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Authors: Christina Bell

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BOOK: Love-in-Idleness
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Perhaps, if it weren’t for Chloe, this approach to life would have endured. He felt a lot of things toward her in the past year; lust, affection, even friendship. Lately, though, all of these feelings had given way to a deep and abiding hostility that he worried was a composite of every angry thought he’d suppressed over the years. At the end of the last school year, he had taken an interest in her. She was beautiful and as long as she had his full attention, she was fun to be around. Unfortunately, they had only hooked up a few times when Chloe made it clear to him and to everyone else that she intended to make Cam her personal property. As soon as he figured out that her preoccupation with him was becoming abnormal, he broke things off as politely as he could. He was, after all, a kind person.

Ever since then, Chloe’s version of trying to get him back bordered on stalking. She was everywhere he went and denied to everyone who would listen that he ever broke up with her. Unfortunately for Cam, she had the kind of social power that made people hesitant to contradict her. He was at the end of his rope.

              It had taken all of his strength to handle Chloe gently downstairs. He hated public spectacles, so he kept his temper. He called upon years of experience in keeping calm and did his best to pacify Chloe, resisting the urge to call her on the fact that she had let it be known at St. Helen’s that he was off limits to any girl who didn’t want to become a social outcast. Instead, he explained that there was someone else, someone who was, at least for now, outside her realm of influence. In his nicest tone, he appeased and flattered her until she was so confused that he was able to escape back upstairs.

Once he was safely upstairs, it took a moment to find a quiet spot to relax. Puck’s ridiculous friends had taken over the big living area. Puck
had disappeared into their father’s office, so he couldn’t sneak in there. His bedroom felt claustrophobic, so he settled for the formal living room. The boys normally avoided this space because it was so fastidiously clean and uncomfortable. The white silk couches made people live in fear of spilling something. All of the other furniture had been in the family so long that no one knew how much it was worth, but everyone knew better than to leave a glass ring on the end tables or wear dirty shoes on the carpets. But tonight, Cam found a beer in the kitchen and wrapped it in a napkin to soak up any condensation that might drip onto some heirloom, and parked himself in a chair in the middle of one of the most expensively furnished rooms in Manhattan.

As soon as he sat down, the buzzer from the lobby sounded. Cam didn’t move until it buzzed several more times and it became clear that the staff had either been dismissed for the night or was otherwise occupied. He didn’t dare put his drink down, so he carried it with him to the intercom.

“Yes, Julius?” he asked.

“Good evening,” Julius’s voice greeted him through the speaker. “I have Chloe down here. She’s twisted her ankle and is hoping you can help her. Shall I bring her up?”

Damn her,
thought Cam.
I’ve seen her run in four-inch heels.
There’s no way she twisted her ankle.
He pushed the button again. “This is Cameron, Julius. Tell Chloe I said that she’s full of crap.”

There was a pause before Julius’s voice came through the speaker again. “I believe you just did, sir. And while I’m usually inclined to agree with you, she does appear to be quite uncomfortable. Shall I help her get upstairs?”

Cameron stared at the intercom as he considered his options. He could send her away and risk her freaking out in the lobby of his building, which he hated, or he could just deal with her upstairs. If he told Julius to call her a cab, he would look insensitive. Why wouldn’t she just disappear from his life? A girl who looked like Chloe had infinite choices when it came to men, so why the fixation on Cam?

“She can make it up on her own. Just get her to the elevator
,” he barked. Then, remembering Grace’s earlier lesson about being friendly with people, he added, “Thank you, Julius. I appreciate your help.”

Five minutes later, Chloe was walking, pain-free, into the Oberon apartment. Her face was lit up with joy, which amplified her attractiveness, but Cam remained unmoved. His extensive experience with physical beauty rendered him immune to its powers of persuasion.

                    Before she could speak, he held up his hand, as if to block her. “Chloe, you shouldn’t be here. We finished talking downstairs, and there’s no more to say. I know you thought we had something lasting, but we really didn’t. I’m sorry you had the wrong idea.”             

Chloe grinned and pushed her way past him. She loosened her jacket and slipped it off her shoulder like a runway model and handed it to Cam as she passed him and walked down the short hallway. Cam had no choice but to follow as she strolled into the formal living room and settled herself into one of the white silk wing chairs that flanked the sofa. She positioned herself sideways, her willowy legs draped over the chair arm. Cam watched impatiently, hoping that she would keep her temper better than she did downstairs. He didn’t like to parade his personal life in front of his family.

               “It’s fascinating to me,” Chloe began, “that the more you reject me, the more I am drawn to you. No one has ever tried to get rid of me. Quite the opposite, in fact.”

 
                   Cam fought the urge to scream out in frustration. He walked to her and handed over her jacket. As she took it, she also plucked the bottle from his hand and took a drink before she plunked it down on a table. Cam snatched it up and wiped the table with his sleeve. “Look, Chloe,” he said. “I didn’t say that I loved you. I’ve been honest with you from the beginning. We have the same friends. We go to the same parties. We were going to hook up sooner or later. But that’s all it was. We messed around a couple times, just like everyone does. I don’t know why you thought we were a couple.”

 
                   “But isn’t that why we’re perfect? We’ve known each other forever. I know your family and your friends. I know how to be an Oberon woman.” She waved her hands a little when she said this, as if to emphasize what a grand proposition it was to be an Oberon.

 
                   “I’m already annoyed with you. Don’t make it worse by starting in on my family.”

 
                   “But
you
don’t annoy
me
at all.”

 
                   “You’re not doing yourself any favors here, Chloe. What would your friends say if they knew that you were here, trying to convince someone who doesn’t even like you to be your boyfriend? Aren’t you above that? You’re beautiful. You’re rich and connected. Just choose one of the guys who want you.”

