- Chapter 4 -

 

The Mall At Beauford was surprisingly full for a Tuesday at 1PM.  Young mothers dressed head to toe in designer labels had their babies dressed to match.  They pushed Bugaboo strollers through the wide, glossy walkways.  They examined furniture in Restoration Hardware and cookware at Williams Sonoma.  From the way they were dressed, it was safe to guess that they had already bought out the current seasons of Neiman’s and Saks.

Madison had convinced the girls to cut class after lunch to go shopping and avoid the afterschool crowds of kids from the next town over.

“They just come here to be seen,” Madison stated simply.  She leaned in to check her reflection in the dark windows of Chanel’s storefront.  Gemma laughed inwardly every time Madison checked her reflection because there was never anything to touch up. “I’m not trying to be mean or anything. But from the way they’re dressed, you know that they’re not from Beauford and they can’t afford to buy anything here.  Not even from Anthropologie.”

“And,” Jillian added.  “There’s this one guy here who hits on Madison every single time.  Like, no fail.”

“What’s his name again? He’s introduced himself like a million times.  It’s a bit much,” Madison rolled her eyes.  “Not that he isn’t cute, he’s just so not my type.  But I don’t know, maybe one day if I’m feeling like taking a walk on the dark side.”  She giggled. “Actually, I invited him to my party.” The girls followed her into Chanel.

“What? Hello?” Leah stuck her neck out.  “Are we forgetting about Lucas, here?”  Kate nodded solemnly.  Gemma looked to see Madison’s reaction, which was to toss her hair over her shoulder and laugh.

“Come on.  Can’t a girl joke around?” she stood in front of a square shelf boasting the Chanel Flap Bag.  “So my mom wants to get me another one for my birthday.  Do I want the turquoise or the red? I already have it in black.”

Gemma was excited for Madison’s birthday party.  Her family friend owned a club close to the one they had gone to a month ago.  He offered to close it down for a night so Madison could celebrate in style.  She invited nearly the entire school, but with no guarantee that they’d get in.  Gemma was thankful she was on the VIP list and arriving with Madison via limo.  Not that Queen Bee ever had to worry about being on the VIP list, she lamented.  She was, however, excited to buy a normal party dress and go as herself for a change.  She just wasn’t entirely sure how to go about that.

Madison had settled on a jewel-toned, colorblock silk satin dress from Gucci.  It had a crossover halter neckline with a sexy cutout that showed off a small sliver of her ballet-toned waist.  Jillian and Kate bought pieces from Nicole Miller and Betsey Johnson respectively while Leah opted not to buy anything.

“My mother has an Hervé Leger signature,” she said.  “I’ve been wanting a reason to take it from her.”

“C’mon, Leah,” Madison nudged.  “The point of this was so we’d all buy something new.  Besides, Gemma hasn’t gotten anything yet either.”

“Well, I mean… I can probably find something in my closet too,” Gemma said.  It was true, but she also wasn’t comfortable with the idea of trying on clothes in front of the girls.  While she had frequently done wardrobe changes in front of her crew as Queen Bee, she had also had things made or bought for her specifically without having to worry about whether or not they would fit.  Seeing Jillian struggle to stuff her boobs into half of the dresses and enduring the girls’ laughter was enough to deter Gemma from suffering a similar fate.  She understood that it was all in good fun, but she wasn’t prepared for it.

Somewhere along the way, Kate had picked up a People magazine.  On the cover was Tyler Chase, by far the biggest popstar in the U.S and arguably, the world.  Aside from his sweet and soulful voice, he was known for his swift dance moves and shaggy boyish haircut.  He was Gemma’s age and rumored to have secretively attended the final concert of Queen Bee’s summer tour.

“Not sure how that’d be possible,” Jillian shook her head. “Girls would’ve noticed him and mobbed him ASAP.”

The girls bit their smiles back as they flipped through photos of Tyler.  He wasn’t her type, but Gemma had to admit that he was cute with his floppy brown hair and somewhat innocent charm.  She wasn’t particularly familiar with his music, but the little she had heard surprised her.  His soft crooning had an unexpected edge, and he did have a way of making her blush at the choruses.

“Kate – did you take that from the table next to us when we were at Starbucks?” Jillian asked.

