by Nancy Krulik
Rain was looking at Sami and laughing. “I know what you’re thinking,” she told Sami. “And don’t worry. Vin doesn’t stay here. He lives across the hall. He was just fixing a leak in the shower. If I had to wait for the super to do it …”
“I was glad to help.” Vin turned his amazing eyes toward Sami. “Self-preservation … The thought of Miss Workout Queen over here not being able to shower was just too gross for me. The smell of pierogi coming from the Russian restaurant down the block is bad enough!”
Rain tossed a couch pillow at Vin. “Thanks, buddy. Just what I needed, you telling a potential roommate that I stink.”
“I didn’t say you stink … just that we’d all be in trouble if I didn’t fix that shower.”
Rain turned to Sami. “Watch out for this guy,” she warned. “He grew up in Brooklyn. You know no one from the OBs can be completely trusted.”
Sami tore her gaze from Vin and looked at Rain curiously. “OBs?”
“Outer boroughs,” Vin explained. “Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island. Rayna here is a total Manhattan snob.”
“Can I help it if I don’t see any point in hanging out with the bridge-and-tunnel crowd?” she teased back.
“Rayna? Oh, I’m sorry,” Sami apologized quickly. “I thought you said your name was Rain.”
“It is,” Rain assured her.
“Oh, right,” Vin teased. “That’s your name now. But all your friends and family at home call you Rayna. It’s Rayna Goldfein,” he told Sami.
“Oh, no!” Rain exclaimed suddenly. “You’ve told her my deep, dark secret. I’m sorry, Sami, but now I’m going to have to kill you.”
For a moment, Sami stared at her, not quite sure if she was kidding.
“Relax, kiddo, it was a joke,” Rain pointed out.
Sami smiled nervously. “I knew that. I’m just a little shaky after what happened at the Beresford Arms.”
“There was a murder at the hotel where she’s been staying,” Rain explained to Vin.
“That’s tough stuff to deal with,” Vin consoled her. “Anyone you know?”
Sami shook her head. “No. I don’t know anyone there. I kind of keep to myself.” Talking about the Beresford Arms made Sami nervous. She quickly changed the subject. “What made you change your name?”
Raina shrugged. “The agency decided that Rayna Goldfein didn’t have enough pizzazz. So now I’m just Rain G.”
“I like it,” Sami assured her.
“I like you,” Rain replied. She held out her hand toward Sami. “This is going to work out great. Two small-town girls in the big, bad city. We could take over!”
Sami reached out and shook Rains hand, sealing the deal.
“Heaven help us,” Vin teased.
“You’d better watch out,” Rain teased back. “Now it’s two against one in this hallway. Country girls versus Brooklyn boy. You don’t stand a chance.”
Vin looked back into Sami’s blue eyes. “I think I’m lost already.”
It was almost eleven o’clock before Sami had a chance to check in with Celia and Al. Luckily, with the time difference, her best friend and her brother were still wide awake.
“Hello?” Celia answered.
“Hey, Celia!” Sami replied excitedly. “Guess where I am?”
“The Plaza Hotel?” Celia asked.
“No.”
“The Staten Island Ferry?”
“At this time of night?” Sami said, surprised.
“You’re right,” Celia agreed with a laugh in her voice. “Where could you be calling from at eleven at night, New York time? How about prison?” Celia teased.
Sami giggled. “Of course not.”
“Okay, I give up. Where are you?”
“In my apartment!” Sami squealed.
“You got an apartment already?”
“Yup, and I got a job!”
Now it was Celia’s turn to squeal. “You got a design job? Ohmigod! This is so exciting!”
“Well, it’s not that exciting,” Sami admitted. “It’s not exactly a design job. But I am working at a design house. I’m the receptionist at Ted Fromme Fashions.”
“Oh.” Celia clearly struggled not to sound disappointed. “Well, at least you’re in the door. Maybe you can get someone there to look at your designs.”
“That’s what I was thinking. My boss is a junior designer, so he’ll look at them.” Sami thought for a moment. Bruce hadn’t exactly said that he would look at her portfolio—but he hadn’t said he wouldn’t, either.
