Beautiful Disaster (The Bet) (8 page)

"Wow, Maddie, might wanna say that louder, I don't think they heard you in China." Ellie deadpanned
,
glaring at her red-haired friend.

"I'm sorry," she said sheepishly. "But, God, Ellie, you actually have a baby."

"I know, kinda shocked the hell out of me too
,
when I found out, but I wouldn't trade Sophie in for the world. I love that chubby little monster." She said with mother's pride, her hazel eyes gleaming.

Maddie’s heart softened at the sight, her earlier misgivings set momentarily aside at this new
ly
found discovery of the girl she was beginning to consider her best friend. Ellie, Maddie was finding out, was a very private person, who didn't seem at all eager to share the intricacies of her life with anyone. The fact that she'd found reason enough to share something this big with her meant that their fledgling friendship was growing and Maddie couldn't have felt more honored.

"I know you're dying to know, so go ahead and ask me." Ellie said with a smile.

"How…how did it happen? I mean I know
how
it happened, but…"she flushed, Ellie took pity on her.

She shrugged, "I met a guy I thought was the one, you know, perfect ev
erything. But he turned out to not be
so great for me, so I left when I found out I was pregnant."

"Oh Ellie," Maddie quickly empathized
she reached
out her arm around Ellie's shoulder and pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry."

Ellie shrugged again, released the sigh she hadn't known she was holding and peered at Maddie. "Don't be, I'm not.  Mistakes are made to be learned from and I've learned mine in spades. Sophie, despite how she came into the world, is the best thing to happen to me, hands down one of the best mistakes of my life." She smiled, leaning into Maddie's embrace.
"You should come over sometime.
I'll introduce you."

"I think I might just take you up on that offer." The sound of a bouncing basketball drew their attention to the center of
the gym where Ms. Hatcher stood and
bounced the ball a few times, before tucking it beneath her right arm. She blew a whistle to direct the rest of her wayward class to her.

"Alright, everyone on the court! I want you in three groups of five, one group to my right
,
the second to the left hoop. The third and first team will alternate every ten minutes. Give me layups!" The remainder of gym class was spent practicing basketball drills to Hatchet face's whistle. The only
positive event
for both Ellie and Maddie
was
that they were both chosen to be on third team, which meant they had a full ten minute break before they were due on the court.

Chapter F
ive

"I love his use of colors in this painting. The light seems to play off the child's face." Ellie stretched her fingers barely inches from the oil painting indicating the myriad of colors swirling across
the
canvas, the translucency of the paint in
some areas haloing the subject;
this
child. The ambiguity of the child's gender made the painting that much more appealing.

She awaited a response and when none was forthcoming
,
she spun around to see where Nicholas had gone.
She had not needed
to look far for her elusive escort, for there he stood, a distance away from where she was, a look of utter boredom across his too perfect features. From where she stood, Ellie carefully assessed him, wondering how it was at all possible for someone who professed to adore Yves Charmant's work as much as Nicholas did, to remain so utterly impassive to the exquisite art pieces around
him
.

They were nearing the end of their tour around the gallery and not once in the last two hours had he commented on any of the artwork, not unless one considered noncommittal grunts as remarks.

True to his word, he'd arrived at her house promptly at eight. Ellie hadn't allowed him time to hop off his motorcycle to greet Gabe. She'd been out of the house and on his bike in seconds, hastily kissing Sophie goodnight. The trip downtown had been exhilarating
,
to say the least and this time, she'd been lucid enough to actually enjoy the ride. They'd eaten dinner at a small Thai restaurant a few blocks from the gallery and as they sucked down their Thai ice teas and walked the short distance to the gallery, Ellie had been forced to admit that Nicholas presented a good time.

He was quick with the jokes, although still comported himself like a gentleman, his charm in the irreverent
twist
of his full
lips. He was sweet in a way and
twice during their meal
,
she’d even managed to catch
a glimpse of the true Nicholas; t
he Nicholas who didn't need to hide behind the ‘I'm
a bad boy' façade. The Nicholas that
Ellie found she could actually see herself becoming friends with
,
if his ego allowed it.

"Tell me Nicholas, which of Charmant's earlier works do you find most fascinating?" With a kind smile for the couple heading her way, Ellie stepped aside, allowing them ample opportunity to view the painting she now saw as one of her many favorites.
She
gave him a dubious glance
and was perversely satisfied to see his sudden alertness. 

"Works?"

With the shuffle of the oncoming crowd she found herself standing incredibly close to him, an
d with an
inadvertent shove from behind
, she was
sent tumbling into his arms. He had quick reflexes and used them effectively to catch her before she fell. His left arm spanned her waist and with the other he brushed her unbound hair from her face. The sweep of his warm hand against her skin produced a flush in Ellie, her cheeks warming beneath his palm.

"Are you alright?" the gruffness of his voice drew her gaze to him and Ellie wished she hadn't looked. His eyes held her spellbound; they weren't as completely gray as she'd initially believed, ice-blue flecks speckled through the gunmetal gray, an odd mix that made them oh-so appealing. She licked her lips and watched in fascination as those pale blue flecks dilated, fusing in with the gray. The intimacy of their embrace was not at all lost on her and when lucidity returned, she was out of his arms and standing at a less unsettling distance. He raised one elegant brow at her haste, his trademark grin settling on
his
lips. "You OK?"

