Hidden Gem (15 page)

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Gemma said, softly.

“Seriously,” Madison muttered.
 
“I don’t get why everyone’s like, jumping off a cliff for her.”

“Have you even listened to her music, Madison? Or seen her gorgeous clothes? And shoes?” Jillian asked with urgency. “You
are
going to come right?”

“Who cares about those two,” Leah turned her nose up.
 
“We can totally sell their tickets and go on a Neiman’s spree.”

“Maybe take Lucas and Elisa,” Madison suggested.
 
Gemma’s eyes widened.
 
“Elisa’s crazy about Queen Bee.
 
Of course that’s normal for a
tween
but for you girls – you should be ashamed.”

“And you think Lucas would want to go?” Gemma asked.

“God, no,” Madison snorted.
 
“He just wouldn’t trust these psychos to take care of Elisa for the night.”

“Fine.
 
I guess it’s better if the tickets go to people we know.
 
Especially a
real
fan like Elisa,” Kate said.

“Are you sure? Because I still think we can make a profit on this,” Leah said as the girls rolled their eyes and laughed.

~

Gemma had been out of school for a few days to fly back and forth between coasts to do talk show appearances.
 
Reuniting with Penelope and Armand was so exciting that she completely forgot about making up a good excuse for why she was out.
 
She opted for the classic flu excuse and was mildly disappointed that the girls had barely noticed her absence.
 
They only asked in passing if she was feeling better when she returned.
 
Lucas, however, was a different story.
 
Despite the fact that he continued to restrict his contact with Gemma, Gavin had reported that he dropped by the house to check if Gemma needed someone to bring her make-up work from school.

“That’s a good friend,” Gavin said.
 
“I love that dude.
 
I’d marry him if it were legal.”

Gemma laughed.
 
She had figured out that Gavin’s way of showing true appreciation for a friend was through homoeroticism.
 
“How does that work considering you’re both straight and have girlfriends?”

“We would build a loving marriage based on our strong foundation of
bromance
.
 
And we’d get rid of Madison and share Kylie.”

“
Hm
, you’re funny, Gavin,” Gemma said absently.
 
She wanted to know why Lucas had really dropped by.
 
They shared no classes and she wondered why he would assume the responsibility of collecting her work.
 
She was desperate for these answers but of course, since her return, Lucas was elusive once again.

~

Mira had dubbed the American tour “Queen Bee: Homecoming.”
 
She decided that for such a magnificent event, at least a few new pieces of clothing and jewelry needed to be added.
 
It was an easy task because a slew of American designers had recently begun sending free dresses and even offering to custom design for Queen Bee.
 
Mira accepted but refused to use any of the new dresses as the final costume.
 
They would still finish with the Balenciaga gown that had since been moved to the showroom where the team was preparing wardrobe.

Luckily, Penelope had already done most of Gemma’s adjustments before the blizzard hit.
 
Two feet of snow piled onto Beauford with nearly just as much along the path towards New York.
 
Everyone was snowed in and school was canceled for the second consecutive day.
 
Gemma and Mira watched the
snow fall
outside the window while Gavin seemed to shovel endlessly without any progress.

“Poor kid,”
Mira
said.
 
“If he doesn’t get past that front part of the driveway in ten minutes, I’m sending you out there to help.”

“
Me?
” Gemma sputtered. “Why me?”

“Because my poor arms have been through too many hours of
pilates
sculpting to lift a shovel right now.”

Gemma frowned and continued to watch Gavin, hoping for more progress.
 
He was comically bundled up in a down jacket that looked huge with two Beauford Warriors sweaters on underneath and a gray Gucci knit cap pulled over his eyebrows.
 
He suddenly stopped and threw his shovel aside with frustration, yelling something.

“What’s that boy saying?” Mira asked, leaning towards the window.
 
“Looks like it’s your turn, Gemma.”

“Really?” Gemma pouted.

They watched Gavin as he turned towards Lucas’s house.
 
Mira cracked open the window so that his muffled cries became clearer.

“
Snowblower
!” he yelled.
 
“Give me your damn
snowblower
!”

Out of the mist of snow, Lucas seemed to appear magically.
 
He pushed the
snowblower
down the sidewalk and onto their driveway.
 
Both Gemma and Mira laughed at the sight of him, bundled up like Gavin in a North Face jacket and multiple scarves.

“Oh so that’s how good suburbanites do it,” Mira mused.

Once the two boys successfully cleared the driveway, Mira insisted they both come inside for her homemade
chai
.
 
She boiled spices and milk as the boys tried to warm themselves on the couch.
 
Gavin sat on one end, wearing a pinstriped Yankees
Snuggie
.

“Do you need me to hold you Lucas?” he asked.
 
Lucas laughed, inching away from Gavin and towards Gemma.
 
Gemma tensed.

“No thanks.”

