Dancing in the Gray (9 page)

“What’s in the bag, Elise?”

“It’s just a note from Trey about
tonight.” Trey had no idea what kind of door he was opening with
that request.

“So, you are seeing him again tonight!
Fabulous!”

“Yes. Tonight is the Foo Fighter’s
concert. He told me the tickets have been sold out for months. They
must have cost you guys a fortune. I cannot tell you how much I
appreciate everything you and Ash have done.”

“Oh honey, you are so
welcome.”

“Have you guys checked on my mom?”
Elise always worried when she was away. “I called her when I got
here and before I left for skating yesterday.”

“Yes, we have. I am going to drive to
D.C. around noon and stay with her for the weekend.”

“Thank you so much, Jeremy! You can
crash at my townhome if you don’t want to actually stay with her.”
Both Ashley and Jeremy had keys to her two homes and her
car.

“I just might do that. I’ll take her
shopping and out to eat. We’ll make a weekend out of it. Please
don’t worry about her. If anything happens, I will let you
know.”

“Thanks Jeremy. And make sure Ashley
doesn’t have that baby until I get back.”

“Will do, Love! I may be calling for a
report at the same time tomorrow. Have a blast at the
concert.”

“Oh, I will!” That was a given, now
that Fun Elise was back.

Chapter 7

Jessie looked beautiful, Will looked
happy, and Trey felt empty. He couldn’t stop thinking of
Elise.

The wedding was quick, and with the
help of the American Embassy and the French Authorities, they were
able to clear out the area where Will proposed to Jessie. They
stood in the same spot where they got engaged and were able to take
their vows.

Once the ceremony was over, the wedding
party boarded a yacht where the reception would be held. The yacht
cruised the Seine River while they celebrated with the newlyweds.
It was an enchanting afternoon that Will created for Jessie, and
Trey couldn’t be happier for the two of them.

Even though Trey was surrounded by
loved ones, he felt alone. He went outside to the deck of the boat
and watched as the yacht brought them past many of Paris’
monuments. It was truly a beautiful city, and he could see how
Elise fell in love with it.

“Trey, are you ok?” Will came up behind
him and patted him on the back.

Trey turned around and shook his
brother’s hand. “Congratulations, William. Jessie looks so
beautiful. You guys bring out the best in each other.” Will brought
Trey in for a hug.

“Thanks, Trey.” Will patted him on the
back. “You can’t stop thinking about her, right?”

Trey looked over at Will with a puzzled
look. “Who?” Trey tried to play it off, but ended up breaking into
a huge grin and shaking his head.

“Dude! You can’t bullshit a
bullshiter!” Will was pointing to himself as he smiled at
Trey.

“Ok, you’re right! I can’t stop
thinking about her!” Trey turned back around to look out over the
water and to hide the ridiculous smile that he couldn’t
control.

“Last night was that good, huh?” Will
was raising his eyebrows waiting for an answer.

“It was pretty fucking good!” Trey
continued to look out over the water as he was nodding his head
involuntarily. “Actually, it was amazing. I owe you BIG TIME for
convincing me to go meet her.” Trey looked over at his brother who
was now mirroring him by leaning on the railing and looking out
over the water.

“So what DID you guys do last night?
Besides getting trashed on tequila and screwing like
rabbits.”

“A few minutes after you guys dropped
me off at the midway point, all the skaters showed up. I was
looking for her, and she ended up spotting me. She was heading in
my direction when some asshole knocked her down and nearly rolled
over her.”

“Was she hurt?” Will looked up with
concern.

“She scratched up her knee and hand
pretty badly. So, I got some supplies from the medic to bandage her
up. After that, her night of roller skating was over, so I told her
I would take her where ever she wanted to go.”

“Where’d you go?”

“A night club called Le
Showcase.”

“You, Mr. Serious, went to a fucking
night club! She must be smokin’ hot!” Will was shaking his head in
disbelief.

