| |
Bella
Bella jolted. The alarm on her phone blared. It was 6:40 AM. Shit! That was her last alarm for her morning sequence. She's somehow slept through them all! She was going to be late. Popping off her bed, Bella raced around her apartment, toothbrush in her mouth, elf dress still on. Bella searched for any scraps of caffeine or sustenance in empty cabinets. Nothing. In the most literal sense. She seriously needed to go grocery shopping.
Sunlight filtered through condensation ladened windows. Even with all the bright morning light, Bella almost tripped over her unopened Christmas Decorations boxes stacked in the corner of her kitchen. Her entire apartment was long and narrow, making every piece of furniture easy to trip over. Her couch or an end table took her out more than she'd care to admit in a sleep deprived state.
Last night had been a rare night Lucas didn't spend the night on her couch. She remembered returning to the health screening event with him only to find the event closed, and then there was beer, and then...nothing. A haze dropped over the entire night as if it were a dream. There was a vague sense of something utterly terrible happening.
Bella pathetically threw the dress across her bedroom, missing her hamper, grabbed a fresh pair of scrubs from her dresser, and threw her hair up in a messy bun. Makeup...eh. She didn't need makeup. Bella washed her face to remove the remnants of yesterday's makeup and ran out the door, completely forgetting her coat. But she was running so late that if she went back for her jacket and stopped for coffee plus a breakfast sandwich, Alicia might throw Bella's weighted down body into the ocean.
Seven o'clock in the morning meant the line at Steamy Beans Coffee Shop was out the door, and Bella was lucky to get in line only one storefront away. Bella adored having coffee across the street from the clinic. And not because Bella and Alicia didn’t have a coffee maker. They did. Although they rarely had coffee on hand. Or snacks. Or time to make coffee.
She could see the clinic across the street from her spot in line, lights still off, blinds drawn. She beat Alicia. Kind of. The cost of victory was freezing her ass off.
Bella was all of two people lengths in the door, partially unthawing, when a newspaper dropped in front of her face, dulling the rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee.
‘Is this the return of the social media starlet, Bella Astor?’
So, throwing that drink on Preston wasn’t some horrendous nightmare?
Quickly scanning the article, Bella noted there wasn't a single word about the award. Thank you, New York Daily Life and Style section, for reporting about the entire night!
Her mother must be going absolutely ape shit. There was no way Lina hadn’t read the paper yet. Bella hadn’t looked at her phone since turning off the alarms. If her mother hadn’t started yet, Lina Astor was sure to blow up her phone and thoroughly chew Bella out for this headline.
"I'm torn. I wish I had been there to see this in person and yet am sooooo glad I stayed at the Levvy," Alicia said. She shook off the pissed off patrons, jostling her full travel mug of coffee at them and popping the back of her tight mess of kinky black curls. Alicia has always been a damn morning person. With her radiant dark skin glistening and perfect makeup. She'd probably even showered. Absolutely disgusting how beautiful her other bestie was. How was she so perky this early in the day?
"Page five. Middle of the section. At least it's not the cover." Bella mumbled to herself. Maybe Mother missed the story itself. Bella's pocket vibrated. Scratch that. Her mother didn't miss a beat. Another buzz. Short enough, she was sure they were texts. She weighed the pros and cons of blocking her mother's cell number for the day. But blocking might prompt an in-person visit, though.
“Girl, you’re on the cover of plenty.”
Damn.
There were only a handful of newsstands near her apartment or the clinic, and Bella didn’t remember passing any of them.
Alicia read her friend’s face. “The Enquirer had the best picture." From the folds of the rest of the NY Daily, Alicia pulled the colored spread. Bella's elf dress enlarged, a blurry hand throwing the glass. "Now, let's not forget —"
Bella interrupted, saying, "We don't need to talk about social media. Period."
That was the actual issue. Papers Bella could forget about. Print wasn't completely dead, but Bella could manage if it was only there. Social media? For all she knew, a picture from the gallery would live on for years as a meme.
Check infamy off her list. If she hadn't already earlier in life. Soon someone might accuse her of staying in the limelight with stunts like this, just like other socialites making and their 'television careers.'
“I still have alerts for your name and hashtag.” Alicia chewed on the inside of her cheek. “It’s not pretty.”
“The asshole didn’t have the balls to dump me! He cheated on me. Why does no one remember that?”
“Yeah, they don’t care, Bells. Preston’s got this insane following now. No one cares that he’s a douche.” Alicia’s eyes got that dreamy look she always got when ogling a boy. “God, look at that sexy, chiseled face. Was he still all toned under that...”
"Stop it!" Bella snarled. "I'm too under-caffeinated for this disgusting conversation. Your husband freaking modeled in Italy, and you're falling all over Preston again?" Something was seriously wrong with her best friend. Like, yea, Preston Warren was drop-dead gorgeous. He'd always been pretty. So pretty, the other guys never gave him crap for his beauty and instead fought over being his friend just to pick up his leftover women.