“Yes, I did,” Kate chirped from behind the magazine.  “I love his song ‘Galaxy Girl.’  When he tells the girl her freckles are sexy, I’m like, ‘But mine are so much sexier!’ And I used to hate my freckles.”

“Easy, Kate.  Don’t tread on Madison’s crush territory,” Leah said.  “You know her cougar ways.”

“Shut up, Leah.” Madison narrowed her eyes playfully.  “I’m only a year older than Lucas.  And he’s so worth the cougar title.”

Gemma held back a pout.  She could imagine.

“You’re almost two years older than Tyler Chase,” Leah said.

“So? It’s legal in Jersey,” Madison scoffed.

“Ew!” the girls shrieked.

Jillian doubled over in laughter, gasping for breath.  “What would Lucas think if he heard that?”

Madison shrugged.  “Whatev. I let him crush on Gwen Stefani ‘cause he just can’t resist the blondes.”

“Well if it doesn’t work out with Lucas, it says here that Tyler Chase just broke up with Desiree Silver,” Jillian said, reading over Kate’s shoulder.

“Okay, I will freak out for that,” Madison said, jumping up and down and squealing with excitement.  She quickly stopped to laugh with the girls and regain her composure.  Gemma thought about how Tyler Chase would most certainly fall for Madison had he seen her in that radiantly adorable moment.  In the least, he would write a song about it.  She could feel herself falling back into a cloud of self-doubt when Leah suddenly gasped.

“Look!” she pointed at the magazine.  “Oh my God, if they sold that dress in stores I would sell my little sister for it.”  The girls huddled around.  There, under the tip of Leah’s red-painted fingernail, was a small photo of Queen Bee in her Balenciaga gown.

“I would get married in that,” Jillian breathed.

“How much do you think it costs? And who’s Queen Bee?” Madison asked.

“A European pop star, I think it says?” Kate held the magazine closer to her blue eyes.  “It says it was custom-designed for her.  God, that’s crazy. I wish Balenciaga would custom design something for me.  I’d be happy if like, J.Crew custom designed something for me.”

Gemma felt at once uncomfortable and delighted.  Mira had said that she was starting to gain notice in the states.  It was exciting to see a picture of herself in People magazine, even if it wasn’t a particularly big photo.  Even more exciting was that her friends hadn’t the slightest suspicion they were standing just inches from Queen Bee herself.  If keeping a secret was this easy, Gemma thought she might enjoy it after all.

 

“So what, are you guys an item now?” Gemma asked as she looked out the passenger side window.  It was raining hard and she had stupidly opted for suede flats that day instead of the Valentino rain boots that Penelope sent.  She spent most of the day walking around in soaked shoes that angrily squeaked their way down the hall.  She couldn’t want to go home, kick them off, and take a nice hot shower.

“Kylie’s not into labels,” Gavin answered matter-of-factly. “And I don’t like her that much, so I wouldn’t say we’re an item.  All we really do is – ”

“No! Stop right there,” Gemma shouted over his voice. “I don’t want to know what you and Kylie do during your playdates.”

“Okay. Damn, what bug crawled up your ass?” Gavin frowned. “Cranky virgin.”

“Excuse me!”

“Sorry, sorry. Uncalled for,” he laughed. “Where’s your babysitter today anyway?”

“If you’re referring to Madison, she left school early to practice for her NYU audition.”

“Alright, well, don’t play with matches while you’re home alone and what not,” Gavin said as he pulled the car halfway into their driveway.  He grabbed his black nylon backpack from the backseat and tossed it into Gemma’s lap. “Can you bring this inside for me? I need the backseat clear.”

“Oh my God,” Gemma wrinkled her nose with disgust, taking the backpack reluctantly.

 “I made Kylie wait while I drove you home to the opposite end of town.  Can’t you do me a small favor without judging?”

“I can do the favor, I can’t promise not to judge,” Gemma said as she got out of the car and shut the door.

“Fine by me!” Gavin called through the window before speeding off.  

Lugging both heavy bags, Gemma ran for cover as quickly as she could.  She squeezed herself under the bit of roof that hung over the front steps as she searched her bag for keys.  She couldn’t feel them.  Slightly panicked, she dug deeper and checked in every pocket. 

Oh shit.  Gemma noticed the unsnapped front pocket of her tote and quickly remembered that she had stored her keys and phone in there.  The pocket was empty. Shit, how did this happen?

