“Bec?” I asked as I put the car in park and turned off the engine. She turned to me, at least acknowledging my presence, but continued to sing. We were currently on a fantastic rendition of ‘Don’t You Want Me’. It seemed she had a soft spot for eighties pop. I held back a chuckle, “Can you walk yourself inside, or do I need to carry you?”
She hummed as she thought over the question.
“I can walk,” she answered with a shrug and started to climb out of the passenger seat, resembling a baby deer learning to walk for the first time.
It took a concerning amount of effort, but we managed to get her out of the car and across the parking garage into the elevator. It was a longer ride to the top of the building, but she was filling the time, now singing her own mashups of Cindi Lauper songs.
“I’ve never seen you so laid back,” I remarked, mostly to myself. The Bec I had grown used to was always perfectly put together, never showing any weakness or emotion.
She swayed slightly, “I can’t let go. I need to be perfect.” Her face turned stern, and she seemed to be mimicking someone as her voice dropped an octave, “Nothing less than perfection is acceptable, Rebecca. We are Bly’s.”
She snorted at herself and leaned against me. It was the closest we had been to one another. Bec was a head shorter than me, but I rarely noticed as her persona was larger than life. She often resembled an untouchable statue. But tonight… she was human.
“Who said that to you?” I asked quietly.
“My dad.” She explained as the doors opened to her penthouse. “He’s kind of the worst.”
Twinkling city lights sprawled in the distance… the city that never slept was bright as usual. It was a unique sight from this high up. The sounds and smells were nonexistent, leaving only the glorified version of New York City in its wake. It held its own kind of filtered beauty.
“Come on,” I lifted Bec in a bridal hold and walked her into the bathroom just off the primary bedroom. At the rate she was going, it would be another hour to get her into bed. She squealed as I picked her up, but didn’t protest, resting her head on my shoulder.
The penthouse was two levels, and I was thanking God her room was on the main floor. I received a copy of the floorplans when I took the position as her bodyguard, and was grateful to have taken the time to study them. I navigated through her room into the en-suite bathroom, where I set her down on the counter, leaving her facing me.
I had only been in her living room and home office in the past, but her room and bathroom matched the rest of the penthouse. Namely, there was no color. Not in photos, not in books onthe shelves. Even the counter I had just set her on was what looked to be black marble. There was no life within these walls. Everything was furnished in black and wood tones.
“Do you have something against color?” I asked as I began unstrapping her heels from her feet, which was proving difficult as she tried to swing her legs back and forth. I imagined this was how parents of toddlers felt when trying to rein them in.
Bec shook her head, her hair swooshing along her back from the exaggerated movement, “Color is great. But color and I don’t get along.”
I chuckled, “I think you’re drunker than I realized.”
She booped my nose just as I got the second shoe unstrapped. “I’m perfectly fine. Completely in control of all my facilities.”
“Faculties,” I corrected.
She nodded and trained her gaze on her red painted fingernails, “Everyone has color in them. You have…” She paused and scrutinized me. “You have red in you. Like fire.” She then raised her hand to me, “Like my nails!”
I laughed harder this time and began rummaging through her drawers, which were perfectly organized, with every product having its own place. Bec was truly the definition of type A. “You’re not going to remember any of this in the morning.”
“Probably not,” she acceded with a nod of her head, “You have red. My brother, Will… you know my brother, right? Dark hair, always grumpy?”
“I do know your brother.” I nodded and pulled out the makeup wipes I had been looking for, then stepped closer to Bec. “I’m going to take your makeup off, okay?”
She closed her eyes and jutted her chin out in acceptance, but continued to talk, making the job a touch harder. “My brother has green in him. Dark green… like your hoodie.” She grabbed at the drawstrings of the hood, unintentionally pulling me closer. That or she was attempting to choke me. With the state of ourworking relationship, either was a possibility. “You look good in this. I can see why Andi has a crush.” She slapped a hand over her mouth and her eyes grew wide, “I didn’t tell you that.”
I laughed and peeled my drawstrings out of her hand before shedidchoke me. “It’s fine, I already knew.”
She sighed in relief, “Oh, thank God! That would have been horrible of me. What was I talking about?”
“Colors, your brother is apparently dark green.”
She snapped a finger at me, “Yes! Exactly! I think so too. It got brighter when he met his wife. His wife is yellow, like sunshine. He needed sunshine out there in the woods all by himself.”
I wiped off her makeup carefully, revealing her ivory, bare skin. “And what color are you?”
“I don’t have one,” she answered resolutely.
I took a step back. The stop in motion prompted her to slightly open her eyes, probably out of confusion. “What do you mean you don’t have a color?” I asked her. Her steel blue eyes were still half closed, as the alcohol made its way through her system.
