Diamonds Are Forever (7 page)

“Have you given any thought of what look you’d like to wear?” Gemma asked, trying to distract herself from the fact that she’d just refused to say the word
groin
to Damian, as if they hadn’t once dated and come very close to sleeping with each other. 
God, Gemma.
  She could hear her own short breaths roaring in her chest, trying to drown out the electric hum of her heart. 
There is
no
way you don’t look like a total weirdo right now. 
“Like, fabrics, colors – anything in particular in mind?” She marked his inseam on her note, writing his name across the top. 
Damian Evans. 
Damian held his hand out to help her to her feet.

“Not really,” he replied.  “I trust you to find what looks best on me.”

Gemma nodded as she rolled up her measuring tape.  Convincing herself that it was for completely professional purposes, she allowed herself one more full-body look at her old friend. 
Totally unprofessional,
she chided herself as she felt her mind wandering.  Rather than trying to brainstorm a look for his Gotham Ball suit, she was imagining what he looked like under his thin t-shirt and jeans.  Gemma had seen him naked before but that had been ages ago.  With so many years of pro basketball under his belt, he had to look different now.  She couldn’t help wondering how different.

“So we’re all good?” Damian asked, a smile in his voice as he watched her put her tools away.

“We’re all good,” Gemma replied, turning away from him to hide her furiously burning cheeks.  She didn’t remember blushing this hard around Damian ever before.

This might be an issue.

~

“So, I’m a perv.”

Gemma watched as Leah and Kate looked up slowly from their plates, carefully exchanging a glance between them.  She had let the words tumble from her mouth during a particularly quiet moment at the brunch table.  Gemma hadn’t touched her Florentine once as she listened to Leah talk about her job search and Kate about her budding romance with Mitchell.  Instead, she opted to sip slowly on her Bellini, taking in the beautiful garden setting of their Sunday meal.  Among the pastel-dressed women and children, Gemma felt even guiltier about the thoughts that were plaguing her – that had
been
plaguing her for over a week.  She could honestly say that her mind had never before conjured up so many damned fantasies in a single week.  It was embarrassing, even when no one knew about them except herself.

“Care to expand on that?” Leah asked.  “It’s probably not in your best interest to just leave us here with no explanation.”

“You’re not a pervert, Gem,” Kate said, her tone serious.  “You’re a good person.”

Gemma tipped her flute back, emptying the contents of her drink down her throat. 
How much of this do you actually want to share?
She eyed Leah and Kate’s expressions, wondering what they were thinking as she allowed the silence to linger.

“I’m going to start guessing if you keep us hanging,” Leah said, her tone threatening.  “And you know where my dirty mind can go.”

“It’s not even that bad… I don’t think,” Gemma said.  Leah was expecting something big now.  “It’s actually kind of stupid.  And boring.”  She bit her lip.

“You suggested role-playing to Corey,” Leah said.  “And his boring ass thinks that’s some kind of deviant thing.  Right? Because it’s not.”

“Leah, no,” Gemma said, giving her an odd look.

“Something about a weird sex toy?”

“What? No.”

“Oh my God, freaking say it then already.”

“
Okay
.” Gemma folded her napkin and smoothing it across her lap.  “Okay, so.  I’ve been trying my hand at menswear lately.  And last week…” She looked at Leah and Kate’s inquiring expressions.  “Last week,
this man
came in and asked for a custom suit.”

“Oh, that’s so nice Gemma! More clients!” Kate exclaimed.  Leah directed a violent shush in her direction.

“Continue,” Leah said, rolling her hand in a forward motion.

“Okay, well.  While I was measuring him…” Gemma trailed off, furrowing her brows.

“Oh my God, no,” Leah held her hands up in front of her.  “Gemma, no! Copping a feel is totally against the law, you can get in so much trouble for that!”

“
Leah!
” Gemma exclaimed, her eyes wide as she stared at her friend.  “What is wrong with you? That’s not what happened.”

“Oh, thank God,” Leah replied, patting her brow.  “I mean, I know I’m a little on the wild side, but I can’t really condone that.”

“Leah, she’s a professional,” Kate scolded.  “How could you even suggest that?”

“So what the hell even happened?” Leah scoffed.  “That would deserve this kind of buildup and fanfare? It can’t be
that
bad.”

