Emeralds

by K. A. Linde

  They waited until the voices outside the door disappeared before peeking around the corner and exiting as discreetly as possible. She tightly held his hand and avoided eye contact with anyone they passed. She was sure she looked mussed and freshly sexed. And she didn’t care one bit.

  They took a taxi back to his apartment. Before he had even gotten his front door closed, he was peeling her dress off again. She couldn’t seem to get enough of him, and he couldn’t seem to get enough of her. They fell into bed together.

  It wasn’t until several hours later that she finally laid her head against his bare chest and felt her body succumb to sleep. It was the first night she had ever stayed at a guy’s place, and it couldn’t have been more perfect.

  “ARE YOU GOING INTO THE CITY AGAIN?” Trihn’s mother, Linh, asked.

  “Yep,” Trihn said.

  She grabbed a vegetarian roll off the tray her mother was preparing them on and stuffed it into her mouth. “Thanks,” she said through a mouthful of food.

  “Trihnity,” she said, shaking her head, “don’t you think you’ve been spending a lot of time in Manhattan?”

  Trihn’s phone dinged in the pocket of her ripped black skinny jeans, and she pulled it out. She ignored her mother’s question. She was concerned. Trihn got it. She had heard it enough lately. Her mother had never cared that much before about her going into the city.

  About ready to leave to go see Preston, she checked her new text message.

  Got called into work. Hate having to cancel.

  Damn.

  No problem. Let me know if you can get away. xoxo

  Will do.

  “Trihn! Did you hear anything I just said?” Linh asked.

  Her head popped up. “Was I supposed to be listening?”

  “Your father will be back home tonight. Why don’t you stay in and hang out with us before you leave for good?” she asked.

  Trihn moved over to her mom and kissed her on the cheek. “I love you, but I promised I’d help Renée with Intensive,” she ad-libbed. She hadn’t planned to do that, but she didn’t particularly want to stay in, wait, and wonder about Preston.

  “If I didn’t know better, I’d think a boy was involved.”

  “Nope, no boy.”

  Her mother gave her a long level look.

  Trihn sighed heavily. “Ly told you, didn’t she?”

  “She loves you,” Linh said in response.

  Trihn snorted. Lydia liked to be the center of attention, and she and Mom had this older-sibling bond where they always ended up telling each other everything.

  “So, who is he?” Linh asked, returning to making her lunch.

  “Mom! I can’t do this right now.”

  “I’m just asking,” she said sympathetically. “You never date.”

  “I’m leaving now.”

  Trihn grabbed her dance bag out of the front closet and slipped into her favorite pair of combat boots. Linh followed her to the door.

  “I’m not trying to badger you, but you shouldn’t feel like you have to hide something like this from me. Lydia doesn’t.”

  “I’m not Lydia, Mom.”

  “I never said you were.” Linh held up her hands defensively. “But if you want to bring your young man over for dinner, I wouldn’t object either.”

  Trihn rolled her eyes and opened the door. “He’s not my young man. He’s just a guy I’ve been seeing, and it’s not a big deal, so please stop acting like it is. I have to go or else I’m going to be late.”

  She slung her bag over her shoulder and exited the house with her mother reminding her that she loved her. She trudged down the street and took her normal entrance to the subway, swiping her well-used pass, and slinking into her seat on the way into the city.

  Her mother meant well, but Trihn wasn’t about to scare Preston by bringing him home to meet the ’rents after only a couple of weeks. Only Lydia would be crazy enough to do something like that with her flavor-of-the-week boyfriend.

  Trihn reached the studio right as the lunch hour ended for the Intensive students. She strolled upstairs with her hair still down in her most comfortable destroyed look, and she dropped the dance bag at Renée’s feet.

  “Hey, Teach,” she joked.

  Renée raised her eyebrows. “Who let this trash into my studio?”

  Trihn laughed. “Miss me?”

