The Desire to Touch (9 page)

“I don’t know anyone who takes half an hour to try on one shirt
with
the assistants help.”

“Ah yes
, the lovely Laurine,” Lucas grins wickedly, “with hair the colour of the sun kissing the sea at dusk.”

“It’s called ginger, no need to go all poetic about it.”

“Call it what you want, she was insatiable.”

“Slag,” I lean over and punch him in the arm.

“Oh is this the green-eyed monster rearing its ugly head?” He leans in close pretending to come on to me.

I lean in closer, there’s less than hairsbreadth between our lips.

“Oh Mr Perez, I know exactly where you’ve been,” I scrunch up my face and feign disgust.

Laughing Lucas retreats and climbs out of the car, “You’re too nice for my liking Ellie, I couldn’t ruin you.”

He walks around to my side and opens the door for me.

“Why so gentlemanly?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well earlier
, you got out of the car and ran off so quick
I
had to put money in the meter!”

“Oh yeah I did,” he thinks for a second, “What can I say
, you bring out the best in me.”

I climb out of the car, “Obviously not all the time.” I close the car door and look at the door we’re about to enter. “So you’ve been here before?”

“Once, normally a girl comes to the club and measures me, goes away and a few days later I have my suits. For some reason the girl hasn’t been and much to Jerry’s anger I’ve had to come here, I am not coming alone ever again.”

“Ok,” I realise what he’s just said, “Wait what? Why not alone?”

“Nothing has happened but there are stories about Lorenzo, he’s lovely when you meet him but I have been warned not to bare too much to him. I’m sure its nothing but the whispers along the vine is something to do with cameras and something to do with something behind the curtains in the studio.”

“Ha! You could have a dirty movie out to boost your career into the mainstream not just Jerry’s dodgy night club. Intriguing, well let’s go get this over and done with because I’m starving.”

“Watch it Doll, it’s not a dodgy club! Well not since the police made him clean it up.”

I look over the road and see a diner, a bright red canopy hangs above the door saying ‘Bagels to go’ and window boxes full of flowers make it look so inviting.

“I am so hungry Lucas.”

“Don’t worry, as soon as I’m fitted, we’ll go and eat,” Lucas
takes my hand and leads me through the door. We walk up the narrow, dingily lit staircase and come to a metal door at the top. I look at the walls which look like they have suffered some kind of water damage or mould and, in parts, the paper is hanging off.

“Thought you said it was better inside?”

“I said once you’re through the door. This door.” Lucas presses a buzzer and we wait for the door to open. There’s no handle on the door this side, it’s a solid heavy steel door and all it has is a keyhole and a spy hole which makes me wonder who are they trying to keep out, or in?

Seconds later the door opens. I
t’s that heavy I can hear the squeak from the hinges and the crunching from the drag on the floor, there are wear marks from where the door drags along it.

We step in
to a massive room which spans this shop and the two either side, I swear we have stepped into the Tardis. It’s massive in here. The floor is marble white all the way as far as the eye can see and there are black shelves that reach from floor to ceiling running the length of the right and left walls. They seem to house all manor of shirts, trousers and materials. We walk a few steps in and in front of me is a massive glass coffee table that has material strewn across it and uplighters set under the glass making the material look opaque.

“Please
, excuse the mess,” a little Italian looking man walks up to greet Lucas.

I was kind of expecting a full on Italian accent but I am sadly disappointed
. I would guess he probably moved to New York a very long time ago or he was raised here. Lorenzo hangs his tape measure around his neck so it blends in with his grey chunky knit cardigan, which hangs just below his waist but goes well with his brown cords.

“Lucas, on time as usual.”

“Hey Lorenzo,” they shake hands, “This is my friend, she’s come to see a master at work. Just so you’re aware, I have to leave here by six - I have a set at nine.

“Please
, come in Ellie,” He holds out his hand to shake.

I look at Lucas puzzled, how the hell does he know my name?

“Come, come.” Lorenzo keeps hold of me and leads me through the shop.

“What’s up?” Lucas whispers in my ear as we walk.

We head towards the far end where there are three cream leather sofas and a huge fur rug in air force blue. The wall at the end is the only one with colour and that matches the rug. I sit on the sofa and Lorenzo lets go of my hand and starts to sort out material that is piled high on the sofa next to me.

“Please help yourself to magazines and there is a coffee machine in the kitchen should you want a drink.”

“How does he know my name?” I mouth at Lucas

“I introduced you didn’t I?”

I shake my head at him

“I must’ve mentioned you the last time I came.”

I nod. Lucas must have said something…. I still feel uneasy though.

Lorenzo smiles pleasantly at me and leads Lucas to the left of the blue wall where there is a changing room.

This place is amazing. Why is it so hidden? Actually come to think of it, I look around, there are no windows at all in here, not even a sky light. The ceiling is covered in thousands of spotlights that give a daylight effect and it still has that warm feeling whilst being ultra modern.

“We won’t be long Ellie, go grab a drink,” Lucas shouts from behind the curtain of the changing room.

I stand but feel really naughty for having my shoes on this amazingly clean rug. So I tiptoe off the rug and head towards the kitchen, which is just a work surface across the back wall by the door we entered through. I grab a cup and pour some coffee then spot some cookies and can’t help it, I am tempted to have one. I hear a cough to the right of me and I look but there is no one there. Past the door where we came in is a long curtain, which I didn’t notice when we first walked in but I remember Lucas saying something about it.

