The Beautiful People (7 page)

“He’s
rich, huh?”

“I
guess so. His condo sure isn’t cheap.”

“And
the sex, how was it?” I was embarrassed by her directness and flushed when I
recalled the intimacy between us.

“Incredible.”
That was the only word I could come up with to describe it and then I thought
of another. “Mind blowing. Quite possibly - no definitely - the best sex I’ve
ever had!”

“Wow,”
Chelsea remarked. She inspected my face after my statements. “Oh, Nat you
really like this guy don’t you?”

I nodded my head in
admittance. I hadn’t allowed myself to get emotionally invested with anyone.
After seeing my mom’s heart ripped out and destroyed, I swore that I would
never put myself in a position where something like that could happen to me. Then,
after Toby, I swore off emotional commitments completely. Somehow, with Dominic,
I found that promise hard to uphold. Flings were easy. I didn’t put my heart up
for grabs and ended the liaisons before they amounted to anything close to a
relationship. I didn’t want just a fling with Dom, though.

Chelsea peered at me
waiting for me to continue. “I do like him. He referred to me as his girlfriend
when he introduced me to his Aunt and Uncle.” Chelsea’s mouth hung open.  

“Wait,
back the fuck up! You met family members and he called you his girlfriend?” she
paused. “And you didn’t run away screaming?”

“No,
I actually liked being called his girlfriend, even though I told him it was too
soon for that. His Aunt and Uncle are so nice.” I filled her in on Franco’s
Ristorante, the extraordinary food and the ice skating at Riverfront Park.

“Whoa.”
She sat across from me and regarded me with her sky blue eyes. “Are you ready
for this Nat?” Her question triggered a little bit of the fear. I had let my
guard completely down last night and showed Dominic more of my true self than
I’ve shown anyone in a while. It was easy to be myself around him.

            “I...think
so? I really like Dominic and want to see where this goes.”

 Chelsea had a worried
look on her face. She was still raw from her break-up and I’m sure she thought
I was crazy to open myself up for hurt. Little did she know that I already
opened myself up. That left me feeling both exhilarated and terrified.

Instead Chelsea
surprised me. “Well I never thought I’d see the day…” and she grinned. “It’s
about time you gave another relationship a try. Sometimes they don’t work out,
but you learn a lot about yourself in the process.”

            “Oh yeah?
And what did you learn about yourself this last go around?”

Chelsea may be living
vicariously through my life now, but there were times when I lived vicariously
through her relationships.

            “I learned
that I need to stay true to myself.” Chelsea lowered her eyes when she stated
this as if hiding the pain they revealed.

            “True,” I
recalled how Chelsea had been consumed in her recent relationship with Chad and
how she lost touch with her friends, including me. All of her time was devoted
to Chad’s needs and she lost sight of her own. “That’s very good advice.”

We both stared off and
were lost in our thoughts until Chelsea saw the clock on the cable box and
yelled, “Holy Shit, we’re late for class!” It was a mad scramble as I ran to
change my clothes and grab my backpack, there wasn’t enough time for me to worry
that I smelled like sex. Chelsea and I ran up Pine St. to campus, avoiding the
icy patches and frost heaves on the uneven brick sidewalks.

The euphoria that kept
exhaustion at bay wore off early in the afternoon. I struggled through the rest
of my classes and slumped back to the apartment, picking up a turkey hoagie
from Wawa along the way. Dominic hadn’t called my cell yet, so I had no idea
what he was planning for tonight. How could he top last night? I struggled to
get through some assignments, but kept dozing off. I gave up and crawled into
bed for a nap. My bladder woke me and I stumbled to the bathroom. Chelsea was
in the living room watching TV. She looked up at me when I walked in.

            “You seem
rested.”

            “Ugh,” I
grunted and yawned. “What time is it?”

            “It’s
almost eleven.”

            “Eleven!” I
was awake now. I turned around and ran back into my room to fetch my cell
phone. There was a voice mail, but it was from my mom. There were a couple text
messages from friends, but nothing from Dominic. I sat down on the edge of the
bed as disappointment and doubt squeezed my heart like a vice.  Did he just
want to sleep with me and that’s it? Was I wrong in thinking he liked me too? I
rolled over in a fetal position, replaying every moment, every word that we
shared. Did I set myself up for rejection? I groaned as I closed my eyes and
tried to clear the negativity that clouded my thoughts.

            “What’s
wrong?” Chelsea asked as she stood in my bedroom doorway.

            “He didn’t
call. He was supposed to and we were going to go out tonight.” My voice was
strained with tears ready to be spilled.

            “He’ll
call,” Chelsea reassured me and sat down next to me.

            “I knew I
wasn’t ready for this. I have no idea what to do…am I acting crazy?”

            “Not at
all. You’re acting like a normal girl who has fallen for a boy.”

            “I am? What
if he never calls?”

            “Nat, you
need to relax. He will call. He would be a fool not to.” She rubbed my back as
she said this.

