Ripped at the Seams (6 page)

“And that's it,” Rain said, walking back into the living room. “Not much of a place, but it's home.”

“It looks amazing compared with where I've been staying,” Sami assured her. “The Beresford Arms is awful. There was a murder there today!”

“Yeah, that's not the greatest place,” Rain admitted.

“You know it?” Sami asked.

“No,” Rain replied. “But I've heard of it. And I know places like it. I stayed in a few of them when I first got here.”

“You're not from New York?” Sami asked.

Rain laughed. “No. I'm from Carmel Gardens, Virginia. It's a really small town. If you're ever driving through, don't blink. You might miss it.”

“Sounds like my hometown.”

“Where's that?”

“Elk Lake, Minnesota.”

Rain nodded understandingly. “And let me guess, everyone there thinks you're nuts for moving here.”

“Well, not everyone,” Sami admitted. “My brother and sister-in-law think it's great. But the rest of the people in town …”

“I know; I've been through it.” She waved her hand a bit. “So has just about everyone else I've ever met here.”

“Really?” Sami said.

“Sure. Sometimes I don't think there really is such a thing as a native Manhattanite.”

Sami looked at Rain. It was hard to believe this thin, sophisticated young woman had ever lived in a small town. She looked totally downtown New York in her black jeans and green Juicy cropped tee. Her ears were pierced several times—she had at least four hoops in each one. And she'd no trace of an accent. “How long have you lived in New York?” Sami asked her.

“'Bout a year,” Rain replied.

Sami hid her amazement. Was it possible that in one short year she might look as downtown hip as Rain did?

“So what do you do?” Rain asked, settling down in one of the chairs and indicating Sami should sit.

“Well, I want to be a designer,” Sami told her. “I mean, I
am
a designer. But right now I'm working as a receptionist at Ted Fromme Fashions.”

“Ooo, Ted Fromme. They make some nice stuff. Do you get a discount?”

“I don't know,” Sami admitted. “I could ask.”

“That would be cool.”

“So, what do you do?” Sami asked.

“I'm a model.”

“Wow!”

“Oh, it's not all that impressive,” Rain admitted. “Everyone in this neighborhood is either a model, an actress, an artist, or a musician. We're all also waiting tables.”

Sami giggled.

“But just because I serve veggie burgers at Dojo doesn't mean I'm not a real model,” Rain continued, folding her long legs beneath her on the couch. Her large hazel eyes grew animated as she talked about her fledgling modeling career. “I'm with an agency and everything. Chic Modeling. Have you heard of them?” Sami shook her head. “Well, they're pretty big. And they think I have a lot of potential. So far all I've done are a few catalog shots, but I'm hoping to get some runway work during the Bryant Park shows this year.”

“That would be really exciting,” Sami agreed, having no idea who Bryant Park was or what he designed.

Rain was about to answer when suddenly the bathroom door opened and a guy walked out. He looked to be about twenty-four or twenty-five years old. He was tall and dark haired, and had eyes the color of
coffee with just a drop of cream in them. But his most noticeable features were his broad shoulders and a killer set of six-pack abs—a fact Sami noticed right away, since he wasn't wearing anything more than a pair of cut-off shorts and a pair of sneakers. “Oh hey, Vin,” Rain said as he came into the living room. “I'd almost forgotten you were here. This is Sami.”

Sami gulped. Rain must have a boyfriend. She wondered if he stayed in the apartment often. There was only that thin Japanese screen between the beds, and Sami didn't think she'd be comfortable with Rain and this Vin person right next to her doing, well, whatever they might be doing.

Rain was looking at Sami and laughing. “I know what you're thinking,” she told Sami. “And don't worry. Vin doesn't stay here. He lives across the hall. He was just fixing a leak in the shower. If I had to wait for the super to do it …”

“I was glad to help.” Vin turned his amazing eyes toward Sami. “Self-preservation … The thought of Miss Workout Queen over here not being able to shower was just too
gross for me. The smell of pierogi coming from the Russian restaurant down the block is bad enough!”

Rain tossed a couch pillow at Vin. “Thanks, buddy. Just what I needed, you telling a potential roommate that I stink.”

