Ch3B - edited

THREE
2nd half of the chapter

In time they found themselves out on the inside corridor and sat against the wall in silence. They stared at the blue wall that faced them. Gwen rubbed Krim’s thigh. Then Krim stood and extended a hand, “let me show you something.”

A twitch of an eyebrow was her only response. She clasped his hand in hers and let him pull her up.

They went up the elevator and through a corridor to a silver steel door. He slid his card into a slit on the wall and push the door open. A series of ceiling lights clicked on, one after another, illuminating a metal stair case at the end of the narrow hall. He led her up crisscrossing flights of stairs.

At the top was another steel door. Again he slid his card in into another slit and pushed through the door and stepped out onto the roof. She followed suit. The city seemed candle lit from here.

“How about a proper view?”

“This is something.”

“This is isn’t what I had in mind.” He glanced over at a path lit up by two lines of white lines – as if it were a runway. He nodded with a devilish smirk to the end of the path at a darkened helicopter.

“Come.”

She followed him down the path. The glass door slid up and he stepped aside. She entered first. The door lowered. She noticed the floor was unnaturally smooth as glass on her shoes. The lights inside dimmed. The machine murmured softly. She felt a vibration under her feet. When she looked out the window and she saw it lift of the pavement.

“So it’s true what they say then,” she said as the entire rooftop came into focus.

“What is that?”

“That flying is like sex to you people.”

“Something like that. What do you mean ‘you people’?”

She turned to him, “rich and naïve enough to think you have the world figured out.” Then she noticed a black tablet in his hands and his thumb streak across it. “what’s that?”

“This,” he said looking down at the tablet, “is what got the thing you’re in off the ground.” He looked up.

Her eyes gave her surprise away and she did not try to fight it. She pointed to where the pilot normally would be, “No one’s flying it?”

“Gwen, I’m flying it. Actually.” He held up the tablet for her to see. The screen showed thin blue lined graphs and menus and a radar tucked in a corner.

“Okay I’m impressed, Krim.”

“Don’t so easy, Gwen,” he said with a scoff and twirled a thumb on the screen.

“That so?”

“Look down,” he instructed.

The lights inside were now off. The dark of the floor fizzled and dissolved away like television static in the matter of a few seconds and revealed clear glass. Her face did not reflect in it as the case is with windows and night. Pipes and tubes were tucked into the edges of the machine. Lights outside the helicopter turned on, illuminating the city below, and she could see the entire city below.

“The effect is static regression. The dissolving thing.”

“Right. What is all this?” She still hadn’t bothered to look up at him.

“You know the people you met?”

“Yes.”

“The glass regression made them all very, very wealthy.”

“Uh huh.”

Suddenly, the helicopter dropped for one split second. Gwen gasped and jumped back. She looked at Krim and saw him smirk at her. Their eyes locked.

“Good way to get your attention, no?”

She was silent for a moment, then “so is this how you will your ladies?”

“Technically – this, “ he rolled his eyes at their surroundings, “doesn’t exist. The glass color fade part – yes. Flying a helicopter from a tablet – no. This,” he shook the tablet just enough to bring her eyes to it, “didn’t get government clearance. I suspect it pissed off a union or two.”

“Well, that is certainly very unlike you. I think you gave new meaning to the phrase pulling out all the stops, too, by the way.”

“Imagine if I tried.”

She chuckled, “Really?” She leaned closer to him. “It must be terrible to be you,” she said.

“Why is that?”

“All this and you’re still going home alone.”

He moved in toward her until their lips were inches from one another.

“What would you do if I kissed you.”

“You would never see me again.”

“And if that is my plan?”

“It isn’t.”

“Give the fiancé my regards,” he backed away.

“I won’t.”

After some time, they were back in the black sedan, sitting at opposite ends of the backseat as the car drove through downtown Manhattan returning to Gwen’s hotel. Red break lights came up and Gwen stepped out unto the sidewalk. Krim walked around the car over to her. They hugged - her green eyes nearly level to his brown eyes.

She kissed him on the cheek and put her hand on his chest, “It was good seeing you again, but this is as far as you go tonight, darling.”

”You don’t trust me?” he asked looking past her at the protruding, circular doors of the hotel.

“You know I don’t.”

“Well, I take what I can get,” he said at almost a half-whisper with a smirk as he set his eyes back on her.

“Precisely the reason.”

“Hypocrite,” he whispered.

She smiled. “I have a book premiere this Tuesday in Paris, if you want to come.”

“Paris is a big city.”

“You’re clearly resourceful,” she squinted, “I’m sure you’ll manage. Good night for now.”

Gwen started to walk down the sidewalk. She turned around as he opened the car door, “Hey! You're terrible at Karaoke, by the way. Love the shirt, though!”

She spun around and walked to the door. The doorman opened the front door for her and she disappeared inside.

