Etoile (The Mannequin Series) (17 page)

Elodie was too dizzy to protest when Tyler grabbed her hand to drag her outside. As they were leaving, she heard pseudo-James call out in a confused tone, “Wait, you were married?”

Twenty-two

“What did I ever do to deserve this?” Tyler whined as he hitched the limp girl's body higher up on his back.

Charlie laughed and took a photo of the humorous sight on his phone as they trudged along rue du Faubourg St. Honoré, slowly making their way back to Soren's studio. Heddi gripped her bottle of Voss water as if her life depended on it as she followed along, fretting noisily about her aching feet.

Thanks to Tyler's lack of French skills compounded with his drunken state, he had told the taxi driver the wrong street name, and the four friends were now making the 7-block trek to the correct address on foot. Elodie had basically lost control of all motor skills while being allowed to seep in the backseat of the taxi, and Tyler was now tasked with carrying the girl on his back for the rest of the journey.

“Why do bad things happen to good people?” he complained loudly to no one in particular as filled taxis zoomed past them in the opposite direction.

“I think we have different ideas about what constitutes a good person, bro,” Charlie muttered jokingly as he passed Heddi a cigarette.

Tyler stopped and spun around to glare at his friend, cocking his head towards Elodie's sleeping form. “Shh!” he hissed out as he began walking again.

Heddi hiccuped loudly as she shot Tyler a teasing smile. “Tyler,” she began in what she believed to be a whisper. “Do you like my Elodie?”

“Nope!” he declared as he continued to stare straight ahead.

Charlie snorted loudly. “Uh-huh, okay.”

“I don't like 300-pound gorillas,” Tyler said simply as he stopped to push her falling body higher up on his back. “I'm going to get scoliosis from this shit.”

“Because I am on your side, you know,” Heddi told him as she exhaled a cloud of smoke.

Tyler looked at her suspiciously as he asked, “What do you mean?”

“Oh nothing,” Heddi replied in a playfully mocking tone. “It doesn't matter since, you know, you do not like gorillas anyway.”

“Tell me,” Tyler said in a serious tone as Charlie instructed them to turn onto the next street.

Heddi chose instead to give him a big smile and skipped faster to link arms with Charlie. Tyler grumbled something under his breath as they approached Soren's building.

Once inside the elevator, Charlie's phone vibrated and a sneaky smile crept onto his face as he checked the screen. “Caroline keeps calling,” he sang out as he shook his phone in front of Tyler's face.

Tyler ignored him and beckoned to his pocket instead. “Make yourself useful for once and get the keys out to open the door,” he instructed as the elevator dinged and the doors opened.

“So hurtful,” Charlie whimpered jokingly as he did as he was told. His phone continued to vibrate incessantly in his own pants pocket.

“What is the deal with her?” Heddi asked in annoyance as they entered the apartment, which was simply an empty room equipped sparingly with a bed, a sofa, a table and a television. “Such a fucking bitch.”

“I always liked you, Heddi,” Tyler told her as he backed up towards the bed and gently laid the lifeless girl down. At the sudden movement, Elodie moaned and squirmed before rolling over and sleeping again.

“She broke baby Tyler's heart,” Charlie divulged with a laugh as he dug through Soren's liquor collection and carried a few bottles over to the coffee table. Tyler sneered at him as he took a seat on the couch.

“Dude, what the fuck,” Tyler muttered with a peeved look on his face before quickly glancing over at Elodie on the bed. “It wasn't even anything.”

“Whatever,” Charlie said with a shrug as he opened a bottle of Jameson and poured out the clear liquid into three glasses.

Heddi plopped down on the other end of the couch and tilted her head inquisitively. “What happened?”

“I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours,” Tyler offered with a grin.

Before she could answer, the distinct buzzing noise came once again from deep within Charlie's pocket. “Dude, turn your phone off or something,” Tyler blurted out irritably.

“Hello?” Charlie answered the call distractedly, resting the phone between his ear and shoulder as he poured the remnants of Tyler's melted ice coffee into each of the glasses. Heddi choked back a gag. “Uh-huh. No, we're just drinking. Dude, I don't know, I'm not a map. Where are you guys? Oh. No. Uh-huh. Well, I'm leaving in like three hours, so whatever. No, I don't think so. Whatever, stop calling. You're going to make my phone die. Bye.”

“What did she want?” Heddi asked curiously as she lit a cigarette.

Charlie grabbed it out of her hand as he cocked his head in Tyler's direction with a stupid smile. “Drunk as hell. 'Oh my God, where's Tyler, oh my God, oh my God',” he imitated in an offensive falsetto as he exhaled a cloud of smoke.

