Etoile (The Mannequin Series) (15 page)

Nineteen

“I really don't like you very much right now,” Tyler hissed at Elodie after the four girls had excused themselves to venture on a mass exodus to the bathroom.

The six of them were on a very intimate date together at a quaint brasserie a few blocks from the model apartment, seated around two tiny outdoor tables in rickety metal chairs. The remnants of two giant bowls of chocolate mousse, which the four teens had demolished together, lay in their wake.

“Why?” she asked innocently with widened eyes, trying her best not to break out in laughter as she inhaled lightly from the pastel pink cigarette clasped delicately in her fingers.

“Nice way to cock-block,” he replied grumpily, stomping his own cigarette butt out on the floor.

Elodie gave him an amused look. “I do not really think it is, how do you say, cock-blocking when I am the one blocking your... you.”

“Well, I didn't sign up to babysit a bunch of kids,” he whined as he finished off his beer.

“Well,
I
thought you said that you were going to go running,” Elodie teased, gesturing to his outfit.

“I did go running,” he pouted, grabbing for her half-empty glass of Pinot Noir.

She gave him a pointed stare. “Even I know that you did not come running to our apartment across the city in $1,000 Balmain sneakers and a cashmere sweater.”

“I ran from the taxi,” he countered, downing the contents of the glass and shooting her a long glare for dramatic effect.

Before she could come up with a sarcastic response, the server came out with the bill. Tyler put down his credit card before she could react and looked at Elodie with a tired expression. “It sure is hard raising a family, honey,” he lamented as the server came and whisked it away.

It was difficult for her not to smile while sitting with him on the cozy corner patio on that perfect Parisian evening, basking in the dim glow of the streetlamps above. Tyler's face softened and he began to reach for her hand as she dropped her finished cigarette on the ground, but their little moment was cut short by the reemergence of the boisterous teenage girls.

“Thank you for dinner, Tyler,” Klara cooed as she rushed to sit in the chair on the other side of him. A look of disappointment flashed across Mira's face as she slumped into the seat next to her.

“Thank you for dinner,” the three others chirped in unison, fawning over him as he took his receipt from the server.

Tyler flashed them a big grin, obviously enjoying his mini fan meeting. “It was my pleasure. Anything for friends of Elodie's.”

“Oh, yes,” Lauren nodded excitedly as she shot Elodie a thankful smile. “She's like our big sister!”

Elodie couldn't help but give an appreciative laugh as the rest of the girls bobbed their pretty heads in agreement. Though their eagerness was a bit overwhelming, they were very cute.

“Yea, she must be a great big sister. I'm sure she could give you guys a lot of good advice since she's basically ancient with
eons
of experience. Old people are really wise, you know,” Tyler stated blankly as he shot Elodie a smirk. She glared back at him in annoyance. She wasn't that much older than them, she thought bitterly as she sulked in her chair.

Lauren didn't catch the jab, her face lighting up as she replied breathlessly, “I really hope so.”

Tyler rose up first, after which the girls shot up from their seats. “What should we do now?” he asked nonchalantly as her four flatmates shook in anticipation like little Chihuahuas. Elodie trailed slowly behind as they followed him like shadows out onto the sidewalk.

“We could all go grab some drinks together,” Lauren suggested nervously, never once tearing her eyes away from him. “We can go to La Perle or Le Connétable. Everyone goes to those. They're, like, right here,” she continued, observing his face for any reaction. Tyler seemed oblivious to the girls' enamored stares as he checked emails on his phone.

Elodie piped up from behind the huddled group. “It is actually quite late, so I think I will just go home. We have an early call time tomorrow, but you guys should go and have fun,” she said with an encouraging smile, smoothing out the wrinkles in her simple black Maje dress. The four teens were dressed similarly, all having put on various styles of black dresses after observing Elodie's outfit choice.

Tyler's face glanced up from his glowing screen. “Yea, you girls go and have fun. I'll walk the old lady home,” he said with a suggestive smile in Elodie's direction.

The girls cried out in protests as Lana tugged at Elodie's thin arm. “Come on!” she pleaded with doe-like eyes. “Just one drink!”

With a defeated sigh, Elodie nodded her head. One drink couldn't hurt, after all. The girls would surely keep him away from her at a safe distance, too.

Elodie walked alongside Lauren as the teenagers flanked Tyler on either side, jabbering his ears off with hundreds of inane questions, from what moisturizer he used to what it was like walking for Comme des Garçons. She was pleasantly surprised at how genuinely he answered them, not showing even the slightest hint of annoyance.

And Tyler hadn't been exaggerating like the arrogant male model that he was—the street photographers, tourists and everyday citizens there really
were
infatuated with him. They were stopped a number of times while making their way down the narrow street of Rue Saint-Gilles, as giddy women and gay men asked him to pose with them for the occasional camera phone picture, which Lauren happily volunteered to snap. And once they reached the busy corner at which the bar was located, clicks and the sound effects of camera shutters could be heard constantly.

The bar was bustling with hip young patrons, with the fashionable crowd spilling out onto the street. Inside, the air was muggy and thick, as the place was packed to the brim with beautiful and artsy people. It was so loud, filled with the words of a hundred concurrent conversations, that it was difficult for Elodie to hear herself think as Tyler passed her a glass of champagne, his fingertips lightly grazing her own until she pulled her hand away.