“I guess, I don’t know… I think I just kind of got, like…” Gemma stuttered, her lashes fluttering as she tried to complete her sentence.  “I felt kind of weird, like… I think I got sort of…”

“Turned on?” Leah raised her eyebrows.  Gemma stared back, blankly.

“Well, yes,” she shrugged.

“That’s it?” Leah laughed.  “That’s your story? And you consider yourself a perv? Gemma, please! Don’t feel bad about that.  I mean, if I were a guy, I’d be running around Manhattan with a raging boner all day.”

“Leah,” Kate scrunched up her nose.

“Oh, stop acting like a prim and proper socialite, you’re not married to Mitchell yet,” Leah said, swatting at her.  “Besides, you win the title for Perv of all Pervs, just in case you don’t remember what a little creeper you were in high school.”

“I was not!” Kate protested, pouting.  “I was just… a bit deprived of things.  And I guess I expressed it in a socially awkward way.”

“Aw, no,” Gemma gave Kate a sympathetic frown, patting her on the shoulder.  “That’s not true.  And it doesn’t even matter now because things are going well with Mitchell!”

“Right, and congratulations on that whole thing, Kate, but seriously, Gem,” Leah said.  “Just because you’re in a relationship doesn’t mean you can’t look at other men.  It’s totally natural and you have no reason to feel weird about it.  Besides, with the bore that you’re making Corey out to be, I can hardly blame you for looking elsewhere.”

“Are you hoping to work things out with him?” Kate asked hopefully.  “Or just waiting to find the right words to tell him you don’t like him?”

“I go back and forth,” Gemma said, shaking her head.  “But I’m leaning towards ending it.”

“Just do it then! Rip the band-aid!” Leah lifted her mimosa to toast her.  “There are plenty of fish in the sea, and girl, you’ve been fishing from one helluva body of water.”

Gemma pouted.  All she saw was Damian as she wondered if there was any truth to Leah’s. 
What if the fish I’m dealing with now is one I threw back into the water years ago? How does it work if you have the chance to catch it again?

She held her glass up absentmindedly, seeing that it had been refilled sometime within their conversation.  The girls clinked their flutes together and returned to their meals.  Gemma poked at her poached eggs with her fork, trying to look busy as Leah and Kate dug into their plates.  She didn’t feel like she was done with the topic.

“The thing is,” she continued.  “I have been having these
crazy
thoughts about him everyday for the past week.”

“Well, you’ll see him again, right?” Leah asked.  “Was he wearing a ring? Is he single, do you know?”

“He wasn’t wearing a ring,” Gemma replied.  “But I’m not sure if he’s single,” she added slowly, feeling a little guilty about the fact that she’d yet to reveal that it was Damian she was talking about.

“Make him take you out after your next fitting,” Leah suggested.  “Just say you haven’t had dinner yet and you could use some company.  And take it from there.  If he has a girlfriend, which he probably does if he got
that
kind of reaction out of you, then you either lay low until she goes away or go in for the kill.”

“That’s awful, Leah,” Kate pouted.  “How can you go after somebody’s boyfriend?”

“Because if I fantasized about a stranger and then actually ran into him again, then maybe it’s a sign and I should make something of it,” Leah reasoned.

“What if it was one of
my
boyfriends?” Kate challenged.

“I’m not going to go after Mitchell.”

Kate opened her mouth to make a counter argument but decided to shrug instead.  “’Kay,” she said, having cut and forked a bite of her waffle that she just wanted to eat already.

Gemma watched as the girls resumed their meals once again.  Kate popped a fresh raspberry into her mouth, smiling to her own daydreams.  Gemma could practically see images of Mitchell circling her strawberry-blonde head.  Meanwhile, Leah scanned the room, undoubtedly looking for some eye candy as she sipped on her mimosa.

“It was Damian.”

For a moment, Gemma wondered who had read her mind.  She looked up to see Leah and Kate’s stunned faces.  It was only then that she realized her voice had escaped her brain’s lockdown on full disclosure.

“What the fuck, Gemma, why didn’t you just say that?” Leah smacked her on the shoulder.

“You like him!” Kate squealed.  “Oh my
God
I knew it was just a matter of time before you got back on the same page as him.”

