by Tara Rose
“Yeah. That’s one reaction.”
“Well maybe she’ll have more information for you, then?”
He nodded. “Yep. Guess I’ll have to go and have a long talk with her. The blueprints are in there and they weren’t badly damaged. They were done by a firm in Philly. I’d sure like to know how she found them, and how they’re connected with the people Ned and Gerry were mixed up with.” Chad glanced at Paul, who was pacing now. “Guess you’d better get back before he blows a gasket.”
“He’s a pain in the ass.”
Chad clapped Trent on the back. “I know, but we’re all so glad you’re back in Racy where you belong.”
“Thanks, man. That means a lot. It really does.” Should he say something to Chad about Ria? If she had the support of just a handful of them, the rest might follow. But nothing had happened yet. It wasn’t time to let the cat out of the bag, and it wouldn’t be fair to Ria. They hadn’t discussed that with her yet.
“I hope you’ll be back at Maddox’s club soon.”
He gave Chad a long look. “I might be there soon, but it will be with Wyatt and someone who is interested in exploring the lifestyle.”
Chad raised his eyebrows. “Oh yeah? Who?”
“I can’t say yet. But she’ll need a lot of support and encouragement.”
“You know we’ll all give her that. Just say the word and it’s done.”
Trent shook his hand. “I’ll hold you to that.” He sprinted back toward the bus and climbed in the passenger seat. As Paul drove away, a wave of guilt washed over Trent. He shouldn’t have said anything to Chad. What he’d just done was as bad as the gossiping they were trying to help Ria overcome. Clearly, Chad knew nothing about him and Wyatt being seen out with Ria, or he simply was too much of a grown-up to say so right now.
At any rate, they needed to ask Ria how much she wanted them to reveal to the rest of the community in Racy before he said anything to the others. He wanted to text Wyatt about it, but knew he’d be sleeping, so he made a mental note to do so in the morning.
For now, he’d concentrate on getting through his shift tonight and tomorrow, and then it would be Friday, and that meant he’d be with Ria again.
Chapter Thirteen
Ria stopped texting both men about ten because she realized Wyatt had to get up early in the morning, and Trent was at work. She didn’t want to take a chance on having someone Trent worked with see her texts, and she didn’t want to keep Wyatt from getting his sleep. But it was difficult to get through the last two hours of her shift without checking her phone, just in case. Neither of the men she’d dated had paid this much attention to her, and she liked it. She liked it a lot. It made her feel special and sexy.
It reminded her of happier days with her friends when they’d text all the time, but of course this was different. Wyatt and Trent weren’t her girlfriends. Wyatt and Trent were two gorgeous Doms who had promised to make all her fantasies come true. She hadn’t even told Bonnie or Leela yet that she was taking off on Friday to be with them.
She had asked both men earlier if it was all right to let her friends know about Friday, and they both said they were fine with that, as long as she didn’t cross the line into gossip. That had sparked a text conversation about what they defined as “gossip,” and by the end of it, Ria was convinced that talking to her friends or anyone else about a subject other than the weather would be considered gossip by those two, so she hadn’t said a word about Friday to anyone.
This was going to kill her, but it would be so worth it. And, she had asked for this. She had no one to blame but herself. She loved it that they wanted to help her with this aspect of her personality, but she also realized for the first time just how much hard work it was going to be.
* * * *
On Thursday morning, Ria woke up too early to the sound of text messages, but she didn’t mind because she assumed they were from Wyatt and Trent. Trent had texted her to say goodnight before he went to sleep for the day, and Wyatt had texted her to say good morning, and to let her know he’d be tied up in court most of the afternoon. He also asked her if she’d thought anymore about talking to Marisol.
She had, but she had also hoped that he or Trent would ease the way for her first. Realizing that they’d already told her this was her job to do, she got out of bed and took a long shower, mentally going over in her mind what she might say to Marisol.