“She is smokin’ hot, and honestly, I
had a lot of fun. She’s fun to be around.”

“Who are you?” Will’s eyes were bugging
out of his head.

“What! So I can’t have fun?”

“It’s not that. I’m glad to hear that
you had fun. And, I owe you a big I TOLD YOU SO! Now, I don’t know
what your definition of fun is, but the fact that the word has
returned to your dictionary pleases me.”

“I’m glad, too.”

“Ok, let me do the brother thing really
quickly, and then I’ll drop it. But, are you sure she’s not some
kind of gold digger or fame whore?”

Trey appreciated Will’s intentions,
“I’m positive. Her name is Elise DePaul. She owns a cosmetic
company that is going through a buyout where she will profit over
$100 million dollars. I actually read about her deal in Forbes
before I met her.”

“Wow! Looks like you got yourself a
sugar momma!” Will held his hand out for a fist bump. Trey smiled
and bumped his brother’s hand, “Are you going to see her
again?”

“Yes. Tonight’s the concert.” He
couldn’t wait.

“That’s right! What time are you
meeting her?”

“I have no idea. I don’t have her phone
number. She is staying at our hotel, but I don’t know which room.
The only way I can get a message to her is through the front desk.”
Trey wanted to exchange numbers this morning, but when he woke up,
she was already gone.

“Ok, under normal circumstances I would
NEVER suggest this, but since I see how happy you are when you talk
about her, why don’t you get the security team to pull her room
number. You know they must have a list of all the guests staying
there. It’s part of Dad’s security SOP’s.”

“I’m not doing that. If she wanted me
to know, she would have told me.”

“It’s just a thought, just in case you
get in pinch.”

“Thanks for the talk and for knocking
some sense into me last night.” Trey extended his hand for another
handshake, “I am truly happy for you, Will.”

“Anytime, bro!” Will patted Trey on the
back and headed back towards Jessie.

Trey was turning his attention back to
the water when he felt a hand on his back. “Hey, Love.” It was his
mom, Rebecca.

Trey leaned over and kissed his mother
on her cheek. “Hey, Mom. I’m sorry we were running a little behind
schedule this morning. I wanted to tell you that you looked
spectacular, but the hustle and bustle began as soon as we
arrived.”

“Well, thank you darling. And, you,”
Rebecca grabbed his chin and tilted his face left and right, “you
are not shaved and your hair is a mess. I like it!”

Trey laughed. Leave it to his mother,
and her very biased opinion. “Well, I was running late, but I’m
glad that my stylist approves.” Trey winked at his mom.

“So, I have noticed that there is
something going on in that brilliant mind of yours. You weren’t all
there at the restaurant last night, and you seemed out of sorts
today. What’s going on?” Rebecca was very attentive when it came to
her family. Trey was surprised that it took this long for her to
ask. “And don’t tell me nothing’s wrong or that something isn’t on
your mind.”

“Well, last night I did have someone on
my mind, and I guess today the same someone is still on my mind.”
Trey looked over to the bank of the river. He didn’t have these
kinds of conversations with his mother.

“So you met someone?” He heard the
smile in her voice which caused him to roll his eyes.

“Yes. I’m sorry for being somewhat
absent for dinner last night, but I was just thinking about her. I
met her on the plane, and she invited me to hang out with her while
she was here in Paris. I wasn’t going to, but Will convinced me to
go once we left the restaurant. I had a really nice time.” That was
as detailed as he was going to get with his mother about his wild
night with Elise.

“Darling, don’t apologize. I’m just
happy to hear that you enjoyed your time with her. So, who is she,
and what does she do?” Rebecca wrapped her arm around Trey’s and
pulled him so he was facing her.

Trey looked over at his mother and a
huge uncontrollable smile crossed his face which she, of course,
noticed and responded with her own beautiful smile. Trey took a
deep breath, “Her name is Elise and she owns a cosmetic
company.”

