Crys And Gabe

by J. A. Hornbuckle

  "I, uhm, I dunno…" Trish started and I grabbed her elbow and began steering her down to my area of the shop.

  "It'd make Benny so happy," I said, smiling at her.

  "Well," she sighed. There was a hint of resignation in her voice. "I guess. If it will make him happy…"

  "And you are?" as she wiggled her way into my space, all pretenses of niceness gone.

  "I'm Crys. We met in Eugene?" I reminded her.

  "Hillbilly?" she said, her eyes doing a slow roam over me.

  "Yeah, bitch," I breathed. "Welcome to Grantham. May you get everything that you truly deserve."

  Boo-yah, I thought as I backed away and closed the heavy canvas curtain.

  We were all waiting for her as she came out, wearing the shirt that said, "I'm gonna be a …Mommy".

  Boo-yah, again!

  "Hey, guys," I heard Leila call and all eyes turned towards her. "Don't you all look cute!"

  Dex moved towards her and captured her in a hug before pulling her in front of him to introduce her to Trish.

  "Oh, we've just got to get a picture of you all together," Leila said reaching for her phone. "This is just amazing, don't you think?"

  I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing at the look on Trish's face.

  "A pic-picture?" she stammered, looking around the circle of people in the shop.

  "What a great idea," Benny boomed, rubbing his hands together and moving to stand next to Trish.

  Leila turned to put her purse down and I caught her look. She knew what I'd planned and her look said she was completely on board with it.

  We arranged ourselves around Trish, keeping her in the center as Leila snapped a couple of frames. The shop was soon filled with the different tones of incoming texts on each of our phones.

  "Wow, this is great," Benny said, his eyes glued to the picture as he pulled it up. "I'm going to print this one out. Use it as a screen saver, too."

  "Does your brother still have the same cell number, Trish?" Gabe asked his head down, pushing buttons on his keypad.

  Trish went totally still and her face blanched.

  I shot a glance to Leila before I moved back behind the desk, trying not to show too much interest in what was going on.

  Trish laughed, but there was an edge to it. "Gabe, you know he wouldn't be interested in this stuff."

  Benny's head shot up. "Not interested?"

  "Oh, you know, he's really busy with the repair shop and all," she countered quickly.

  "Done!" Gabe said, holding up his phone before tucking it away. "Need to get my booth ready."

  "Come on, Pretty Girl," Benny said grabbing his keys and moving back to where Trish stood frozen in place. "Let's go have some fun."

  There was a round of 'good-bye' and 'see you later' from most of us as she grabbed her stuff. She seemed a little shell-shocked but didn't protest as Benny grabbed her, leading her towards the door.

  "Did I do alright?" Leila asked softly.

  "You were perfect, as always," Dex said, kissing her shoulder. I watched as he reluctantly disengaged from her and made his way back to his booth. "You thought this up all on your own, Crys?"

  "Yep," I said with a smile, cutting my eyes to Leila. Her man didn't need to know her devious side.

  She made her way over to the desk and I flipped on the music before flipping on the switch for the neon signs in the big windows.

  Human Hiero was officially open for the day.

  "Did you see her? That reaction?" she breathed. "God. I think Gabe is telling the truth."

  "I know, right?" I said leaning towards her with a shit-eating smile so big it almost hurt.

  "Your hair is yummy, sweetie," she said. "You look so grown up."

  "Thanks. I like it, too. Uhm, Leila?" I asked. "Are you busy around four-ish today?"

  I watched her think. I knew that she had quit her professorship at the University and was setting up her own freelance teaching/tutoring business. Her time now was less structured, but she was still busy.

  "Think so. What'd you have in mind?" she asked.

  "I have a meeting with the people that have been wanting to buy my place and I would like to have you there," I said.

  Yep, I was going to explore the idea of selling my house. It was time for me to move on and the idea of having my own shop was exciting. Too exciting a dream not to see if it could become a reality.

  "Count me in," she said with a smile. "I also want to get together next week so we can start on your reading, if you want."

  "Oh, yes, please," I said, my stomach jumping with anticipation. She was going to help, going out of her way to help me.

  This was turning out to be a pretty outstanding day.

  Chapter Thirty

  Gabe made a point of getting to the Grantham hotel early for the breakfast with both his dad and Trish. He knew his dad was hoping Gabe had changed his mind and was willing to consider a future with her but Benny was going to be disappointed, no matter what the outcome.

  There was no way Gabe was going to be with Trish.

  No fucking way on God's green earth.

  Crys's plan with the t-shirts had shown Gabe all he needed to know. The reaction to Dex had been classic but it was the look on Trish's face about the t-shirts and picture that really gave her game away.

  Too bad his dad hadn't caught onto it.

  Gabe ordered an orange juice as he waited for them to show. Neither one of them were aware of what was to happen next, his next plan to get to the bottom of this shit.

  "Hey, Gabe," he heard Trish say.

  "Trish," he said, glancing at her as she moved into his side of the booth and slid in.

  Christ! Why couldn't she get it through her thick skull he didn't want her anymore?

  "Other side, Trish," he rumbled, bringing the juice up to his mouth. "You want to see me? Then get to the other side."

