White Lines II: Sunny: A Novel (15 page)

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I thought you’d be used to people drooling over you by now.”

Sunny shook her head modestly, gazed out the passenger side window and watched the L.A. nightlife unfolding around them. Tonight’s gala was being held in a ballroom at the Beverly Hilton hotel and Sunny was aware that this could be her last chance to court the executives at Kaleidoscope.

“So do you think Abe will be mad that I’m still coming to the ball after not showing up this morning?” Sunny thought about the past twenty-four hours. What a whirlwind! She had gotten high off cocaine for the first time in years, only to awaken next to a dead body. She had stolen several grams of coke from her ex, been interrogated by the police with said grams still in her purse, and then interrogated further by her new attorney. She had spent all of that afternoon getting high in her luxury suite, and now she sat clad in a luxurious gown and her favorite diamonds on her way to a charity ball benefiting disadvantaged youth. Sunny’s mind was still reeling from it all, still floating from being high. But she was maintaining, had always been the type to maintain. She told herself that she had everything under control.

“I think he’s gonna have questions,” Malcolm allowed. “But he’d be crazy not to want to move forward with the project after hearing your explanation.”

They pulled up to the Hilton and gave the keys to the valet. They entered the hotel and Malcolm watched Sunny’s behind as she sauntered into the hotel. The sway of her hips nearly hypnotized him. They walked into the packed ballroom and Sunny was wide-eyed—both from the white powder coursing through her system and from the excitement that was palpable in the room. A live band jammed in the corner of the ballroom and guests were out on the dance floor making the most of it. As they walked through the room, they were both aware of the stares Sunny elicited in her dress, her long legs and toned thighs playing peek-a-boo with every step she took. Men started lustfully, women eyed her hatefully and Malcolm all but drooled. She was sexier than every bottle-blonde in the room.

Abe spotted them from across the room, and Sunny watched him bend down and whisper something in Miss Marketing’s ear. With the coke giving her even more courage than she usually boasted, Sunny headed in his direction without warning. Malcolm trotted behind her to catch up.

“Abe!” Sunny’s voice boomed as she reached his side. She air kissed him in greeting—something she’d been watching this Beverly Hills crowd do ever since she had stepped into the room—and flashed her most disarming smile. “I owe you an apology for missing our breakfast meeting this morning. But you would not believe the day I’ve had!”

Abe was smiling back at her. So was Miss Marketing. “Yes, so I’ve heard, Sunny,” he said. “It’s all over the news that you were there at Sean Hardy’s house last night when that girl died.
Access Hollywood
is calling it a likely overdose.” He was smiling so hard that he looked slightly nutty. “This is exactly the type of thing we will want to depict in your movie! You had a front-row seat for the story of the year and you’ve only been in town for two days!” Abe cracked up laughing at his own joke.

Sunny laughed, too, pleased to hear him speaking about her movie in the present tense. She hadn’t blown her chances after all. In fact, just as Malcolm had predicted, her scandalous evening only made her more of a Hollywood commodity.

“Excuse me for a moment, Sunny,” Abe said, apologetically. “My wife is signaling for me to come and kiss somebody’s ass.” He laughed again. “Gotta do what I gotta do for the disadvantaged youth!” And he was off, crossing the room to his wife’s side.

Sunny took a flute of champagne off a nearby waitress’s tray and sipped it. Malcolm took one, too, and they stood together watching the upper-crust crowd displaying their stiff dance moves.

“I love this song,” Malcolm said, a broad smile on his face. He looked at Sunny, saw the confused look on her face. “I guess you’re not a jazz girl.”

She shook her head, listening to the baritone of the band’s lead singer melting like butter over the music. “No. Can’t say that I am.”

“This is Coltrane. ‘Lush Life.’ One of my favorites.”

Sunny nodded, happy for him. She sipped her champagne, grateful that the high she was enjoying was keeping boredom at bay.

“Is that dress too tight to dance in?” he asked.

Sunny laughed. “Not at all, Mr. Smarty Pants,” she said, smiling antagonistically. “But can you even
dance
?”

Malcolm laughed now, too. “Girl, I could be a professional on
Dancing with the Stars
!”