“There’s a hierarchy of hot guys I know. And number one —”
“— is repellent? Repulsive?” Bella thought for a moment and added, “Repugnant?” Only the tip of the iceberg in describing Pres.
“Are you on Google looking up synonyms?”
Bella lifted her mostly empty hands besides the Life and Style section.
“You and those stupid crosswords. You’re a freaking human thesaurus.”
Sure, blame crossword puzzles, BFF, Bella thought.
“Anyway,” Alicia continued, “One: Preston Warren. Two: Giovanni. Three —”
“Wait, Christian isn’t two? He used to be.”
Of course, Alicia’s husband should be number one, but Alicia used to pine hard after Bella’s twin brother.
“Remember when you said G modeled in Italy? Like five seconds ago.”
If the line moved faster, she wouldn't have to hear this crap. Even answering her phone if Mother called became tempting.
Bella bit the bullet and asked, “Who’s three?”
“Three: Chris. Four: Lucas.”
“Lucas?” Bella started choking on nothing.
Alicia whistled. "He looks like a golden-haired prince from a freaking princess movie now. The man really grew into that chin, and those dimples are to die for, and, girl, Lucas filled out. Plus those suits he wears now. Ugh." Alicia fanned herself dramatically.
“I might need to call in sick. Not sure I can work under these conditions,” Bella said as they inched forward.
Actually, Bella didn’t disagree. She’d thought the same about Lucas and his suit last night. But it was weird hearing those thoughts from Alicia. Lucas never seemed to be on Alicia’s radar in that capacity. Lucas was their best friend.
Alicia pinched her. “I still don’t understand why you couldn’t make it work,” Alica sighed dreamily, Preston’s picture in the Enquirer.
"The lying and cheating were extra charming." Bella pleaded silently, Can’t this line move any faster?
“I would have worked around that.” Cue more drooling by Alicia at the front page of the Enquirer.
Bella considered snatching the paper, rolling up, and smacking her bestie.
"I'm sorry," Alicia whined. "He's so hot, though." Bella gave her bestie her best channel-your-inner-teenager eye roll, and Alicia changed the subject. "I heard Warren's been pining away for you since we left."
The subject didn't change far enough. Bella's head throbbed.
“Funny way of showing it,” Bella said.
Finally at the front of the line, Bella ordered a latte with an extra shot. She contemplated what level of fatty food would make Bella withstand dealing with her mother. Lina was going to find a way to cuss Bella out for having to do 'damage control.' And Alicia's constant and disgusting drooling over her ex-boyfriend (and possibly her brother if time allowed) added to the pain. She settled on a bacon egg croissant. Extra cheese.
“The asshole cheated on me. With my brother’s fiancée.”
"Cold feet?" Alicia asked, trying to play off the comment and ignore the deep hole she'd dug. Five seconds later, Alicia glanced at Bella and broke down. "Fine. You know my weakness is that hot douchebag. Whatever. So?"
Bella knew what Alicia was going to ask and preemptively hated it. She snatched her sandwich from the barista at the end of the counter and shoved the scalding hot breakfast sandwich in her mouth.
“Did you take anyone to the award shindig last night?”
Mouth full, Bella said, “You were thirty feet from when Daniel ambushed me. I mortified him, my brother, Lucas, and, most importantly, my mother just by wearing the elf costume.”
“I thought Daniel would have had a change of clothes for you.”
Daniel came prepared with a rack worth of dresses carefully laid out on the seat next to her. When Daniel asked if she’d chosen a suitable dress, Bella flat out lied.
“Ok, why didn’t you just ask Lucas?”
This time she choked on actual food instead of just air.
“Why would I ask Lucas?” Bella said with a cough.
“I don’t know. He’s always there.” Alicia pulled a piece of egg dangling from Bella’s mouth. “He’d be an excellent date.”
A smirk played on Alicia's glossy lips then she disappeared towards the exit, pushing and shoving her way through to the tail of the line amid some protests. On the sidewalk, Alicia stopped, speechless for once. Bella came out mostly unscathed, only a burned mouth from her attempt to deflect questions with the sandwich and a tiny coffee spill on her hand. Where they stood, they had a clear view of their clinic. Hope Clinic was short and squat compared to the surrounding buildings, with two large paned windows around the glass door and hand-painted lettering across each with the name, hours, and more. The blinds were still drawn closed since Alicia detoured to annoy Bella first.
Standing in front of their door was a man in a navy blue with salt and pepper hair, the onset of deeper wrinkles cut in around his cheeks. Next to him sat a massive paper-covered display. Bella recognized the shape.
Oh, no. Not today was he pulling that crap.
