“Did you guys have a good relationship?”
“Monica’s dad and my dad are partners at the same law firm. We were kind of set up. I liked her at first but never really thought about a future with her. She wanted me to go into law but it wasn’t my thing. We had different interests. It was for the best. We broke up, and then two weeks later she was dating my brother. I never talked to him about it. There are plenty of asshole things I could have said, but I didn’t want to stoop to his level. He can have her.”
“Were you heartbroken?”
“Not at all. I guess that’s pretty telling. The hardest part for me is not laughing at the whole stupid thing when I’m around them. That’s another reason I had to get out of L.A. My brother just graduated from law school and likes to rub it in my face. It takes everything in me not to remind him that he’s going to have to live the rest of his life knowing I’ve fucked his wife.”
“Oh.” Grace looked shocked for a moment, and her cheeks flushed. I wasn’t sure if I offended her.
We walked in silence as I berated myself for being so blunt until Grace pointed up to a sign. “Here we are.”
“We’re having lunch at the New York Plasma Center?”
“Yep. So here’s the deal. For your first time you can only do plasma. Make sure you eat as many of the free pretzels and granola bars as you can and drink as much of the juice, too. Then you can hang out with me while I get my platelets sucked out.”
“Wait . . . huh?”
“Yeah, it takes, like, an hour to do the platelets, which really gives us time to feast. Then you’ll get twenty-five bucks and I’ll get fifty.”
I tried to process what she had just told me, but when she started laughing, I couldn’t help laughing, too.
“You think I’m crazy, huh?”
“No, I think this a great idea. You’re a genius.”
She elbowed me playfully. “We’re gonna get along.”
Once we were inside the blood bank, everyone behind the counter recognized Grace and smiled or waved at us as we stood in line.
“You come here a lot?”
“That’s such an old pickup line, Matt. I think you need new material.”
“I’m really into girls with big platelets.”
“Much better. Now you have my attention. You’re in luck, because I’m really into guys named Mathew.”
“It’s Matthias, actually.”
“No shit?” She cocked her head to the side. “I’ve never heard that name before. Is it biblical?”
“Yep. It means God-like.”
“Stop.”
“No, I’m serious. It means God-like appendage.” It took her a second to comprehend what I was saying. I tried not to smile.
Her mouth opened in a perfect O. “You are . . .” She shook her head and then seized my hand and pulled me toward the counter.
“What? What am I?”
“Shameless!” She turned her attention to the receptionist. “Hi Jane. This is my friend, Matthias. He has excellent blood and he’d like to sell you some.”
“You came to the right place.” She gathered some forms from under the counter. “What’s your last name again, Grace?” she said as she riffled through a file.
“Starr.”
“That’s right, how could I forget? And you’re giving just plasma today, Matthias?”
“Yes. And it’s Matthias William Shore, if you need my full name.”
Grace looked at me sideways. “Well, Matthias William Shore, I’m Graceland Marie Starr. Delighted to make your acquaintance.” She held her hand out to shake mine.
I kissed the back of it. “Pleasure is all mine. Graceland, is it?”
She blushed. “My parents are Elvis fans.”
“Lovely name for a lovely lady.”
The woman behind the counter put an abrupt end to our courtly exchange. “Just blood, Grace, or platelets, too?”
“Today, I’ll be selling my enormous, lush platelets.” She leaned in and whispered in my ear. “Are you turned on?”
I laughed. She could be brazen, but that didn’t mask her sweet, shy side. Something about her made me want to get to know her in every possible way.
After the forms were filled out and the blood checks done, they took us into a big room where there were ten other people getting their blood drawn. We lay across from each other on inclined beds. Grace watched me with a smile as they inserted a line into my arm. She was hooked up to a machine that took the blood from one arm, removed the platelets, and then returned the plasma to the other. I chomped on the pretzels and waited as my blood dribbled into the plastic bag. She held her juice in the air and said, “Cheers.”
I started feeling lightheaded, almost drunk. Black nothingness began filling my vision from the sides. “Best date ever,” I said woozily, holding my juice box up to her.