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“Doubtful,” I hissed, still a bit raw from last weekend’s humiliating experience.
“C’mon,” he coaxed, “no one thought badly about you for that. Everyone knew who was pulling the strings there.”
Gina looked back and forth at us quizzically.
“Long story,” I said. “I’ll fill you in later.”
I turned back to Clint. “Yeah, but you kind of played a part in that, Clint.”
He looked genuinely sheepish, absently kicking some loose straw around on the stable floor.
“Look, Tylar, “I’mreallysorry, okay? You have to believe that I did it for your own safety. I might've been negligent in protecting you that night in the pool so I damn sure wasn’t going to let anything happen to you again.”
“What the hell is it with all these guys wanting to protect you, Tylar? Must be that helpless female thing you got going on,” Gina teased.
“No hard feelings, Clint, and maybe we'll see you over at the track tonight.” I replied.
Gina and I continued on up to the manor. “Maybe itwouldbe fun to go to the track tonight,” I commented.
“Yeah,” she agreed, smiling devilishly, “we might even meet some guys!”
I knew Gina was joking; she never stopped talking about Ian, divulging every intimate part of their life together while we worked. I was envious of her for that. I wondered what it felt like to be that in love and lust 24/7. She said Ian grounded her. I couldn't imagine how Gina would be if ‘ungrounded.’ I knew she was disappointed, but going to the quarter races would get her mind off of the fact she wouldn’t be seeing Ian this weekend, plus it would kill time for me until Trey got in. My butterflies were restless today.
Once we returned to the manor, we went our separate ways. My cell phone was ringing when I got to my room. It was Trey.
“Hi,” I answered sounding a bit overly excited.
“Hey there,” smooth and silky said. “What are you up to?”
“Just got in from work and ready to hop in the shower. Gina and I are going to over to watch the quarter races this evening.”
“You’ll be careful, right?”
“Of course, Trey,” I answered, rolling my eyes.
“Good girl. So,” he continued, a bit hesitantly, it sounded as if he'd put his hand over his phone, muffling the sound of another conversation taking place at his end. I waited, tapping my foot, as I continued rooting through my closet. Finally he was back on the phone.
“Sorry about that,” he said. “I’ve got a couple of conversations going on here at the moment. I was starting to tell you I’m not going to be able to make it back to Bristol this weekend after all. Opposing counsel has filed a Motion to Compel Arbitration. The judge has agreed to hear oral arguments from both sides in chambers tomorrow. He'll rule on the motion Monday morning. So I'm going to be tied up late tonight prepping, and then presenting my argument tomorrow in chambers.”
My stomach butterflies crashed and burned.
Damn!
I heard a female voice from Trey’s end, “Trey, we have reservations for dinner. We need to leave now.”
“Hey gotta run,” he said hastily. “Talk to you soon—” The call ended abruptly. I sat numbly, staring at my phone in confusion. Who was that woman? Just then, Gina came through the door to my bedroom and saw my lost expression.
“What the fuck is wrong?” she demanded.
I didn’t answer her; it was hard to articulate exactly how I felt. Intellectually I knew I couldn’t dictate who Trey hung out with, just like I refused to let him tell me I couldn’t hang out with Clint. Yet it still stung to hear a woman’s voice on his line.
Gina wanted answers. “Okayyyy, what’s Trey done now?”
“Why do you presume it has anything to do with Trey?” I asked her, my voice on edge. “I’ve told you again and again, Gina, we don’t have that kind of relationship.”
“Sorry, your grace,” she said a bit snippily.
“For your information, that was my mom on the phone. She’s hitting me up for money, again. No surprise there,” I lied. I just didn’t want her thinking Trey was the reason after I'd made such a big deal to her about our non-relationship.