“No, no,” Gemma said, waving her hands in front of her.  “No, I didn’t say I liked him.  And I honestly don’t think we’re ‘on the same page’ because I’m pretty sure he actually
is
dating Azura.  I saw them together the other day and he’s taking her to the Gotham Ball.”

“You’re kidding,” Leah said.  “You mean the tabloids got it right for once?”

“I mean, I’m not totally sure,” Gemma shook her head.  “But I just want to make sure you guys understand that I didn’t say I necessarily have feelings for him again.  Just that, for some reason, he kind of got me worked up the other day.”

“Probably because you have too much vanilla sex with your vanilla boyfriend,” Leah nodded.

“
No,
” Gemma rolled her eyes.  She paused.  “I mean, that’s probably the issue, yeah.”

“Bad sex?” Leah cringed.

“Well.  I can’t say that we’ve really done anything lately other than a quick kiss hello and goodbye,” Gemma answered, slowing down toward the end of her sentence as she realized herself how abnormal that probably was.  “Oh God,” she exhaled in a laugh.  “We, uh… don’t even
make out. 
But he genuinely seems to want to stay in a relationship with me which makes no sense.”

“Um, if you were looking for a reason to dump him, an absolute lack of a sex life is a pretty good one,” Leah said.  “I don’t know how you’ve survived as long as you
have
if that’s the case.”

“That’s right,” Kate chirped.  “Sex is super important in a relationship.”

“Ew, Kate,” Leah held up a hand.  “Stop pretending that you have sex.”

Kate frowned.  “But I do… now.”

“Listen, Gem,” Leah said.  “Don’t get me wrong.  Damian maybe an old, longtime friend of ours, but that doesn’t stop him from being crazy attractive.  Like, oh my God cream of the crop one percent hot.  I know we all don’t quite look at him that way because we’ve pretty much grown up together, but that doesn’t stop him from being a total sex god and you’re kidding yourself if you think otherwise. 
But…”
Leah sat up straight, flipping her long black hair over her shoulder as she leaned towards Gemma.  “I think it’s possible that your reaction to him the other day may be because you’re not getting any from Corey.  Or because you’re not even
interested
in getting any with Corey.  So… why are you dragging this on?
Dump
his ass.  And don’t dick around about it anymore.  The next time you see him, a breakup is going to happen.  Got it?”

~

Gemma sat beside Corey, quiet as she stared at their legs sitting side by side on the park bench.  She had never had a breakup like this one.  It felt a little like a high school breakup – not that either of her high school breakups had been like this.  Maybe it was just the fact that she had prepared her speech and delivered it without pause like a well-researched presentation, citing everything that had been on her mind –
no chemistry, no spark, no sign of things getting better.

At least Leah would be proud.

As little investment as she had in Corey, Gemma still felt badly.  He had sat quietly through it all, nodding as he took in every word she said.  At least he did make it easier by not looking totally shocked by what she had to say, though a slight frown did wrinkle his handsome face.

“I can’t say I’m not disappointed,” he said quietly, finally breaking the silence.  “I do like you a lot.”

“I like you too… but I’m not sure that’s enough.  Do you know what I mean?” Gemma asked,
really
hoping he understood.  The words sounded kind of awful said aloud.  Thankfully, he nodded, his frown turning into a slight pout.

“I just really love your drive.  I love that you’re so young and successful and everything you have is something you made for yourself.”

“Well, I did have a lot of help along the way,” Gemma shrugged.

“I’m sure you did,” he replied.  “But we both know that I probably had even
more
help along the way and look at where I am.  I’d be so much happier if I had achieved even a tenth of what you’ve done.”  His eyes were a little wet as he bit his lip.  Gemma would feel bad if she weren’t so uncomfortable.  She had kind of brushed Corey off as another one of Manhattan’s billionaire heirs, happy to be living off of his parents and running around doing nothing.

“People can’t help you until you know what you want to do,” Gemma said.  “You have plenty of time to figure it out.”

“I don’t know why I thought that being with you was what would do it.”  Corey looked up at her, a faint smile on his lips.  “I guess I was hoping your attitude about life would rub off on me a bit.”

“You were using me?” Gemma teased, a hand flying over her heart in mock horror.  Corey laughed, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and giving her that same quick squeeze he had always done.  Now that they weren’t an item, she found the gesture sweet rather than cheesy.