“What’s your boss like?” Celia asked.
“Nice,” Sami assured her. “He’s very supportive. He took me out to lunch today. We have a good time at the office. And he’s got the biggest green eyes, and a great smile.”
“Sounds like Sami’s got a crush … ,” Celia teased.
“No.” Sami denied it vehemently—maybe too vehemently. “I’m just describing him, that’s all.”
“Okay.” Celia didn’t sound convinced.
“Ceil …”
It was Celia’s turn to giggle. “So tell me about the apartment. Where are you?”
“In the East Village, just off St. Marks Place. I have a great roommate. Her name is Rain, and she’s a model.”
“Wow! A model! How cool is that?” Celia seemed suitably impressed.
“It’s a lot of fun around here,” Sami assured her. “Everyone’s so nice. The guy across the hall’s a carpenter from Brooklyn. He’s nice, but he’s really tough. You wouldn’t want to mess with him. He went up to the hotel with me to get my stuff, and he convinced the manager not to charge me for today, since I wasn’t sleeping there or anything.” Sami smiled, remembering how Vin had stood tall over Bud, threatening him without even saying a word. Bud had crumbled like a pile of dust. “And by the time we got back here, Rain had brought in pierogis for dinner.”
“What are pierogis?” Celia asked.
“Oh, they’re these Russian potato-onion crepe things. They’re so delicious. I’ve never eaten anything like them!”
“Everything sounds really great, Sami,” Celia said with a voice slightly tinged with envy.
Sami knew Celia well enough to sense the small drop of melancholy in her tone. There was a time Celia had had big dreams too. But now, with the baby and all … Immediately, Sami changed the subject. “So, what’s new with you?”
“Well, I think I might have felt the baby kick,” Celia whispered into the phone.
“How cool is that!” Sami exploded. “Al must have flipped.”
“Al doesn’t know,” Celia whispered.
“Why not? And why are you whispering?”
“Because I’m not sure it was really the baby kicking. It felt like a little flutter, but it could have been gas. Anyway, I don’t want Al getting all excited until I’m sure. You know how he gets. He’ll have his hand on my stomach all the time, and you can’t even feel it from the outside yet.”
“Oh Celia, I wish I were there with you for all this,” Sami said honestly.
“Just make sure that cute boss of yours gives you time off at the end of January to come home and meet your little niece or nephew.”
“Oh, I’ll be there,” Sami promised. “I wouldn’t miss it for anything.”
“I know,” Celia replied softly. “But you’d better hang up and get some rest. You’re a working girl now!”
“Gee, I am, aren’t I?” Sami said excitedly. “Hey, will you tell my dad I’m okay?”
“You haven’t called him yet?” Celia asked her.
“I’ve tried to, a few times. But I always hang up before he can answer. It was so bad between us before I left. I’m sort of afraid to talk to him.”
Celia was quiet for a minute. Sami knew her best friend—and now sister-in-law—was remembering how Mac Granger could get when he was crossed. She also knew that he was still extremely angry at Sami for leaving Elk Lake. Everyone in town knew it. Even before she left, Mac wasn’t shy about sharing his frustrati
on with Sami with just about everyone who walked into his coffee shop. No, Sami wasn’t wrong for not calling her dad just yet.
“Don’t worry, Sam, he’ll come around,” Celia said finally. “And when he does, I’ll make sure he calls you.”
“Thanks.”
After giving her best friend her new phone number and address, Sami hung up the phone and walked into the darkened bedroom. She could hear Rain snoring softly from her bed on the other side of the screen. Moving quietly so as not to wake her roommate, Sami set her alarm for 6:30 and climbed into her very own bed in her very own apartment.
Six
When the downstairs bell rang Saturday evening, Sami’s heart skipped a beat. “That’s Bruce,” she called out to Rain from the bedroom. “Could you buzz him up? I’m not ready yet!” Sami’s tone was filled with excitement that had been building for quite a while. She’d been working at Ted Fromme for almost three weeks now, and this was the first time Bruce had made good on his promise to take her out and introduce her to the New York club scene.