“I didn't say you stink … just that we'd all be in trouble if I didn't fix that shower.”

Rain turned to Sami. “Watch out for this guy,” she warned. “He grew up in Brooklyn. You know no one from the OBs can be completely trusted.”

Sami tore her gaze from Vin and looked at Rain curiously. “OBs?”

“Outer boroughs,” Vin explained. “Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island. Rayna here is a total Manhattan snob.”

“Can I help it if I don't see any point in hanging out with the bridge-and-tunnel crowd?” she teased back.

“Rayna? Oh, I'm sorry,” Sami apologized quickly. “I thought you said your name was Rain.”

“It is,” Rain assured her.

“Oh, right,” Vin teased. “That's your name
now
. But all your friends and family
at home call you Rayna. It's Rayna Goldfein,” he told Sami.

“Oh, no!” Rain exclaimed suddenly. “You've told her my deep, dark secret. I'm sorry, Sami, but now I'm going to have to kill you.”

For a moment, Sami stared at her, not quite sure if she was kidding.

“Relax, kiddo, it was a joke,” Rain pointed out.

Sami smiled nervously. “I knew that. I'm just a little shaky after what happened at the Beresford Arms.”

“There was a murder at the hotel where she's been staying,” Rain explained to Vin.

“That's tough stuff to deal with,” Vin consoled her. “Anyone you know?”

Sami shook her head. “No. I don't know anyone there. I kind of keep to myself.” Talking about the Beresford Arms made Sami nervous. She quickly changed the subject. “What made you change your name?”

Raina shrugged. “The agency decided that Rayna Goldfein didn't have enough pizzazz. So now I'm just Rain G.”

“I like it,” Sami assured her.

“I like
you,
” Rain replied. She held out her hand toward Sami. “This is going to work out great. Two small-town girls in the big, bad city. We could take over!”

Sami reached out and shook Rains hand, sealing the deal.

“Heaven help us,” Vin teased.

“You'd better watch out,” Rain teased back. “Now it's two against one in this hallway. Country girls versus Brooklyn boy. You don't stand a chance.”

Vin looked back into Sami's blue eyes. “I think I'm lost already.”

It was almost eleven o'clock before Sami had a chance to check in with Celia and Al. Luckily, with the time difference, her best friend and her brother were still wide awake.

“Hello?” Celia answered.

“Hey, Celia!” Sami replied excitedly. “Guess where I am?”

“The Plaza Hotel?” Celia asked.

“No.”

“The Staten Island Ferry?”

“At this time of night?” Sami said, surprised.

“You're right,” Celia agreed with a laugh in her voice. “Where could you be calling from at eleven at night, New York time? How about prison?” Celia teased.

Sami giggled. “Of course not.”

“Okay, I give up. Where are you?”

“In my
apartment
!” Sami squealed.

“You got an apartment already?”

“Yup,
and
I got a job!”

Now it was Celia's turn to squeal. “You got a design job? Ohmigod! This is so exciting!”

“Well, it's not that exciting,” Sami admitted. “It's not exactly a design job. But I
am
working at a design house. I'm the receptionist at Ted Fromme Fashions.”

“Oh.” Celia clearly struggled not to sound disappointed. “Well, at least you're in the door. Maybe you can get someone there to look at your designs.”

“That's what I was thinking. My boss is a junior designer, so he'll look at them.” Sami thought for a moment. Bruce hadn't exactly said that he would look at her portfolio—but he hadn't said he wouldn't, either.

“What's your boss like?” Celia asked.

“Nice,” Sami assured her. “He's very supportive. He took me out to lunch today. We have a good time at the office. And he's got the biggest green eyes, and a great smile.”

“Sounds like Sami's got a crush … ,” Celia teased.

“No.” Sami denied it vehemently—maybe
too
vehemently. “I'm just describing him, that's all.”

“Okay.” Celia didn't sound convinced.

“Ceil …”

It was Celia's turn to giggle. “So tell me about the apartment. Where are you?”

“In the East Village, just off St. Marks Place. I have a great roommate. Her name is Rain, and she's a model.”

