Love's Rendition
Part 5
by Tragedy88
E-Mail: Tragedy88@goplay.com
Disclaimers: See Part 1.
Chapter
Five
Tuesday,
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday....
Work day after work day, my ankles
swelled more and more after each shift.
I couldn't pull doubles anymore, no matter how much I needed the money.
No e-mail all week from the lovely
art dealer either.
Friday night I dragged my sorry ass
up to the loft, tears of pain in my eyes.
Uniform and all I crumpled onto my bed.
Three hours later I lifted my groggy head and moaned pitifully. The phone was ringing. Couldn't someone get up and answer the damn
thing?
Finally there was blessed silence
and I closed my eyes once again. The
shrill blasting of the phone ten minutes later stopped my heart in my chest.
Fuck, what a way to wake up. They were going to keep calling unless I
either took the receiver off the hook or actually answered. I opted for the first choice and slid down
to the end of the bed. I took off my
work shoes and leaned over the rail.
The first one missed. Damn.
The second one landed with a solid BRINNGGGG as the shoe and the phone went
flying off the table.
I sighed and flopped back onto the
pillow.
•••
Dammit,
what now? I sat up on the bed, rubbing
sleep from my eyes. There it was
again. Thump, thump. Someone was knocking on the door.
I stumbled down the stairs in the
dark and cracked the door open.
Concerned blue eyes peeked inside.
"Allison?" I squawked.
"What the hell are you doing here?"
"I- um, can I come
inside?"
I threw a hasty glance around the
apartment, but it was too dark to see much of the mess. I opened the door and invited Allison in
with a wave of my hand. I only stepped
back far enough for her to shut the door behind her.
"What are you doing
here?" I asked again, shifting
from foot to foot, trying to ease the pain.
"I tried to call earlier,"
Allison admitted.
"Oh," was all I could
think of to say. Come on, get a
grip. "But that still doesn't
explain what you're doing here."
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come." Allison turned to grasp the doorknob.
"Alli?"
"What?" She turned.
With a glance I fell into the depth
of her icy eyes. I would have stayed
there, drowned there if she hadn't looked away.
"I just came to see if you were
all right. When I tried to call there
was this strange noise. Then I called
again and the line was busy,"
Allison finally said.
"Ohmigod, I forgot about
that." I could feel a furious
blush fanning up my face. "I was
trying to sleep and no one would answer the phone. I threw my, um, my shoe at it and knocked it off the hook,"
I finished sheepishly.
Allison actually chuckled. "Since you're all right and it was just
a shoe-"
"Yes?" I asked uncertainly. Should I clear a spot on the sofa? My feet were killing me. When she didn't answer I limped my way over
to the couch and threw some stuff aside.
Allison silently followed, and sat
in the cleared off spot.
"Sorry 'bout the mess," I
said shyly. "My roomies are party
animals and pigs. I gave up trying to
clean up after them a long time ago."
"Don't worry about it,"
Allison said dismissively. "I went
to college and had a slob for a roommate too."
Better not let her know that I'm as
much of a slob as they are. "So,
you were going to say something before?"
"Well, I just thought that
since I'm here... well I thought-"
"Spit it out woman." I smiled at her unusual embarrassment. What was all the fuss?
"I told you about the party
tomorrow?" She twisted her hands
together.
"Mmmhmm." I nodded with no sense of where this
conversation was going.
"I'd like it if you accompanied
me." Allison spat it out quickly.
"A-accompany you?" I stuttered.
"Only if you want to," she
replied quietly. "At least I'd
have someone to talk to."
"It can't be all that bad, can
it?" I asked, shocked and happily
surprised at the sudden invitation.
"Much worse.” She smiled.
"Will you come?"
"I don't have anything to
wear." That was my immediate
response, and my eyes widened in horror.
"Then that's a yes? I know it's really short notice, but I could
go with you tomorrow after work and I could help you pick out something."
"It's not that," I heard
myself say. "After bills and
rent...."
Allison nodded, bright blue eyes
widening slowly. "Make a deal with
you?"
"A deal?"
"An advance on your paycheck
for the portrait, if," she stressed the if as if the following was all
that mattered, "IF you save me from some of the old farts and their long
winded 'I-had-to-walk-uphill-both-ways-to-school' speeches.'"
"I'm hardly the one to save
you." But, I smiled. That silly kind of smile where I wish I had
the nerve to flirt.
"Well, Chris is otherwise
detained, so you'll have to do,"
Allison winked.
The wink was startling. She's playing games with me? "What time is the party?"
"Eight, but I like to...make an
appearance. So, say nine."
Nine, nine...nine. Not nearly enough time to pick out a formal
dress. I could call in sick. Yeah, one day won't make much difference
where FICA was concerned. "I'll
take the morning off and we can shop.
If you're up to it."
"Sounds good to me." She smiled and stood.
I suddenly wished she wasn't
leaving. I wanted to soak up her beauty
all night long. Knock it off, stupid,
she's not interested. I stuck out my
hand. "Pick me up in the morning?"
Allison clasped my hand within her
long, tapered fingers. Her palm was
warm or it was the sudden jolt that rushed through my body, I couldn't tell.
"Ten too early?"
"Ten it is." I walked her to the door, my feet suddenly
far less painful. "Good night,
Allison."
"G'night, Grace. Sorry about waking you up."
"Nah, it's all
right." The smile stayed on my
face long after I'd gone back up to the loft and fallen asleep.
•••
(c) 2000, Tragedy88