X: Bare
MY HEART FELT LIKE IT WAS GOING TO POUND RIGHT OUT OF MY CHEST. I was sick with nerves, my palms sweaty and my fingers fidgety. Standing backstage with a microphone hooked onto the back of my designer pants and anxiously tapping my feet clad in heels, I was recounting the lines D.W. wrote for me.
Darcy Woods was the publicist God of the Upper East side. She was as ruthless as Zeus, as intelligent as Athena, and as feared by all as Nemesis.
And as a result of all her connections, D.W. was able to get me on the Good Morning Show, a comedic gossip talk show.
"Stay tuned," I heard the host, Jesse Lane say, "up next we have Sam Smith's newest video release and we'll be joined by Poppy White, New York City's newest heiress."
The producer cut the camera to a commercial break and the woman on the set sighed, finally letting the smile slip off her face. Jesse stood from the couch on skyscraper heels and dropped her cue cards onto the coffee table.
"Hair, makeup!" She shrieked and immediately a crew of four men and women rushed over with sponges and brushes and hairspray to touch up the already flawless woman.
"Live in sixty seconds!" The hostess rudely slapped the many hands off of her and smoothed down her blouse. Placing a sickly sweet smile on her lips, she crossed her legs and resumed her role as soon as the producer counted down to one.
"Welcome back to the Good Morning Show!" Jesse paused to allow the audience to applaud. "Let's give a warm welcome to Poppy White."
With shaky legs, I walked onto the set with a small smile frozen on my lips as the thunderous applause rang in my ears. The hostess raised and pulled me into a short embrace.
She gestured for me to take a seat next to her, "Poppy, you look fantastic!"
It was kind of ridiculous. Dressed in clothes I would have never bought for myself and my face and hair made up in a way I would have never been able to do, I looked like a different person told to memorize lines. I was playing a role just as much as the hostess of this stupid show.. "Thank you for having me."
"Now, I understand this your first public interview. How does it feel?"
"Oh," I said looking up shyly into the sea of people. "Pretty daunting, I'd say."
"You seem to be taking it in stride. Not just this but your entire new life. One day you woke up and you were a billionaire. What was your initial reaction?"
"I was..." I paused, not sure what to say. This question wasn't on the list Darcy had given me. Was I supposed to answer truthfully or like the person who hired a publicist to clean up their image would?
"Surprised," I finally said. "It was all very sudden and so soon after Mina's passing."
"Wilhelmina Richmond, you mean?" she said with a glimmer of interest. I nodded. "I know the case is closed and you can't reveal any juicy details, but did you anticipate to lose the trial?"
"The judge ruled in my favour. Really that's all there is to say, " I said reciting my pre-rehearsed answer.
She gave me a mock flirty wink, "Touché. Fine then let's talk about the dress you wore to the Wilhelmina Richmond Foundation gala. I didn't think it was possible, but you might have worn it better than J-Law!"
The dumb, mindless commentary continued, and each time I responded like Darcy and Felicity had prepped me to. That is, until the end.
"I have to ask, of course I have to! Everyone has been drying to know: are you and Cole Richmond an item?"
I opened my mouth to reply but Jesse beat me to it. "Find out the answer after a short commercial break!"
The theme song played in the studio and I sighed in relief once the camera was no longer trained on me.
"Relax, you're doing fine." I looked up at Jesse and was surprised by her gentle tone.
She gave me a conspiring wink before turning with a glare to the crew screaming, "Hair, makeup!"
I cringed at her shrill screech. Back was the diva everyone knows, all the softness of her face and tone gone.
A few moments later, we went live again with the producer's signal.
"I've just been informed that you are trending on Twitter right this second! Let's see some of those Pweets, shall we?" The screen behind us lit up with tweet after tweet of women of all ages tagging my name and The Good Morning Show.
YES! Finally! Poppy and Cole! #GMS
#POLE <3 #GMS
Hurry up commercials -.- #GMS #Pole
The list went on and one, and with each tweet I read I began to get more and more nervous.
