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The white limo pulled up to the overhang of the hotel just as Gina had promised. People in the lobby watched as we clicked across the black marble floor in our spiked heels and club dresses. The limo driver opened the double doors, allowing us to take our seats across from one another. Inside was a flat screen TV, a wet bar, and the typical sound-proof glass divider between the driver and coach area. We settled in and Gina immediately adjusted the climate control, the lighting inside the car, and tuned the stereo in to an all-music satellite station for ’70s and ’80s music. “You're going to hear a lot of this tonight at the Sanctuary,” she explained. “It’s a dance club and what better to dance to then ’80s hits, right? I really think you'll like the emcee and the bands. The sound system alone cost us almost as much as the building.”
I could tell Gina was proud of what she and Ian had done with the club. They were young and they had really put it all on the line. I was glad to see them succeed. She continued talking about Ian and how his younger brother Piers was in from San Diego. She said that she really wanted me to meet Piers; he was about 25 or 26 she thought, but was certain that he and I'd hit it off. I listened to her go on about Piers and suddenly there was quiet.
“Stop it,” Gina said abruptly.
I was totally caught off guard. “Stop what?”
“You know damn well what, Ty,” she said accusingly. “You've got to stop thinking about Trey or it'll ruin your night.”
“Who said anything about Trey? I wasn’t thinking about him at all,” I lied.
“The fuck you weren’t,” she snapped. “You need to let it go, Tylar, forget about Trey. Trey hasn’t called you all week; he's totally blown off your 21st birthday! I don’t get it, is the sex that good?”
“Look,” I replied, “things are more complicated than that, Gina.” She didn’t need to know we hadn’t had sex yet.
“What’s so complicated about it? He’s a fucking control freak that wants to pin you to his wall like some butterfly that he’s caught in his net. Does he ever tell you how he feels? Does he ever give you a clue as to where he sees the two of you going?”
I sighed and remained silent.
“He doesn’t even ask you to come to Atlanta with him, does he?”
“Ah, in case you forgot, Gina, I do have a job in Bristol and even if I didn’t, why should I go to Atlanta, anyway?”
“Because you fucking love the control freak for some inexplicable reason that I cannot guess, well, except that he is gorgeous and rich,” she threw in laughing.
I gave her a look of warning; she needed to back off a little. “It doesn’t matter how I feel about him anyway,” I replied. “Trey has never once told me that he loves me, so really it’s a moot point.”
“So, maybe he hasn’t, but he sure as hell wants you tucked away in Bristol, waiting for him when he makes it back occasionally,” she countered. “It just pisses me off that you allow it, too.” She mimicked his voice: “Tylar be here when I get back”; “Tylar, why would you desecrate your navel like that?”; “Tylar get in bed and spread your legs.” Her imitation of Trey’s voice was actually pretty good, but she still didn’t know that Trey and I'd never been sexual.
“We don’t have that kind of a relationship, Gina. I’ve told you, it’s not that serious.”
“It doesn’t excuse the fact that he’s not here with you right now does it? It doesn’t excuse the fact that his shit is evidently way more important than your 21st fucking birthday, right?”
“I suppose,” I said, quietly wanting to change the subject. That wasn't going to happen because Gina was now on a roll, east coast style.
“Or what about him telling you he’s in fucking Atlanta all this week, what about that? If Ian and I hadn’t had to visit his firm on Tuesday to sign the quit claim deed transferring the Sanctuary into an LLC with one of his partners, you'd never have found out he wasn’t even in the state, would you?”
“Probably not, Gina,” I replied. “It’s not my style to check up on him.”
“Well, I’m sorry, friend, but it ismystyle, at least with a guy likehim,” she scoffed.
Now I was starting to get a little east coast with Gina. “I didn’t ask you to check up on him, Gina, did I? But when he gets back and finds out what you did, he’s going to think I asked you to and I'm just not that worried about where he is or what he does. I don’t roll that way.”
“Hey,” Gina snapped, but not really pissed, “I don’t do things so as to be obvious about it, Ty. I just happened to ask his assistant if Trey was in, that I was an old neighbor from Bristol, which is sort of the truth.”
“Okay,” I responded, “so what about when he gets back and his assistant said that an old neighbor was asking about him? He knows that you are I are friends, what conclusion do you think he'll come to then?”
“No worries, Ty,” she giggled, “I told her a fake name!”
Oh great, I thought.
“Besides, that,” she said, “why are you defending him? You’re pissed at him most of the time anyway?”
“I told you, Gina, we have a complicated relationship. I care deeply for him, but I’m also put off by his need to control me. So, I give him space and looks like he’s giving me mine. You know, it’s not like I expected that he'd do anything for my birthday.”
“It doesn’t matter, Ty. Let’s not mention the asshole for the rest of the night. Tonight's all about partying!”
“I’m not the one who brought his name up in the first place,” I pointed out. “I’m with you; this is my night that you've made possible. I love you for it. Please let’s not argue?” I gave her a hug and we finally changed the subject.