  “I knew you couldn’t resist coming in,” she quipped. “Now, go get in some real fucking clothes, and get to a barre.”

  For the most part, Trihn did as instructed. After changing, she spent the rest of the class helping Renée wrangle a group of teenagers before going through the barre exercises and spending a few hours working on the difficult choreography Renée had put together. It was exhausting and therapeutic. It had only been a few weeks since she stopped dancing, and already, her body had forgotten how rigorous it was. She had missed the constant ache of pushing her muscles to their limits.

  When classes ended for the day, Renée sent them off to get dinner on their own before they headed back to the nearby dorms for the night. After a quick shower, Trihn and Renée went in search of dinner themselves.

  “I’m glad you could drop by,” Renée said once they were seated at a nearby diner. “I haven’t seen you much, and I missed having you in class during the week.”

  “Me, too,” Trihn said, realizing how true it was. Dance had been so central to her existence for so long. It was hard to think about what her life would be like without it.

  “What have you been doing with all your time? Hanging out with Lydia? How does she like photographing for a magazine?” Renée asked. “I’d think her hippie sensibilities would take over and make her feel like a sellout.”

  Trihn laughed. “I think she’s enjoying it actually. Even as some bullshit assistant to a second shooter, she’s happy to be taking pictures for a real job. Plus, she’s a materialistic hippie, so the money suits her,” she told her friend. “And I haven’t been spending that much time with her. Mostly, I’ve been with Preston.”

  Renée perked up. “The creeper who showed up after studio hours?”

  Trihn shook her head. Leave it to Renée to only remember that part about him. “He’s not a creeper!”

  “Oh, no.”

  “What?”

  “You like him!”

  “Of course I like him! I’m sleeping with him,” she admitted hastily.

  Renée’s eyes widened. “I thought you weren’t going to do that again right away.”

  “Well, I didn’t plan on it.” Her cheeks heated, and she lowered her voice. “I mean, I really didn’t plan it.”

  “What didn’t you plan?” Renée asked, her voice wary.

  “Having sex with him backstage at The Met after a performance of Giselle last week,” she whispered.

  “What?” she cried.

  “Yeah.”

  “Were you at least safe?”

  Trihn cringed.

  Renée’s eyes went as big as saucers. “Are you insane? Are you trying to get pregnant?”

  “No! I’m on the pill, of course.”

  “Yeah, but—”

  “It just happened. We’ve been dating for a couple of weeks, and things just…got out of hand.”

  “You need to be careful, T.”

  She nodded. “I guess. I don’t feel like I need to be careful with him though. I feel like I just want to get swept away and give him my heart and body and—”

  Renée held her hand up. “Okay, I get it.”

  “I’ve never felt like this before. Fuck, I mean, I had sex with him backstage! That’s just…so not me.”

  “No, it’s not.”

  “Don’t use that tone with me.” Trihn crossed her arms and leaned back in the booth. “All my life, everyone has told me to be less serious, to cut loose, to date. Now that I am, I’m getting flak?”

  “Okay, okay. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to mother you. Sometimes, I can’t leave that shit at home and be happy. And I will be happy for y
ou, as long as you’re not pregnant.”

  Trihn threw her head into her hands on the table. “I am not pregnant!”

  Renée laughed really hard. “I was kidding! Now, what is Mr. Wonderful doing tonight? I have a little time before I have to be home. I wouldn’t mind meeting him.”

  “He’s at work,” Trihn said with a smile. “But maybe we could stop by his office and bring him coffee or something after dinner.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  Trihn pulled out her phone and sent Preston a quick text.

  I know you’re busy at work tonight, but I thought I could bring you coffee. Let me know when you’ll have a break.

  Trihn and Renée finished up their dinner, and Trihn picked up the tab. She ignored the angry look Renée was shooting her way. She knew that Renée didn’t have that much money, and her mom worked too much to try to provide for her kids. Trihn could afford to pick up a meal here and there.

