by ANDREA SMITH
“Baby, what’s wrong?” he asked, genuinely concerned with my waterworks.
“I got my period today, I’m just a little emotional,” I replied.
“Are you sure that’s all it is?” he asked gently.
“There was also a note left for me at my cottage.”
“What in the hell were you doing back at your cottage?” He was seething.
“I needed to pick up some more clothes and stuff. Gina – you remember Gina, Becky’s niece?”
“Vaguely,” he responded, still very much irritated with me.
“Well, she went with me so I was safe. It’s just kind of creepy, you know?”
“What did the note say, Tylar?” he asked.
“Something vulgar and that he missed me and would find me.”
I could hear Trey catch his breath.
“Anyway, Trey, I invited Gina to stay here with me this week is that okay with you?”
“Of course, Tylar,” he replied, his tone now sympathetic and soft.
“I will alert Thatcher that you have a secret admirer, just for the purpose of keeping the staff on alert. I won’t divulge the details; I know you feel embarrassed by all of this.”
“Thank you,” I said.
I still had Trey’s robe on, but the scent of him was starting to diminish. I had his voice, but only for another couple of minutes.
“What’s wrong, baby?” he asked again, sensing my despair.
(Shit, here come the tears again. Damn!)
I had never been this ‘menstrual’, what the hell was up?
“I’m fine,” I squeaked.
“Obviously, you are not,” he said. “What can I do to make you feel better?”
“I didn’t like the way we parted this morning,” I admitted. “I don’t feel close to you.”
There was a long silence from the other end of the phone.
(Holy shit. How needy did that sound?)
“I miss you very much, Tylar. I’ve been thinking about you all day.”
That was something. Trey gave me something and I felt a connection again. It was what I needed.
“Well, I’m getting ready for bed. Are you?” I asked him softly.
“Well, I have some depositions to review before I turn in, but I’m in for the night if that’s what you mean.”
“Can we sleep together, tonight?” I asked. “By phone?”
“How does that work, exactly, Tylar?"
He seemed genuinely interested.
“We just put our phones on our pillows or beside us in bed and go to sleep.”
“Well, let’s do it then; I will leave my phone on and you do the same. You go to sleep. When I’m ready to go to sleep, I will kiss you good-night over the phone, okay?”
I smiled into the phone and nodded.
“Okay, Trey. Good night.”
“Good Night, Baby.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
My phone died during the night I discovered the following morning. It was probably just as well because I was not sure how many minutes I had left on my plan now that it was near month end. I plugged the phone into the charger just as Gina came bustling into my room. It was only 6 a.m., but she was freshly showered and dressed for the day.
“Get your lazy ass up,” she greeted me, a cup of coffee in one hand, and an unlit cigarette in the other.
I didn’t know Gina smoked.
“It’s only 6 a.m.” I whined. “We don’t have to be there for three hours. I am going to lay back down for a bit. You aren’t going to light that, are you?”
“Of course not,” she said, as if it was illogical for me to even think that. “I quit two years ago, it’s just that I still like the feel of a cigarette in my hand when I’m having my morning coffee.”
She took a long drag off of the cigarette, slowly exhaling invisible smoke, and then followed it with a sip of her hot coffee.
“Check this out,” she said, “Aunt Becky said if we want to start our shift in the cellar earlier we can, that way we’re outta there earlier. I figure if we get there by 7 a.m., and work through our paid thirty minute lunch, we can be out of there and heading to town by 1:30 this afternoon. The day will still be young as they say.”
“It sounds good to me,” I said, suddenly energized, bouncing off the bed and getting some clothes out of the closet to wear.
Thatcher was more than happy to drive us over to the ‘Belle. We officially clocked in at 6:47 a.m.
“C’mon Shirley,” Gina said in her best east coast accent.
“Right behind you, Laverne,” I answered, “Let’s cap some bottles!”
We both giggled as we made our way down to the cellar. Our shift flew by quickly. Gina showed me how to operate the corking machine and she handled the filler tank. We both did some labeling. I started assembling the corrugated partitions that fit into each wooden case to keep the bottles from banging against each other during transport. Tomorrow we would finish with the Applewood Rose, and the tanks will need changing out to the house Merlot. Hopefully, that would go without incident.
Gina made the sound of the end of shift whistle like from the Flintstones and we grabbed our personal items and went up to the office to clock out. I needed to use the restroom before we left for town. Gina said she would meet me out front, she was going to see if her aunt would let her use her car since Gina did not have hers with her this trip.
“My aunt’s the greatest,” she said, jingling the car keys. “She said she would catch a ride home. Let's go."
Downtown Bristol was quaint and trendy. Bristol, Virginia bordered its twin city, Bristol, Tennessee. The state line between Virginia and Tennessee was on State Street. Both cities shared a common downtown district. Gina parked the car near the main drag.
“Anything in particular you are looking for?” I asked Gina.
“I need a swimsuit for sure,” she replied. “We need to take advantage of that Olympic size pool back at the manor.” I was a bit uneasy remembering my last time in that pool.
“What?” Gina asked, catching my uneasiness.
