The Turning (7 page)

Until about two months into our first semester when I walked in after class to witness him clipping his toenails on my bed. That was the first time I freaked out about anything. That was just too much, and I let it be known that it was.

It was Nicole I ran to when it happened. It was Nicole that I ran to when my roommate hid my contacts from me when I came home late. Yeah okay, I admit a few times I came home drunk, but isn’t that part of college? Even when I wasn’t drinking, if I wasn’t home by eleven at night on a Friday or Saturday, she thought it was too late to be out.

She would hide my contacts and glasses on me. I was on the top bunk, so normally I would fall out of the bed. Also I was almost legally blind. I’d have had huge, thick lenses if modern technology hadn’t figured out a way to shrink them. So trying to find contacts or glasses when you couldn’t see at all was very difficult.

Normally I called Nicole when my roommate was in the bathroom any morning my roommate pulled that crap and she would come over and look for me. I was too chicken to start a fight or say anything about it, but Nicole wasn’t.

She’d blasted my roommate and threatened to hide her birth control if she pulled that stunt on me again. I sat there with my mouth open as my roommate stormed out of the room. Right then and there, I swore my loyalty to Nicole for the rest of my life.

We decided soon after to room together the next year and continued to room together through the rest of college. Junior year we got an apartment together, and yeah, we had little tiffs here and there, but overall, we had been there for each other through thick and thin. I loved her like a sister and would always be there for her, as I knew she always would for me.

I started looking through the clothes while I waited. Could I really accept all this? I decided to do some research before Nicole got there. I booted up my laptop and Googled Brian Grady. What I found left me dazed until I heard the knock at the door.

“Kelly, are you in there?” I heard Nicole from the other side of the door.

I opened the door and immediately grabbed the lattes, since I knew she would drop them from the look on her face as she gazed past me. “Good morning, Nicole, please come on in to my dressing room,” I chuckled lightly.

“Holy shit, where did you get all this? Did you win the lottery?” she grilled me, still staring at all the clothes, so I handed her the card that came with the roses. After she finished the card she looked at me like I had a million heads. “When did you meet this guy?”

“I guess we met that night at the bar. And no, he had nothing to do with what happened to me. I guess I disappeared on him as well.” I had thought of my story ahead of time to tell her, almost everything minus me becoming a vampire. “He said I had given him my phone number, address, and had set up a date for last night. It was an interesting conversation explaining why I didn’t remember any of that.”

I filled her in on everything that had happened last night. Glad I had thought to have some blood and hide the rest before she came over. She smelled so good, but Nicole was my best friend and
off limits
. I finished my story and waited a few moments for her reaction.

A devilish grin spread on her lips. “How long do we have until we have to leave for the spa?”

“About an hour.” I shook my head, realizing I wasn’t surprised at her reaction. “Nicole, I can’t keep all this. I Googled Brian after I talked to you and you wouldn’t believe what I found out. He’s one of the richest men in the world. I mean he owns a bunch of boutiques on Michigan Avenue, a few bars and restaurants downtown that are chains, and a worldwide brokerage firm—”

“Well then you shouldn’t feel guilty about keeping the clothes,” she interrupted me. She continued when she saw the astonishment on my face. “Kelly, you met prince charming at a dive bar right off campus. What are the chances? This must be fate. Besides if you don’t keep the clothes, how can I borrow them?” With that we both fell into a fit of laughter. “I just can’t believe you had sex on the first date, girl, that’s so not like you. If I didn’t see all the clothes and roses, I would have thought you were pulling my leg!”

“I’m not, and yes, the sex was amazing, and I can’t believe I did it either, but there’s more. I actually snuggled with him and fell asleep in his arms.” Nicole dropped the suit she held and turned to look at me.

“You did? Oh my god, Kelly, that is fantastic,” she shrieked as she jumped towards me and gave me a hug.

“And scary, you forgot scary,” I mumbled, wishing I hadn’t even said anything. It was such an odd thing to talk about.

“Well you just take it one step at a time. And he doesn’t always have to stay overnight or get sex. Today though, you are not going to worry or overthink like always. You are simply going to enjoy this.” I smiled at her, agreeing that today I would just let it all go, and we started the fashion show.