Marisol still worked as a court reporter, but Leela said she only worked a few days a week now. Ria texted Leela to ask if Marisol was at work that day, and Leela called her within seconds of the text going through, as Ria had anticipated she would.
“You finally going to talk to her?”
“Yes.”
“What prompted this?”
“Nothing in particular.” Ria hated lying to one of her best friends, but she knew if she started down that path, the conversation would get out of hand. Once she proved to the guys that she could refrain from gossiping for three days, they could talk specifically about what she could or could not say to Leela and Bonnie.
“She’s off today. Want me to come over and help you talk to her? I have some vacation time I can take.”
“No. Thanks, but I have to do this myself.”
“Good luck. Ria, I’m proud of you, girl. Just wanted you to know that.”
Ria blinked back tears. “Thank you.”
“Call me later and tell me how it went.”
“I will.” She probably wouldn’t, at least not until she asked Wyatt and Trent if that would be considered gossiping. Ria stared at her phone for ten minutes while her mind tried to conjure up every excuse not to call Marisol, all the way from the fact that if she was off today she was probably still in bed with Ellis, or maybe even both Rafe and Ellis, to the fact that Marisol might bitch her out and then disconnect the call. But Ria knew Marisol wouldn’t do that. She might be cold, but she wouldn’t bitch her out.
Finally, with trembling fingers, she pushed the button in her contact list. She’d never taken Marisol’s number out of it. Marisol answered on the second ring, her voice hesitant.
“It’s me.” Ria rolled her eyes. She knew who it was. Chances were high that Marisol hadn’t deleted her contact information either. “I was hoping we could talk. About last summer.” Ria took a deep breath when Marisol didn’t answer. Her palms were sweaty and her heart pounded. She pictured Wyatt’s face and Trent’s sexy grin. She could do this. “I want to apologize, but not over the phone.”
“Oh…okay. Um…hang on.”
Ria listened to muffled voices, but couldn’t tell if one of them belonged to her oldest brother. When Marisol came back on the line, her voice sounded hopeful, and Ria had to blink back tears again. “When would you like to talk, and where? Ellis will drive me, but he won’t listen to our conversation.”
“How about Luke’s Bar? We can go upstairs. Peppi won’t be there right now. Ellis can wait downstairs or come up, too, if he wants.” At this point, Ria didn’t care if Ellis overheard them. In fact, if he did, he might take the conversation back to everyone else, and that would be good for her.
“All right. What time?”
“An hour?” Why wait? If Ria had all day to stew about this, she’d chicken out and change her mind.
“All right. See you in an hour.”
Ria paced for nearly the entire hour, right after she texted Trent and Wyatt at the same time, hoping Trent would sleep through the sound of his phone. She let them know she was on her way to her brother’s bar to talk to Marisol.
Before she pulled out of the driveway, Wyatt texted her back and told her how proud he was of her, and to call him afterwards and let him know how it went. She was about to text him back and tell him she would when movement out of the corner of her eye stopped her backward progress.
Her mother stomped down the front porch steps, shaking her finger, and Ria’s first instinct was to just keep going. She didn’t have time for this. Ria rolled down the driver’s side window. “Mama, I’m late
, but I’ll be back before my shift tonight.”
“Don’t you drive away from me.” Her mother stuck her face in the car and nearly poked Ria in the eye with an index finger. “You have to leave. Your father and I talked last night. We want you to move out.”
“What? Why?”
“Because.” Her mother straightened up and crossed her arms, a sure sign that there would be no negotiating the point she’d just made. “You know why.”
Ria had never been outright rude to her parents, but she couldn’t do this right now. She put the car in reverse and began to roll slowly toward the street. “I’ll talk to you when I get back. I have to go.”
As she rolled the window back up and pulled out onto Ash Lane, she swiped at the tears trickling down her face. She didn’t need this today. She wasn’t surprised by it, but the timing couldn’t be worse.