“Wow! A model! How cool is that?” Celia seemed suitably impressed.

“It's a lot of fun around here,” Sami assured her. “Everyone's so nice. The guy across the hall's a carpenter from Brooklyn. He's nice, but he's really tough. You wouldn't want to mess with him. He went up to the hotel with me to get my stuff, and he convinced the manager not to charge me for today, since I wasn't sleeping
there or anything.” Sami smiled, remembering how Vin had stood tall over Bud, threatening him without even saying a word. Bud had crumbled like a pile of dust. “And by the time we got back here, Rain had brought in pierogis for dinner.”

“What are pierogis?” Celia asked.

“Oh, they're these Russian potato-onion crepe things. They're so delicious. I've never eaten anything like them!”

“Everything sounds really great, Sami,” Celia said with a voice slightly tinged with envy.

Sami knew Celia well enough to sense the small drop of melancholy in her tone. There was a time Celia had had big dreams too. But now, with the baby and all … Immediately, Sami changed the subject. “So, what's new with you?”

“Well, I think I might have felt the baby kick,” Celia whispered into the phone.

“How cool is that!” Sami exploded. “Al must have flipped.”

“Al doesn't know,” Celia whispered.

“Why not? And why are you whispering?”

“Because I'm not sure it was really the baby kicking. It felt like a little flutter, but it could have been gas. Anyway, I don't want Al getting all excited until I'm sure. You know how he gets. He'll have his hand on my stomach all the time, and you can't even feel it from the outside yet.”

“Oh Celia, I wish I were there with you for all this,” Sami said honestly.

“Just make sure that cute boss of yours gives you time off at the end of January to come home and meet your little niece or nephew.”

“Oh, I'll be there,” Sami promised. “I wouldn't miss it for
anything
.”

“I know,” Celia replied softly. “But you'd better hang up and get some rest. You're a working girl now!”

“Gee, I am, aren't I?” Sami said excitedly. “Hey, will you tell my dad I'm okay?”

“You haven't called him yet?” Celia asked her.

“I've tried to, a few times. But I always hang up before he can answer. It was so bad between us before I left. I'm sort of afraid to talk to him.”

Celia was quiet for a minute. Sami
knew her best friend—and now sister-in-law—was remembering how Mac Granger could get when he was crossed. She also knew that he was still extremely angry at Sami for leaving Elk Lake. Everyone in town knew it. Even before she left, Mac wasn't shy about sharing his frustration with Sami with just about everyone who walked into his coffee shop. No, Sami wasn't wrong for not calling her dad just yet.

“Don't worry, Sam, he'll come around,” Celia said finally. “And when he does, I'll make sure he calls you.”

“Thanks.”

After giving her best friend her new phone number and address, Sami hung up the phone and walked into the darkened bedroom. She could hear Rain snoring softly from her bed on the other side of the screen. Moving quietly so as not to wake her roommate, Sami set her alarm for 6:30 and climbed into her very own bed in her very own apartment.

When the downstairs bell rang Saturday evening, Sami's heart skipped a beat. “That's Bruce,” she called out to Rain from the bedroom. “Could you buzz him up? I'm not ready yet!” Sami's tone was filled with excitement that had been building for quite a while. She'd been working at Ted Fromme for almost three weeks now, and this was the first time Bruce had made good on his promise to take her out and introduce her to the New York club scene.

“You're kidding,” Rain called back. “You've been getting ready for this date since this morning.”

“It's not a date,” Sami reminded her as
she walked out into the living room. “Bruce just volunteered to show me a little bit of the New York nightlife.”

“Uh-huh,” Rain replied, sounding completely unconvinced. “I know I always spend an hour on my hair and makeup when I'm just hanging out with a friend.” She pressed the button by the buzzer to let the front door of the building open, then she opened their door to the hallway a bit. “He's on his way,” she warned Sami as soon as she heard the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs.

“Oh, no! Do I look okay?” Sami asked nervously.

Rain laughed. “Why? Does it matter? I mean this isn't a
date
or anything, is it?”

Sami rolled her eyes, stuck her tongue out playfully in Rain's direction, and then ran back into the bedroom for one last check in the mirror.