Brian was right. He knew my style, simple, elegant, and not too flashy, but his taste was out of my normal ballpark. There were Vera Wang gowns, Donna Karan suits, all the lingerie was Victoria’s Secret, Christian Dior dresses, handbags, and heels. There were also Prada shoes and purses, and finally Manolo Blahnik strappy sandals.

“How much do you think all this in my living room costs?” I asked, starting to realize Brian had sent over a small fortune.

“Kelly, I don’t know and you shouldn’t care. If you feel guilty, you don’t have to keep it all. I’m not even sure you have all the closet space for it. Let’s start simple, try on some of the lingerie that will at least keep you in the sexy mood.” I felt weird strutting about my apartment in front of my best friend wearing next to nothing.

We got through all the lingerie and ruled out about half by the time we had to go. I quickly scrambled into some grubby clothes and loaned some to Nicole as well. You don’t go to a spa day in nice clothes after all.

We walked down the stairs prattling on like school girls until we got interrupted. “Miss Murphy?”

I turned and noticed a man in a chauffeur’s uniform and the town car he stood next to. “Yes, I’m Kelly Murphy.”

“Mr. Grady sent me to take you to the spa, Miss Murphy. You and Miss Thomas,” he said with a smile and opened the door for us. I gave Nicole a look, and when she nodded, we slipped into the car.

I thanked the driver and then turned back to Nicole. “I wonder how Brian knew your name?”

“I don’t know and I don’t care. If this is how he treats people whose names he just knows, before ever meeting them, I can’t wait until he meets me.” She rambled all that out, not even having taken a breath. I’d never seen her so wound up before. And right then I decided to sit back and just enjoy.

“Miss Murphy, Mr. Grady asked me to relay a message to you, since he’s in meetings all day and didn’t want to interrupt your time with your friend. He called me to tell me he realized how rude he had been to not invite Miss Thomas to tonight’s festivities. There is an extra seat at their table since one of Mr. Grady’s partners could not find a date for tonight.

“He told me to stress that she was not under any obligation and this was not any kind of fix-up for Miss Thomas. He just wanted to invite her to join you. He also thought it would make you more comfortable on the flight if you had your best friend with you.” He said it so matter-of-factly I almost missed the last part.

“Flight?” Nicole and I said together, not quite sure what was going on.

“Yes, the charity ball is in Miami. Mr. Grady will pick you up at six pm and you will fly on his personal plane to Miami, which should take a little over an hour. Mr. Grady asks that either you or I call him to let him know if Miss Thomas declined or will be attending.” I realized he was holding out a business card, which I took. It had all Brian’s information on it, business number, cell, and title.

“I will call him, Mr., um, I’m so sorry, in all the excitement I didn’t even ask you your name?” My face flushed as I glanced down at my hands. I was raised better than that.

“Kevin, Miss Murphy, my name is Kevin Smith. And no, not the Kevin Smith who makes films.” He smiled at me in the rearview mirror and I realized he was being funny. He looked nothing like the famous Kevin Smith. “I’ve been assigned to be your personal driver.”

“For the d-day? Wow, sorry, Kevin, I’m n-not used to having a personal driver,” I stammered. I was almost giddy by this time. “And please call me Kelly, and this is Nicole. There’s no need for that formality, we are just normal girls, well, women.”
Shut it, Kelly. And maybe smack yourself as well. Get a grip!

“As you wish, Kelly, but I’m not just your personal driver for the day, I’m your personal driver until further notice.” Before I could even say anything, he put the car in park, stepped out, and walked over to open the door for us. “Here we are, Kelly and Nicole. I’ll be right outside when you’re ready. You should ask for Samantha when inside, she will take care of everything.”

“Thank you, Kevin. We’ll be a few hours at least. You don’t have to wait around for us. Can I call you when we’re done?” Kevin’s face lit up with a huge smile… It was almost like appreciation. I guess most of the people he drove around didn’t treat him like a human.

“If you don’t mind, but I’m not sure Mr. Grady will like that.”

“I won’t tell him if you won’t. Kevin, just give me your cell number and we’ll call you. Is there anything else I need to know?” I pried, looking for other surprises to get ready for.