Despite the slight tinge in her cheeks, Ellie managed to compose herself and toss the grinning rat a glare. "I'm fine." She huffed, "And I asked you a question before I was shoved." She said indignantly.

"Right." Nicholas glanced at her, the sly look in her hazel eyes was a familiar tell and mindlessly he thought she would make a horrible poker player. 

Nicholas kept his amusement to himself while he silently applauded
her attempt to trip him up; he'd nearly fallen for her artlessly crafted trap. Seconds ago, standing as close as he'd been to her, he would have said just about anything for a chance to kiss her. She probably had the best set of full lips he'd ever seen on a girl. He'd wanted to stoop down and taste them to see if they tasted as delectable as they appeared. Of course he wouldn't give into his
baser instincts, not yet anyway
. If he had any hope of getting anywhere with her, he
carefully
had to tread.

Ellie Holbrook wasn't the typical John Edgar nitwit and the more time he spent with her, the more Nicholas realized his regular bag of tricks was not going to work on her. She presented a challenge, no doubt about that, but, it was a challenge he was all too eager to overcome. The victory did not matter
as
much as the thrill of the chase.

"I'm not a fan of his earlier works, but that one," he cocked his head to the painting behind her left shoulder, adjacent to the one they had
faced
moments ago. She turned and he took the chance to step behind her, his hand settling on her shoulders, "might very well be one of my favorites."

The painting depicted a nude man standing at the center of the canvas surrounded by infinite darkness. The colors used to accentuate the pigment of his flesh were subtle but no less riveting. On his weathered features one could see the scars of life wreathed across, deeply enrooted in earth toned skin. His hunched shoulders
hinted at the battles he had
waged and lost, the weight of his troubles seemingly shrinking him to size. But despite all of that, it was the profound sadness in his eyes---the aching sadness so real and arresting that it seemed almost tangible, that always managed to evoke Ellie's tears.

It did so now and it was all she could do to keep herself from blubbering like a little child. "The first time I saw this painting," she felt him so close, having momentarily forgotten he was there, Ellie stiffened slightly. His breath whispering softly against the shell of her ear sent shivers hurtling down her spine. "I almost cried. The raw essence of pain captured in his eyes made me realize just how vulnerable we are to our emotions." Nicholas stepped back as she unexpectedly whirled
around toward
him.

"You really didn't just say that." Ellie was flabbergasted. Disbelief had her gaping, certain that she hadn't just heard her sentiments parroted back to her. It was impossible, the words too exact to be called a coincidence. He'd practically recited them verbatim. She'd written that entry in her online journal the first time she'd seen Charmant's "
Void
" and the damn bastard had more than likely found it, read it, and was using it now to appear sensitive? How stupid did he think she was?

Wordlessly
,
she spun on her heel and found the nearest exit, sure that if she'd remained a second longer
,
she would've resorted to violence. "Ellie!"
Ignoring
his calls she lengthened her strides, dodging through obstacle
s
of human bodies, she was out of the building in record time. She lifted her hand to hail a cab
,
but the grip on her arm prevented her from doing so. Nicholas spun her around, the hold on her arm remained gentle but firm even in the face of her
scowl
.

"Let go!" She attempted to pull her arm away, Nicholas's hold remained firm.

"Mind telling me what I did first?"

"God! I can't believe I actually allowed myself to fall for your bullshit! And to think, I even believed you were somewhat of a decent human being. Well
,
you know what, Nicholas, you can go to hell." She wrenched her arm from his grasp and walked away from him, stomping in the opposite direction of where he'd parked his bike. She didn't know where she was going, didn't much care at the present moment, all that mattered was that she get as far away from him as she could.

"Ellie!" He was at her side and even with his longer strides he had to double his efforts to catch up to her. "Ellie...will you stop a sec..."

"Fuck off, Nicholas."

"Look
,
I'm sorry
,
Ok?" he stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and
cried
, "Ellie Holbrook, I'm sorry! I was a dick and I'm sorry!"

Ellie stopped short, turned around and found him on his knees a distance away. Having gained an audience, he interlaced his hands in front of him in
the
semblance of prayer. "I was only trying to impress you. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I really wasn't trying to piss you off and I'm sorry if I did."

"You’re making a scene, Nicholas, get up!"

"Not until you forgive me!"

She blew out an exasperated breath. "Fine, I forgive you, now get up!" she said through gritted teeth.

He remained on his knees, much to the gathering crowd's amusement. "You don't mean it." He intoned, putting on display that stupid grin of his.

She folded her arms across her chest and glowered at him, "I forgive you for being an asshole, now please, get up."

He was before her in a blink of an eye,
then
leaned close and brushed a kiss against her cheek. "I know I seem to be saying this a lot, but I am sorry." He said, his smile, genuine in its entire effect, enhanced already perfect features and Ellie found her irritation vanishing. When his hand searched hers out and entwined their fingers, she blamed the fluttering of her heart on indigestion.

The crowd, seemingly satisfied at their happy reunion, clapped and aww-ed before continuing on their way. Ellie and Nicholas walked among them, the silence between the two, impregnable. They were not too far now from where he’d parked the bike and before they could go any further, Ellie stopped walking and turned to him.

"I don't let too many people get close to me, Nicholas. Don't make me regret befriending you," she glanced up at him, "Don't hurt me, OK?" Hazel eyes held sterling grey as her words hung suspended between them.