            “I hope he does.
You’re right, I didn’t want to admit it, but I really do like him.”

Chelsea stayed by my side
until sleep claimed me at some point and I woke as the sun peeked through my
blinds. This morning I’d be watching the sunrise alone. I sighed and hugged a pillow
to my chest. I grabbed my phone from the bedside table - still no messages from
Dominic. I debated whether I should call him, but didn’t want to appear
desperate or hear his rejection. Since I was up early, I dressed for the early
morning chill and went for a run. By the time I reached Rittenhouse Square I
had broken into a sweat. The run helped to clear my head and the long, hot
shower afterwards washed Dominic’s scent off of me and quieted my nerves. I
wouldn’t let it get to me. If he called, he called and if he didn’t, that was his
loss. My guard was back up and I chastised myself for letting it down in the
first place.

I flicked on the TV on
my way into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee; only half listening to the
news as I toasted a bagel. A news story caught my attention and I stopped what
I was doing to listen. The newscaster was discussing a shooting that had
occurred overnight in South Philly on Lombard Street. They said it looked like
a mob hit, even though the Philly mob was supposedly no longer in existence.
The victim had been identified as George “The Stump” Fratelli. It was “The
Stump” that had grabbed my attention. I remembered the other night at Crimson
when Grant and Uncle Marco were discussing a guy named Stump who hadn’t paid
his bill. Could this be the same guy? If so, wasn’t Grant supposed to take care
of it? I laughed at myself and the idea that Grant was in the mafia. This was
probably just a coincidence.

The rest of the news
was boring and the weather forecast I could have done myself - more freezing
cold temperatures with no end in sight. I scarfed down the bagel, poured coffee
into a travel mug, and bundled up to face the cold.

The studio lab helped
to distract me and I immersed myself in a sculpture project. I was used to working
with clay and embraced the challenge of working with metal. Once I got a handle
on the welding torch, the metal was just as malleable. I enjoyed getting lost
in the project and felt like I had accomplished something as I walked back to
my apartment. I had tonight to get caught up on my work, before I had to work
at Crimson again. One good thing about not being with Dominic was that I could
get my work done. At least I tried to convince myself of that.

I turned the corner
onto my block and immediately stopped. Dominic’s Mustang was parked directly in
front of my building. My heart stopped too. I didn’t know what to do. I was
ready to write him off and was not expecting him to be waiting for me. I
thought about turning and going back around the corner but saw the driver’s
side door open and Dominic getting out. He must have seen me. I narrowed my eyes
and made sure my emotions were in check before marching up to meet him.

His face lit up when he
saw me approach and my step faltered. He saw my hesitation and frowned, the
green of his eyes grew darker.

“Dominic,”
I greeted him with an emotionless voice.

“Hi.”
He leaned down to kiss me and I took a step back. “What’s wrong, Nat?”

I couldn’t meet his
eyes and was beginning to wonder if I was acting psychotic. Sure, he didn’t
call me last night, but here he was standing in front of me, wanting to kiss
me.

“Oh…I,
um.” I struggled for words and debated whether to give him another chance. I
cursed the effect his very presence was having on my resolve. “Can we talk,
upstairs?”

“Sure.”
He followed me up to my apartment. Chelsea was in the kitchen making ramen and
we waved as I led Dominic back to my room. I shut the door for some privacy and
dropped my jacket and backpack on the floor. My bedroom wasn’t nearly as
luxurious as Dominic’s. My bed wasn’t made and the comforter hung off the side onto
the floor. The desk under one of the windows had a pile of textbooks on it and
the easel in the corner held a canvas with a painting in progress. One of my
bras hung on the back of my desk chair and I quickly grabbed it and shoved it
in the top drawer of the Ikea dresser. Dominic poked around my room as I attempted
to control some of the chaos. He picked up a framed picture of Grant, me and my
mom that sat on my desk. It was taken at Grant’s high school graduation; when
we were wide eyed and innocent. That was eight years ago and we were both a lot
wiser now.

I could feel Dominic
watching me as I flitted about the room nervously, pretending to straighten up
in order to buy some more time because I didn’t know how to begin.

“Nat,
what’s going on?” Dominic broke the silence and I was out of time. Still unable
to look at him, I began to speak.

“This
is probably going to sound ridiculous or psychotic or both…” I risked a glance
at his face and his expression was passive. I continued. “Normally it doesn’t
bother me when a guy doesn’t call after…you know. But the other night was so
different and it really, like, almost hurt me when you didn’t.” I could feel
the tears creeping up to the surface and choked them back. I was over by my
easel organizing the paints when Dominic came over and took my hand in his. He
reached for my face and turned it, I had to meet his eyes then. I didn’t see
ridicule or insincerity lingering there only compassion and understanding.

“I’m
sorry. You’re right I should have called, but I wasn’t able to. Uncle Marco
needed my help with some stuff and that took up most of the night. You can ask
your brother. He was with me. I was going to call you, but it was late. I
figured you’d be pretty tired after the night before,” he smiled at the
reference. “And you’re right. The other night was different for me too.”

