Ties That Bind

by Neeny Boucher

  Christina’s makeup was subtler, with nude lipstick, 1960s inspired hair, and dramatic eyes. She was wearing the bracelet cuffs Mandy had given her and dangly earrings. Her shoes, however, indicated something else; they were killer high heels with gold chains and bullets at the back.

  Currently, Christina was glad of two things: tonight the party would be over and Andy James was in town. Andy James was her friend and colleague from D.C. and Gabby’s partner. He was half-Japanese American, with dark eyes, spiky black hair, a lethal martial artist, and the best dancer she knew.

  When he arrived, Christina ran to greet him and then both stood awkwardly, not knowing whether to embrace or shake hands. They’d gone to do both and ended up clunking into each other. Gabby, however, had found no such discomfort, locking lips with Andy in a way that made Christina wish she were anywhere else. If Andy and Gabby weren’t sleeping together yet, and Christina couldn’t determine whether they were or not, ‘that’ kiss certainly made promises for consummation.

  Andy was rocking the ‘nerd’ look in a charcoal three-piece suit and glasses, which suited his coloring. As they were preparing to leave, Andy asked her the obvious question, the one she didn’t have a truthful answer to. “Where’s Riley? I thought he would be here? I need to talk to him about some stuff.”

  That was news to Christina, but she had other concerns. Where was Riley? She’d been texting him on and off all day without response. The only text she’d received was to say he wouldn’t be able to make it for dinner and that he’d meet her at the party.

  Christina’s unease about Riley’s demeanor this morning increased with every unanswered text. She was tempted to find him, but Gabby flatly refused to let her, calling Christina ‘needy’ and ‘co-dependent’. The comments struck home because she did feel that way.

  Instead, Christina texted Riley a message saying she was leaving for the party and hoped he’d meet her there. Grabbing her coat and handbag, Christina loaded herself into a cab with Gabby and Andy. They made their way to the party, and at the sight of the media clutch before them, Christina’s heart sank.

  “Showtime!” Beamed Gabby and exited the cab. Andy turned to Christina and they gave each other sympathetic looks. It was ‘Showtime’ indeed.

  **********

  “Do you regret making the sex tape, Christina? Who was the guy on it? Is it your ex-husband or was it someone else?”

  Somewhere, parts of Christina were screaming, cringing, and dying. She hadn’t imagined being accosted by media people asking her horrible, personal questions. Her composure was gone and she was trying to refrain from bursting out unfiltered comments that started with ‘fuck’ and ended with ‘off’.

  This was Christina’s idea of hell, and with every footstep, she came into contact with people she’d rather not engage with. They were like a plague of locusts, hissing in her face, and blocking her path to the nightclub. She had to resist the urge of swatting them with her handbag.

  “Are you going to make a reality TV show? You know, on the back of the sex-tape?” Christina blinked at the question, turning to face the latest invader of her privacy. Seriously? If it were a choice between reality TV and being eaten by sharks, she’d choose the sharks.

  She was about to launch a stinging attack, but stopped herself when she faced her attacker. He was a boy. Her harasser looked like he was about twelve years old and out way past his bedtime.

  “Ben,” he grinned, “and this is Gareth. We’re from Wild in Shanwick, Shanwick’s top blog.” Ben was short and chubby with spots all over his face, dressed in a military jacket with a black ‘Keep Calm’ t-shirt underneath. Gareth was a tall, gangly, blonde kid with an impressive over-bite, braces and messy, layered clothing.

  Christina looked at them, trying not to laugh. She wasn’t a betting person, but if she was, she’d lay money on these two being core members of the 21st Century version of Shanwick’s outcast crew. These were her tormentors?

  “Tho,” Gareth lisped. “Are you?” He brought a cell-phone up toward her face, but she was able to push it away.

  “That’s rude, Gareth,” Christina chided. “If you want to stick something in a girl’s face you should ask for permission.” She watched in fascination as Gareth’s face went scarlet, blinking on and off from white to red. He looked like a human candy cane.

  Ben snorted through his nose and then wiped it with the arm of his jacket. Christina turned away, pretending she hadn’t seen that, and trying to ensure he didn’t touch her. She jumped as an arm went around her waist, but relaxed as a familiar and welcome voice whispered in her ear.