Heddi let out a big laugh and shook her head in disbelief. “Caroline Matheson? Really? I'm dying to know what happened.”

“Whatever. That's old news. I hate girls like that,” Tyler muttered as he picked up one of the glasses. Heddi wrinkled her nose as Charlie passed her the other.

“So you like kind-hearted French blondes?” she teased as she set the glass back down on the table and lit another cigarette.

Tyler downed his drink and picked up the one that she had just discarded. “Shut your mouth, lady giant.”

“I think she likes you too,” Heddi told him pointedly as she took a long drag. “I can just tell.”

Though he didn't acknowledge her comment, the tips of Tyler's ears turned pink as he sipped from the drink in his hand.

“Can we quit it with the sappy shit and just drink,” Charlie interrupted obnoxiously as he refilled the two empty glasses on the table. “I didn't drag my ass all the way over here to have girl talk.”

And so the three proceeded to finish the majority of the bottle's contents until the faintest of chirping could be heard through the open window, signaling morning's imminent arrival. The entire time, Elodie slept off her drunken haze as her friends chatted boisterously a few feet away, discussing everything from which spa gave the best facials to which of their model friends had slept with which celebrities.

At half past six, Charlie got up from his spot on the floor and stretched his arms out dramatically, letting out a big yawn. “Come on, Heddi,” he called out as he offered her his hand. “We have to get to Gare du Nord by seven,” he told her, referring to the train station from which the Eurostar train would whisk them back to London.

Heddi grabbed his hand and leapt up, rubbing at the heavy bags that had formed under her eyes. She slowly walked over to the bed and kneeled down next to Elodie, who did not move a muscle from beneath the blanket. “Out cold,” she commented as she smoothed her friend's hair.

Rising back up, Heddi walked over to Tyler and gave him a hug. “Thanks for having us,” she told him as she let go and began following Charlie out the door. She gave Tyler a knowing smile before adding, “Here's some advice: Catch her while you can.”

Twenty-three

Elodie stirred awake to a warm breeze blowing against her cheek and the sound of cars passing by outside of the window. While slowly opening her tired lids, she made her best attempt to open her parched mouth to take a deep breath.

She moaned quietly as her eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight that spilled into the unfamiliar room. Where was she and what had happened last night? The last thing that she remembered was arriving at the nightclub and walking down a long series of stairs, though everything after that was a blur. But how did she get here?

It was only after rolling over that Tyler's sleeping face came into view. Too tired to react, Elodie simply stared at him, watching his eyelids occasionally twitch as his nostrils flared ever so slightly. She couldn't help but think that he looked like a little boy as he slept, and wondered what he was dreaming about.

Trying her best not to wake him, she gently lifted the blanket up and slinked out of bed, tip-toeing across the cool wooden floors, stopping ever-so-slightly each time a floorboard let out a groan. During her journey, she came to the realization that she was still quite drunk, finding it difficult to stand still after each sudden creak. After finally making it to the bathroom, she took a good look at herself in the mirror.

God, she looked like shit. Working quickly, she quietly rinsed her mouth and washed her face. After wiping the runny mascara stains from underneath her eyes, she checked her transformation in the mirror before silently making her way back to the bed, As she slipped under the covers, assuming her original position, Tyler's eyes sleepily fluttered open.

“You're awake,” he croaked out. Elodie pretended to stretch and yawn adorably as he squinted his eyes at her. “How do you not look like shit right now?”

“I am not you,” she whispered with a small smile as she turned onto her side to face him.

A lazy smirk appeared on his face as he reached out and pulled her closer. “You mean that?” he quietly challenged as he proceeded to rest his head on her pillow. His face loomed dangerously close to hers, and she held her breath as she felt the warm air from his nose on her cheek.

Elodie tried her best to focus her eyes as her lashes lost the fight against the blinding sunlight. How much had she drunk last night? Tyler gave a small laugh as he batted his lashes back at her before slowly running his hand under the loose fabric of her dress and up her thigh.

Her skin prickled sensitively as the pads of his fingers came into contact ever so lightly. Tyler took his time in inching his hand towards her bottom, at which point he slowly leaned in to kiss her. As he touched the tip of his nose to hers, she suddenly felt extremely self-conscious as he held her eyes for a brief moment.

Whenever he looked at her like that, she didn't know if she wanted to melt or explode. His hauntingly pale green eyes seemed translucent as the light reflected off of them, making her feel woozy as she stared deep into them. Before she could gather her thoughts, let alone consider the consequences, Elodie lunged for him. Though she had controlled herself for so long, she honestly couldn't fight it anymore.