As soon as she reached the first stoplight, she texted Wyatt to let him know she had just been told to move out. He texted her back while she was driving, but she didn’t glance at her phone. She was too busy trying to see through her blurry vision.
Ria punched the steering wheel several times as she navigated the traffic downtown. He was right there, in the warehouse currently serving as temporary quarters for both City Hall and the courts until those buildings could be repaired. Each had suffered significant tornado damage. If she hadn’t promised to meet Ria, she could run inside and take comfort in Wyatt’s arms.
But that would have to wait. She was going to do this first, and then she’d worry about how to move out in one afternoon. If Luke gave her two nights off she’d never make up the money in time to pay her bills. Why did everything have to be so fucking complicated? For the first time in years, she’d made a commitment to turn her life around and try to be the person she knew she was, deep inside, and now this had happened. It wasn’t fair.
Ria made her way over to Riverfront Drive, and when she pulled into the parking lot behind the strip of buildings that housed her brother’s bar, she breathed a sigh of relief that neither Ellis’s nor Marisol’s car was there yet. At least she had a few minutes to compose herself. She ran inside and found Luke, who asked her why she was crying.
“I’m meeting Marisol. Can we talk upstairs? Peppi is working, right?”
Luke looked confused for a second. “Yes, she is. But is that why you’re crying? Over Marisol?”
Ria shook her head. “No. They threw me out. I have to move.”
To his credit, Luke looked angry. He gave her a big hug, which he hadn’t done for years, and that only served to make Ria cry harder. Then she realized she’d never texted Wyatt back, so she pulled out of her brother’s embrace and let Wyatt know that she was at Luke’s, and Marisol would be there any second. His return text told her not to worry, and that he’d find a way to help her move, so she thanked him for that as well.
Luke nodded toward the phone. “Is that Marisol?”
“Wyatt.” Ria told him what Wyatt had said, and Luke floored her by asking if she needed that night off as well.
“It would help, but I need the money. That’s two nights in a row.”
“I’ll pay you for both.”
She was stunned into silence.
“Including the tips you normally make.”
Ria’s mouth dropped open.
“You haven’t taken an unscheduled day off since last summer, so consider it vacation pay.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
He almost smiled. “Tell Wyatt you have tonight off, and then here…” He dug in his pocket and pulled out a key ring. “I have a spare one to the apartment upstairs. I’ll get it for you in a minute, but right now go up there and wash your face and…whatever you need to do to get it together. When Marisol gets here I’ll send her upstairs.”
“Thank you. Really. Ellis is coming with her, by the way.”
“Is he part of the talk?”
“I’d rather he not be.”
“Then I’ll keep him down here.”
“Luke, I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything. Now go.”
She ran up the stairs and let herself into the apartment, gasping at the size of it. This would be so much better than where she was now. The other bedroom was empty, and as she pictured how she’d arrange her furniture inside it, she heard footfalls on the wooden stairs.
Her legs shaking, she walked into the living room. When Marisol crossed the threshold, Ria bit her lip to keep from crying again. To say her former best friend looked happier than she’d ever seen her was an understatement. She still wore her dark hair loose and curly, and her dark eyes were full of light and mischief, the same way Ria had remembered them. So many memories of their friendship came tumbling in at the same time that Ria had to sit down. “Thank you for coming.”
Marisol took a seat in the chair across from the sofa. “Thank you for wanting to talk.”
“Is Ellis downstairs?”
“Yes.”
“Are you happy with them? You look happy.” God. She sounded like an idiot.
“I’m very happy. They’re good to me.”
“Marisol, I don’t know where to start.”
She didn’t say anything in response, but her eyes weren’t filled with anger or indifference, and Ria took that as a good sign.
“I guess ‘I’m sorry’ sounds inadequate.”
“No, it doesn’t. You’ve never said it to me, so right now it sounds wonderful. I’ve been waiting six months to hear you apologize.”