  “Hey beautiful, sorry I’m late.” Christina leaned into Riley’s chest and breathed him in. She didn’t know what aftershave he was wearing, but it made her want to lick his face and then she got a look at the rest of him.

  Riley’s hair was done and he was in a layered outfit of black pants, a slim fit white shirt, a gray striped tie, a gray vest with a black vest over top and gray double breasted jacket, set off by black shoes. He looked a world away from the man that jogged to see her this morning in old clothes. Christina had never seen him dressed like this before and what surprised her was how perfectly at ease he was in that outfit.

  “Are you okay?” He asked. His eyes were full of concern, but there was also a sadness in them that wasn’t there this morning.

  “I’m fine,” she whispered. “Are you okay?” He gave her his favorite half-smile, gently taking her by the arm, leading her away from Ben and Gareth.

  “Yeah,” Riley nodded. “Better for being with you.” Moving in close, he held her hands and stared into her eyes. “Dina,” he whispered. “I know you’re uncomfortable, but everything’s going to be okay. We’re going to walk into the nightclub together. You just relax and follow my lead.”

  As soon as he’d used the ‘r’ word, it had the opposite effect on Christina and she began to burble. “I’m such an idiot,” she whispered back. “Those people,” she waved her hand at the media circus, “have been asking me horrible questions, especially those teenaged douches from the Wild in Shanwick blog. Dirty things and stuff about reality TV shows… And sex tapes.”

  She could tell Riley was trying not to laugh, but Christina couldn’t help herself. Riley was one of the few people she had ever felt safe enough to reveal her insecurities and vulnerabilities to. She hated this sort of attention and didn’t cope well with it.

  “You’re not an idiot,” Riley grinned. “Crazy? Maybe, no definitely, but I know this is way outside your comfort zone.” Linking his fingers through hers, Riley spoke quietly into her ear. “We’re going to walk slowly and own this, and we’re going to have some fun, starting with those teenage dirtbags.”

  “Excuthe me,” Gareth warbled, still bright red. He tried to push past Riley to get to Christina, but Riley didn’t budge. He gave Riley an apologetic smile, but Riley stared at him as if he was road kill.

  “Did you?’ Gareth stuttered at Christina. “Ith it you? Fanth want to know.”

  “What fans?” Christina scoffed. “I’m not a public person. I’m a private one. I don’t have fans.”

  “Yeah. You do,” Gareth insisted, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. Christina fixated on the saliva bubbles congregating at the corners of his mouth. It was both transfixing and disgusting.

  “You have a social media presence and a fan club,” Ben greased. “People have a right to know.”

  Oh, fuck off, thought Christina. These two were horrible, little, opportunistic creatures. She’d neither wanted, nor sought this type of publicity, and she refused to be drawn into this charade through some faux responsibility to an imaginary fan-base.

  “That’s it, boys,” Riley grinned, placing himself between Christina and the teenage dirtbags. “She’s answered your questions. Now it’s time for you to get home before your mother notices you’re missing.”

  Riley took Christina’s hand, leading her away and slowing their pace to a casual stroll. He stopped, answering quest
ions about the band to selective media people and introducing Christina as they went along. He deflected all inappropriate questions with wit and charm. If any personal question was lobbed, Riley answered it by discussing his plans for the project in town before moving on.

  Christina watched him in awe. She’d never seen this side of him and she was impressed at how personable he was with the media. She appreciated the little touches, his hand on her back, linking her fingers in his, and how he’d defer to her. All signals that they were a couple and he was here to protect her.

  She was so grateful to Riley that she felt like grabbing his face and kissing him, but restrained herself. There was enough of that on the Internet already. Instead, Christina squeezed his hand and he turned, giving her a wink.

  Riley kept the smile on his face until Ben and Gareth appeared, thrusting cell-phones in their faces. “Wild in Shanwick,” Ben bellowed. “Are you the guy on the tape? Yes or no, man. Just answer the question.”

  Those in close proximity surged forward to hear Riley’s answer, but he remained impassive. Rubbing a hand across his chin, Riley leaned forward, smiling at Ben. “Wild in Shanwick? You mean that skeevy blog?”