She could smell the sharp scent of whiskey on his breath as he took her mouth in his, and she let out a small moan as she felt his warm tongue pressing softly against her own. Giving in to her longing, she pushed her body towards his, falling into his arms as she began to kiss him back more passionately.

Whenever she kissed Tyler, everything felt so right, yet so wrong at the same time. A sense of desperation filled the air as she tried to have as much contact with his warm body as she possibly could. Picking up on this urgency, Tyler grabbed roughly at her ass with both hands and began probing deeper into her mouth. He tasted of coffee and metal, and Elodie couldn't get enough. She wrapped her arms around his neck and grabbed his hair in between her fingers as he let out small moans of approval. Their kisses grew more intense and Tyler slowly rolled her onto her back, with one hand tugging lightly at her hair as the other ventured under her dress.

Her bent knees knocked together in the air in anticipation as she grew more excited by his touch. Elodie sharply gasped as he shoved one of them down to the side, holding her thigh against the bed as his hand slowly moved up tauntingly before slipping under the thin fabric of her panties. Knowing just how to turn her on, Tyler grabbed at her crotch and began to massage her softly, causing her to break away from his mouth as she lost her breath. Her eyes fluttered upwards as he began to leave a trail of kisses from her collarbone and up her neck, passionately nibbling at her ear as he continued to fondle her.

Elodie could feel herself getting wet with excitement, and Tyler looked up to give her his signature smirk of boyish mischief. He lifted the flowy skirt of her dress at an excruciating pace, drawing the smooth fabric across her torso as she sat up and raised her arms so that he could fling it off of her body. She leaned forward and pushed him onto his back, doing the same to remove his tee shirt as his bulge grew visible in his boxer briefs.

Biting her lip in what she hoped was a seductive way, Elodie pounced on him as her hair swayed wildly above his perfect chest. Pushing the hair out of her face and tucking it messily behind her ears for her, he gave a small laugh. “Hey,” he said quietly as she lowered her body onto his. His eyes searched hers for whatever response he was looking so deeply for. She suddenly felt very vulnerable, perched on his chest in her underwear, as she squeakily replied, “Hi.”

“I...” he started as he took a big gulp. He licked the edge of his lips lightly and let out a nervous laugh. Their faces were mere inches from each other as Elodie felt her stomach lurch. Scrunching up his face and donning a shy smile, he told her, “I really fucking like you.”

Elodie didn't move a single muscle as she attempted to process what he had just blurted out. She felt her pulse quicken as she subconsciously lifted herself away from him, unsure of how to respond. Tyler's eyes nervously darted around the room as he tried to amend the awkward situation.

“I mean, I'm not just fucking around with you,” he quickly added as he bolted up next to her. “I know I talk a lot of shit, but I meant it when I said I can't stop thinking about you. You're different. There's something about you. I'm not just spewing out bullshit, either.”

“Um, I...” she attempted, shaking her head slightly. Where was this confession coming from? She had always had a tiny crush on Tyler, but she had thought that everything with him had just been for fun. He wasn't the type of boy to actually have feelings, or so she had thought. “I... don't...”

“Can you at least say that you think of me even once in a while so I don't feel like such an ass?”

She suddenly felt dizzy and disoriented as she swiftly turned to look at him, only to be met with a sad, lopsided smile. The cocky and arrogant male supermodel had been replaced by a hopeful little boy, waiting on her every word. Her brain was soon flooded by a million racing thoughts, all of which were screaming at her at the same time.

Why was he telling her this? Why now? Was this a joke? Did he not remember about how she had told him that she was seeing someone? Guilt overwhelmed her as she thought of James and brought up mental images of her and Tyler in bed just a few minutes prior.

But what about James? She hardly knew him, and he hadn't even bothered to try and contact her in the past few days. Then again, she didn't know Tyler all that well, either. While James made her feel like a fairy tale princess, Tyler made her feel raw and passionate in ways that she never had before. Elodie shook her head again as she willed the ambivalent thoughts out of head. Her cheeks burned with shame and confusion as she dropped her gaze to her hands in her lap.

“I think I should go,” Elodie cautiously said at last.

She heard him let out a tired sigh as she rose from the bed, unable to bring her eyes to his figure. The tension in the room was tangible, and Elodie wanted to get out of there as fast as she could. She felt extremely self-conscious as she scooted over to where her dress lay, pulling it on as rapidly as her trembling hands allowed. After grabbing her bag and putting on her shoes, she nervously attempted a casual comment about how she would see him in a few hours at the airport, never once raising her head to glance at him.

This, of course, was quite unfortunate, for that one simple gesture could have changed the entire story.  For if she had taken a good look, she would have seen that Tyler, in fact, had not been joking, and that his pretty little green eyes were now rimmed with red.