####

Inside her suite, she shut the door and untied her hair. She dropped her purse on a chair - as if it was something trival and to be forgotten - on her way to the bedroom. Gwen walked over to her closet and took off her shoes, gently tossing them in the closet. They landed among her many heels.

She unzipped her skirt and let it slide down – wrinkling as it landed on the Oriental rug. She stepped over it, picked it up and tossed on top of the cherry colored wooden dresser. She took off her top and plopped it over the skirt. She took a white tank top from one of the dresser drawers and grabbed a glass that was next to the pile of clothes.

She walked into the bathroom in her bra and panties with the tank top in her palm and the glass held between the middle and index fingers. There was something about the pads of her feet pressing against the cold white tiles that made her feel alive and energized. She filled the glass from the faucet and pulled out a prescription bottle of Zoloft from the mirror cabinet. She popped a couple pills and washed them down with water.

The bottle went back inside and she saw herself in the mirror. Her face framed by loose brown curls that swept over her shoulders and cascaded down her bare back. Her palms pressed down against the sink as she leaned to study her reflection. She flung her hair over her right shoulder. Her eyes drifted down to the edges of a red and black tattoo in the mirror.

She lifted her left arm over her head and exposed a number of roses vertically aligned along her left ribcage. She ran the pads of her fingers slowly down the length of the tattoo - pressing firmly against the roses. A look of pride – yet of profound sadness – resonated in the green sparkle of her eyes. She put on the tank top and pulled her hair out from underneath it. Walking out of the bathroom she turned off the light and picked up the cordless phone as she passed through the living room.

Inside her bedroom, Gwen took off her engagement ring and placed it on the nightstand by her head. Turning the phone on, she pressed a series of numbers as if they were second nature to her.

“Allo.” A gloomy French accent answered.

“Gerard, hi. Did I wake you?”

“No, no Cheri.” His sigh told her he wasn't too happy about her call.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Vous sont comment, Gwen?”

“Good, good.” She heard muffled sounds in the background. “Are you busy, honey?”

“No. Just a moment, Gwen.”

“Sure.” She sat up, leaning against the head rest and listened as Gerard's voice, now in the distance, joined the other voice in an undistinguishable dialogue.

Gerard returned to the phone. “Sorry about that. Foreign maids, you know. So do you need anything?”

“No. Just thought to say hi. Wish you were here.”

“Yeah absolutely. Wonderful to hear from you. Are you liking New York?”

“It’s good. Ran into someone...”

“Très bon. Gwen, I have to go. We’re getting ready for your book premiere here. But I want to hear everything when you arrive back in Paris.”

“Oh, yeah, go. I’ll see you on Monday.”

“Oui, enjoy Manhattan. Go out. Have fun.”

“I will.”

“Ok. Bye for now, mon amour.”

“Bye.” She replied to the sound of a phone hanging up.

She put the phone down beside her and put her arms around her legs. She nestled her chin on her kneecaps for a bit – staring into the darkness of the room. She sighed and put the phone on the nightstand and grabbed the ring. She slid it back onto her finger and laid back into the bed. Her eyes welled up as she stared at her ring.

The phone rang, bringing her back. She wiped her eyes, as if the other end of the line could see her, and grabbed the phone, .

“Hello.” Her voice was shaky but she held herself.

“Ms. Levieva, this is the front desk. I have a message for you. Should I bring it up to you…”

“Yes. Please do so.”

“Very well. I will send someone up.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Have a good night.”

“You too.” She looked at the clock on her night stand. 2:45 AM. Why did she just agree to take a message at three in the morning? Was she really willing to sacrifice precious sleep just to be with someone at this hour? Anyone? For however short of a time? The message would still be there in the morning. She could just call and rescind.

Instead she got out of bed and walked over to her closet. She put on a pair of light blue shorts and went into the living room. She grabbed her purse and took out a fifty dollar bill and left it on the coffee table. At three in the morning it wasn’t too much. She sat down on the same armchair and flipped through Harper's. She wasn’t reading anything, but the flipping of the pages seemed to wake her.

There was a knock on the door. She ran her hands over her face – wiping her eyes and answered the door.

“Ms. Levieva. This is for you.” The bellhop handed her a piece folded manila paper.

“Thank you.” She looked down at the coarse paper and became lost as her fingertips felt the ruffles of the paper.

“You’re welcome. Good night.”

“Actually, can you wait just a second?” She came back to.

“Absolutely, Ms. Levieva.”

She stepped back inside and grabbed the fifty dollar bill from the table. She handed it to him.

“Thank you. Good night.”

“You too.”

The bellhop turned away and walked down the hall to the elevator. She closed the door and opened up the paper.
Sweet dreams

PS your shirt wasn't bad, either.

What an ass. She smiled and returned to her bedroom. She put the paper down on the nightstand. Once back in bed, she pulled the white satin cover over her shoulders and closed her eyes.

Thank you for reading!!!

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CH4A  (E) Krim follows Gwen to Europe. #1676098 by Wrath.of.Khan

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