“You’re kidding,” Rain called back. “You’ve been getting ready for this date since this morning.”
“It’s not a date,” Sami reminded her as she walked out into the living room. “Bruce just volunteered to show me a little bit of the New York nightlife.”
“Uh-huh,” Rain replied, sounding completely unconvinced. “I know I always spend an hour on my hair and makeup when I’m just hanging out with a friend.” She pressed the button by the buzzer to let the front door of the building open, then she opened their door to the hallway a bit. “He’s on his way,” she warned Sami as soon as she heard the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs.
“Oh, no! Do I look okay?” Sami asked nervously.
Rain laughed. “Why? Does it matter? I mean this isn’t a date or anything, is it?”
Sami rolled her eyes, stuck her tongue out playfully in Rain’s direction, and then ran back into the bedroom for one last check in the mirror.
“Oh, very mature,” Rain teased. She looked out into the hallway, where Bruce was making his way to the apartment. “You must be Bruce,” she greeted him.
Bruce smiled as he approached the door. “That’s me,” he replied. “And you must be Rain.”
“The one and only. Come on in. Sami’s almost ready.”
Bruce walked into the apartment and looked around. “I used to live in a place like this when I first moved to the city.”
“Really?” Rain said. “But you don’t anymore?”
Bruce smiled. “I’ve moved on. Now I’m in an elevator building on Eighty-second and Riverside, just off the park. Good thing, too, since I’m on the fourteenth floor.”
Rain nodded with recognition but didn’t say anything. She knew the neighborhood Bruce had mentioned—small, overpriced apartments in prewar buildings. People paid for the address, not the accommodations. “I’d offer you a snack, but the refrigerator’s kind of empty,” Rain told him. “I’ve been teaching Sami the fine art of take-out.”
“That’s okay,” Bruce replied. “I grabbed something on my way here.”
“So where are you guys going?” Rain asked, flopping down on the couch and folding her legs into a long pretzel.
“I thought we’d hit Promise for a while. Sami’s never been to a club in the city, and I figured that’s a good place to start.”
“It’s certainly one of the big names in New York nightlife,” Rain replied. “Me, I like the smaller places. You know, neighborhood bars, local clubs.”
“Well, to each his own,” Bruce replied, a bit dismissively for Rain’s taste. He looked at his watch. “I wonder what’s taking her so long?”
“I just had a few more finishing touches,” Sami told him as she made her entrance from the bedroom.
Bruce jumped up from the couch. “Whoa, look at you!” he exclaimed.
Sami looked down at her black dress. “Do you like it?” she asked shyly.
“Oh, yeah,” Bruce assured her. “Is it one of your own designs?”
Sami nodded. Actually, it was one of the bridesmaids’ dresses from Celia and Al’s wedding. Sami had spent the morning turning it into something appropriate for a New York dance club by trimming the skirt so it had an asymmetrical hem. She’d had to sew the whole hem by hand since her sewing machine was still back in Elk Lake, but from the look on Bruce’s face, it had obviously been worth it.
“Well, come on, we need to show New York what a Sami Granger original looks like!” Bruce urged, taking Sami by the elbow.
Sami smiled.
“Don’t wait up,” Bruce told Rain. “I plan to have this magnificent creature out dancing all night.”
“Oh, I’ll be up,” Rain assured him. “I’m just like a vampire. You know, asleep all day and awake all night.”
Promise was crowded by the time Bruce and Sami arrived at the club. People were lined up three rows deep by the bar, and the dance floor was filled with sweaty couples moving to the beat of the music. Sami recognized a few of the songs—one by Shakira, another by Justin Timberlake, and one she was pretty sure was by Madonna. They were similar to songs she’d heard on Top 40 radio, except they’d been remixed to include a dance beat.
“You want a drink?” Bruce asked her.
Sami shook her head. “I’m underage.”
“No one here cares about that,” Bruce told her confidently. “Come on, have something. It’ll loosen you up.”
“I really just want a Coke,” Sami insisted. The truth was, she didn’t want to loosen up too much. This was her first time in a real New York club. She wanted to be totally alert and take it all in.
