Look - Zan Romanoff Page 0,58
harder: He looks cut from stone instead of made of skin. “You want to sit for a minute?” he asks.
“I’m okay,” Lulu says.
“Come on.”
Lulu does as she’s commanded: She goes to sit.
“I’m Roman,” he says.
“Lulu.”
“I figured. Ryan told me about you. I hear you’re one of our premiere users on the Flash platform.”
“Oh god, not premiere.”
Lulu slips into Ryan’s abandoned seat at the table. So this is what a Riggs-eye view of the world looks like.
It looks nice.
“He said one of your videos had gotten a lot of attention.”
Lulu sucks in a breath.
“I haven’t seen it,” Roman continues. “But if you ever want to talk about opportunities with Flash—branded partnerships, that kind of thing—any friend of Ryan’s is a friend of mine.”
How many girls would die to be in Lulu’s shoes right now? A young millionaire offering to help her get famous, to pay attention to her and help her promote herself. Six months ago she wouldn’t have thought twice about saying yes, assuming that she could make him work for her even when it looked like she was working for him. Now, thinking that only makes her feel sick.
“Thanks,” Lulu says. “That’s generous.”
“I trust Ryan,” Roman says. “He has an eye for talent.” He glances over his shoulder to the stairs Cass and Ryan walked up. “I never would have noticed Cass, but he’s right. She photographs beautifully.”
“I’m sure.” Lulu has never seen prints of the pictures Ryan takes at The Hotel. She’s never even seen digital thumbnails. He doesn’t pass the camera around after, looking for commentary or praise. He seems so private about the images. Lulu is sort of shocked that Roman has seen them.
“He definitely knows how to pick ’em,” Roman says. “Ryan has a real eye for girls.”
* * *
“So what happened after you went upstairs?” Lulu asks Cass when they’re safely in Cass’s car.
Cass sighs. “He’s pissed that I didn’t come over the other day. You know, when I went over to your place instead.”
“You couldn’t hang out one day and he gives you the silent treatment?”
“It’s a little more than that,” Cass says. “He’s been feeling jealous in general. Since you.”
“Since me.” Lulu catches Cass’s eye and can’t hold her gaze. She feels like there’s a lit firework inside of her, something that could explode at any second.
“He’s so sensitive,” Cass says. “I should have given him space. He would have gotten over it. He said he was gonna call me tonight. He didn’t think I’d worry so much.”
Lulu frowns. She doesn’t like that Cass has to make excuses for Ryan.
“I feel stupid,” Cass says.
She’s driving, and Lulu doesn’t want to distract her, but she reaches out anyway to wrap her fingers around Cass’s elbow. “I wish you wouldn’t,” Lulu says.
* * *
Lulu is almost out of the car at her house when she remembers that Cass’s present is still sitting, ungiven, in her bag. She picked it up when she and Naomi were out shopping for their mom a few weeks ago, and it’s not much. Naomi was the one who suggested it in the first place.
She hates the idea of it sitting around in her room, taunting her, so she leans her body back in the open door and thrusts the package at Cass so suddenly that Cass throws her hands up to defend herself before she realizes what it is, and takes it.
“For me?” she asks.
“Merry Christmas.”
“I didn’t get you anything.”
“I don’t celebrate Christmas,” Lulu reminds her.
“Hm. True. Still.”
“It’s not—it’s just sentimental,” Lulu says. Great. Perfect. That’s definitely gonna make this look casual.
“Can I open it?’
“Of course.”
Lulu loves to watch Cass tear the paper off of something. She doesn’t slide a thumbnail under the Scotch tape to preserve the wrapping. Instead, she rips it all to shreds.
“The Bloody Chamber,” she says. “Angela Carter.” The volume is a slim paperback with a beast’s head drawn on the cover.
“It’s a version of the Bluebeard story,” Lulu says. “It’s supposed to be beautiful.”
“Thank you,” Cass says. “I can’t wait to read it.”
She presses the book to her chest and looks up at Lulu, smiling.
Helpless against herself, Lulu smiles back, and leans in to kiss her.
* * *
Lulu keeps expecting Bea to message her, but it keeps not happening. They’ve never fought before, and she doesn’t know how to handle it. Does Bea’s silence mean she’s still mad about their conversation the other night, and Lulu should leave her alone? Or is she taking Lulu’s silence to mean Lulu is mad, and it’s her