The Space In Between

Chapter Thirty-Three

I WOKE UP with the need for a garbage can next to my bed. I felt awful. Dammit Jose. No more tequila. Ever. Pushing myself up on my elbows, I was pleased to see Cooper walking in with a tray of all types of liquids and foods on it.
“You’re up.”
“I’m up.” And I remembered everything I’d said the night before. And I still meant it.
He placed the tray on my bed and gestured towards it. “A hangover kit. I dropped two off to Michelle and Ladasha, who both look worse off than you, may I add.” He pointed towards the tray and explained what was included in this magical hangover kit.
“We have water. Coffee. Bloody Mary.” I wiggled my nose as he said Bloody Mary and he removed it from the tray. “Okay, no Bloody Mary. We got toast, crackers, some weird baked bread type crap the chef made and two Tylenol.”
That I could do. I opened my mouth for the Tylenol, and he dropped them in and gave me a sip of water.
“Do you have any flaws?” I wondered out loud.
He studied me with a serious look. “I have many flaws, Andie.”
I removed the tray from between the two of us and placed it on the ground. I pulled him closer to me. Stroking the side of his face, I leaned in and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. We rested our foreheads against one another and sat in silence. My head was still spinning and I wanted nothing more than to fall back to sleep in his arms.
“Speaking of flaws…” His brows lowered as he spoke.
“No.” I didn’t want to speak of flaws. I wanted him to lie next to me. The sun was peeking through the window shades as I lay down and patted the spot next to me. He listened to my wordless request and joined me. My body slid into the curves of his body and he held me as if it were the last thing he ever wished to do on this planet. I’d never felt so safe and protected in my life—and that’s saying a lot.
“The costume designers are coming tomorrow for the party. We have to try things on…but until then, can we stay here?” He kissed my earlobe. I assumed that was him agreeing, and we both fell asleep. A lazy Saturday was very much needed after last night’s crazy events. Plus, my head hadn’t stopped pounding and I was almost certain if I got up out of bed I would pass out.





“IT’S A LITTLE tight.” Ladasha sucked in her stomach as Ms. Jacobson tightened her corset.
“Suck it in!” Ms. Jacobson hollered. “I swear, Rose, these dresses weren’t made for people like this,” Ms. Jacobson whispered to Mrs. Rivers, who was working on Cooper’s costume. Ladasha quickly placed her hand on her hip and looked to Ms. Jacobson.
“What’s that suppose to mean? People like what?”
“Nothing. Nothing. Don’t get your panties in a bunch. You’re just a very curvy girl,” Ms. Jacobson hissed. Ms. Rivers, her gossiping, rude, sidekick joined in.
“It’s true, honey. And back in the time period of Pride and Prejudice, I’m sure there weren’t any people of color involved in the balls. You should be thankful to be able to wear these pieces of clothing. Let alone take part in the dance.”
I watched as Eric’s fists tightened at the way the two older women were being so blatantly disrespectful towards Ladasha. Ladasha’s eyes met with mine and I mouthed an apology. Michelle bounced over to Ladasha in her costume and smiled brightly. “I don’t know what they are talking about. You look fabulous!” She placed her hands on Ladasha’s waist and smiled. “I would kill for your curves.” She winked at my best friend and walked away to help Cooper locate some of his costume pieces.
“Ouch!” I whined as my mom stood behind me and poked me with a pin.
“Hold still!”
I looked towards Ladasha and could tell the women’s comments were truly bothering her. “Mom, why do you hang out with those ladies? They aren’t nice people.”
My mom glanced at the two women and shook her head. “I’ve been friends with those two for years. Besides, they weren’t exactly wrong,” she murmured.
I was shocked. I had heard my mom say some terrible things to me, but saying them about Ladasha pissed me off. I was embarrassed by how closed-minded this town could be sometimes. I was sure Dasha already felt a bit out of place being one of the only black people in the town, but for them to speak to her in a way to draw attention to it was too much.





“IT’S FINE,” SHE told me after we finished trying on costumes. We walked around the backyard, Freckles meowing in Ladasha’s arms, and sat at a bench after brushing off the snow covering it.
“It’s not,” I insisted.
“I ran into Eric last night.” When she said that, I raised an eyebrow. I wasn’t sure if they had spoken since the drunken car ride home on Friday. Whenever I mentioned it to either of them, they shrugged it off as if it had never happened.
“What happened?”
“It’s embarrassing,” she said. I asked her once again. It appeared Ladasha had been standing in the bathroom, door closed, giving herself one of her pep talks. “I realized I hadn’t felt comfortable or had confidence in myself in a long time…and after Eric mentioned it in the car that night, I knew I had to find it. So I stood in front of the mirror and said it over and over again. ‘I’m good enough.’
“And I kept saying it until I somewhat felt it. And when I opened the bathroom door, there he was. And he took my hands and said it back to me. Over and over again.” Her voice sang as she remembered her moment with Eric. She started to frown. “And then his fiancée had to go and be one of the nicest people ever. I’ve never met a person who hugs so much and is so touchy-feely. And I’m falling for her soon-to-be husband. I’m a terrible person.” She sighed, sticking out her bottom lip.
“It could be worse.” I smirked.
“How so?”
I opened my mouth to speak and closed it. My shoulders shrugged. “No. You’re right. You’re a terrible person.” Ladasha laughed and nudged me in the arm. She rested her head on my shoulder.
“What are we going to do with our lives?”
I had been wondering the same thing. There was one thing I knew—I didn’t want to stay in this small town anymore. I had outgrown it. And I didn’t want to be far from Ladasha. We needed each other. “Let’s go back to New York.”
Her eyes lit up and she grinned ear to ear. “I’m so glad you said that because I kind of sort of applied to a summer program at New York Film Academy.” I was ecstatic for her! Film was the right road for her to take. It was her everything and I knew she would shine at it. “Eric pushed me to do it last night.”
“Dasha, that’s amazing!”
“That’s not all. I kind of sort of applied for a job at a dance studio in New York. Under your name.” She closed her eyes to avoid seeing my reaction, “I would need a roommate and I couldn’t think of anyone else I would want to live with. Please don’t kill me.”
I didn’t kill her. I hugged her.





THE WEEK FLEW by, and it was two days before the big Christmas party. I was actually pretty excited for it all, surprisingly; it seemed to be shaping up to be a good time. I sat in the coach house with Cooper as he stared at his laptop, going over emails. “Have you seen my cell phone?” he asked. “I swear I hate those damn things. If it’s not physically attached to my body, I lose it.”
“I haven’t seen it.”
His hands ran across his face. I watched him murmur something under his breath before he spoke loud enough for me to hear him. “Shit. My manager said he has been calling me all week. He said it’s urgent. I need to go back to New York for a day to meet with him.”
“Why?” I wondered. It seemed like he was holding back from telling me something, fighting the urge to let me into his head completely.
“I have to take care of some work. Figure out a few issues.”
The sound of his voice was filled with worry, which in turn made me feel extremely troubled. “Coop, is everything all right?”
He bit the tip of his thumb and smiled. “Yeah. I’m sure it’s fine. He didn’t say what the problem was. Kyle overreacts. I’m sure it’s nothing.” He closed his laptop, leaned over, and kissed my nose.
I felt a vibration under me and pulled his cell phone out from the couch cushion before handing it to him. My heart raced as I looked at him with hopeful eyes. “Let me come with you.”