Dancing in the Gray (18 page)

Elise finally spoke. “Jeremy, if the
media gets wind, they will smear Trey’s name for being connected
with a home wrecking whore.”

“He wrecked that home long before you
came into the picture. You can’t play the martyr, Elise. If you
tell him everything, “Jeremy pointed to Trey, “and he still wants
to be with you, then you go from there. If he doesn’t want to be
with you,” Jeremy gave Trey a wicked pair of eyes, “then it’s his
loss.”

“Is this the person that sent her the
flowers?” Trey wanted confirmation.

“Yes.” Jeremy answered him.

Trey wasn’t waiting for an answer. He
walked right back into Elise’s office and grabbed a card off of one
of the bouquets that were in the black trash bin. He opened the
envelope and tore the card out.

One rose for every day we
have been apart…. Rixby

Trey looked up through the glass walls
out into the lobby near the elevators. Jeremy was hugging Elise
close while she had her head buried in his chest. Jeremy was
looking at Trey obviously waiting for a response. Trey walked out
of the doors of her office suite back to where they were
standing.

His voice was low and he was calm. He
directed the question to Jeremy “Is this who I think this
is?”

Jeremy nodded his head, “Rixby
Storm.”

Trey flashed back to him and Elise in
the car on the way to the concert. He said his collection had Rixby
Storm and her face changed. That’s why.

“Elise, we both have a past. I’m not a
boy scout! In fact, I’m very far from it. I wouldn’t want you to
judge me based upon some of the decisions I made when I was
younger, and I won’t do that to you.” He rubbed her back as Jeremy
continued to hold her.

Elise raised her head and looked up at
Trey, “I know you wouldn’t judge me, Trey. I just don’t want people
judging YOU because of ME.”

“I could give a fuck about anyone
judging me, Elise. I don’t make any excuses or apologies because of
who I am.” He was serious about that. “I’m running for office, and
they will find anything to throw out there to make me look bad. I
think I gave you the wrong impression when I told you I was
protecting my image. Hell, I was under a misconception that if I
found honest success with my career and I completely cut off any
social activity, I would limit the dirt that could be dug up. It
was very black and white. But the thing is, the only things I
should have been protecting myself from were things that I wouldn’t
be proud to be associate with and people that would hurt me for
their own benefit. You’re not either of those things, Elise. You
enlightened me that there was a safe middle ground where I could
have everything I wanted. I want to try dancing in the gray with
you – only you.”

Trey was looking down at Elise waiting
for her to say something, but Elise gave him nothing but silence.
His heart sank into his stomach. From the beginning she told him
she didn’t have any expectations from him in regards to a
relationship. She was clear on that.

Trey turned and walked to the
elevators. He pushed the down button and waited. He didn’t turn
back to look at her. There was no point. He put it all out on the
line, and she gave him nothing in return. He heard her heels
clacking on the floor behind him. The sound got louder and faster.
He wasn’t turning around. He couldn’t.

There was now silence as he waited for
the elevator doors to open. He felt a hand run down the center of
his back. Trey closed his eyes already knowing it was her touch. He
was all too familiar with it. She snaked her arms around his chest
and rested her head in the center of his back. She hugged him
tightly as Trey exhaled deeply. He wanted her to want him. He
rubbed his hands over her arms finally lacing his fingers in
between hers. He brought both of her hands up to his mouth and
kissed the back of each one. He released her hands as he turned
around to face her.

Elise could communicate so much with
those beautiful amber eyes. She didn’t have to say anything for him
to know how she was feeling. He’d seen them happy, touched,
playful, vulnerable, aroused, and hurt. She felt what he was
feeling. She didn’t need to say a word, her eyes spoke
volumes.

Trey nodded his head, “Ok?”

Elise smiled and nodded, “Ok.” She ran
her hands up his chest and around his neck as she rose up onto her
toes hugging Trey’s neck tightly.

Trey wrapped his arms around her and
drew her body flush with his. He quickly ran both hands down her
back, over her ass and around the back of her thighs were he
hoisted her up wrapping her legs around him. She let out a small
shriek and a giggle before he kissed her deeply in the lobby where
her entire office was in full view of their CEO mugging down with
him.

~

“So tell me about Rixby.”

Trey and Elise were in her apartment at
Azure, which was a very trendy new building on the Upper East Side
in Manhattan. This apartment was more modern and contemporary where
her Palladium townhome was more homey and traditional. In contrast
to her Virginia home, the design here was chic and minimalist. This
was not where Elise came to decompress, but to stay inspired. It
was high end and high fashion, like her business.

They fought the afternoon traffic to
get uptown and decided to order some take out instead of heading
out again. They were sitting on the floor of her living room eating
Chinese food.

“I hate talking about him.” Elise
rolled her eyes as she stabbed her Lo Mein with her
chopsticks.

“Why?”

“Because he’s an asshole, and he hurt
me really badly.” Elise was still stabbing her Lo Mein, and Trey
was now very interested in what this jerk did to her to make her
feel this way.

“So you were in a relationship with
him?”

“If you can even call it that. I was in
college when we went to see one of his concerts. He stalked me,
initially, since I wouldn’t give him the time of day. He wore me
down where I finally went out to get coffee with him. We talked on
the phone because he travelled a lot. Then he started flying me out
everywhere to meet him. I knew he was married, but the story he
told was that she was all about his money and wouldn’t sign the
divorce paperwork. Nine months later, he flies me out to where ever
he was. Out of the blue, he kisses some other girl in front of me,
calls me a groupie and said I was delusional to think that I was
the only one.” Elise was still looking down at her food. “That was
the last words I heard him speak, and until today, there hadn’t
been any type of communication between the two of us in the last
six years.”

