A/N: Hey everyone! Well this is my first story that I posted here, please
read and review for me because I have a tendency to not finish the stories
I begin. But I think with a few reviews, I could finish it! Oh yeah,
anything with brand labels I don't own! If there's any errors, sorry! I
read it over as much as I can, but I don't have a beta. If you would like
to do it, leave a message for me in the review section or email me! Any
kind of reviews are welcome, even flames cuz it tells me what I'm doing
wrong! Read and Review please!
Kaleigh's POV
September 21, 2003
"So what was the ruling?" I asked Angel Santos, one of my roommates, best friends and also one of my partners for our presentation in our Constitutional Issues class as we sat around the kitchen table in our three- bedroom New York City loft.
"I'm not sure. Gillian will you check your notes?" My other best friend, roommate and partner groaned as she reached down and pulled out her binder filled with notes that she had printed off from the library.
"Five to four in favor of the plaintiff. Can we please drop this until tomorrow? It's not due until Tuesday and it's Friday night! The night is young!" Gillian Carter pleaded.
I frowned. I really wanted to get as much done as possible since I knew that the longer we put it off, the less chance that we were going to do really well. I worked my ass off to get into NYU Law School and worked even harder to get good grades my first year. I wasn't about to receive decent grades in my second year.
"I'm fine with it," Angel said in the soft voice of hers as she brushed her long dark brown hair into a ponytail. She was the soft-spoken one out of the three of us yet she still had the potential to become a great lawyer since she was good at litigation even with her soft voice.
"Kaleigh?" Gillian turned to look at me with her red, curly hair bouncing all over the place. She was the partier of the three of us, yet she still managed to get decent grades at the same time.
Gillian wasn't as interested in getting her law degree as Angel and I because it was her father's wish for her to become a lawyer.
"Fine. Whatever, but we better not go to some party at some college frat house. I'm not ready to get a major hangover so I can't work tomorrow."
I was the studious one of the three, the one that spent all the time and energy in studying. I wasn't too into the party scene and this was the first time I was really going out since we started our second year at the end of August.
"Let's head over to "The Underground"," Gillian said mentioning the local bar a few streets down as she jumped out of her chair and headed towards her room to change.
"There's suppose to be a really good band playing there tonight."
Somehow I had the feeling that Gillian had been planning this all day and had even picked out what she was going to wear. I sighed and got up from my chair and headed in the opposite direction Gillian had.
We had a large and spacious loft where when someone walked through the front door they could see the farther wall was made up of windows that looked out to the city. The kitchen was to the right, closed off by walls though there was no door, just a large entranceway in the wall. On the left was the couch and loveseat with a glass coffee table and the television. Ahead, near the windows was our round kitchen table. Walking past the closed off kitchen and along the wall of windows to the right was my bedroom and private bath, while to the left was Gillian and Angel's bedrooms with their shared bathroom into between the two rooms.
I went into my closet and decided to go simple, wearing a black tank top and a pair of black pants. I put on a pair of black platforms, grabbed my purse and coat and headed down the hall to sit in front of the television. Even though Gillian probably already had her outfit picked out, she was going to take a while.
I channel surfed for a while and turned off the TV when Angel came out of her room. She was wearing an off white top with lace around the edges of the shirt and a long denim skirt.
I grinned since I knew she was being conservation because of her fiancé back home in Michigan.
"Shut up," Angel said as she headed towards me holding two bottles of perfume in her hand.
"I didn't say anything!" I defended myself while laughing.
"I knew what you were thinking. Which one?" she asked holding up a bottle of Clinique's Happy and BCB Girls' Star. I sniffed both and pointed to the BCB Girls' Star.
"It matches what your wearing today.plus I think the name is all you," I joked earning a slap on the arm and a grin from Angel.
"You want to wear the Clinique?" Angel asked holding out the bottle.