“Coming right up,” Bruce said. “Wait right here. And don’t go dancing with anyone else while I’m up at the bar. Tonight you’re all mine.”
Sami watched him as he headed off for their drinks. He really was remarkably handsome, and he seemed so confident and comfortable in this environment. While Sami found the lights and the music disconcerting, Bruce seemed as relaxed here as he did in the office. Despite the crowd of people around the bar, Bruce somehow managed to maneuver his way right up to the front of the line. Within a few seconds he was joking with one of the bartenders while their drinks were being poured. Sami expected someone to argue that Bruce had butted in front of them, but no one complained. It was as though everyone around him just assumed Bruce was someone deserving of special treatment.
Which was saying a lot. Bruce wasn’t the only good-looking guy in the club. Everyone there seemed to be beautiful and stylish. It was as if the bouncer outside the club would only let attractive people inside. Sami looked at herself in the mirror. Sami had never thought of herself as particularly beautiful, or particularly unattractive. She was just Sami. But tonight, among all these gorgeous New Yorkers, she felt suddenly awkward, as though this were some sort of club that she never could have gotten into on her own without someone like Bruce as her sponsor. It wasn’t a very good feeling. She hoped that one day she’d feel as though she really fit in, the way Rain and Bruce so obviously did.
“Here you go, one Coke,” Bruce said as he returned to Sami and handed her the drink. He held out his martini glass. “To us,” he toasted.
Sami clinked her glass against his. “To us,” she agreed.
“Let’s dance,” Bruce suggested.
Ordinarily, Sami would have begged off. She wasn’t big on dancing in public. That had always been Celia’s thing. At their school dances, Celia had boogied the night away while Sami had stood off to the side, chatting with friends and making mental notes on how she might change the design of the dresses other people were wearing. But tonight, Sami wanted to dance. She didn’t know if it was the excitement of being out with Bruce, or just the overall vibe in the club, but Sami was happy to place what was left of her Coke on a nearby table and follow Bruce onto the dance floor.
Bruce was an excellent dancer. He rocked smoothly to the beat, his arms and legs moving just enough to be cool without being too affected.
As they danced together, Bruce moved close to Sami until she could feel his warm breath on her neck. Feeling him so close made Sami want to shiver. She had to fight the urge to wrap her arms around his neck and pull his body against hers.
“Whew, I’m getting hot,” Bruce said after he and Sami had been dancing for quite a while. “You want to take a break, get some air?”
Sami shrugged. “Sure, if you do.”
“What, you’re not tired?”
“Nope. This is all too exciting.”
Bruce wrapped a strong arm around Sami’s waist. She tensed slightly and then relaxed against his elbow. “We’ve been here for over two hours,” he told her.
Sami looked surprised. “Really? It didn’t seem that long at all.”
“Time flies when you’re having fun,” Bruce murmured lazily in her ear. Sami had to fight to keep her knees from buckling as she followed Bruce from the club.
“I’d better take you home,” Bruce said as they reached the street. He put out his arm and waited for a taxi to come to a stop in front of them. Then he opened the car door and let Sami hop in.
“First Avenue and St. Marks,” Bruce told the driver in his sure, confident tone. Then he leaned back on the seat and wrapped his arm around Sami’s shoulders. “Did you have fun?” he asked her.
“The best time in my whole life,” she replied honestly. “I’ve never been anywhere like that before.”
“I’ve never been out with anyone like you before,” Bruce replied. Then he leaned over and kissed her on the lips.
At first Sami thought to remind Bruce that the taxi driver could see them through his rearview mirror. But the power of Bruce’s kiss knocked any rational thoughts from her brain. She found herself slipping quickly under Bruce’s spell, and she kissed him back with a passion that matched his own. Her back was pressed against the car door, but she could barely feel the handle jabbing into her back. Her mind was elsewhere; all she could think about was the warmth of Bruce’s body leaning against her own, and the soft wetness of his lips as his tongue struggled to meet hers.
“Um, ‘scuse me, pal,” the cab driver said as the car came to a sudden stop. “But do you want the near or far corner of St. Marks?”