“Yes, Mr. Grady realized you wouldn’t think to bring your dress with you to the spa so we are stopping at one of his stores and one more place. Also that Nicole wouldn’t have a dress yet either. Please call me when you’re almost done and I’ll be right back here in a flash.”

He smiled at me again and then just about skipped back to the driver’s door and drove away. I was thinking how funny that was when I noticed a tug at my sweatshirt.

“What?” I turned and asked Nicole, then I looked where she was pointing, “Holy shit! The Carlton Club? You have to make reservations months in advance and it’s an arm and a leg to get anything done here. I have to call Brian, this is too much.” I pulled out my phone and punched in the numbers on the card that Kevin gave me. “Hi, Brian Grady, please.”

“Mr. Grady is in a meeting. May I ask who’s calling? I’ll leave him a message,” a woman on the other end asked, I assumed his assistant.

“Kelly Murphy.”

“Oh Miss Murphy! He told me to interrupt his meeting if you called, please hold.” I wanted to tell her not to interrupt him. I didn’t want to bother him, but she was too quick for me. After a few moments on hold Brian picked up, and just hearing his voice made my heart leap. If it still beat, I’m sure it would have been racing.

“Hello, my darling Kelly, I am so glad you called me yourself. I was worried I did something wrong and you would not want to see me anymore. That would have broken my already dead heart. Are you at the spa?” he purred over the phone, sending chills down my spine.

“Yes. Brian this is all too much for me to accept. I mean, the Carlton Club? The small fortune in my living room and my own personal driver? It makes me a little uncomfortable to say the least,” I hedged, trying to choose my words carefully. I didn’t want to offend him. “The flowers and card were amazing though, everything has been amazing. I just don’t know if this is exactly first date kind of behavior and something I can accept.”

He paused for a moment and I could just about hear him thinking. “Nicole is there with you, correct?”

“Yes, she’s standing right here.”

“Well then we can talk more about this when she is not around, but last night was much more than a first date. I turned you, and as your maker it is my responsibility to take care of you. I would have done most of this even if we did not make love last night. Since we did, and I want with all my heart for you to come with me tonight, I went a little overboard.

“I can see that now. I have just never had anyone touch me as you have, and I do not mean physically. It is as if you broke a spell that was on me. I finally was able to feel again. I am quite happy today and excitedly anticipating seeing you tonight. I have not felt that in centuries, so please accept what I have given you and I promise in the future to not go overboard again, all right?”

It seemed so sincere, but I can’t tell if people are lying over the phone. I have to be near them to tell. “Okay, Brian, I accept, and I am incredibly grateful. You can play my Prince Charming
this one
time but no more overwhelming gestures. And we will continue this conversation more privately, understood?”

“Absolutely, Kelly my dear, you have my word. Is Miss Thomas coming with us tonight?”

“Hang on a second, I just realized I haven’t asked her.” I turned to Nicole to ask her, but before I even could, she was nodding like a monkey and about to burst. I laughed and turned back to the phone. “She said a very enthusiastic yes, she would love to join us.”

“Wonderful, now go enjoy yourselves, I have taken care of everything for you both and if there is anything else you would like instead of what I have selected, just tell Samantha. See you tonight, my love.”

“Looking forward to it, Brian,” I assured him before we hung up. Then I turned back to Nicole. “Didn’t even have to think about if you wanted to go or not, did you?”

“Hell no! Are you kidding me, getting swept away to Miami after a day at the spa, in a gown. No, that didn’t require any thinking. Now come on, let’s go in.”

“Hi, is Samantha here?” I asked the lady at the front desk, when she didn’t answer I continued. “My name is Kelly Murphy, I was told to ask for her.” The pretty receptionist gave Nicole and I the once over, and I was suddenly very aware we were in sweats. I forced a quick laugh. “This was all a surprise. We were kind of whisked away without knowing where we were going. If we had known, we would have dressed more appropriately.”

Just then a very well kept woman in about her forties walked up to me before the receptionist could say anything.

“You must be Kelly, and this is Nicole?” We both nodded still somewhat struggling to find words during all this. “Very nice to meet you both, and please don’t worry at all about your appearance, Mr. Grady warned me it was all to be a surprise for you. I was quite delighted to even get a call from him. He comes in every few months for a massage, and since he had one a few weeks ago, it was out of the ordinary for him to call.