“Damn it, Gavin!” Gemma blamed him for her predicament.  She would have noticed that her phone and keys had fallen from her bag had he not made her carry his as well.  That was at least how she saw it.

Please come back, please come back.  She stared hopefully down the street, willing Gavin’s BMW to come barreling through again.  It didn’t.  To make matters worse, the extended portion of the roof was not wide enough to keep her dry.  The wind whipped the rainfall in steady streams towards her and she cursed her luck, tossing her soaked hair back.

Through the sound of the heavy rain hitting the pavement, Gemma suddenly heard barking.  She looked towards Lucas’s house to see him by the window.  He appeared to be trying to calm Leo, who was just as troubled by the rain as she was.  Leo then turned towards her direction, barking yet again.  Gemma watched as Lucas looked over at her for a moment before disappearing from the window. 

Just as her mind began to wonder if he had seen her at all, the front door of his house swung open and out he ran with an umbrella.  Smiling.

“What are you doing out here?” he yelled over the rain, holding the umbrella over her.  His body leaned in close to hers.

“I left my keys in Gavin’s car.  And my phone.  Do you think I could borrow yours for a second?”

“Yeah, sure,” he replied.  “Come inside.”

“Oh.  Okay.”

They looked at each other for a moment, blinking raindrops out of their eyes.  Lucas laughed and shook his head.  “Sorry, this umbrella’s too small.”  He pulled her closer so they could huddle tight underneath, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

“It’s okay,” Gemma said, feeling the warmth of his torso through his soaked tee shirt.

 

It was disturbing to think about what Gavin was so busy doing that he couldn’t pick up her calls.  Gemma eventually gave up on him to call Mira, though Lucas only had her work number.  She scolded herself for not bothering to memorize any of the numbers in her contacts.  She was only able to reach Mira’s assistant, who informed her that she had just stepped out.

Gemma sighed.  “I guess I wouldn’t want her to drive back from Manhattan just to let me in anyway.”

“Well. I’m here for now,” Lucas said.  “Usually it’s just Leo by himself until dinnertime.” He rubbed the yapping puppy’s belly and smiled up at Gemma in a way that made her heart pound.  “You can stay here while you wait for someone to get back.  My parents are at my sister’s piano recital right now, but they wouldn’t mind if you stayed.  Actually, they told me that they wanted to meet you.”

Gemma’s stomach lurched and she blushed. “Why?” He’s told them about me!

“My mom was excited when Mira said Gavin’s sister was coming to live here too,” Lucas explained with a chuckle. “My mom loves Gavin, he’s got her convinced that he’s a good kid somehow.”

“Oh,” Gemma’s ears burned.  She changed the topic. “How old is your sister?”

“Elisa? Thirteen.  She’ll be at the high school next year.”

“That’s so nice.  Are you guys close?”

“Yeah, she’s a pretty cool kid sister,” Lucas said.  “Except for when she overplays Tyler Chase.”

“Oh, give her a break.  Every girl has a crush on Tyler Chase.”

“Oh yeah?” Lucas squinted at her playfully. “Do you?” 

Heat raced to Gemma’s cheeks.  “He’s not really my type,” she mumbled, suddenly feeling silly and a bit self-conscious.  Having all of Lucas’s attention on her made her feel exposed somehow.  She realized that she looked close to how she did the first time she met him – soaked to the bone and totally insecure.  As if he sensed it, Lucas got up from where he sat on the floor and started up the stairs.

“Do you want some clothes to change into?”

The thought of wearing his clothes made her skin tingle. “Oh.  No, you don’t have to get anything,” Gemma said apologetically.

“I don’t want you to be cold,” Lucas said.  He nodded up the stairs.  “Come on.” 

“Okay.”

Gemma followed him up the steps and into his bedroom. She commended herself for the calm she exhibited despite the bubbling excitement that surged through her body.  Stop being so hormonal, she scolded herself.

She could see her own bedroom from his window, the custom curtains finally installed and drawn.  “So close yet so far,” she joked, putting her hand to the window.  Lucas laughed as he rummaged through his closet.

“I’m giving you my stuff since Elisa’s like, barely five feet tall,” Lucas laughed to himself.  He took a Beauford Warriors sweatshirt, a pair of basketball shorts and a towel out.  “I hope these fit okay.  They’re the smallest things I have.”

