“Neddy sent for me. Said you were being a real flat tire.
Thought you needed some cheering up.”
As I try to process this, Fay slides close to me. Her lips press
to mine, sweet with traces of champagne. I’m still too surprised
by her presence to stop her. She kisses me for a moment and
then steps back. Swaying her hips slightly, she saunters over to
a billiards table and perches herself on it.
“Well? Aren’t you glad to see me?”
“Yes. It’s just that I didn’t expect—”
“I’m not so sure I’m glad to see you, Lon. You’ve been avoiding me awfully.”
“No,
I—”
“Maybe I ought to get myself another beau,” she says, examining her nails. “One who pays me proper attention.”
I come toward her. “Fay.”
“If you really cared, you’d take me out of this awful place and
carry me off somewhere nice.”
“I’d like to—”
“Dandy.” She hops off the table. “What are we waiting for?”
Taking my hand, she leads me back into the dank little hallway and across the crowded dance floor. On the street, bustling with glittering nightlife, she calls for a taxi cab with an ease I
find surprising for an upper-crust North Shore gal.
A questionable-looking jalopy chugs up and Fay pulls me
inside.
“Where should we go?” I ask, still trying to decide how I
feel about her unexpected arrival and her increasingly forward behavior.
“How about the Ritz?” she asks slyly.
“That’s where Ned and I are staying.”
“I know that, silly,” she says, laughing. “Where do you think
Neddy put me up?”
“Oh.”
Fay leans forward and taps the back of the driver’s seat. “To
the Ritz. Make it fast.”
We lurch off, and Fay leans over to face me. The feel of her
smooth lips on my face is familiar and exciting. She pulls my
hand onto her thigh, tantalizingly close to the lacy band of
her stockings. Her actions stir desire in me but also resistance.
What’s gotten into her? She’s always made her interest in me
clear, but never quite this forcefully.
Besides, while I care about Fay, I feel a strange loyalty to
Cassandra. Something passed between us on that beach. Even
if I never see her again, she left an indelible mark on me.
And being with Fay like this, but thinking of Cassandra, is a
betrayal of both women.
By the time we arrive at the Ritz, I’m starting to panic. The
way Fay glances back at me as she leads me to her room only
makes it worse. I can’t pretend to not understand what she’s
hoping for. I need to stop her. Save her the humiliation.
“Let’s go down to the pavilion,” I say, pulling at her hand.
“Grab a bite to eat.”
She laughs. “Don’t be silly, Lon.” She saunters ahead and
pulls out the key to her room. “We’ll just order some room
service.”
With a smile, she pushes open the door. I start to follow
but freeze in the door way. Fay sits on the red settee nearby,
stretching out her legs in a relaxed, but seductive pose.
“Aren’t you coming in? I’m getting a draft from that open
door.”
I grip the door frame. “I don’t think I ought to, Fay.”
Her brow lowers. “Ought to what?”
“It’s best if we call it a night.”
She sits up, her face bright with anger. “Excuse me?”
“I’ll call on you in the morning.”
I don’t dare meet her eyes as I turn away. It does pain me to
hurt her like this. She deserves a man who’ll worship her like
she desires. That man, however, can’t be me.
She calls my name, sharply, but I close the door, wincing. I
stride down the hall, praying she doesn’t follow me. She doesn’t.
I think she’s too shocked at the blatant rejection. With a heavy
heart, I go up the six floors to the suite Ned and I share.
As I approach, I notice a strip of light gleaming beneath the
door. Ned’s back. I guess he’s had enough bad hooch and jazz.
Raised voices drift out into the hall. I pause, my hand on
the doorknob.