  “You didn’t have to do that,” Renée said as they exited the diner, the bell over the door jingling noisily.

  “I know, but I wanted to.”

  Renée shrugged it off. “Any word from Preston?”

  Trihn checked her phone and shook her head. “I guess he’s swamped. This will have to be a quick trip.”

  They took the subway to Glitz magazine headquarters.

  They ordered coffees downstairs at the Starbucks in the building and then carried them up the elevator to the marketing floor.

  Trihn walked right up to the receptionist at the desk. “Hello, excuse me. I was just bringing this for Preston Whitehall.”

  The pretty brunette behind the desk looked up at her with wide eyes. “Hi! Sorry, but Preston isn’t in.” She eyed the coffee covetously.

  “He’s not in?” Trihn asked in disbelief. “He said he was supposed to be here today.”

  The girl shrugged. “He was earlier. I don’t really keep track of everyone’s whereabouts. Did you want to wait or something?”

  Trihn looked to Renée for support.

  She shrugged her shoulders. “Don’t know what to tell you. Want to text him again?”

  Trihn retrieved her phone and frowned when she didn’t see a text message from him. That was so weird. He was always so quick to respond, almost instantaneous normally. If he isn’t working, then what is he doing?

  “He hasn’t responded to this one,” she murmured.

  “Just try one more time.”

  I’m at your work, and the receptionist said that you’re not here. What’s up?

  They waited for a few minutes to see if he would respond, and then when he didn’t, Trihn handed over the extra coffee to the overworked receptionist, thanked her, and left.

  “Hey, no big deal!” Renée said, patting her on the back. “I’ll meet him another time.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Don’t let this get you down. You were just raving about him!”

  “I know, but…”

  “Yes?”

  Trihn sighed. “I don’t want to think too much into it, but isn’t it weird that he told me he’d be at work today, and he’s not here?”

  “Yeah, a little,” she conceded. “But you don’t know what he’s doing. He could be out on an errand or helping someone with work or doing anything. It’s probably best not to freak before you talk to him.”

  “You’re right. I’ll just wait to hear from him,” Trihn said. Then, she checked her phone. Nothing. “Well, whatever. Forget Preston. I have a little more time to kill. Let’s get some fucking doughnuts! It’ll probably be the last time I can binge-eat with you before you go to Juilliard.” Trihn laughed. “How are you going to live without the occasional street truck doughnut run?”

  “I really have no idea.”

  The girls talked and reminisced about old times while finding a street vendor to fill their craving.

  Trihn kept waiting for her phone to buzz in her hand, but it never did—not the whole time she was with Renée, not on the subway ride home, and not when she finally fell into a restless slumber back in Brooklyn.

  Hey, babe. Sorry. Ended up working from home last night, and fell asleep at my computer.

  TRIHN STARED DOWN AT THE MESSAGE on her phone. She was glad to have an explanation, but it left her unsettled. She had gotten so worked up about him not responding to her all night. She had actually wanted to take the subway back into the city and go to his apartment for an explanation.

  It was inherently irrational. She was not that kind of girl—or at least she didn’t think she was. She didn’t want to turn into a psycho, wondering what he was doing at night when she wasn’t there.

  There was no reason for her to freak out over a missed phone call.

  Not a problem. I knew you were busy. Do I get to see you later?

  Lunch?

  She agreed to meet up with him at his apartment before he went into work. She was prepared to put the entire thing behind her and just enjoy the time she would have with him.

  Half an hour later, she was out the door and on the subway into Manhattan. She texted Renée, promising that she would come in to help with Intensive again after lunch today.

  Reaching her stop near Preston’s building at NYU, she exited onto a busy street milling with summer students. As she approached her destination, her feet slowed to a stop. Preston was standing at the front entrance to his apartment, talking to a leggy blonde in too-short shorts.

  Trihn watched their interaction from a distance. The girl had her hand high against the edifice and was leaning against it. She started laughing and placed her other hand on Preston’s arm. Preston cracked up, too. He rested his hip against the wall and tilted his head toward her. He was clearly listening very intently to what she had to say.