"Well?" Jesse said with raised eyebrows. "Are you and Cole Richmond dating?"
I blushed and forced a laugh. "No, of course not."
"Hmm but you two have been spotted getting awfully cozy a couple times in the past few months. A million teenage hearts broke when we saw that picture of you guys kissing in Times Square. And let's not forget that steamy photo at the gala. Are you unofficially official?"
"No, nothing like that. We are definitely not together."
Jesse's comical look of disbelief sent the audience into a fit of giggles. "Well if you say so! Alright, are there any questions in the audience for our lovely guest?"
One girl was handed a microphone and after giggling with her friend asked, "How do Cole Richmond's lips taste?"
It's safe to say I turned bright pink. Trying hard not to laugh, I looked straight at the camera with a smile just for Cole, "Like vodka shots and gummy bears. "
The studio erupted in pandemonium, and one look at the slack jaw of my publicist was enough to know that I shouldn't have said that. But it was my own little revenge against him for touching my bum in public.
"Whoo!" Jesse said fanning herself with her cue cards, "Alright then, let's move on to the next question. But keep it P-G ok?"
The audience laughed before a voice I could have recognized anywhere was heard. "Would you ever forgive me?"
My head sprang up to eye the man dressed in an old pair of Levi's with his unruly red hair brushed back. He offered me a small smile and watched the blood drain out of my face with hopeful eyes.
Standing there before me holding the microphone was my father.
AS SOON AS JESSE REALIZED I WASN'T COMPOSED ENOUGH TO ANSWER, she cut to commercial break and I sprung up to my feet. Running as fast as my heel-clad feet could carry me, I rushed past the set and out two back doors into the rainy streets.
Hailing a cab, I jumped inside and shivered in my soaked clothes.
"Where to, miss?"
I paused, and after some thought I gave the driver the address of a place I never would have thought I'd return to for refuge.
I KNOCKED TWICE. No answer. Just as I was about to walk away though, the door swung open to reveal a groggy, shirt-less Cole.
"Poppy?" His eyes took in my appearance and without a word stepped away from the door to let me through.
"Thanks," I murmured under my breath. I looked down at my feet and hugged myself to keep warm.
"What happened?" I stayed silent, locking my jaw and shivering. "Hey...?"
His hand sought mine and pulled me to him. I crashed into his warm chest and clutched him tight. He didn't even flinch at my ice-cold touch, just held me as I broke down.
He walked backwards with me still in his arms, and we stumbled into his bedroom. A towel was drapped over my head and gently he squeezed out the water of my dripping-wet hair.
His hands slid down my waist and raised my shirt off. His bare skin met mine and it wasn't entirely seductive. It was...comforting somehow.
An oversized shirt was placed around my neck, and after his warm hands freed the clasp of my navy blue bra, I pushed my arms through the holes.
His eyes, as cool and cold as my skin, never left mine as he lead me backwards onto the bed. I kicked the heels off and gripping my waist, Cole inched me up to lay my head on the mountain of soft, feather pillows.
His body lay on top of mine, the heat of his hands trailing down to my waistband leaving goosebumps in its wake. Then, ever so gently, he tugged my pants down my legs.
It was strange. No man had ever taken his time to strip me like this only to just cover me in an oversized jersey and a duvet up to my shoulders.
Cole said nothing, did nothing, except hold me to him. And as his heat warmed my body and his touch soothed my heart, my eyelids drifted shut.
I FELT SO RELAXED. It was one of those moments when your body feels sore and stiff from so much rest, and it's been far too long since I have had such a restless sleep.
Remembering where I was, a small smile spread on my lips. Cole had been very kind to me, and even though he has at one time seen me naked, I never felt as bare and exposed then as I did when he gently slipped a shirt down my torso.
Stretching one had to roamed the bed beside me, and finding only a fistful of sheets, my eyes flew open. The room was dark, the blanket of dusk settling over the city, and I could see the big, yellow moon through the windows, its light casting shadows on the floor.