I took it and sprayed my wrists and my neck. She took back the bottle and put it back in her room and came out and joined me on the couch. We sat there for half and hour discussing various topics, from the newest Shane West movie to Gillian's newest ex-boyfriend.
Gillian was notorious for having many short-term relationships one right after another. She usually met a guy somewhere at a party and dated them about a week before dumping them and moving on to the next guy.
Our answering machine always had messages on it and Angel and I were paid to tell each ex-boyfriend that she had moved out of the loft to Las Vegas.
"So you going to finally give some guy your number tonight Kaleigh?" Angel asked me after we finished out discussion on Gillian's love life.
Unlike Gillian, I haven't had a boyfriend for about two years, the last one was right before college graduation and it had ended when I learned he was cheating on me, like every boyfriend I had ever had, and like my dad as well.
I grew up with my mom and her rich parents in Boston after my dad had walked out of us when I was thirteen. I was old enough to understand what was going on but I wasn't old enough to do anything.
After my dad left and after each unsuccessful relationship, I began to hate men more and more. I didn't mind them as friends or colleagues, I just hated the idea of dating them and marrying them. I didn't mind thinking that I would die an old maid, because I was thinking that I would die a rich old maid.
"Do you even have to ask?" I asked Angel with my eyebrow raised.
"Kaleigh, you haven't been on a date in two years! Don't you think that it's time to get out a little and have some fun? Plus, not all guys are like your two ex-boyfriends," Angel argued.
"Try seven," I mumbled.
"Oh, well that's hardly a large part of the male population!"
"It's easy for you to say. You have a loyal fiancé at home."
Angel was one of the small town girls who dated the same guy all throughout high school and college. He was an aspiring architect and working for some company in Michigan.
Once Angel finished law school, he was planning to come out to New York and start a life with her. It wasn't easy for them to manage a long- distance relationship, but somehow they managed. She even had a rock on her finger to show their love to the world.
I noticed that Angel was about to say something so I opened my mouth and yelled for Gillian. I wasn't in the mood to get into a discussion about my love life. I had enough to do already with law school studies.
"Gillian! Are you fucking ready yet?"
"Yeah! Geez! I'm in there for forty-five minutes and you start to have a cow!" Gillian yelled as she threw open her door and stormed out. I looked over to Angel and rolled my eyes as she laughed.
As I predicted, Gillian went full out as she was wearing a green strapless dress that came up to mid-thigh with tan colored platforms. She had put on a necklace with a green stone pendant and a matching bracelet. She even went as far as to straighten her ever so curly hair.
"You guys ready to go?" Angel asked. We trooped towards the door with our jackets, down the elevator and into the cold, biting New York air.
James' POV
I sat in the office with my head in my hands. I had been busy today looking up information for the divorce case that was coming up in a week. I had second chair to one of the partners of the firm and I knew that if I did well, I could have a chance to be first chair in my own case.
Besides all the stuff that was going on in the firm today, I had my phone ringing off the hook when some girl I had met a few days ago kept calling to see if I wanted to meet first for coffee, then lunch, and finally dinner.
I managed to turn her down all three times and break up with her with the famous "Its not you, its me" line. I used the excuse that I had too much work and couldn't get around to having a girlfriend. I saw my best friend Eric, who worked in the same firm, shake his head and laugh. He had heard me use the line too many times to count.
Girls have a tendency to fall for me and write down their numbers with a smile from me. What can I say? I've always been charming, though not always handsome. Eric says that my tendency to date so many women for such a short time was always due to the lack of relationships in high school.
I was short, scrawny and disgusting in high school and it wasn't until my college years that I began to transform into the 6'3'', muscular womanizer that I am today.
It's not that I'm scared of commitment; it's more like the fact that I would rather date a bunch of women than just one. I mean who knows? I could be dating one for three years and someone even better could be off somewhere else.
I've only had one long and real relationship and that was my last year of college. All through law school I was committed to weeklong relationships with cute chicks and one-night stands. And to this day it still works for me.