I don’t want to be nosey but I w
onder what’s behind the curtain. I slowly walk over and grab the edge of the blue curtain to peak behind when I hear footsteps rushing up behind me.

“Sorry you can’t go in there,” Lorenzo catches
me by surprise. Why is it when you know you’re being naughty you always jump and act guilty?

“Sorry Ellie that’s where my dress makers work and they do
not
like to be disturbed.”

“Sorry,” I can feel myself flushing – damn it.

Lorenzo leads me back to the sofas, “Have you and Lucas been together long? Lucas, you have done well, beautiful young thing she is and British too.” There’s an eerie unease behind his words.

I cringe.

“No, no,” I shake my hands at Lorenzo.

“We’re just friends,” Lucas confirms.

“Ah I see my mistake, so how did you two meet?”

“Lucas is a friend of my cousin and she introduced us, needless to say he can’t cope without me.”

I hear a laugh come from behind the curtain, “Excuse me, I think you’ll find you are the ball and chain around my leg!”

The curtain opens and Lucas appears in just his boxers, “That’s right, feast your eyes on this, a real man.”

I laugh, oh Lucas if only you knew! Looking to the side of the sofa I spot the pile of magazines and grab the first one off the top.

Lorenzo is on his knees measuring Lucas’s inside leg.

If I’m going to lose two more hours of my life, then I may as well catch up on more famous people I have never heard of.”

I open the front cover and start thumbing through the endless pictures of clothes I’m never going to be able to afford, makeup that looks good on pre-teen girls and articles about ‘ Why I married my sister’s-uncle’s-brothers’-cousin that turned out to be my long lost brother’. Finally I stop flicking the pages and land on ‘
10 ways to spice up your sex life
’, oh wow now
this
is a read to pass the time.

My Angel has appeared and I hadn’t even noticed
. They had been MIA. She is filing her nails completely disinterested but devil girl has her binoculars out and is gawping at Lucas.

I peer over the top of the magazine to see Lucas eyeing himself in the mirror as Lorenzo measures his inside arms.

“Ok go try the blue suit on.”

Lorenzo turns to me, “Like’s his reflection a little doesn’t he?”

“Yes just a little bit, I always said he should have a mirror for a girlfriend.”

Lorenzo chuckles and turns back to wait for Lucas, I look back at the magazine and continue to read.

    So now I am fully clued up on all manner of sex toys, food and foreplay – like that’ll come in handy, my heart skips a beat and I start grinning again at the thoughts of last night. Angel girl is tapping her foot warning me not to get overexcited, it’s never going to happen.

I turn the page and there he is, Trey Thomas smiling at me and leaning against a bar, obviously posing for the five page spread that probably made this magazine spike in sales.

Devil girl rears up and eggs me on to read it ‘
get some tips
’ she whispers, Angel girl warns me off. I know who is right but it can’t hurt to read it surely? Everyone knows most of the things in print are made up by PR to keep people interested.

‘
Trey Thomas is a world famous actor adored by millions so how is he still single or is he?’

We sent Renee Collins to find out what makes him tick.’

I skip through the headings to the bits I want to know.

Renee: ‘You had been in a long term relationship with fellow actress Kyla Brooks and the break up was a shock to millions, did you find it hard to act alongside her in the latest film?’

Trey: ‘Not really, we broke up a year ago and it was an amicable parting. Kyla and I are still really close friends and will be for a long time.’

Renee: ‘You are always in the public eye and with so many pictures of you with different women, do you worry about your public image?

Trey: ‘No (he laughs) a lot of them are just friends.’

Renee: ‘What do you look for in a woman?

Trey: ‘A sense of adventure, pure and simple and up for a good time.’

Well that rules me out for sure, I
continue reading but I really should stop
.

Renee: ‘Have you ever come close to finding the one?’

Trey: ‘I’m only 28 I think if you ask me again when I’m 35 I’ll be ready to settle down and I’ll be able to answer.’

Renee: ‘There are many pictures of you and Delaney Green on nights out and more recent ones of you both on holiday in Hawaii, can we confirm the rumors that you two are an item?

Trey: ‘All I am willing to confirm is that we have been seeing each other…’

What the…? I close the magazine to check the date of publish, I close my eyes – please, please be from last year.

I open my eyes and look at the date - 3rd Sep
tember 2012. My heart sinks, in fact it plummets out of my body and onto the nice clean blue rug. I just about manage to hold my coffee in place and not throw it. The magazine is only 2 weeks old, ohh what the hell have I done? I would never have kissed him had I have known, I never ever wanted to be the other woman.

Oh wow – I feel a lump rising in my throat, swallow it away
, just swallow it away. Angel girl is shaking her head
‘I told you so’
and devil girl is parading backwards and forwards making a plan of attack
‘print a kiss and tell’
. I shake them away neither are helping me and now I feel sick physically sick. My hands are starting to shake and I’m still trying to pick my stomach up, wow I really cannot believe he could do this, wait hang on, he is a movie star of course he could do it, who am I kidding.

“You ok over there?”

I look up to see Lorenzo looking at me worried.

“Honey,
you look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“I’m ok
, sorry I’ve just read the article on sex toys and some were a little too explicit don’t mind me,” I pull out my best ‘I’m ok’ fake smile.

“You sure?”

“Yep honestly, thank you.”

I instantly drop the magazine back on the pile and start playing with my bangle, I take a deep breath and close my eyes – Stop it now, just stop - it was nothing. Angel is soothing me to calm down and forget it, Devil is screaming ‘Lets harass the bastard’, I’m torn
, I just want to curl up and hide away.