“Well, it’s just that last time I was in the pool I was drunk and nearly drowned.”
“Oh dear God,” she said. “Well, that isn’t happening as long as I’m around. Really, Tylar, the dangerous company you keep!”
“I know, right?” I laughed. “Trey actually saved my life when that happened.”
“I bet he did; he has probably owned you from that moment on,” she commented.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Trey, just seems like the type that doesn’t, you know, stop with the saving your life part. He strikes me as the type that would take permanent responsibility for the person he saved, you know, like moving you into the manor, wanting to keep tabs on your every move.”
“He doesn’t keep tabs on my every move,” I said, thinking back to the weekend of the horse race.
I had been practically home free on that one.
“But you’re right, Gina, he can be pretty intense.”
We found a beach boutique and Gina tried on about five different bathing suits. She finally decided on a designer bikini by Salinas. It had a neutral toned beach landscape on the top and on the bottom. The bottom was very low slung, with a gold tone band running along the top edge; it had adjustable side ties. Gina definitely had the body to pull it off, though it would likely require a Brazilian wax. I tried on a really cute pair of red low slung board shorts and a tank half tee.
“What do you think?” I asked Gina as I come out of the dressing room
“They are the bomb on you girlfriend, just need to accessorize a bit.”
I ended up buying two pairs of the board shorts in red and purple; and two tank half tees, one in black and one in red. Gina purchased a white gauze cover-up and a pair of high-heeled sandals.
“Now,” she instructed, once outside the store, let’s accessorize, follow me!”
We walked a block north, and one street west to a shop called, “Mak
e me Holey.”
“Body piercing?” I asked, aghast at what Gina had in mind as far as accessorizing.
“Yeah, I noticed you could use some ‘holiness’ Tylar,” she mused.
“I’ve got double pierced ears,” I argued, pulling my hair back so that she could see for herself.
“Yeah, real nice,” she replied, not really impressed, “But I was thinking you may want to bring a little more focus to that flat sexy tummy of yours.”
“My bellybutton?”
“Ah, yeah,” she responded. “You have the perfect kind for a piercing.”
“Are you having yours pierced, too?”
“Already are darlin’” she answered.
I didn’t recall seeing a ring in it when she was modeling the swimsuits for me earlier. Reading my mind as only Gina could she responded.
“I don’t have my banana bell in right now,” she said, “but trust me, it’s pierced and we are both going to get something new pierced today. My treat!”
I was not loving the idea nearly as much as Gina; but what the hell, if I didn’t like it I could always take it out. It wasn’t like it was going to be anywhere that couldn’t be covered by clothing.
We went inside and Gina picked up a ‘Piercing Price List’ and brought it over to me so that we could view it together.
“So, what are you getting pierced today, Gina?”
She was perusing the list as if it was a menu, trying to figure out what she was going to order for lunch.
“I believe I’m going to go with the Vampire’s Kiss,” she said.
What the hell was the Vampire’s Kiss? I looked at the listing and saw that it went for $120.
“Here,” she said, opening up the pamphlet and locating a picture of it. “Right there,” she said, pointing.
Oh my God, this was a surface piercing on the neck, near the clavicle that had entrance and exit points. The jewelry was either a surface bar or curved bar bell that sports red ball dips to look like blood. It was to look as if a vampire had bitten the neck.
“Are you really getting that?” I asked. “Shouldn’t you ask Ian about it first?”
Gina looked at me as if I had two heads, and then scoffed.
“Yeah, right. I don’t need my man’s permission for what I do to my body,” she replied, laughing and shaking her head.
She caught someone’s attention behind the counter.
“Yeah, over here, she’ll be having the Number 14 with the basic hardware. I’ll be having the Number 27 but would like see the hardware upgrade with the genuine ruby ball tips, please?”
Forty-five minutes later, Gina and I walked back out on the street with four more holes in our bodies collectively than when we got there. It really didn’t hurt much at all. It hurt me to look at Gina’s though. We both were given our after-piercing care kits with instructions. I was to shower for the next five days – no bathing. I couldn’t go into chlorinated water unless I wore a bandage covering it for two weeks! So much for showing off my sexy tummy at the pool. I pointed the irony out to Gina who wasn’t deterred.
“Tylar,” she explained with a hint of exasperation creeping into her voice, “You can still wear a bikini and lay out in the sun with it for Chrissake! I bet Trey will think it’s really hot!”
(Don’t count on it.)
Gina had no clue how Trey rolled with his extreme persnickety ways.
We decided to get some lunch since we had eaten nothing all day. We found a quaint little diner that served up some great hamburgers and milkshakes - not quite the diet for those wishing to have flat, sexy tummies.
(More irony).
We got back to the manor at 5 p.m. Gina dropped me off at the front door, saying that she was taking her aunt’s car over to her and her aunt would drop her back off here in a bit.
Thatcher opened the front door before I got completely across the porch. The man definitely had some radar going.
“Good afternoon, Tylar,” he greeted somewhat cheerily. “Will Mrs. Hatton be arriving soon?”