I lifted my hands off my head when I heard a knock on the door to my small office.
"Tough day huh?" Eric asked as he stood outside my door. He stood at 5'11'' and had dark brown hair to go along with his dark brown eyes.
"You don't even know. It didn't help when Candy, Bambi, whatever her name is, kept calling. I have this deposition to prepare for. Who knows? If I do well on this case I might be able to start receiving my own cases. Damn! It's about time. I've been working here for a year, I should start arguing my own cases."
"You know the procedure around here. There's enough lawyers to argue all the cases and for all the newer ones to practice by being second or third chair. They don't want to take the chance of losing a lot of cases. Plus, your lucky you have the chance to prove that you can take first chair. I'm still stuck working between second and third, I don't think my chance is coming anytime soon either," Eric answered sitting down in the chair in front of my desk.
"Sorry for bitchin," I said to Eric. It took him a while to get the hang of things but after that he was damn good at what he did.
"I think we need to get out of here. What do you think about "The Underground" tonight?"
"Need to get some other chick's number huh?" Eric asked grinning.
"I don't know, I'll see what happens tonight," I answered. Eric rolled his eyes.
"Whatever James. That's what you always say and you always either end up getting the girl's number or sleeping with her."
"Yeah? What about you? I'm not the only one that gets numbers and sleeps with women," I retorted. Even though I knew that girls fell for me easily, I didn't want to come off as too arrogant, even if it was with Eric whom I knew for my entire life.
"So? The point is that I don't do it as much as you do. Every single time we're at the bar you walk off with someone or have a napkin in your hand with a number scrawled on it."
"Why are we even talking about this? Look, what time is it? It's around seven, everyone is probably off now. Let's just to "The Underground" okay?" I picked up my jacket and headed out my office door waiting for Eric to follow so I could lock my door. I didn't know why I didn't feel like talking about my relationships with Eric, it was something that I always did.
We went down the elevator and into New York City's cool air in silence. It wasn't that I wasn't in the mood to talk or anything, it was just that I didn't really know what was wrong with Eric or why I didn't want to talk about my "relationships".
"Look, I'm sorry okay? I didn't mean to push you or make you sound bad," Eric apologized.
"No, you don't have to apologize. It's true and I don't know why I jumped on you like that." I answered. He nodded and we continued to walk along in silence until he brought up the latest Knicks game.
By the time we got to the bar, we were deep in discussion about whether they would make the playoffs or not.
"I'm telling you James, this is the year that they're going to make it. The drought is over!"
"In your dreams Eric! As much as I love the Knicks, they don't have the power or the skill to do it, you're going to have to wait a few more years," I commented as I pushed open the door to "The Underground" and seated myself at the bar.
Today there was a band playing and they were warming up on the stage at the back on the room. There were a few tables in front of the stage and were occupied by mostly girls.
"What can I get you guys?" the bartender asked after we took off our jackets.
"Beer?" I looked over to Eric and he nodded.
"Two beers," I told the bartender. Once we got our beers the band started to play so I turned around in on my stool to listen.
The band wasn't half bad and after they were done I turned back towards the bar, but not before I caught sight of three women stand up from their table near the front of the stage. Two headed towards the back where the bathrooms were while the third sauntered up to bar and sat on the stool next to mine.
The girl was pretty and she knew it. She had on a green strapless dress and a head full of deep red hair that was beginning to slightly curl. I could tell that she usually had curly red hair but had straightened it out tonight. She turned to look at me and I could see her green eyes that matched her dress.
"Hey. James Deligrini," I said as I stuck out my hand with a big smile on my face that I knew that would make some girls weak at the knees. She returned the smile and the handshake.
"Gillian Carter."
"I've never seen you here before. I think I would remember someone as pretty as you are," I said with a practiced ease.
I heard Eric cough besides me and I ignored him. He had heard me use that line before and knew as well as I did that I got their attention every time.