Sitting up, I threw the sheets aside and stood to wander into the hallway. Following the archway, and spotting a distance away the promise of light, I paused when I heard Cole's muffled voice coming from the slightly ajar door beside me. Peering inside, my eyes made out his figure in the darkness.
"We didn't agreed on this! You never told me you were going to go off and—" Cole paused and sighed. "Yes, fine. But we're not done talking about this, mother."
Cole threw the phone down with a slam and leaned against the wall covering his face. "Shit," I heard him murmur in a voice above a whisper, "what the hell am I freaking doing?"
I cleared my throat and knocked awkwardly. He righted himself and turned to me with a smile. "Hey. Sorry, just making a call. How long've you been up?"
"Not long," I said quietly, suddenly embarrassed of my behaviour showing up here unannounced.
"You hungry? I rang for takeout." I shyly nodded and followed behind him to the kitchen. Plopping down on a stool, I watched him take containers out of a big paper bag. He was still shirtless, and as he got to work on the food I couldn't help but stare. His back was turned to me, and I was free to watch his muscles ripple with the movement, the curve of his spine, and the definition of his shoulder blades.
"Bon appétit!" he said presenting me with a platter of pasta, a big, goofy smile shaping his lips. I laughed a little and reached for the plate. Picking up the fork he'd stuck into the small mountain of pasta, I twirled it with two hands, twisting the strands into my fork. Opening wide, I stuck my fork in my mouth and groaned when the sauce met my taste buds.
Cole sat beside me and laughed at my expression of content. I spotted the bag full of garlic bread and eagerly reached for a slice.
"I haven't seen an Upper East girl eat bread since Elle went on a diet to fit into her wedding dress."
I rolled my eyes at him and swallowed. "Maybe because I'm not an Upper East girl."
"You are now."
My shoulders deflated and I sighed sadly looking down into my plate. "I suppose so."
I heard the clatter of a fork meeting china before I felt his hand tip my chin up to look at him. "I heard what happened."
I looked deep into his eyes and saw reflected in the starling ice-blue irises sincerity and sympathy. "I'm so sorry, Poppy."
I lightly touched his wrist and pulled his hand away. "I'm sorry, too."
"What for?" I twisted his hand within my own and gave it a squeeze before looking up at him shyly. "For Mina. I never got a chance to give my condolences. She was a beautiful human being."
I watched his jaw clench. He moved his hand, and when I thought he was going to pull away, Cole surprised me by squeezing back. "Yeah, she was."
"You remind me of her, you know?" I said after a second.
"No," he said looking away, his face set in stone. "I'm nothing like her. She was...I'll never be half the grandson she deserved."
"Don't say that," I said reaching out. I hesitated with my hand a millimeter away from his face before taking a risk that made butterflies flutter in my belly. "What you did for me earlier...Cole, you're a good person, too."
He shook his head and leaned forward to press his forehead on my naked shoulder. My skin where the shirt had slipped tingled at his touch but I didn't dare move. "You're wrong," he whispered, the vibrations of his voice tickling my neck. "God, you're so wrong."
We stayed like that for some time, quiet and consumed by our thoughts. When he finally pulled away to look into my eyes. He opened his mouth to say something when his phone vibrated on the granite countertop. He apologized and turned it over to read a message.
When his eyes met mine again, they were stoic and defiant like before. Gone was the emotion and the softness. "You owe me, Poppy White."
"What do I owe you?"
"A date." he said with his patented dimpled smirk.
"Oh," I said fighting the smile on my lips.
"You bailed on me the other night. Now I have to make this one even better than the last."
I stayed quiet and bit down on my lip. I couldn't understand why he was so taken with me. What was so special about me that none of this past supermodel actress girlfriends didn't have?
"Will you let me take you out tomorrow, Poppy?"
I looked up and with uncertain eyes.
"Okay."
A/N: Late and unedited as always. Sorry guys, I suck for not uploading more often but I'm trying my best.