Sunny laughed loudly at that remark and before she knew it, Malcolm was guiding her by the hand to the dance floor. They abandoned their champagne glasses on a nearby table and then they came together, his arm around her waist, her hand in his hand. Effortlessly, Malcolm guided Sunny across the dance floor. She was so light on her feet that it was a joy to dance with her, and he found himself swept up in the music, the atmosphere and her unmistakable beauty.

“Then you came along with your siren song to tempt me to madness … your poignant smile was tinged with a sadness of a great love for me.”

A slow smile crept across Sunny’s face as she allowed herself to be led by handsome Malcolm. She was no pro, but dancing with him seemed effortlessly easy, their rhythm naturally synchronized. Together they glided across the floor, many people stopping to watch them.

“You can really dance!” Sunny laughed. She had clearly not expected his level of expertise.

“Ahhh,” Malcolm said, teasingly. “You thought I was some uptight, nerdy lawyer with zero rhythm and a love of white women.” He shook his head as if disappointed by her expectations.

Sunny laughed. “I did,” she admitted. “But you definitely proved me wrong.”

The song ended and many of the nearby revelers applauded for Sunny and Malcolm as they bowed and curtsied their thanks. Laughing together, they exited the dance floor and sat at their assigned table as dinner was served.

Malcolm was completely enamored with Sunny, and it surprised him. She certainly wasn’t predictable or understated, as were most of the women he’d been with so far. He had always been drawn to the more modest and demure women, the ones who he could ravage in the bedroom, enticing them to bring out their wild side, to lose themselves. Sunny seemed to go through life with such reckless abandon that nothing seemed planned with her. Her beauty and her wit combined with that Brooklyn air that would forever shroud her—it all enticed Malcolm and made him hunger for more.

Sunny liked him, too. Malcolm was nothing like the men she usually spent time with. He had no criminal past, no high-profile career, no element of danger. In fact, he was likely the safest man she’d ever spent any lengthy amount of time with. He was an attorney, amicably divorced from his wife of ten years, had a daughter but no baby-mama drama, no dysfunction of any kind. Usually a man this put together would have bored the shit out of Sunny. But she found herself strangely drawn to Malcolm. Their conversation was easy and he was funny. She spent half the meal laughing at Malcolm’s jokes and the other half listening intently as he talked about his upbringing, his education, his life so far.

*   *   *

For the next few hours, they enjoyed their meal, talked with Abe and the other folks from Kaleidoscope Films and danced more. By the time the night was over and they stood in the front of the hotel waiting for the valet to bring their car around, both of them were exhausted.

“So,” Malcolm said, standing with his hands in his pockets. “You leave for New York tomorrow morning, right?”

Sunny nodded, sighed. “I’m gonna miss California. I feel like I rediscovered a part of myself here.”

Malcolm had no way of knowing that part of what she had rediscovered was her love of cocaine. Having gotten high again and managed to maintain, Sunny was reminded of how empowered the drug once made her feel. She had never been like many of the addicts she had been in rehab with—people who had allowed their entire lives to be ruined by powdery white lines. Instead, Sunny had always been in control, had managed to keep her coke use a secret for so long. It didn’t control her, she was convinced. She was in control. She had become so bored in her life, so unfulfilled that she was excited to have one of her favorite pastimes back. It had taken L.A., Sean Hardy and another woman’s misfortune to reunite Sunny with what she considered to be her long-lost friend.

“I’m staying here for another few days so I can spend time with my daughter, meet with some of my clients,” Malcolm was saying.

“How old is your daughter?” she asked.

“Ten. She visits me in the summer.”

“What’s her name?”

“Chance.”

Sunny nodded. “Pretty name.”

“Sunny is a pretty name, too.” He looked at her. “I wish you would stay out here with me. Just for another couple of days.”

Sunny looked at him to see if he was serious. He was.

The valet returned with their car and they climbed inside. Neither of them spoke for several minutes as they pulled off and headed for the freeway. Finally, Malcolm cleared his throat before speaking.

“Sunny, I don’t really like to beat around the bush too much,” he said. “I think you’re a very beautiful woman—not just outside, but inside as well. I admire you a lot.”