  Gareth started with a: “it’th not thkeevy”, but Riley spoke over him, shaking his head with a chuckle. “Kid, it could be anyone on that tape and I’d be careful about attaching names to it, are you hearing me? It could get you in a lot of trouble.”

  Christina kept her face impassive, but she was hoping Riley wasn’t going to start snarling the “sue” word or throwing punches. So far, she’d talked Riley into following her lead by ignoring it, but he’d always had limited patience. When reason didn’t work, he wasn’t above cracking heads and breaking ankles.

  “I don’t know who’s on that tape, kid,” Riley smiled broadly, showing all his teeth, “but when I listened to it, all I heard was two people having a really, really good time.” Moving closer to Ben and Gareth, Riley spoke directly at their cell-phones. “It sounded to me like a man who really, really knows how to please his woman. You should try it sometime boys… With a real girl and not just a piece of soap in the shower.”

  Christina tried not to openly laugh at the looks on the boys’ faces. Their mouths were open and Gareth was doing his impression of a human candy cane. Ben, however, looked as if someone had stolen his lunch. “Dick,” Ben muttered, but Riley shut him up with a glare.

  This was her Riley: acid tongued and combative. She loved him with everything she had. Linking his arm through Christina’s, Riley headed them toward the nightclub with Ben and Gareth’s cat calls of: “we’ve had girls… lots of them” following them inside.

  As Riley opened the door, allowing Christina through, he turned back to Ben and Gareth with a grin. “Blow up ones and imaginary girls don’t count, boys,” he winked. He mouthed “real ones” at them with a smirk, before shutting the door and leaving the two young men outside.

  **********

  Riley

  “Invitation? Cell-phone or any recording devices, Miss?”

  At the door Manu, a tattooed, dreadlocked, Maori giant from New Zealand, and part-time celebrity tattoo artist, stopped them. Manu was Jed’s second in charge of security and the biggest man Riley had ever seen. His soft, reticent and polite way of speaking, belied the fact Manu could probably crush a skull one handed.

  Manu grinned at Riley, before wrapping him in a bear hug with a ‘hey, bro’. The two men hadn’t seen each other for nearly a year and Riley was genuinely pleased to see him. Introducing Manu to a wide-eyed Christina, he watched as Manu eyed her with curiosity.

  “This is Christina Martin,” Riley started. “Johnny’s sister and my girl.” Manu kept his gaze impassive, but his eyes quickly flicked to Riley, before offering Christina his hand.

  Dina’s hand disappeared in Manu’s with a perfunctory shake and then the man mountain returned to being all business. “Coat check is over there,” Manu pointed, “and you’re obliged to leave all recording devices, including cell-phones there. Anyone seen with a device will have it confiscated and be asked to leave. Bosses’ orders.”

  Riley was about to inform Manu that, technically, it was Christina’s party, but then the actual “bosses” arrived. Tessa, Asha, and Mandy crowded them, dragging Christina away. Dina took her coat off, revealing what was underneath. Good god, he thought, there’s a broom closet with our name on it. He found it hard to restrain himself, but he managed… barely.

  Christina gave him an apologetic smile as she was dragged away by the other women, leaving him alone with Manu. He grinned in response at the contrite, reluctant expression on her face, but he wasn’t getting in the middle of that. She was one of the belles of the ball and had to play her part, even though he knew she hated it.

  Looking around, he acknowledged the ‘bosses’ had done a fantastic job, transforming the dingy nightclub into something elegant. There were LED lights hanging from the ceiling and foliage on the walls. Booths with plants in glass cases in the middle of them, hinting at an environmental theme, but also, providing intimacy.

  The music left a lot to be desired. “80s,” Riley sneered, but Manu shrugged. “You missed the 70s, bro. Smokey Robinson,” Manu said wistfully, making Riley laugh.

  Jack Martin was out on the floor dancing and Riley looked away, meeting the eyes of his mother. He raised an eyebrow, but she just nodded to him in greeting. His gaze flicked to his father and then he saw Steven and Heather as well. Even though he was furious with his mother, he found some comfort in the presence of his family.

