Fighting Perfection (The Perfection Series Book 2) (16 page)

     “It’s not how I would have handled the situation.  I would have kept the knowledge of each other well away from either one of them, but that’s me.  What happened when James found out?”

     I sighed and pushed away my food, resting my elbows on the table and my chin in my hands.  “He didn’t take it well and left.  He told me to call when I figured out what I wanted.  The problem is, I don’t know exactly what I want right now.  I don’t think I’m ready to pick anyone or be in a committed relationship.”

     “Well that sure makes sense, and it’s not fair that he would ask you to choose.  Did Justin insist you pick between them?”

      “No, not at all, but he doubled down on his intentions.  He told me he means to make me his.”

     Grace squealed again.  “Oh this is so good.  It’s going to be like watching a soap opera!”

     “Can you please tone down your entertainment at my situation long enough to give me some advice?” I implored.

     “Sorry, sorry.  Let me think this through for a few minutes while I finish this delicious French toast,” she said.  She took her sweet time eating every last crumb from her plate.  I worried that she was going to lick the remnants off it too before she responded to me.

     “Okay, I can see this a few ways.  One, you talk to James again and see if you can convince him somehow that you’re not trying to double-deal him.  Surely, he is just looking to protect himself from getting hurt.  He obviously likes you a lot.  Plus, you said the sex was good so you don’t want to lose that,” she said as I rolled my eyes.  “If he won’t go for it, he’s not the guy for you.  Any reasonable person would understand after everything you’ve been through in the last few years.  Which brings me to my next point. 

     “Justin knows what you’ve been through so he’s not going to push you.  He understands.  He witnessed first-hand the kind of relationship you and Vance had and is sensitive your emotional needs.  Just by not asking you to choose makes him look like the best potential candidate if you have to pick.

     “This brings me back to my advice.  You’re on the right track.  You are not in a position to choose right now.  You need to test the waters around you.  You’re not going to find another Vance, we know that.  So you have to see what kind of men are out there.  Try them all.  You’ll find what you want by finding out what you don’t want.”

     “Well that’s a depressing way of looking at it,” I said.  “You mean to suggest that I should date more men?”

     “You know what they say,” she nodded at me.  “You have to ride a lot of horses before you find your stallion.”

     “I don’t think that’s quite how the expression goes,” I muttered, “but I’m afraid I already found my prince and now he’s gone.”  My heart sank as that realization came to me.  Vance was my once-in-a-lifetime love.

     Grace looked at me with a tender expression.  “It’s true, you’re never going to find someone like Vance again.  That said, you’re a different person now.  What you needed when you found Vance is probably not what you need now which leads me back to my advice.  Don’t decide between the two of them.  Keep all of your options open.  Neither of them may be the right one, and if they’re not willing to wait around, what they need they aren’t going to find in you.”

     I deliberated what she had said.  I wasn’t convinced I’d ever find anyone I wanted to be with heart, body, and soul again, but I had made a promise to Vance to try.  Now was not the time to be considering that.  Grace was right.  I needed to just keep my options open, and if someone, be it James, Justin, or anyone else I might meet, they were just going to have to understand and be patient or move right along.  I didn’t need to be with someone right now. I was just open to the idea of companionship and getting to know someone I found interesting and was attracted to.

     “I think you’re right, Grace.  You’ve basically reinforced what I was already feeling, but it helps to get an outside opinion on the subject.”

     “My pleasure, girlfriend.  Now, tonight we need to get dressed up real sexy and get you out there to check out other potential options.”

     “Grace, it’s Sunday!” I exclaimed.  “Don’t you ever slow down?”

     “I’ll slow down when I’m dead or have an STD,” she joked.

     “My God!  Please tell me you’re being careful!”

      “Of course I am.  I’m only kidding.  You saw how many condoms we had in Havasu.  No glove, no love, baby.”

     I just shook my head.  “Don’t you want to get into anything serious either?”

