“I think she has a bit of a crush on you.”
He pauses to look at me. “Does she? And why do you think that?”
“She kept looking at you. But don’t get any ideas. She’s far too young for you.”
“Actually, she’s older than she looks.”
I look up at him, surprised. “You really do know her?”
“Hell yes. She’s one of our most successful foundation recipients,” he says. “She grew up in a shithole of a town in Nevada with a mom who used the child-support check to buy meth. Now Debbie’s a freshman at UCLA majoring in chemistry.”
“That’s wonderful. What exactly does the foundation do?”
“We identify kids with an aptitude for science who, for whatever reason, aren’t able to access the opportunities. Most come from families like Debbie’s, but we have a few who are bound by their own circumstances. One young man is a quadriplegic. He thought his dream of college was over after the accident that left him paralyzed. He’s working on his Ph.D. from MIT now.”
I feel tears prick my eyes, and I lean over to kiss his cheek. “Excuse me,” I say, then slip away from him to one of the girls in the Vegas outfits and change my twenty dollars. It’s not much, but right then it’s everything.
Damien is smiling when I return. He says nothing, but he does take my hand and squeeze it.
We do the mingling party thing for a while, but then he pauses. “I see someone I’d like to speak with. Are you okay on your own for a few minutes?”
“I think I can tough it out,” I say. He brushes a kiss over my lips and I am left alone. I don’t mind, except that I don’t really know anybody. I glance around, searching for a familiar face, and am rewarded when I actually see one. Ollie. I take a step in that direction, only to see that he’s being intercepted by Damien.
A little knot of fear forms in my stomach. Why on earth would Damien want to talk to Ollie? I can think of no reason other than Ollie’s repeated mentions to me of his fear that Damien isn’t good for me and his hints that Damien has some serious skeletons in his closet. But I’ve never let on that Ollie’s mentioned that kind of stuff. Have I?
Suddenly I’m very afraid that I talk in my sleep.
I consider interrupting them, but that would be too neurotic, and so I force myself to turn in the opposite direction. I do, and am thankful to see another familiar face—Blaine. He sees me at the same time and holds out his arms. I slide into them and accept his vigorous hug.
“There she is, my favorite model.”
“You didn’t tell me you’d be here.” I tilt my head and glare. “Is Evelyn here? Is that why you looked so coy when I mentioned getting together with her?”
“Busted,” he says. He raises his hand and waves, and a moment later, Evelyn is by our side.
“I see her all the time,” Blaine says as he takes his leave of us. He winks at me. “All of her. You two talk.” He gives Evelyn a passionate kiss and, from the way she squeals, a little bit of a grope, too. Then he saunters off, Evelyn watching him go.
I start to speak, but Evelyn holds up her hand. “Hang on, Texas. I want to watch the view.” After a moment, his formal-wear-covered tush disappears in the crowd, and she turns to me with a sigh. “I’m almost sixty years old, and I’m only just now getting the best sex of my life. I swear, the universe isn’t fair.”
“Then again, maybe the universe is very good to you,” I say, and she laughs.
“Well, look who’s a glass-half-full kinda gal. You’re right, Texas. I like the way you think.”
I’ve never considered myself particularly optimistic, but maybe I am. Honestly, I really like this woman.
“I’ve been hearing nothing but good things about you, young lady,” she says. “Guess it was a rom-com, after all. Or are we talking NC-17?”
I feel my cheeks heat. “Could be,” I admit.
“Good for you. Hell, good for you both. That boy …” She shakes her head in an almost grandmotherly fashion.
“What?” I want to sit her down and demand she tell me everything she knows about Damien. Unfortunately, that kind of interrogation is generally considered uncool.
“I saw the way he kissed you just now. Gentle, but I swear he looked like he could eat you up.”
Her words are like cotton candy to me, sweet and delicious.
“He’s usually so closed off. It’s wonderful to see him opening up to you.”
“It is,” I say, even though I am completely clueless and desperately curious. Opening up to me? Hardly. I’m learning that Damien is closed even tighter than I’d thought. Considering how much I’ve exposed myself to him, I’m feeling a little bit sick to my stomach. I don’t show it though. Social Nikki is in full form tonight. “He’s overcome so much,” I add, hoping she’ll respond with something that gives me a clue about the dark things in Damien’s past.
“Now you see what I meant by inscrutable.” She sighs. “It doesn’t matter that so much has been swept under the carpet. These things haunt you. How could they not?”
“I know,” I lie. What was swept away?
“See? That’s why I think you’re good for him. Hell, a year ago, you’d have to drag him to his own fund-raiser. Tonight he waltzed in here with you on his arm looking like he owns the world.”
“Well,” I say, “he pretty much does.”
“True. Shit, I’m not anywhere near drunk enough for tonight. Let’s go find one of those skinny bitches with the trays of drinks.”