“Gavin!” Mira shouted from the kitchen.
 
“What have I told you about making guests feel uncomfortable in our home?”
 
She brought out a tray of three piping hot mugs.
 
Gavin was in the midst of answering her but opted to grab a mug and slurp his
chai
instead.

“Thanks, Aunt Mira.
 
Don’t you have one for yourself?” Gemma asked as she reached for the tray.
 
She took a mug and handed it to Lucas without making eye contact.

“No, I’ll reward myself with one later.
 
I need to make some calls regarding one of my
clients
upstairs,” she winked at Gemma. “But you kids have fun.”

Once Mira was gone, the room was silent aside from Gavin’s slurping sounds.
 
He clearly had no intention of starting any conversation.
 
Gemma’s pulse raced as she tried to think of an appropriate way to break the silence.

“Gavin,” Lucas suddenly said.
 
Gemma let out a silent sigh of relief. “Do you know where you want to go yet?”

Gavin chugged his
chai
and slammed down an empty mug.
 
Lucas grimaced. “I don’t know.
 
I don’t really care, I just know I want to keep playing ball,” Gavin answered.
 
He peered into Lucas’s mug.
 
“How are you drinking that so slowly?”

“It’s kind of scalding hot,” Gemma interjected.

“Right?” Lucas looked over at Gemma, as if he suddenly had permission.
 
He laughed, seemingly relieved to be able to say something to her.

Gemma nervously averted her gaze to notice Gavin grabbing Lucas’s mug off the tray and bringing it to his lips. “Oh no, Lucas he’s – ” she failed in her attempt to warn Lucas and he turned to see his
chai
gone, already washed down Gavin’s throat.

“Not cool, I just helped you clear your driveway,” Lucas said, suppressing his amusement.

“Aw man, that hit the spot,” Gavin said, punctuating his remark with a belch. “I’m sleepy.”

“That’s because you just guzzled a liter of warm milk,” Gemma said.
 
She handed her mug to Lucas.
 
“You can have mine if you still have an appetite after what we just witnessed.”

“Thanks,” Lucas accepted, keeping his eyes on hers.
 
Gavin stretched out on the sectional, bundling himself in the
Snuggie
and resting his head on Lucas’s lap.

“You don’t mind, right?”

“Come on, man, don’t you ever stop with this?” Lucas moved away laughing.
 
He tucked a cushion underneath Gavin’s head for comfort.

“Aw,” Gavin cooed, fluffing the pillow.
 
“I knew you still loved me.”
 
He stretched, his long body taking up an alarming amount of space on the couch.
 
Lucas continued to inch away until he was thigh to thigh with Gemma.
 
Within moments, Gavin was breathing steadily, sound asleep.

“Wow,” Lucas said under his breath.
 
“He really has a talent for that.”

“What?” Gemma asked.
 
“Living the life of a spoiled housecat?”

“Exactly!” Lucas whispered.
 
Gemma smiled at his sincere amazement.

“Thanks for helping us finish the driveway, by the way,” she said. “Aunt Mira was two seconds away from making me go out there and help.”

“Oh no, not
that
,” Lucas said dramatically.

Gemma laughed, grateful that he was joking around with her again.
 
“Shut up,” she said. “I owe you one, okay?”

“You always say that.”

Gavin stirred on the couch, kicking his feet like a child.
 
Lucas and Gemma jumped.

“Maybe we should move downstairs so we don’t wake him.
 
He gets surprisingly cranky,” Gemma said in a hushed tone as she got up from the couch.

“Surprisingly?” Lucas questioned.
 
Gemma laughed.
 
“But uh, maybe I should just head home.”

“You don’t have to!” Gemma whispered, her desperation surprising even herself.
 
Lucas, however, didn’t seem to notice.
 
“You haven’t even finished your
chai
.
 
Let’s just go downstairs.”

She led Lucas to the lower den.
 
It was decorated like an old log cabin with wooden walls, old family photos and a brick fireplace.
 
Mira had left a fire crackling from the afternoon.
 
The couch was smaller and undeniably cozy seating for two.
 
Okay, what was I thinking?
Gemma
asked herself.

“Wow, it’s really nice down here,” Lucas said, touching the warm fleece
throw
on the couch.
 
“I guess Gavin never hangs out in this room. I’ve never seen it before.”

“Yeah, there’s not really enough space for him to sit comfortably.”

“That’s because he doesn’t know how to sit like a civilized person,” Lucas joked, plopping himself down on one side of the couch.
 
He looked at Gemma expectantly.
 
Gemma approached the seat, hoping Lucas wouldn’t notice her hands trembling.
 
And sweating.
 
Attractive,
she told herself
.
 
She leaned as far from Lucas as she could but it still only left a mere two inches between them.
 
“It was really nice of you and Madison to give the Queen Bee tickets to Elisa.
 
I’ve been meaning to thank you for that.”