“
You
admire
me
?” Sunny asked in disbelief. “You’re the one with the law degree!”

Malcolm nodded. “Yeah, that may be true. But you’ve got a PhD from the School of Hard Knocks.”

She smiled, liking that analogy.

Malcolm’s heart rate sped up. He realized for the first time that his hands were shaking slightly. “You’ve overcome a lot. Bottom line is … I’m new to this whole dating thing. So, forgive me if I’m going about this wrong.”

Sunny fought the urge to smile. She thought Malcolm was as cute as a button when he was nervous.

“I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting a woman like you who has beauty and balls to back it up—excuse my language.”

“No,” Sunny said, shaking her head. “No need to apologize.” She was enjoying this side of Malcolm. Tonight he didn’t seem so tightly wound. Rather, he was very intriguing as he tried to put his mack down. She had never met a man like him either. He wasn’t as corny as she thought.

“So what I’m saying is … I hope you accept my offer to stay for a couple of days…” He prayed that she would. But those hopes were quickly dashed.

“I would like to,” Sunny said, honestly, “but I have to get back home to my daughter. She gets stir crazy when she’s at my parents’ house for too long.”

Malcolm nodded. “I understand,” he said, truthfully. He pulled up in front of Sunny’s hotel. He was disappointed, but couldn’t very well argue with her need to get back to her daughter. “So can I ask you for a date when I get back to New York? We can pick up where we’re leaving off tonight.”

Sunny thought he was the gentlest man she’d ever met. She had to admit that this had been a very romantic evening, although she hadn’t expected it to turn out that way. The night had felt like something out of a fairy tale. The problem was that she didn’t believe in those.

She nodded, smiling. What did Malcolm want with a girl like her? she wondered. “Yeah,” she said. “Call me when you’re back in New York.”

Malcolm nodded, put the car in park. “I will,” he said. The car idled as they stared at one another for a few silent moments. Finally, he leaned in and kissed her.

Sunny’s heart was galloping in her chest, and she didn’t know why. Their lips met, and parted, their tongues slow-danced and both of them lost themselves in the moment. His kiss sent chills up her spine, and Sunny’s nipples pressed against the fabric of her dress, giving her a sweet thrill. Malcolm pulled her toward him, his yearning obvious, and Sunny held on to him tightly. Reluctantly, their kiss lessened in intensity and they pulled apart, aware that they were in public. Sunny touched her fingers to her lips as if surprised by what they’d felt.

“Good night,” she said, looking at Malcolm with new eyes.

He smiled and his brilliant white teeth sparkled. “Don’t say good night, Sunny.”

She sucked her teeth. “That’s the Isley Brothers!”

Malcolm laughed and she joined him in that.

“Seriously,” he said. “I don’t want to let you go so soon.”

She was blushing again, and she told herself that it was the cocaine that had her feeling so extra sensitive.

“I can’t invite you to my room if you’re gonna be my lawyer,” she said.

Malcolm nodded. “That’s true. So I’m not your lawyer. I can’t take on any new cases right now.”

Sunny smiled. “Why not?”

“Cuz I just started dating this lady and she’s a real firecracker. I think I might have my hands full.”

Sunny laughed. He was being very presumptuous and she wasn’t sure why she liked it. “Good night, Malcolm.”

“I asked you not to say that.”

“So long, then. I’ll see you in New York.”

She climbed out of the car and walked into her hotel, looking back over her shoulder when she reached inside. She saw Malcolm still smiling at her, watching her until she faded from view.

She rounded the corner to the elevators and thought about the way his kiss had felt. What did she really have to lose? she asked herself. Who would they hurt by spending a day or two together in sunny California? She was in control. She could leave whenever she wanted to. A slow smile crept across her face and she realized she had been yearning for some fun—some
mischief
. She had been modeling, being seen in all the right places, mothering Mercedes with the best of everything, but what she was missing was a sense of excitement, some spontaneous fun! She had found that here in California. Without thinking about it any further, she turned around and hurried back toward the hotel entrance. To her relief, and genuine surprise, Malcolm was still there. He sat in his car, watching the entrance, praying that she would come back. When he saw her, he hurriedly climbed out of the car, handed his keys to the valet and rushed toward her.