 
                   Chloe yawned dramatically, covering her mouth with her hand. “They bore me.”

 
                   Cam could feel his sympathy waning. He tried so desperately to be patient with her, but she wore him out. He knew that she was smart enough to understand that he was finished with her. She just didn’t seem to care. Cam had never seen a girl so eager to overstay her welcome.

 
                   “Listen,” he said quietly and slowly. “This is over. I’m interested in someone else. You and I aren’t going to happen.”

 
                   “Oh, you mean Grace?” Chloe laughed.

“Yes, Grace,” he responded.
 It was true. It had been a full week since his father suggested that he take her to the wedding. Cam said that he would have to see her before he agreed, so Miles took him out to the penthouse balcony and pointed her out through binoculars as she sat on the Met steps one afternoon. By coincidence, Grace had been sitting quite close to Chloe and her gaggle of followers. The contrast between the two girls was striking. In terms of what the media might consider marketable, Chloe had the whole package. She was larger than life with her blonde hair and long legs. Even her gestures as she spoke to those gathered at her feet implied a powerful charisma. However, as Grace sat there sketching in a book, seemingly oblivious to Chloe, she had such a quiet simple elegance to her that Cam instantly agreed to offer himself as her escort. For the next week, he positioned himself on the balcony at the same time every day, hoping that Grace would make an appearance. He watched Grace arrive and eat fast food or draw in her little book before she packed up and went home. There was something about the way she seemed comfortable in her skin that appealed to him. Now that he had met her, he knew that his impressions were right. She was confident enough to reject the superficial and keep her values in spite of the opportunity to become materialistic and shallow.  Tonight, he felt that she was the first person he’d met in ages who he might be able to fall in love with. It was insane to think that after such a short time, but he didn’t care.

Cam couldn’t hide his horror at hearing Chloe speak Grace’s name.
  Chloe smiled, as if this were precisely her intent. “We had a little talk downstairs. Poor confused little thing. She just doesn’t understand all us big city kids. She thinks we play too rough.”

 
                   “What did you say to her?” Cam felt his face flush with anger.
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“It’s not what I said to her that you should be worried about. It’s what she told me.” Chloe stood and picked up her jacket. She pulled it on and slowly tightened the belt. “She’s running away to her Brooklyn boy. From what I could tell, she might not come back.”
           

Cam grabbed her arm and held it tightly. “She told you this?”
           

 
              “Yes,” Chloe answered, pulling her arm free. “She’s probably gone by now.”           

At that moment, they were interrupted by Puck
, on his way to the front door. He paused when he saw Chloe, looking her up and down, as if she were for sale. “Good evening, Miss Thing. A pleasure to have you with us again.” He looked at Cam and sneered. “I thought you were done with this one.”           

 
“Leave us alone, Puck,” Chloe snarled. When she looked at Puck, her face twisted with revulsion until she was almost unattractive. Cam wished she would look at him that way. Maybe she’d leave him alone if he could manage to inspire such disgust.           

Puck laughed quietly and shook his head. “Always a pleasure, Chloe. Always a pleasure.” He continued to head toward the door, still talking as he departed. “I’d love to stay, but Miles needs a favor.” And as quickly as he appeared, he was gone.
           

Cam returned his attention to Chloe. “What else did she say?”
           

 
“Forget her, Cam. She doesn’t want you. She doesn’t want any of this. Let her go.”           

Cam sighed. He was so screwed. Puck was out on an errand for Miles, Grace had taken off. “What part of Brooklyn?”
           

Chloe laughed out loud. “What? Are you going to chase her? Are you going to wander around Brooklyn, yelling her name? Do you even know what neighborhood her boyfriend lives in?”
           

Quietly, yet assertively, a voice behind them said, “I know where she is.”
           

Both Chloe and Cam turned to see Miles Oberon standing in the doorway, watching them. “Here’s his address.” He held out an index card. “All you had to do was ask.”
           

Cam almost leapt across the room to get to the card. He took it from his father and read the address. Park Slope, Brooklyn. It could have just as easily been on Mars. Cam had never even been to Brooklyn.
     

 
                    “Can I take the driver?” he asked.           

 
              “He’s with Puck. Take the Aston. Put the address in the GPS.”           

M
iles never let anyone drive that car. It hadn’t even been out of the garage in ages. It was a 1986 Aston Martin Vantage. While this wasn’t the most expensive car Miles owned, it was the first car in his collection and therefore his favorite.   

“I’m coming with you,” Chloe piped up. “I want to see you ride up in your fancy car and sweep her away.”
           

Cam snapped at her. “Screw you, Chloe.”
 He was surprised by the force of his hostility. She was truly, deeply a heinous human being. It actually felt good to be horrible to her, which scared him a little. Anger was not a fallback emotion for him.

For just a moment, Cam thought he saw a twinkle of pride in his father’s eyes. He was shocked when he heard Miles laugh gently. “You should take her,” he said. “However it all turns out, at least it will all be settled.”
  

 
“You’re kidding, right? That’s insane.” Cam looked at his father, hoping that he was joking about taking Chloe. There was nothing about taking her that made sense. After all the talk about getting together with Grace, why would he take the one person in the world who least wanted to see that happen?       

 
              “Not at all, son. In fact, I insist that you take her. If Chloe sees you with Grace, she’ll understand that while you fit into her plans, she does not fit into ours.” Chloe straightened a bit as if she were about to respond, but then stopped short as if she had thought better of challenging Miles. “By morning, everyone will be set on the right course,” Miles continued as he waved them out. “Now go. I have a long night ahead of me.”           

BOOK: Love-in-Idleness
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