  Manu sparked him from his reverie by stating in his economical way. “Meg’s here. She’s arriving with the band in about an hour.” Riley nodded disinterestedly, until he heard Manu say, “We went to see Bianca. She’ll move out of the apartment, but she wants to speak to you first.”

  Riley tried to keep the annoyance off his face, but failed. What was the point? He didn’t want to hurt a good woman any more than he had to, but he’d played this game too. He knew what motivated someone to open themselves up to bleeding further pain, instead of walking away.

  He grimaced. Riley didn’t have the time or inclination for a meeting with Bianca. He didn’t want it to get ugly, but he wasn’t above going there.

  Riley’s eyes found Christina and she was dancing with her father to David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance”. He was about to make his way to her when Andy James glided toward him. “Hey,” Andy grinned. “I wasn’t sure if you were going to make it, but I’m glad you’re here.”

  He couldn’t explain it, but from the first moment he and Andy met, they’d clicked. Riley didn’t know if it was because Andy’s fundamental decency shone through, his fierce loyalty to Christina, or that he was as quirky and socially awkward as one of the Martins. Whatever it was, Riley counted Andy as one of his trusted people.

  “Are you staying at the Martins’?” Riley grinned and when Andy nodded, he leaned in, saying quietly, “Eighth step from the bottom creaks.” Andy’s shoulders shook with laughter, but he bumped fists with Riley in gratitude.

  **********

  “So, we can’t buy the blog?” Riley scowled. “They’re a couple of kids, Andy. They look like they live at home in their parents’ basement and jerk-off watching porn. They must have a price.”

  Andy shrugged. “Maybe, but they seem to be well resourced for a small-town blog. I’ve checked their accounts and they have money. Someone’s funding them and it isn’t the usual suspects. I thought it might be one of the mainstream channels, but there’s no evidence of that. The kids dumped a sizable sum of cash in their account and I haven’t found out who the source is yet, but I will.”

  Riley didn’t doubt it, but until then, he’d have to leave it in the hands of Andy and he hated that. If he had to leave, he needed to make sure Christina was safe from harassment while he was away. He gave Andy a tight smile. “We could scare the hell out of them.”

  Andy pulled a face. “Yeah. We could, but the reach of the Internet makes tha
t difficult. Those kids play in the dark spaces, but we have some influence there.”

  Riley had no idea what Andy was talking about, so smiled lamely in response. Andy rolled his eyes. “Trust me. I’ll fix this. I just need you to be patient, because this might be a long game.”

  Stepping in, Andy said quietly in Riley’s ear, “I’ve gone as close to the edge of the law as I’m prepared to. If I have to go over, I will, but that’s a whole different ball game.”

  “This makes no sense to me,” Riley frowned. “Why are they targeting Dina? There are more famous people in town at the moment. Why her?”

  Andy shook his head and sighed. “I don’t know. Sex sells? Maybe? She’s done a good job of deflecting all criticism and refusing to engage, but I agree with you. I’m surprised she’s the focus.”

  Both men stood together, lost in their own thoughts, running different scenarios through their heads. Andy was devising strategies to mitigate further damage to Christina and ways to get to the bottom of this. Riley was resolved to cross all boundaries, in order to ensure Dina was safe in his absence.

  **********

  Christina

  “Did you see that?” Bonnie snarled. “Bitches. If they come near us, I’m just going to punch them in the face. No words, just fist meets face. So far, I’ve counted seven.”

  “Yeah, I saw it,” Christina muttered, “and it’s ten. I’ve counted ten.” Unfortunately, there were probably more to come and Christina’s patience was wearing thin.

  She was standing with her two best friends by the bar recovering from dancing with her father. Everything was fine until Dad attempted to do a 1980s version of the robot. It was cringe inducing and awkward. She was trying to pretend it never happened, but every time her mind landed on it, she found herself dying a little inside.

  As per usual, Mandy and Bonnie looked beautiful. Bonnie was in a sea-foam colored shift dress with a lace insert, and heels that made her tower over just about everyone. Mandy was in a strapless, figure hugging, gold metallic dress that suited her perfectly.