“Go on.” Rebecca was trying to hold
back her joy, but Trey saw right through her serious
face.

“She called you Jackie O. 2.0.” Trey
chuckled under his breath.

Rebecca unleashed a huge smile with
that comment. “Well, I love her already! So tell me, are you
talking about Elise DePaul?”

“Yes, how did you know?” His mom was
now entering a psychic realm with her intuition.

“Darling, I’ve been her customer for
years. When you say the name Elise and cosmetics, there is only one
person who comes to mind. It’s like saying Calvin and underwear –
there’s only one. Before you could buy it in the department stores,
she had a very posh clientele in New York. I was one of them. Her
line is fabulous.” Trey felt a sense of pride for Elise. He trusted
that his mom knew what she was talking about, and he was sure Elise
would love to know that his mom is a loyal client. “She is a very
beautiful girl. I’ve seen her a few times at events and at a few
shows. So, will you be seeing her again?”

“Yes, tonight. She invited me to a
concert.” Trey couldn’t wait to see her.

“Great! I hope you enjoy yourself
tonight.” Rebecca wrapped her arms around him and hugged him
tightly. “And Trey, don’t overthink it. Just enjoy your time
together.” Rebecca squeezed his arm as she walked passed him to the
bride and groom who were about to cut the cake.

Trey was now really excited to see
Elise. He hoped she felt the same way.

Chapter 8

Elise realized that she had no way to
get in contact with Trey about the plans for tonight. She went down
to the front desk and borrowed stationary. She wrote a short note
and slipped it under the door to his room.

Trey,

Deluxe Suite #2 @ 6:30 pm.

XOXO

Elise

She went back to her room to begin
getting ready for her date. She wasn’t sure if she could consider
this a date. She liked the idea of a wild Parisian affair. It
didn’t have any expectations or promises, allowing her to just
enjoy the time and think in the moment.

She was running a little behind
schedule since she woke up so late. She quickly showered and blow
dried her hair. She climbed into another pair of her La Perla
panties. The matching bra was not necessary tonight since she was
abiding by Trey’s request. He may change his mind when he sees the
semitransparent Lela Rose black blouse she was wearing. It had a
thin black camisole under it so she wouldn’t be bearing it all, but
she wasn’t leaving too much to the imagination, either. She pulled
on her Eleanore Denim mini and her black leather Gucci gladiator
platforms. They had a bad ass crisscross pattern and zipped up the
front. She felt super sexy in them.

She curled her dark hair in to large
loose waves since Trey seemed to like running his fingers through
her hair last night. She was putting the finishing touches on her
makeup when Elise heard a knock on her door, which was probably the
cheese platter she ordered from room service.

When she opened her door, she was
surprised to see Trey standing there. “Hi, I’m sorry that I am a
little early.”

“Hey! Please come in.” Elise put her
hands on his shoulders rose up on her tip toes to give him an
innocent kiss on the cheek. He smelled divine. “You look
gorgeous.”

He had on a pair of dark wash Diesel
jeans with a snug black deep V-neck t-shirt that hugged his body
really well. He wasn’t clean shaven, and his hair was messy chic.
She liked it.

Trey was now wearing his half smile.
“You are really wonderful for my ego, and you look….uh, wow!” He
leaned down and sweetly kissed Elise on her lips. Her heart beat
sped up.

As he pulled his lips from hers, Elise
said, “I’m just being honest.” She gave him a little flirty wink to
punctuate her statement. She took his hand and led him into the
sitting room. “Please have a seat.” There was another knock on the
door. “That’s room service.”

The gentleman brought in the cheese
platter and a chilled bottle of champagne.

“Où voulez-vous que je mette cela,
madame?” He asked Elise where he should put the platter.

“Mettez-le sur la table dans le salon,
s'il vous plait.” Elise pointed to the table in the sitting
room.

“Le champagne est une gracieuseté de
l'hôtel.”