  Trihn took a deep breath. This is not what it looks like. She was still jittery from last night, and now, she was seeing things that weren’t there.

  She walked right up to where Preston was and smiled. “There you are.”

  The girl didn’t even back up or stop smiling at Preston, who had taken a slight step back when he saw Trihn.

  “Hey, Trihn,” he said casually.

  “All ready for our lunch date?” God, I sound petty. She hated how her voice had strained over the words.

  Whoever this girl was, she had a certain charm. She was shorter with a fuller chest and ass. Trihn’s tall, thin body type would never allow her to look like that. Her body was great for ballet, but sometimes, she wished she could fill out her frame.

  “Yep. Sounds good. This is my friend Stephanie. We had accounting together last semester,” Preston told her.

  “Hi,” Stephanie said, extending her hand. She looked Trihn over indifferently before turning her gaze back to Preston.

  “Hi.” Trihn ruefully shook her hand and then pulled it back. “You ready?”

  Preston nodded. “See you around, Steph.”

  “Bye, Preston. I’ll catch you around.”

  As they walked down the street to get lunch, Trihn held her confusion in as best as she could. Clearly, she wasn’t doing that great of a job because Preston kept giving her questioning looks. He held the door open for her, and they sat down at a table for two.

  “What’s on your mind?” he asked.

  “Nothing,” she said into her menu.

  “Trihn”—he reached for her hand and started stroking circles into her palm—“you seem stressed. Is this about me missing your call?”

  She sighed heavily. “No. I kind of freaked about that for no reason. I should have guessed you had just gone home early.”

  “Yeah. I’m working on a big project right now,” he explained. “I have so much to do.”

  “And that’s important. I just…I’ve never really dated like this before,” she admitted. She chewed on her bottom lip, mustering up the courage to say what else was bothering her. “You’re just friends with that Stephanie girl, right? I don’t even know why I would think you were more than friends. I only saw you guys together for all of t
wo minutes, but…” She trailed off, realizing that she was rambling.

  Preston laughed and brought her hand to his lips. “Why would you think we were more than friends? You know I’m with you.”

  “I know. You’re right. I just…” She took a deep breath. “I really like you.”

  “I really like you, too,” he said.

  “I know I shouldn’t worry, but it’s kind of part of my personality. I always struggled with worrying in modeling and ballet. So…I guess I just want to make sure we’re on the same page”—she looked up at him with earnest—“that we’re moving in the same direction.”

  “This is all kind of coming out of left field. You shouldn’t stress so much. This is fun. I like being with you. We’re going to have a great rest of the summer, and then you’ll be at NYU next semester. Here, with me.”

  She nodded. God, why am I such a stress ball? She shouldn’t be accusing Preston of things when he had done nothing wrong. This relationship was what she wanted, and next semester, she wouldn’t have to hop on the subway to see him.

  “I’ll try not to stress anymore. I wish I could shut my brain down sometimes.” She laughed lightly. “I’m just glad we’re here together.”

  He kissed her hand again. “Me, too.”

  The waiter came over to take their order, breaking the moment between them. She ordered a salad, and he got a burger with fries.

  As the waiter walked away, Preston turned his attention back to Trihn. “I do feel bad that you were worried about me last night. I guess I’m just exhausted from this new project. I feel like I’m doing most of the muscle behind the work.”

  “Isn’t that normal for an entry-level position?” she asked even though she knew the answer.

  “Yeah. I guess it is, but it was never like this before. We’re about to put out a new issue, and we’re closing out this huge deal with a diamond company in our advertising space. I feel like I’m doing a million things at once.”

  Trihn smiled and tried to hide it behind her hand. Only this morning, she had heard about the diamond deal from her mom. She had been listening with half an ear, but it was interesting to have the crossover.

  “I get it,” she said after a minute. “More than you know.”