“Did you love him?” Trey knew she had
to if he could still cause her so much pain all these years
later.

“I thought I did. He said he did, too,
but you don’t treat people you love like that. He threw me away
like a piece of trash.”

Trey was afraid to ask, but he needed
to know, “Do you still love him?” He held his breath as he waited
for her answer.

Elise finally looked up from her food,
“No.” She shook her head, “I’m not that girl anymore.”

Trey needed more info, “Then why all
the tears earlier?”

“Because that was one of the biggest
mistakes of my life, and here it was resurfacing again. But this
time, instead of him just hurting me, he could hurt you,
too.”

“He can’t hurt me, Elise. What you did
in the past can’t hurt me either. I just don’t understand how
someone you don’t have feelings for anymore can still cause you so
much pain.”

“To be honest, I don’t understand it
either.” Elise put her food down on the coffee table and ran her
hands over her face. “Why am I talking to you about
this?”

“Because I asked you to.” He knew it
was hard for her and appreciated that she was trying to open up. He
smiled coyly at her.

“Oh, yeah.” Elise smiled as she rolled
her eyes at him. “And, you can put that smile away. It’s
distracting.” She pointed her finger in a circular motion towards
his face. She paused for a few seconds, “I think the pain is
residual because at one point in time I thought he was the one. I
think I was scared that I would never find the chemistry with
someone that I had with him. And, I hadn’t …” Trey was now the one
looking down at his food. He immediately regretted asking, “until I
met you.”

Trey’s head popped up, and there was
Elise and her beautiful amber eyes gazing at him. His heart started
beating faster. He leaned forward and put his food next to Elise’s
on the coffee table.

“It hit me hard in the plane. I can say
with absolution that I had never felt attraction like I did when
you first looked at me. My feelings were intense, and I had to look
away.” Elise swallowed hard and it looked like she was blushing. “I
couldn’t stop thinking about you when I arrived in Paris. It scared
me. I hadn’t felt that way since the asshole, but it was
exponentially more intense. I didn’t think that something stronger
than what I felt for him existed, but it did. I desperately hoped
that you would meet me for roller skating.” Elise closed her eyes
and smiled, “And you did, sort of.” She shrugged her
shoulders.

Trey thought he had it bad before, but
now, knowing that Elise was feeling the same thing he was from the
beginning just deepened his feelings for her. He stretched one of
his arms out across the sofa cushions and rested his other on his
bent knee. Elise took that opportunity to place her hand on his
chest right over his heart.

“But, I don’t want you to think that
the reason I’m sitting here with you now is about the attraction. I
mean, it doesn’t hurt,” Elise teased as she ran her hand up Trey’s
chest and onto his face, “however, when you picked me up off the
street and took care of my knee and palm, I saw more than how
attractive you were. You were gentle and caring….and attentive….and
concerned. And since then, you have showed me who Trey really is,
and that’s why I’m here with you right now.”

“I don’t think I knew who the real Trey
was until you came along.” Trey put his hand over hers, “I have
done things that I normally would never do, but with you, I want to
do them.”

Elise smiled shyly, “Like?” Trey slid
her hand off of his face and brought it to his mouth kissing her
knuckles.

“Like go to a night club and drink
thousand dollar tequila, or blow off meetings to meet you at the
airport because I missed you so much, or want to beat the shit out
of a complete stranger because he made you cry.” Trey brought
Elise’s hand up to his mouth again kissing it again.

“First of all, I don’t want one ounce
of your attention focused on HIM. Call me selfish, but I want that
attention.” Elise bit her bottom lip, “Secondly, please don’t blow
off meetings on my account.” She crawled onto Trey’s lap and
cradled his face in both of her hands. Her amber eyes pierced into
his, “I’m here, and I’ll be here after your work is done. You don’t
have to choose. You can have both.”

Trey didn’t know if Elise understood
the weight of that statement and what that meant to him. He could
have it all. He didn’t think that was possible before
her.

Chapter 15

Trey was sitting back going through his
BlackBerry looking for a phone number of one of his contacts. He
scrolled down and when he got to the E’s there was the picture that
Elise took of herself in the car in Paris attached to her contact.
Trey couldn’t help but smile.

She was still asleep when he left her
apartment this morning which was no surprise because after their
conversation last night, Elise was insatiable. They made love over
and over until the early morning. Trey was tired, but he was
certainly not complaining.

Paul was sitting across from Trey who
was behind his desk in his office. They were about to go over
Trey’s scheduled appearances for the following month when Trey’s
assistant buzzed him to let him know that he had a
visitor.

“Who is it Maggie?”

“Sir, its Rixby Storm. You know the
guy...”

Trey clinched his jaw shut. “I know who
he is, Maggie. Did he give a reason for the visit?”

“No sir.”

“Give me a minute.”

Paul’s eyes were huge. “How do you know
him?”

“I don’t.”

“Do you know what this is
about?”

“Yep. Elise.” What else could this be
about? A campaign donation, yeah right. He knew this fucker’s
game.

“Are you serious? How does she know
him?” Trey just looked at Paul and raised his eyebrows. “Oooh! Do
you want me to leave?”

“No. It’s best if you stay. I may not
rip his head off if I have witnesses around.” Trey already felt his
blood pressure rising.

“Trey, I do not suggest you take this
meeting if this is how it’s going to go down. I am speaking as a
friend and a campaign manager.” Paul looked concerned.

“I’ll be fine.” Trey wasn’t going to
let him get under his skin.

Before Trey could buzz Maggie to let
her know to let him in, his office door opened and the asshole
barged in. “Rixby Storm is never kept waiting, not even by the
President’s son.”