“Thanks,” Gemma said as Lucas placed the clothes in her arms.  He walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

“I’ll be downstairs.”

“Okay,” she called after him.  Once the door clicked shut, she examined the room.  She was somewhat familiar with it from stealing glances out her bedroom window.  The walls were midnight blue with white borders and his sprawling bed was covered in a deep silver and charcoal striped comforter.  A large framed photo of him with his family sat on his desk.  Stuck to the corner of the frame was a photo booth strip of him and Madison making silly faces.

Water dripped from her hair and onto the desk as she leaned in to look.  She wiped off the drops with her bare hands and stepped away, peeling her wet shirt from her body.  It was strange to be undressed in Lucas’s bedroom.  Strange and exciting.  She could hear him opening cupboards downstairs in the kitchen.  Gemma wondered if he was thinking about her at that moment.

When she finished getting dressed, she searched the room for a mirror.  There was none.  Lucas clearly didn’t hold vanity to the same importance that Gavin did.  It was strange to think they were friends sometimes.

As she made her way downstairs, Gemma couldn’t help feeling silly and most definitely unsexy in the oversized sweatshirt and pants.  But Lucas didn’t seem to notice when he looked up at her.

“Do you drink hot chocolate?” he asked as he set two mugs on the coffee table in the living room.

“Of course.”

“I wasn’t sure because Madison doesn’t.  Which sucks because it’s the one thing I make well.”

“You made this from scratch?” Gemma marveled as she wrapped her hands around the warm mug.

“Well, no.  I just get the right amounts of milk and mix together,” Lucas laughed sheepishly.  Gemma laughed with him as she sipped the hot chocolate.  It was perfect.

“So, what is your type then?” Lucas asked.

“What?” she blinked.

“You said Tyler Chase wasn’t your type.  So what is?”

“Oh,” Gemma said, taken aback.  She had forgotten about that exchange.  She hardly remembered anything that happened prior to undressing in his bedroom.  “I honestly don’t know. Why?”

“I don’t know, just curious.  All the girls talk about who they like. Leah has a huge crush on Gavin.”

“I thought that was a secret!” Gemma laughed.

“Well, only to Gavin.  Everyone else knows, though,” Lucas smiled as he put down his hot chocolate.  He crinkled his nose. “So you really don’t have a type?”

“I guess not.  Do you?”

“No.”

“I thought you preferred blondes,” Gemma blurted.  Lucas furrowed his brow.

“I don’t think I do.  Where did you hear that?”

“Oh, I don’t know.  Just ‘cause of Madison,” she shrugged. There was a brief moment of silence.

“Damian’s been asking about you,” Lucas finally said.  “I think he’s interested.  Would you be?” He watched her face closely, as if trying to interpret her reaction.  Gemma’s emerald eyes widened.

“Damian? Really?”

She had certainly noticed Damian.  He wasn’t as tall as his teammates, but he had quite an appeal that no one could put their finger on.  Kate, whose weakness was lips, said that Damian’s was perfectly shaped like a Cupid’s arrow.  Jillian theorized that his quiet demeanor paired with his smirking, inquisitive eyes was what made girls swoon.  “It’s very confusing like, are you a bad boy or are you a good boy?” Jillian had wondered. “I can’t tell but like, I want to find out, you know?”

Gemma giggled at the memory of her friends’ musings. “Damian is everyone’s type,” she joked.

Lucas didn’t laugh.  “Yeah, well,” he picked Leo up from the ground to play with him, but the dog promptly fell asleep in his lap.  “Too bad he can’t play defense to save his life.”  Gemma smiled.

“And how good are you at basketball?”

“Me? I’m amazing.”

“Oh yeah?” Gemma challenged coyly.  “Here I thought you were the modest type.”

“I am modest.  But I don’t want to lie to you,” Lucas said with a grin.  He was somehow even sexier when he acted lighthearted.  It was a side Gemma didn’t get to see often enough.  He always played the role of the silent and solemn protector when he was out with Madison and the girls.  With that thought, Gemma became suddenly aware of their solitude.  She was alone with him in his home.  She was wearing his clothes.  No one else knew what they were doing.  They could do anything.

She lowered her lashes and blushed.  Lucas turned away right at that moment too, as if he had suddenly had the same exact thought.