Chapter 21

Gemma

The dress that Vincent bought me fit me like a glove. I had never even seen a dress like that in person before, let alone actually worn one. It was a beautiful red silk with thin shoulder straps and a plunging neckline. The skirt ballooned from my waist and made a rustling sound with every step I took. He had even bought a pair of shoes that went with the dress, black velvet stilettos in two separate sizes, because he wasn’t sure which one would fit.

He was waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs and turned to look up when I started descending. Tim was there, too, and both men had wide smiles on their faces. I had tied my hair up in a loose bun on the side of my head so that a few wispy black curls fell free around my face. Vincent had left a new bag of makeup and a box with small diamond ear studs on the dressing table for me to use.

The result was stunning when I looked at myself in the mirror for the final once-over. The red lipstick I had picked matched the dress and made the color on my cheeks pop. I’d lined my eyes with jet black kohl, which made my eyes glow and dance. The diamond earrings shone brilliantly with every ray of light. I felt like a princess. A nervous princess, and I could feel my hands shaking as I climbed down the stairs toward Vincent.

The smile he had on his face then was very different from ones I’d seen before. He nearly looked prideful. What did he have to be proud about? Me? I was convinced that I looked like an amateur in this dress. I had no idea how to carry this look off.

Vincent looked struck, his dimples deepening as he held out a hand to me.

“You look absolutely beautiful, Gemma.” He leaned in to whisper in my ear. I blushed a deep red… just like my dress. He led me out of the house, where the black Mercedes was waiting for us. Vincent opened the door for me before he walked around and we were sitting back in the car together.

I was uncomfortable in the dress, still apprehensive about going to this party and meeting his old buddies. What did he plan on telling his friends? Who was he going to introduce me as?

We rode in relative silence, and Vincent held my hand tightly on his lap. Besides the nervousness I was feeling, guilt had also overtaken my body. My mother’s voice kept floating back into my head, my embarrassment of the trailer park, my knowledge that Vincent didn’t know the truth about me. It all came flooding in. What was I doing? What had I gotten myself into?

When the car stopped, my limbs froze. Vincent left my side to come around and open the door for me again. I was breathing in and out harshly, trying to steady my heartbeat. Vincent held out his hand again and when I stepped out, I noticed the bright lights at the entrance of the building we were about to enter.

“This is going to be a great night, Gemma. Thank you for accompanying me,” he said as I clung to him. I was anxious to get this over with. Everything was new and foreign to me. The heels were making me uncomfortable, and I was conscious of the plunging neckline on the dress. I almost felt dizzy as I walked beside him.

“Vincent.” I said in a whisper, and he turned to me. He was in a dashing tuxedo, his dark hair and eyes matching the blackness of his clothes. He towered over me, and his arm was strong and muscular where I was holding him.

“Yes?” he said in a carefree voice, bending his head down so his ear was aligned to my mouth. I forgot what I was going to say. I didn’t even remember if I had anything to say. Everything was overwhelming, especially the grand room that we had just entered.

Dim lights in crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, and a classical band was up on a stage at the end of the room, playing music I had never heard before. Everyone was smartly dressed, everyone looked richer and more polished than I could ever be. Vincent led me through the groups of people and was smiling at them all, thumping the backs of some.

I wanted to call out to him again. I wanted to go back home. I was suddenly homesick and felt very out of place. I was convinced that everyone was looking at me, at how ridiculous I looked in that beautiful dress.

“There they are! Come, meet my friends,” Vincent said, snapping me out of my thoughts. I could feel pearls of sweat forming on my forehead as Vincent let my hand go so he could walk ahead of me. I tried to hurry behind him, carefully on my heels, but he had gone far ahead of me. I was ready to simply sink to the floor and collapse in a heap. The dress felt like a prison. The room felt like a prison. The music sounded very loud.

“Chicken liver pate, madam?” I turned around to find a uniformed server holding up a silver platter in front of my face.

“What?” I snapped, my face burning up.

“Chicken liver pate?” the man repeated, while I stared at him blankly. I had no idea what he was saying.

“Gemma, over here.” Vincent’s voice made me turn around, and I found him standing with a group of people and waving. The others had their curious faces turned to me as well.

****

“These are my friends from college, Casper and Nash. And these fine ladies are their better halves, Lily and Bonnie respectively. Guys, meet Gemma,” Vincent said by way of introduction. I stood flushed and unsteady next to Vincent, trying to disappear into myself, while the others scrutinized me with narrowed eyes.