Squinting at their clinic, Alicia asked, “Is that in front of the —”
"— clinic." Bella finished. She unloaded her coffee and sandwich into Alicia's already full hands. She ran across the street, not even stopping to check for traffic. They'd stop for her, or she'd be spared having to be pissed off.
The delivery man in question saw Bella crossing. He dipped his head and moved down the street to a waiting Lexus SUV. Wow, low-end vehicle, if that was who she thought it was.
“Jackson! Jackson, you get back here!” Bella demanded Preston’s assistant return immediately. “God damn it, Jackson.” Her chest knotted.
Alicia made it across with only two cars blaring their horns at her and throwing curses out the window.
“What is it?” Using a single free finger, Alicia pulled at the paper to peek inside.
Less tactfully, Bella ripped the paper into large sections revealing, at minimum, twelve dozen velvety, overly fragrant red roses in a glass vase. Gasps reached them over the honking in the street.
“Holy shit.” Both coffee cups and newspapers tumbled out of Alicia’s hands. She’d only kept hold of Bella’s precious sandwich. “What are you doing?” Alicia asked.
“It’s blocking the doorway,” Bella said.
Twelve dozen roses and the accompanying vase were much heavier than they looked. Bella bent and wrapped her hands around the vase, grunted with the effort of lifting them. Traffic stopped for Bella as she waddled back across the street. The vase almost slipped out of her hands, and she barely made it to the snow-covered bistro table that held the open sign for the coffee shop.
People in line immediately started asking for roses. Which worked out swimmingly for her. Bella took a few roses, handing them to patrons while pushing past to the front of the line.
She grabbed the first barista, not in the middle of drink making, explained about the vase and the flowers, and was prepared to beg for them to take the damn things off her hands. Hell, she'd even offer to post about it on whatever social media accounts she still had her passwords to if they let her leave them outside.
Steamy Beans' manager overheard and agreed so quickly Bella didn't even need to be the one to make a post. They were already in the middle of making a sign, 'Free Roses,' and composing a social media post.
When Bella returned with fresh coffee for her and Alicia, bought by a patron that took three roses for his three little girls. Then she plucked the clinic keys from Alicia's full hands and unlocked the clinic door.
“What?” Bella asked.
“I want to know what that man, or any man, needs to do to satisfy you.”
Bella ignored her friend and took back her breakfast sandwich. No doubt this would be a long, stressful day, and all she'd had was a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich. Maybe Bella could get something delivered at lunch.
However, as soon as she sat at their front desk and began reviewing the schedule, Bella knew that, like every day, it was a packed day. No time for lunch. A wet card fell on top of the schedule book. Alicia gave her a wry grin.
You owe me for dry cleaning. ~Pres
Bella crushed the card in her hand. That conniving, pretentious, pompous, petty (the alliteration could go on for Preston)...she owes him for dry cleaning?
Her phone buzzed again, longer this time. A phone call. Bella pushed her mother to voicemail and struggled to remember why she'd come back from Frontier Doctors.
***
Lucas
"Why are you home this morning?" Chris stood blocking the door of Lucas' condo. Not that Lucas was trying to leave. He was standing in the brilliantly white kitchen. Half the lights off to allow him to adjust to all the morning light his unforgiving floor-to-ceiling windows provided even with the blinds closed. Lucas stared at his friend, coffee pot poised over his chipped Kalamazoo Central High School alumnus mug. Steam fogged Lucas' wire-rimmed glasses as Chris crossed to the counter, leaving the front door dangling open to the elegant hallway. The site of the matched tones of cream and grainy light wood edged with a dark gray tile through the dangling open door still unsettled Lucas.
But it was a bonus to Chris owning the entire floor with only two occupants. No one except Chris could randomly walk into his apartment. The elevator required a code to access their floor.
Chris helped himself to a mug and held it out for Lucas to fill.
Lucas said, “I do live here.” He poured the other half of the carafe into Chris’ mug.
Sometimes. Admittedly, Lucas spent most nights at Bella's apartment in Astoria.
Shoes, or something just as hard, hit the floor across the hall. Chris walked over and shut Lucas’ door with an almost inaudible click.
Ah. Lucas grinned at Chris. Someone was hiding from a woman.
Grabbing the sugar and cream, Lucas dulled the bitterness of the cheap coffee and guessed, "Server from last night?"
Chris sipped the coffee and blanched. “I’m bringing over different coffee tonight. This is abysmal.”
“Then don’t drink it.”
Despite his decent salary, Lucas didn't spend like he had no worries. He kept to a budget for everything. Clothes, food, his car. The only reason he even lived in Central Park West was Chris couldn't live alone when Bella made plans to join Frontier Doctors. The man literally bought out a multi-million dollar floor like it was nothing (Lucas suspected Chris' father, Eli Astor, had a helping hand in the deal, but he couldn't be sure) and gave Lucas the condo across the hall at a ridiculous steal. Lucas insisted on paying rent even if it was a pittance. Didn't matter. With Chris' twin gone, he needed a friend close by. It was Chris' way of admitting he missed his sister.