When she looked up, she saw that he was staring at her intently with a small smile. It took every ounce of willpower in her body to break away from his gaze as the rambunctious noise surrounding them faded in her ears. Though she couldn't tell if it was due to the radiating heat coming off of the bodies pushed up against her, she suddenly felt very flustered and claustrophobic.

After what seemed like an hour-long struggle, she finally made her way outside onto the sidewalk and took a gulp of her drink, breathing a sigh of relief as the cool night air hit her cheeks. The three glasses of wine that she had at dinner hit her like a ton of bricks, and she realized that she was actually quite drunk. While mentally scolding herself for not eating nearly enough to pad her stomach, she felt a warm arm drape across her bare shoulders.

“Finally,” Tyler huffed out as she stiffened in surprise. “Some peace and quiet. Those kids can really talk, you know that?” Elodie could feel his stare on her as she looked straight ahead at the row of windows on the building across the street, trying to gather her thoughts as her heart and brain pounded rhythmically. To their right, a group of three obviously American girls yelled over each other noisily, much to the annoyance of the chic French couple enjoying their cigarettes to their left.

“They might be your biggest fans,” she told him with a laugh, watching two drunken Parisian men argue about electronic music a few yards away, trying her best to avoid his eyes. Meanwhile, she could hear one of the drunken girls utter Tyler's name in what she must have believed to be hushed tones. The other couple tossed their cigarettes onto the curb and walked back inside, muttering about the “fucking Americans” in annoyed French.

His arm lifted off of her shoulders as he let out a big sigh. Once again, he did that irritating thing where he grasped the top of her head with his hand, turning her agitated face towards his own. “Now I know what it feels like,” he playfully joked as he batted his lashes at her. Why the hell are his eyelashes so long, Elodie couldn't help but wonder to herself.

“Excuse me,” one of the American girls loudly interrupted, poking Tyler on the shoulder with an impeccably manicured finger. One of her friends giggled uproariously at the audacity of their inebriated friend as they inched closer, their expensive heels clicking against the pavement. “I don't know if you remember me,” she began drunkenly. “But I interned at Edun last semester and I styled you for the show in February. Do you?”

Despite the six-inch Prada heels on which she was dangerously teetering, she was barely taller than Elodie, who was wearing her trusty Lanvin flats. Tyler let go of Elodie's head as he turned to the generic-looking blonde curiously. “Oh, yea,” he lied lazily. “What was your name again?”

The girl could barely hide her excitement as she tried her best to coolly reply. “Samantha. These are my friends, Jillian and Jacqueline.” She gestured to a petite blonde and a stunning brunette who towered over her two friends. Elodie could tell right away that they were New Yorkers, what with their tiny waists, shiny hair and Chanel handbags.

“Cool,” Tyler replied with a bored smile as he placed his empty plastic beer cup onto one of the metal tables outside. He lit a cigarette and rested it in the corner of his mouth. “Nice to see you again.”

Samantha and Jillian tittered nervously as the brunette named Jacqueline looked Elodie up and down with a vacant expression on her face. Despite the fair amount of alcohol that had loosened her nerves temporarily, Elodie suddenly felt very self-conscious. Tyler noticed her discomfort and grabbed her around the shoulders again, much to the dismay of the giggly Samantha.

“Do you know my girlfriend?” he asked nonchalantly as he flicked the ash off the end of his Marlboro Light. “She was in a ton of shows too. Maybe one of you guys styled her.”

God, he's such an asshole, Elodie thought, trying not to laugh. However, her mood grew somber when she remembered that she had not, in reality, been in a ton of shows. In fact, she had only been casted for a smattering of grueling, back-to-back shows for obscure designers that were located across town from each other. If she were to tabulate all of the taxi fares and measly paychecks involved, she would likely find that she had lost money to stomp down those shitty runways.

She had, thankfully, been cast for a handful of presentations for some of the bigger designers, during which she had been paid, in either money or trade, to stand as a still-life mannequin. She grimaced as she thought back on how her legs had trembled after standing in too-small shoes for hours on end as rich customers nibbled on hors d'oeuvres and commented on the 'look' in which she had been clothed.

“I don't think so,” Samantha muttered in disappointment as Jillian stared at Elodie curiously. Jacqueline continue to peer off into the distance, obviously disinterested in her friend's drunken antics. “Well, it was good seeing you,” the blonde girl blurted out dejectedly as she dragged her friends away.

Tyler laughed in amusement after they were out of earshot, beaming at Elodie. “God, girls are fucking crazy,” he said with a grin as he beckoned for her glass of champagne and finished it. “That one chick looked like she wanted to murder you.”

Despite her gratefulness, she shot him an annoyed look. “Stop telling people that I am your girlfriend,” she grumbled as she fretted with her ruffled hair.

“Why would I lie?” he asked with big eyes as he pulled her closely against him, placing his hand dangerously low on her back. She could feel his warm breath on her cheek, causing her to hold her own as a tingle ran up her spine. Self-control, she urged herself as she swatted his hand away, just in time for Lauren to come stumbling over.

“Oh my God, where have you guys been,” she slurred drunkenly as she linked arms with Elodie. “We were, like, totally looking for you both this whole time. All these, like, really gross old guys kept buying us drinks, but we don't even understand what they're saying,” the girl guffawed as Klara and Mira came sauntering up to them. All three of the girls looked worse for wear, and Elodie couldn't help but feel protective of them.

“We should get all of you home,” she suggested happily as she shot Tyler a victorious smile. He merely looked back at her with a frown on his face, as there was no arguing that the night was clearly over. Taking the hint, he obediently made his way over onto the street to hail taxis for them.