"You must of not looked hard enough then." I laughed but I was inwardly surprised that I didn't see her blush or giggle.
"This girl must of have some practice before," I thought to myself. It wasn't a bad thing either, somehow she made me believe that she too wasn't the type of girl that liked to be tied down to one guy for a long time.
Kaleigh's POV
September 21, 2003
"So what was the ruling?" I asked Angel Santos, one of my roommates, best friends and also one of my partners for our presentation in our Constitutional Issues class as we sat around the kitchen table in our three- bedroom New York City loft.
"I'm not sure. Gillian will you check your notes?" My other best friend, roommate and partner groaned as she reached down and pulled out her binder filled with notes that she had printed off from the library.
"Five to four in favor of the plaintiff. Can we please drop this until tomorrow? It's not due until Tuesday and it's Friday night! The night is young!" Gillian Carter pleaded.
I frowned. I really wanted to get as much done as possible since I knew that the longer we put it off, the less chance that we were going to do really well. I worked my ass off to get into NYU Law School and worked even harder to get good grades my first year. I wasn't about to receive decent grades in my second year.
"I'm fine with it," Angel said in the soft voice of hers as she brushed her long dark brown hair into a ponytail. She was the soft-spoken one out of the three of us yet she still had the potential to become a great lawyer since she was good at litigation even with her soft voice.
"Kaleigh?" Gillian turned to look at me with her red, curly hair bouncing all over the place. She was the partier of the three of us, yet she still managed to get decent grades at the same time.
Gillian wasn't as interested in getting her law degree as Angel and I because it was her father's wish for her to become a lawyer.
"Fine. Whatever, but we better not go to some party at some college frat house. I'm not ready to get a major hangover so I can't work tomorrow."
I was the studious one of the three, the one that spent all the time and energy in studying. I wasn't too into the party scene and this was the first time I was really going out since we started our second year at the end of August.
"Let's head over to "The Underground"," Gillian said mentioning the local bar a few streets down as she jumped out of her chair and headed towards her room to change.
"There's suppose to be a really good band playing there tonight."
Somehow I had the feeling that Gillian had been planning this all day and had even picked out what she was going to wear. I sighed and got up from my chair and headed in the opposite direction Gillian had.
We had a large and spacious loft where when someone walked through the front door they could see the farther wall was made up of windows that looked out to the city. The kitchen was to the right, closed off by walls though there was no door, just a large entranceway in the wall. On the left was the couch and loveseat with a glass coffee table and the television. Ahead, near the windows was our round kitchen table. Walking past the closed off kitchen and along the wall of windows to the right was my bedroom and private bath, while to the left was Gillian and Angel's bedrooms with their shared bathroom into between the two rooms.
I went into my closet and decided to go simple, wearing a black tank top and a pair of black pants. I put on a pair of black platforms, grabbed my purse and coat and headed down the hall to sit in front of the television. Even though Gillian probably already had her outfit picked out, she was going to take a while.
I channel surfed for a while and turned off the TV when Angel came out of her room. She was wearing an off white top with lace around the edges of the shirt and a long denim skirt.
I grinned since I knew she was being conservation because of her fiancé back home in Michigan.
"Shut up," Angel said as she headed towards me holding two bottles of perfume in her hand.
"I didn't say anything!" I defended myself while laughing.
"I knew what you were thinking. Which one?" she asked holding up a bottle of Clinique's Happy and BCB Girls' Star. I sniffed both and pointed to the BCB Girls' Star.
"It matches what your wearing today.plus I think the name is all you," I joked earning a slap on the arm and a grin from Angel.
"You want to wear the Clinique?" Angel asked holding out the bottle.
I took it and sprayed my wrists and my neck. She took back the bottle and put it back in her room and came out and joined me on the couch. We sat there for half and hour discussing various topics, from the newest Shane West movie to Gillian's newest ex-boyfriend.
Gillian was notorious for having many short-term relationships one right after another. She usually met a guy somewhere at a party and dated them about a week before dumping them and moving on to the next guy.
