trusted enough to introduce to a new boyfriend. She made sure that none of them knew about her and Anthony. Kristen always felt that if you really liked a man that you never let another woman know how wonderful he was, or they would move right in on him. The true friends never did that.
One of her island “friends” called to tell her about a charity bachelor auction that was taking place that night. She had heard that celebrities were even flying in to participate. Kristen was not even aw
are of it. She wondered how that slipped by her. She quickly agreed to go.
At 7 PM a limousine pulled in front of her house and Kristen climbed in to join her four girlfriends that were all more than dressed to kill. They were passing around a bottle of champagne and enjoying the limo’s psychedelic disco effects as the wall panels changed patterns with the music.
The auction was being held in a large restaurant. The attendees sat down to a five-course meal before it started. It was a festive atmosphere and it was just what Kristen needed to get in the groove again. The men for sale were scattered about wearing large cards on their suits with their numbers on it. They were doing very well at flirting with their prospective owners and drumming up enthusiasm.
The event finally started with the single members from the Palm Beach Police and Fire department being auctioned off first. They were wearing their uniforms and looked very hot! One of Kristen’s friends laughed and started the bidding at ten thousand.
A half-hour later Kristen walked out to the lobby to see if any more of her friends had arrived yet. As she opened the glass door and peered out onto the street, she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned around.
“Kristen, I am so
The Devil's Intended-Love & Evil In Palm Beach Page 31