“I’m so sorry. I really am. I was so wrong. Not only to tell my parents about your relationship with Rafe and Ellis, but to turn on you like I did. I wasn’t strong enough to stand up to them, but I should never have betrayed you and Rafe like that. I was an idiot. I am so sorry. They…they kicked me out.”
Marisol frowned. Obviously Luke hadn’t told her about that. “What? Why? When did this happen?”
“Just now.” Ria told her what she’d said to her parents the other day, and then she took a chance and told her what was going on with Trent and Wyatt. If the guys decided that was gossiping, so be it. But Ria felt that Marisol had a right to know the whole truth.
“I heard you were at Gino’s with them.”
Ria nodded. “I don’t know what will come of it, if anything.”
“Are they the reason you’re here right now, apologizing?”
“Partly.” There was no point in lying. “But only because they finally gave me the courage to do so. I’ve wanted to do this for months now. It’s long overdue.”
Marisol’s entire body seemed to relax. Had she thought Ria had called only because Wyatt and Trent had told her to? “Thank you. This means a lot to me. But where do you want to go from here? What do we do now?”
“I want us to be friends again. I know it’ll take time. I know I have to earn your trust again. All I’m asking for is a chance to do that.”
“Wow. I don’t meant to sound cruel, but honestly if I wasn’t listening to you say it, and watching your mouth move right now as the words come out, I would never have believed it possible that you’d come to this place by yourself. I don’t know what to say.”
“I know. I want to change. You have to believe that. I want to stop gossiping so much. I’m going to do this. Will you give me a chance to earn back your trust? Can we try to be friends again?”
“Of course I will. I miss our friendship so much.”
“I didn’t realize that. I miss it, too.”
Marisol smiled, and Ria swore her eyes were a bit wet as well. She pushed off the chair and sat next to Ria, then gave her a big hug. Both were soon giggling and crying, and for a few precious seconds, Ria could pretend that nothing had changed between them.
Marisol released the embrace first. “So what happens now that you have to move? Where will you live?”
“Here. Luke and Peppi don’t mind if I move in. Wyatt said he’d get some people together to help me move.”
“I
’m sorry they kicked you out.”
“I’m not. They can’t accept it. None of it. And I’m sick of that. Look how much hurt this has caused everyone. I started this mess. I know I did. And I’m trying to fix it but they don’t want to, and I can’t change that. I can only change what I do and say.”
“Holy crap.” Marisol laughed, but it wasn’t a derisive laugh. “You really mean it. You really do want to make this right.”
“I do.”
“But it sucks that you have to move again.”
“Actually, it doesn’t. It’s been rough with Teresa there.”
“Rafe said he heard she was back, but he hasn’t talked to her.”
Ria settled back and crossed her legs. “Well, let me tell you, it almost didn’t happen. My parents got a phone call from her in California late one night, and she was crying so hard they could barely understand her. Rosa came over to the apartment and asked me to come to the house and talk to Teresa on the phone. She’d left that creep she was with, and he’d chased her halfway across the state before she finally got away from him. Seems he was involved in some sort of drug activity or something, and threatened Teresa. She got a restraining order against him, but he didn’t care. So by the time she ran out of money for food, she called our parents and begged them to let her come home.”
Ria repositioned her legs. “And then, my father went apeshit and started screaming at her in Spanish on the phone about how he wasn’t wasting any more money on her and the guys she kept hooking up with, and Rosa was crying, telling them both to let her sister come home. My mother grabbed her rosary beads and started praying to the Virgin Mary out loud, and I was like oh my God…if Teresa comes home that means I’ll have to live above the garage with her, because my father had already said there was no way she was staying in the house, and even though we have four totally empty bedrooms in that big house, they won’t me stay there either because they think I’m too old to live at home as it is.”
Ria took a deep breath. “And don’t even get me started on why Saint Rosa is allowed to live at the house but I’m not. She has a job, just like I do, and I pay them rent, just like she does, but Rosa can do no wrong and the rest of us are…”