     “I’ve learned that serious and I don’t work out, Mimi.  I’m better off this way.  There’s no Prince Charming for me.  Well, more aptly put, I’m no one’s Cinderella.”

      I was floored.  Yes, Grace may have been a little wild and crazy, and it could be exhausting trying to keep up with her, but she was a fabulous person.  I couldn’t imagine she wasn’t leaving a trail of broken hearts in her wake.  “Grace, surely that’s not true.”

     “Mimi, I’m thirty-four years old.  I have had enough heartache by now to know that I don’t want any more.  We didn’t come here to discuss me, though.  You don’t have to work tomorrow, and you don’t have school.  I’m picking you up at seven tonight, and I won’t take any excuses.”

     “Fine.  I’ll go out with you, but I’m not getting all hoochie-fied,” I said.  “I don’t even have those kinds of clothes anyway.

      “We’ll see about that.  I’ll make sure to bring a few things along with me,” she said, winking at me.

     I just shook my head again and wondered what I was getting myself into.

     Grace showed up at my house right on time.  She brought with her three dresses and three pairs of shoes.  The heels were all five inches high, and the hems on the dresses seemed to measure about the same—from the hips.  I vetoed them all.  In the end, I wore the red dress I’d tried to wear on my first date with James.

     She guided us in her car to Hollywood Boulevard where we stopped at a club well known for its electronic music and party vibes.  As we walked to the door, I noticed a sign that said it had been reserved for a private party.  I pointed it out to Grace.

      Nodding, she said, “I know.  It’s a singles event run by some dating agency or website.  I don’t know which.  I have tickets that my friend, Jill, gave me.  Don’t worry, we’re all set.” 

     I followed her right up to a massive wall of muscle who was collecting the admission tickets from would-be entrants.  Grace offered him her highest wattage smile and come-hither eyes as she gave him our passes to the mixer.  With a sly smile of his own, he opened the velvet rope in front of the door and waved us inside.

     As we walked through the lobby to the main dance area, I noticed another sign--this one announcing the event was sponsored by the Los Angeles Jewish Singles Association.  I brought Grace to a halt by the arm.  

     “You brought me to a Jewish singles’ mixer?” I asked incredulously.

     “Is it?” she asked with false innocence.  “I had no idea.  Do you suddenly have a problem with Jewish people?”

     “No, of course not, but I’m thinking they may have a problem with us, considering neither of us is.  These types of events are set up so people can meet other people of the same religion.  We don’t really qualify.”

     “Mimi, men are men, regardless of race, color, or creed.  We’re two hot young…ish…women.  They’ll be interested in us.”

     “I’m not so concerned about whether or not they’re interested in me, I’m worried about them being upset if they meet girls who don’t fit their criteria when they’ve gone out of their way to go to an event where said girls are particularly supposed to be!”

     “Oh hush.  Just tell them you’re converting then.  That’s what I intend to do,” she said as she tugged me along into the main dance hall.

   “For the love of Pete,” I muttered, tripping after her.

     She dragged me straight to the bar.  “I wonder what a Jewish girl would drink?” she wondered out loud.

     “Shhhh, Grace.  You sound like a bigot, and I swear to God if you order Maneschewitz, I will cunt-punt you into next week and leave.  Just get what you normally drink, you idiot.”

     “Fine, fine.  I just don’t want to look out of place,” she replied as she leaned over the bar to get the bartender’s attention.  She ordered a glass of chardonnay for herself and a Dirty Martini for me, which was good because I didn’t think I’d make it through the night without copious amounts of vodka.

     Right away, a shorter, pudgy guy came sidling up next to Grace.  “Hi there.  I’m Isaac, but my friends call me Ike.  What’s your name beautiful?”

     She grinned down at him, as he was at least four inches shorter than her in her heels.  “Hello there.  Ike is a cool name,” she said as he beamed at the notion of being referred to as ‘cool’ in any way, I figured.  This guy looked like a harried accountant.  Not that there was anything wrong with that.  I had to give him points for bravery for approaching Grace.  She would eat this poor little guy alive.   “I’m Grace,” she continued, holding out her hand.  The guy grabbed it and pumped it up and down rapidly.  He was quite the eager little beaver and no doubt eager for a little beaver, too.