He'd even set aside a whole other condo for his sister and a spare as a 'guest house,' but Bella refused the offer when she came home.
"Damage control notwithstanding, last night went better than I thought it might," Chris said and ripped a banana from the bunch sitting on the counter.
“Did you not check your phone this morning?” Lucas grabbed eggs and bread from the fridge. The refrigerator door slammed shut, its paneling making it blend in with the rest of the cabinets. Lucas hated that whole aesthetic. In his opinion, a fridge should look like a fridge.
Turning, Lucas found Chris grimacing into his coffee. Chris asked, "What happened now?"
Daniel had been messaging Lucas since he'd woken. Mystically, the man knew exactly when Lucas woke and texted approximately three minutes after warning him Lina Astor was on the warpath.
After Daniel’s initial messages, Lucas looked at Twitter. Then Instagram. Then...he couldn’t look anymore.
Alicia texted him pictures of the New York Daily and the Enquirer while she'd been waiting at a crosswalk.
“I should have confirmed, but I would have assumed Mr. Emile Warren Esquire would have attended last night. Not Pres.” Chris said. His frown deepened as he drank the coffee.
Lucas' phone rattled on the counter at the same time as Chris', interrupting Lucas from whipping his eggs. A text from Alicia.
Alicia: Preston sent flowers?!?!?!
Then came a string of puke emojis followed.
"Huh," Chris murmured to himself.
“What?”
Chris relished the moment with a sip of coffee, even if it was stale cheap coffee, and said, “Well, I mean...we knew Pres had more balls than you.”
"This again?" Lucas didn't really want to hear it. Bella was beyond pissed off. After she got the plaque, they ducked out to his car, and he brought her back to the screening event at Levvy Rec Center, which they found locked up. The event was over. They must have driven through a dead zone and missed Alicia's text, letting them know there was no point returning.
So, Lucas called for pizza, timing it so they would get back to Bella's apartment with beer and meet the delivery driver, which was perfect.
Until they opened the box, and they’d received the wrong pizza. The beer combined with banana curry pizza did not sit well.
Bella agreed to a reset. Give up on the night, huddle in bed, and try again tomorrow. He couldn't disagree with her. He wanted the day over, too. Lucas pecked her forehead, melted at those big brown eyes, and ultimately drove home.
Another text interrupted Lucas’ daydreaming about Bella’s soft peck on his forehead.
A picture of a card with: You owe me for dry cleaning. ~Pres
Lucas gaped at his phone but now felt a bit more at ease, then turned on the burner under his frying pan. He added a pat of butter and dumped the eggs in too early, half the butter still unmelted.
"Yes, Preston Warren has balls." Smugness crept into his tone, adding, "That Bella is going to crush."
"You know, despite the fact that Bella is insane and probably will kick his ass for that card," Chris opened the same text, shaking his head. "Pres knows what he's doing. Getting under Bella's skin means she's thinking about him."
“What are you saying?” Lucas looked away from his over scrambled eggs. “Bella doesn’t think about me?”
"No. She does. You're just," Chris' voice dropped lower, "friend zoned."
Yes. Lucas was friend zoned, and he didn't have anyone to blame but himself. After years of trying to tell Bella how he felt, he could never get the words to come out. He vowed he would do it and willed himself to practice. But, she'd look at him, cock her head to the side and beam or throw her legs over his lap and snuggle in. Lucas was transported back to freshman year at Columbia when he couldn't form single-word responses to Bella.
Since he entered her hospital room at Central Clinic of Athens, 28 hours after the explosion in Syria last year, Lucas thought he'd worked past his anxiety about his feelings.
For weeks, they did everything together. Lucas helped her shower, which was a feat with his eyes squeezed shut. He took her to all her rehab appointments and follow-ups. Two whole weeks of cooking her breakfast, lunch, and dinner for her. Practically living in her tiny new apartment in Astoria, stopping at home only to change his suit for the few hours of work.
Nope. Apparently, all that time together had the opposite effect. What if telling Bella his feelings ruined what they had?
Chris and Alicia both agreed he was being ridiculous. And it wasn't like he'd given up trying to figure out how to tell Bella his feelings. The strategy for telling Bella and not messing up just wasn't coming to him, so he used a lot of excuses like 'it's not a good time' to stall. Of course, his friends all countered with, 'it's never going to be a good time.'
Chris came around the island and shut off the burner under Lucas' overdone eggs. "I, personally, don't think you should be friend zoned. Not with the way you love Bells. Ok? You both deserve that happiness together."
Says the guy that rarely took a woman on a second date. At least, not anymore.