“Thanks, Thatcher,” I said, going through the door with my packages into the entry. “Yes, Gina will be back over in a little while. We ate a really late lunch so please; don’t go to any trouble with dinner. We will probably just make a sandwich or something later if we get hungry?”
“Very well,” he replied. “Just let me know should you get hungry and we can set something up informal.”
“Will do,” I said anxious to get my stuff up to my room.
I left my cell phone on the charger. I was anxious to see if Trey had called. This was actually the first day of the trial and I had no idea how long courts in session could last each day. I was thinking probably not much past five p.m., but there was always the possibility of discussions in chambers, last minute filings for this or that. I watched a lot of television shows with lawyers in them.
I made a pit-stop to the bathroom to check the situation with the crimson wave. It appeared that I would be riding it for another couple of days. I checked my cell phone that was now completely charged back up. I had a text message from Trey that came in around four thirty this afternoon.
'Why do you not have your cell phone with you?'
How did he know that? I went into my voice mailbox and the message was from him as well.
“Tylar, its Trey. I only have about fifteen minutes before court resumes. I was worried when I lost the signal last night while you were sleeping. I did keep my phone on.
I called the house this morning. Thatcher said that you and Gina had left for work early, so I tried you on your cell. When I got no answer, I phoned Thatcher back. He said your cell phone was in your room, on the charger. I would appreciate your keeping the phone charged and with you, please? We have meetings scheduled all evening, so I won’t be able to call you back this evening. I’ll try to give you a call later this week. Be good.”
That was it? Keep my phone charged and with me, be good? Talk to you later in the week? Oh, hell no. I was quickly morphing into Gina, I could tell. The truth was Trey didn’t owe me a thing. I needed to chill and get over this hormone hell I was currently in due to my period.
Gina arrived back at the manor around at a little before six o’clock. It was still sunny out and warm, she had the great idea of lying out by the pool, jamming to some music, and getting some color on us.
“What about our piercings.” I asked.
“What about them?” she replied. “You don’t have to keep a bandage on it Tylar, in fact the sun will do it good, lots of Vitamin D, you know. So we like lay out for awhile, get some color, then at dark, we get the old Tiki torches going and invite some of the others over for ‘cocktail hour’?”
“I guess that would be okay. Let’s do it!”
“Great!” she said anxious to wear her new designer bikini.
We both changed into our bikinis. I wore my red once since the other two new ones had not been washed yet.
The sun was still warm and bright; I didn’t feel the need to use sunscreen this late in the day with the UV rays not nearly as strong.
We lounged by the pool, letting the sun's rays reflect off of the water and on to us. Gina got on her cell phone, calling Rodney, instructing him to invite some others up for a “sundown” swim. She also managed to get some cocktails delivered to us poolside. I was not nervy enough to do that.
She ordered cosmopolitans for the both of us, and cranked the music on the portable Bose stereo up a few notches. It was tuned to one of the satellite stations for classic rock. Before I knew it, Thatcher was bringing trays of warm appetizers and a fresh pitcher of cosmopolitans out to us.
By half past seven the pool party so to speak was in full swing. Rodney, Andy, Neely, and Luke were here. The food was good, the music was great and the drinks were kicking my ass. At about nine things were winding down. It was a work night for everyone, Gina and I gathered everything up and turned out the Tiki Torch lamps. We headed up to the house. Thatcher was of course, there to greet us, and
relieved us of our trays of leftover food and drinks.
Gina and I went upstairs. We were both going to take our respective showers in our bathrooms. I got out the instructions for the post-piercing care, along with the antibiotic cream. I jumped in Trey’s shower, careful to avoid touching the new piercing directly but rather allowing the warm water to rinse over it. I washed the rest of my body; shampooed my hair, and shaved my legs again with Trey’s razor. I dried myself off and put on Trey’s blue robe.
I slipped underneath my clean, cool sheets about an hour later, worn out from the day’s activities. It was a nice worn-out though. It took my mind off missing Trey. I sank into a deep, peaceful slumber.
The rest of the week passed uneventfully for both Gina and me. We finished up with all of the corking, labeling and packing of seventy cases of wine. We had thirty more to go and then we would be finished with the batches fully fermented. Gina estimated that this would be mid next week. Then she would head back to Atlanta. I was really going to miss her.
I heard from Trey a couple of more times during the week. He anticipated the case would go into the first day or two of the following week. He asked me how things were going. I told him everything was fine; no further incidents with my terrorist. I let him know that I had a surprise for him when he got back to Bristol for the weekend. He said that he would see me Friday night. His flight got in around nine o’clock. I felt the familiar butterflies again. They had been lying dormant since he left.
When Gina and I clocked out on Friday afternoon, Becky called us over.
“Gina, Ian called and left a message with me earlier today.”
“Why didn’t he just call me?” she asked, “I’ve got my cell phone in my pocket.”
“Well,” Becky continued, “You’re not going to like the content of his message so that is probably the reason. He can’t make it in from Atlanta this weekend, he’s really, really sorry but things came up with getting the auditions completed with the bands so they’ll run over into the weekend. He loves you and will make it up to you,” Becky rushed through the message, eager to have it all out and be done with it.