Our answering machine always had messages on it and Angel and I were paid to tell each ex-boyfriend that she had moved out of the loft to Las Vegas.
"So you going to finally give some guy your number tonight Kaleigh?" Angel asked me after we finished out discussion on Gillian's love life.
Unlike Gillian, I haven't had a boyfriend for about two years, the last one was right before college graduation and it had ended when I learned he was cheating on me, like every boyfriend I had ever had, and like my dad as well.
I grew up with my mom and her rich parents in Boston after my dad had walked out of us when I was thirteen. I was old enough to understand what was going on but I wasn't old enough to do anything.
After my dad left and after each unsuccessful relationship, I began to hate men more and more. I didn't mind them as friends or colleagues, I just hated the idea of dating them and marrying them. I didn't mind thinking that I would die an old maid, because I was thinking that I would die a rich old maid.
"Do you even have to ask?" I asked Angel with my eyebrow raised.
"Kaleigh, you haven't been on a date in two years! Don't you think that it's time to get out a little and have some fun? Plus, not all guys are like your two ex-boyfriends," Angel argued.
"Try seven," I mumbled.
"Oh, well that's hardly a large part of the male population!"
"It's easy for you to say. You have a loyal fiancé at home."
Angel was one of the small town girls who dated the same guy all throughout high school and college. He was an aspiring architect and working for some company in Michigan.
Once Angel finished law school, he was planning to come out to New York and start a life with her. It wasn't easy for them to manage a long- distance relationship, but somehow they managed. She even had a rock on her finger to show their love to the world.
I noticed that Angel was about to say something so I opened my mouth and yelled for Gillian. I wasn't in the mood to get into a discussion about my love life. I had enough to do already with law school studies.
"Gillian! Are you fucking ready yet?"
"Yeah! Geez! I'm in there for forty-five minutes and you start to have a cow!" Gillian yelled as she threw open her door and stormed out. I looked over to Angel and rolled my eyes as she laughed.
As I predicted, Gillian went full out as she was wearing a green strapless dress that came up to mid-thigh with tan colored platforms. She had put on a necklace with a green stone pendant and a matching bracelet. She even went as far as to straighten her ever so curly hair.
"You guys ready to go?" Angel asked. We trooped towards the door with our jackets, down the elevator and into the cold, biting New York air.
James' POV
I sat in the office with my head in my hands. I had been busy today looking up information for the divorce case that was coming up in a week. I had second chair to one of the partners of the firm and I knew that if I did well, I could have a chance to be first chair in my own case.
Besides all the stuff that was going on in the firm today, I had my phone ringing off the hook when some girl I had met a few days ago kept calling to see if I wanted to meet first for coffee, then lunch, and finally dinner.
I managed to turn her down all three times and break up with her with the famous "Its not you, its me" line. I used the excuse that I had too much work and couldn't get around to having a girlfriend. I saw my best friend Eric, who worked in the same firm, shake his head and laugh. He had heard me use the line too many times to count.
Girls have a tendency to fall for me and write down their numbers with a smile from me. What can I say? I've always been charming, though not always handsome. Eric says that my tendency to date so many women for such a short time was always due to the lack of relationships in high school.
I was short, scrawny and disgusting in high school and it wasn't until my college years that I began to transform into the 6'3'', muscular womanizer that I am today.
It's not that I'm scared of commitment; it's more like the fact that I would rather date a bunch of women than just one. I mean who knows? I could be dating one for three years and someone even better could be off somewhere else.
I've only had one long and real relationship and that was my last year of college. All through law school I was committed to weeklong relationships with cute chicks and one-night stands. And to this day it still works for me.
I lifted my hands off my head when I heard a knock on the door to my small office.
"Tough day huh?" Eric asked as he stood outside my door. He stood at 5'11'' and had dark brown hair to go along with his dark brown eyes.