     “This is my friend, Mimi.”  She motioned toward me.  I gave him a little wave, but his face fell.

     “You’re not Jewish,” he said flatly.

     I looked at him mortified.  I was going to get kicked out, I just knew it.  Grace cleared her throat and clutched his forearm.  “She’s half,” she said.

     I looked at her with my eyes bulging.  I didn’t know how I could possibly pull it off, but she was my girl and I wasn’t going to contradict her in front of this guy.  “Yeah,” I said, an idea occurring to me.  “My dad is Jewish, so I guess that actually means I’m not technically Jewish.”

     “What’s your last name?” he fired off like he was an interrogator.

     “Well, my current last name is Ashcroft, but I was married before,” I responded quickly.

     “Then what’s your maiden name?”

     “Sorry, I’m not willing to tell you that what with credit fraud being what it is these days,” I said trying to dodge his rapid questioning.  “We’ve only just met, and I think you’re really interested in Grace here anyway.”

      “That’s true.  I don’t think you belong here, but who am I to police these things?”

     “I belong here just as much as this one does,” I muttered as I brought my drink to my lips.  Grace nudged me in the ribs with her elbow nearly causing me to spill my drink.

     “Why don’t we go dance and get to know each other a little better, beautiful?” Ike said, grabbing hold of Grace’s free hand and starting to swing his hips back and forth.  “I’m really feeling this music and the vibe you’ve got going on.”

     “Oh, we just got here, and I’d like to finish my drink before I go out there.  You go on ahead, and I’ll catch up with you as soon as I’m done,” Grace replied.

     “You’d better, or I’m going to come looking for you and I won’t take no for an answer,” he warned her with a wink. 

     She winked back at him and ushered him off with a wave of her hand.  “I’ll come find you, Ike.  I promise.”

     We watched him shimmy his way out onto the dancefloor and start busting a move by himself.  He wasn’t exactly a bad dancer...oh who was I kidding?   He was an accident waiting to happen.  He was all elbows and knees and a wiggly butt.

     “There’s your destiny waiting for you right there, Grace,” I said, sarcastically.

     “Mimi!  Let your hair down a little.  We’re just here to have fun, maybe meet someone who’ll take us out for a few nice dinners and if we’re really lucky, give us an orgasm or twelve.  Don’t be so judgmental,” she said, downing the last of her drink.

     “I’m not judging, Grace.  If you want to get your groove on with Ike out there, it’s no matter to me.  My goyim ass and I will stay right here by the bar trying to look as inconspicuous as possible.”

     “No, Mimi, try to look Jewish.  You want to meet someone.”

     “Am I supposed to bust out a copy of the Torah or something?  Ask if anyone wants to play dreidel?  How does one ‘look Jewish’ exactly?”

     “You know what I mean,” she pouted.

     “Just shut up and go dance.  I’ll take care of myself.”

     Grace gave me a warning glare, then turned and did her own little boogie-walk to the dance floor where Ike was making like he was reeling in a fish.  I turned and perched on a barstool, thinking I’d just sip Dirty Martinis and try not to make eye contact with anyone until Grace was ready to leave.  My plan worked for about an hour or so until a very handsome man with curly short black hair and big dark brown eyes pulled up the stool next to me.

     He sighed rather loudly and then rested his elbow on the bar and looked at me just as I was taking a sip of my third drink.  “You look like you hate these things about as much as I do,” he said.

     I looked at him squarely and said, “I think I probably have you beat in that department tonight.”

     He just chuckled and ordered a gin and tonic from the bartender.

     “So what are you doing here?” he asked me once he received his drink.

     “My friend dragged me out with her tonight.  I had no idea we were coming here.  What about you?  If you hate these events, what are you doing here?”