“It
was?”

“Yes.
Amazing, actually.”

“Grant
was with you?”

“Yes.
Do you want to ask him?” Dominic pulled his cell phone out of his pocket.

“No.
Don’t call him, I believe you…and you can call me anytime, I won’t mind.”

“Well,
Uncle Marco doesn’t like distractions and I didn’t have a break. I am really
sorry.” He cupped my face in his hands and leaned in for a kiss. I hesitated
slightly, but didn’t pull back.  Reaching up, I wrapped my arms around the back
of Dominic’s neck. He pulled me closer and placed his lips on mine. All was
forgiven the moment we connected.

We separated and I rested
my head on his chest, “I’m sorry too. I didn’t really have a right to react
that way since you aren’t my boyfriend.”

“I
want to be,” he whispered in my ear.

Dominic was here in my
room and holding me, revealing that he wanted to be with me. I couldn’t refuse
him, because deep down, I wanted it too.

This whole relationship
business was new to me. I had to learn to trust Dominic and I had to learn to
trust myself in a relationship. Knowing this, I squeezed him tight and
whispered back, “Ok.”

I heard him sigh with
contentment and he kissed the top of my head. “Did you eat dinner?” he asked.

“No,
I’m just getting back from class.”

“Want
to go grab something to eat?”

I paused because I was
supposed to go with Chelsea to watch our shows at Jillian’s apartment.  “Give me
a sec,” I told Dominic and left him in my room.

Chelsea sat cross
legged on the futon with a steaming bowl of ramen in her hand.

“See,
I told you he wouldn’t dis’ you,” she said.

“You’re
always right. I don’t know how I could have doubted you!” I plopped down on the
futon next to her. “I hope you won’t be mad at me, but Dominic asked me out
tonight. Are you okay going to Jillian’s by yourself?”

     Chelsea slurped
noodles into her mouth before answering. “I guess so,” she sounded disappointed.
“You’re going to miss some good episodes.”

“I
know, but I can watch them online later. I really want to go out with Dom. You
see, I just agreed to be his girlfriend.”

Chelsea almost dropped
her bowl. “Are you serious?” My cheeks hurt from the ear to ear grin that
spread across my face. “Holy shit, Nat this is huge! Go; get going… everyone at
Jillian’s will understand, although I don’t think they’ll believe me!”

I laughed at her
enthusiasm because it mirrored the excitement I was feeling. Hopping up off the
futon, I half ran half skipped back to my room. Dominic was still checking out
the various pictures and paintings that hung on the walls.

“Did
you paint this?” he asked, pointing at a watercolor.

“I
did.”

“Wow.
You’re really talented.”

I
savored the compliment. “Thanks.”

“The
landscape…it looks familiar.”

“That’s
the beach at LBI. I love the sand dunes and the sea grass.”

He proceeded to walk
around my room in silence, as if he was in a gallery or museum, admiring each
painting, drawing and sculpture. My room was cluttered with projects. The two
windowsills served as extra shelf space and overflowed with multiple ceramic
pieces.

“Nat,
you’re work is amazing. I had no idea!”

“I
applied to several grad schools. My professors kept encouraging me.”

“I
can see why they would. The only thing my hands are good at is getting people
to do what I want.”

I
tilted my head at the odd comment. “What do you mean by that?”

“Err,
never mind, that didn’t come out right. I meant that my hands are good at
giving you what you want.” I could tell he was trying to make light of what he
had just said. I had heard him the first time, but wasn’t quite sure what he
meant by it. “So, did you want to go out for dinner?” he continued.

“Yes,
did you have a place in mind?”

“Butter,
ever been there?”

I
shook my head no. “Five-star restaurants don’t exactly fit in my college
student budget.”

“Right,”
Dominic glanced down at the jeans and sweatshirt I was wearing and raised his
eyebrow. “You’ll probably need to change.”

“Oh,
right!” I hadn’t noticed that Dominic was dressed up. He had on pressed black
pants on and a dark green long sleeve shirt. I went over to my closet and
started sorting through my clothes. I pulled out a black mini cocktail dress
that was simple enough to be dressy, but not too dressy.  I turned to leave to get
changed in the bathroom.

“Where
are you going?”

“To
get ready.”

“You
can get dressed in here, with me. It’s not like I haven’t seen you naked
before.” He sat back on the bed and made himself comfortable. I could feel the
heat creep up my neck and flare on my cheeks. Yes, he had seen me naked before.
A nervous laugh escaped my lips.

“No
need to be shy.” He got up off the bed and walked over to me. “I’m your
boyfriend, remember?” His hands reached down to the bottom of my sweatshirt and
he lifted it up. I raised my arms in surrender and he pulled the sweatshirt off. 

****

It took us awhile to
get out of my bedroom. Finally, we emerged and Chelsea whistled when she saw me
all dressed up.