"You don't even know. It didn't help when Candy, Bambi, whatever her name is, kept calling. I have this deposition to prepare for. Who knows? If I do well on this case I might be able to start receiving my own cases. Damn! It's about time. I've been working here for a year, I should start arguing my own cases."
"You know the procedure around here. There's enough lawyers to argue all the cases and for all the newer ones to practice by being second or third chair. They don't want to take the chance of losing a lot of cases. Plus, your lucky you have the chance to prove that you can take first chair. I'm still stuck working between second and third, I don't think my chance is coming anytime soon either," Eric answered sitting down in the chair in front of my desk.
"Sorry for bitchin," I said to Eric. It took him a while to get the hang of things but after that he was damn good at what he did.
"I think we need to get out of here. What do you think about "The Underground" tonight?"
"Need to get some other chick's number huh?" Eric asked grinning.
"I don't know, I'll see what happens tonight," I answered. Eric rolled his eyes.
"Whatever James. That's what you always say and you always either end up getting the girl's number or sleeping with her."
"Yeah? What about you? I'm not the only one that gets numbers and sleeps with women," I retorted. Even though I knew that girls fell for me easily, I didn't want to come off as too arrogant, even if it was with Eric whom I knew for my entire life.
"So? The point is that I don't do it as much as you do. Every single time we're at the bar you walk off with someone or have a napkin in your hand with a number scrawled on it."
"Why are we even talking about this? Look, what time is it? It's around seven, everyone is probably off now. Let's just to "The Underground" okay?" I picked up my jacket and headed out my office door waiting for Eric to follow so I could lock my door. I didn't know why I didn't feel like talking about my relationships with Eric, it was something that I always did.
We went down the elevator and into New York City's cool air in silence. It wasn't that I wasn't in the mood to talk or anything, it was just that I didn't really know what was wrong with Eric or why I didn't want to talk about my "relationships".
"Look, I'm sorry okay? I didn't mean to push you or make you sound bad," Eric apologized.
"No, you don't have to apologize. It's true and I don't know why I jumped on you like that." I answered. He nodded and we continued to walk along in silence until he brought up the latest Knicks game.
By the time we got to the bar, we were deep in discussion about whether they would make the playoffs or not.
"I'm telling you James, this is the year that they're going to make it. The drought is over!"
"In your dreams Eric! As much as I love the Knicks, they don't have the power or the skill to do it, you're going to have to wait a few more years," I commented as I pushed open the door to "The Underground" and seated myself at the bar.
Today there was a band playing and they were warming up on the stage at the back on the room. There were a few tables in front of the stage and were occupied by mostly girls.
"What can I get you guys?" the bartender asked after we took off our jackets.
"Beer?" I looked over to Eric and he nodded.
"Two beers," I told the bartender. Once we got our beers the band started to play so I turned around in on my stool to listen.
The band wasn't half bad and after they were done I turned back towards the bar, but not before I caught sight of three women stand up from their table near the front of the stage. Two headed towards the back where the bathrooms were while the third sauntered up to bar and sat on the stool next to mine.
The girl was pretty and she knew it. She had on a green strapless dress and a head full of deep red hair that was beginning to slightly curl. I could tell that she usually had curly red hair but had straightened it out tonight. She turned to look at me and I could see her green eyes that matched her dress.
"Hey. James Deligrini," I said as I stuck out my hand with a big smile on my face that I knew that would make some girls weak at the knees. She returned the smile and the handshake.
"Gillian Carter."
"I've never seen you here before. I think I would remember someone as pretty as you are," I said with a practiced ease.
I heard Eric cough besides me and I ignored him. He had heard me use that line before and knew as well as I did that I got their attention every time.
"You must of not looked hard enough then." I laughed but I was inwardly surprised that I didn't see her blush or giggle.
"This girl must of have some practice before," I thought to myself. It wasn't a bad thing either, somehow she made me believe that she too wasn't the type of girl that liked to be tied down to one guy for a long time.