Casper and Nash were both handsome. Did Vincent know anyone who was remotely plain looking? The two women looked elegant and refined in their dresses. They’d probably gone to dozens of parties like this one.

“Hello, Gemma, so pleased to meet you.” Lily stuck out a hand toward me. She was smiling and tucked in some auburn curls behind her ears.

“Hi,” I mumbled, barely meeting her gaze. I felt like they were all trying to judge me, closely studying every inch of my body so they could figure out if I was worth being seen with Vincent.

“How long has Vincent kept you hidden from us?” Bonnie said, placing a small warm hand on my bare arm. I knew she was trying to be friendly, but I felt an itching urge to pull my arm away from her.

“Not very long, Bonnie, don’t worry. We only just met,” Vincent replied and I noticed the way he glanced smilingly at his two best friends. Casper and Nash looked at each other and then back at me. I could tell that they were surprised to see me here.

“Where did you two meet?” Nash finally asked. His voice was cool and deep, but I detected a tone of suspicious curiosity. He was interrogating me.

“At home. In my hometown in Washington, Carlow Ridge,” I fumbled and dropped my gaze to the floor. I could sense that they were all still looking at me.

“Where you went for your quiet vacation?” Casper asked Vincent with a laugh in his voice. I shot my head up to look at them, and Lily cut in.

“Oh, leave them alone. We’re just happy to see Vincent attending a social gathering with a plus-one for a change,” she said and some of them laughed.

Vincent was laughing, too, but I could only smile.

I had finally mustered the courage to meet their eyes, and I was holding their gazes with all the strength that I had in me. This was other-worldly, too far away from home. I wasn’t sure how much longer I would be able to do it.

“So, what do you do, Gemma?” Nash asked, taking a sip of his drink. I exchanged a look with Vincent, but he only had a smile on his face. I had no idea what I was supposed to say. What he wanted me to say.

“I work at a diner… I used to work at a diner. I just lost my job,” I said and immediately knew that I should have been diplomatic about it. This wasn’t something that any of them wanted to hear. They looked like successful professionals, sophisticated and well educated.

“I worked at a cafe once, when I was in college. It can be good fun and the tips are great,” Lily said with a laugh and rolled her eyes. I noticed the way Casper leaned in to plant a kiss on her cheek. They exchanged a tender look that told me that they were madly in love and had a steady strong relationship. Vincent and I were the only ones here who were just having a fling. The only ones who were just fucking.

“Gemma is studying to get into med school actually,” Vincent said, bringing the conversation back around to me so that I was blushing again.

“Med school! That’s impressive,” Nash commented and Bonnie nodded, smiling indulgently at me like I was a child. Nash and Bonnie were holding hands, and I noticed the sparkling diamond engagement ring on her finger. Why had Vincent brought me here? To show me a taste of his life so that I could feel miserable about it?

“Yeah, but I’m probably not going to get in,” I blurted and all eyes were on me again.

“You can’t second guess yourself like that, Gemma,” Vincent said, turning to me with a supportive smile. I was suddenly very angry with him. For subjecting me to this torture. For making me feel so uncomfortable. What did he know about me that made him so sure that I would get in? He didn’t even know where I lived, who I lived with.

I turned my lips down at him and breathed in deeply.

“Med school is hard to get into, but I’m sure you’re preparing well for it,” Casper said, in support of his friend. I shot a look at him, before looking back at Vincent again. I wanted to scream and tell him that I didn’t belong here, that this was all an act. But I was holding it in, ready to burst.

“She’ll have her pick of colleges soon,” Vincent said, turning to me. I was burning up while he looked proudly at me. How did he know if I’d get into med school? How did he know if anything I’d told him was the truth? He placed a hand on the small of my back, but I was imploding inside and I stepped away from him with a jerk, so that his hand fell from my back.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, his brows immediately furrowed.

I lifted the sides of my flowing dress up with both my hands and kicked off my heels before I started running away from them. I didn’t care who saw me running, how many rules of decorum I was breaking, but I needed to get out of there.

This was the third time I was making a run for it, but this time what I was feeling was different. I wasn’t just escaping Vincent Stoltz; I was escaping my dreams, too. All the emotions, the guilt and the embarrassment of the last three days had piled up in one big heap, and it was like finally someone had set fire to it inside me.