  He heard her huff as she moved to the other bench seat across from him.

  "Wake up on the wrong side of the bed, Gabe?" she grumbled.

  His dad showed up just a few seconds later. Benny was being his chattering, charming self and Gabe felt lucky he didn't have to add to the conversation very often.

  When breakfast was over, Gabe said that there was a stop they needed to make before moving on to their plans for going up to Smithville.

  "My truck or yours?" Benny asked.

  "Yours is good," Gabe replied, since his dad's truck had a back seat. There was no way he wanted Trish squished up next to him in his truck.

  They pulled up outside the clinic and Trish turned around to glare at him as his dad made his way around to open her door.

  "Really, Gabe?" she snarled.

  "Bet your ass, Trish," he replied, completely unconcerned with her reaction to their next stop.

  "What a great idea," Benny enthused as they walked inside the busy Med Center. "This way we can get the results and make sure that everything is A-okay with you and the baby."

  Gabe watched Trish wipe her hands on her jeans for the millionth time since she'd signed in at the reception area.

  Was she nervous? Good.

  She'd already admitted at breakfast that she 'forgot' to bring the doctor's paperwork with her.

  The doctor's appointment didn't take very long, but there was a bit of a wait at the lab where she was to have blood drawn.

  "Are you scared, Trish? You don't look so good," Benny said, reaching for her hand. "It's just a little pin-prick and you're done."

  "Yeah, Benny, " she said with a shaky smile. "I don't like needles."

  My ass, Gabe thought.

  As they made their way back to the truck, Gabe hung back and reached for his phone.

  "Hey, Kitten," he said. "Done at the clinic and she's freaked out."

  "Of course she is, Gabe," he heard his girl say. "I think she really underestimated you, amigo, and now you've just got to wait for the results."

  "One way or another, we'll know soon," he said. He couldn't wa
it to put this shit on track or behind him. Which depended on the results of today's tests.

  "Yeah, baby. One way or another," she sighed. "Have shit to do, Gabe. Gotta go."

  Gabe stood on the sidewalk and glanced into the truck to see Benny smiling and laughing with Trish.

  The only thing he regretted was the hurt his dad was going to feel when this was done.

  "Sorry, but you need to drop me off at the hotel so I can get my truck," Gabe said. "Something's come up so I can't go to Smithville today."

  "You sure, Buddy?" his dad asked, catching Gabe's eyes in the rear-view mirror.

  "Yeah, Dad," he mumbled, looking out the window. "But you two have a great time."

  *.*.*.*.*

  I watched Gabe come into the shop, my eyes drinking in his long length, admiring the man as he moved towards me. I enjoyed the hell out of the scenery presented.

  "Hey, Princess," he said leaning over the desk towards me, his eyes sparkling as he smiled softly.

  "Hey, Gabe," I breathed. God, he smelled as good as he looked. And he looked better than he had since we came back from Oregon.

  I never knew that Gabe couldn't handle the feelings of being out of control until this thing with Trish happened. But, now that I saw it, all the running stuff made sense. He was a lot like me only he went inside himself when he wasn't in the driver's seat of his life, his future. I hiss and spit like the Kitten he calls me when those feelings hit me.

  "I'm gonna do a long lunch today. Could you cover the desk?" I asked, trying to bring my body under control. I think my skin missed being with him more than my heart did, and that was saying a lot.

  "No worries, Crys," he said, going to the big book to see what he could expect from today. "Are you closing tonight?"

  "Thought I would, if your dad's not back," I said pulling my purse out of the cabinet. "How're they getting along?"

  "My dad and Trish?" he asked, looking up.

  I nodded.

  "She's got him wrapped. But, I think he wants to be wrapped, if you want to know the truth," Gabe admitted. "I don't want him hurt, though. Out of my shit and off my ass, yeah. Hurt, though?"

  I couldn't help it. I reached across and rubbed his back.

  "I know, baby," I whispered, watching his face soften even further as I touched him. And I freaking ached to touch him.

  The bell on the door made it's weird noise, breaking the moment, but at a good place; a soft place between us.

  "See ya, Gabe," I said softly, and heard him move to greet the customer.

  I was meeting Cait and Marianne at the small park next to the Library. They'd called in our lunch order to the Deli for me to pick up and I carried our bags to the small stone picnic table before they arrived.

  156This place was so pretty, especially at the beginning of summer when the spring flowers were just starting to go away and the summer blooms were beginning to open. The leaves on the trees and bushes provided shelter from the sun which, at our altitude, could cause your skin to burn if you weren't careful with the sunscreen. Between the dry air and the sun in Grantham, you were always slathering on some kind of lotion.

  "Hey, Crys," I heard Cait call, looking up to see Marianne waving as they moved down the path towards the table.

  "Ladies!" I said and started distributing the sacks of food as they sat down. I knew that Marianne's schedule wasn't as flexible as mine and we probably needed to get down to business straight away.

  "Wait!" Cait said sharply. "Know you have stuff you want to talk about Crys, but we've just got to talk about your new look."

  They both looked me over, Marianne even pushing her sunglasses up to get a better view.

  "Stunning," Cait said.

  "Beautiful, Crys," Marianne breathed.

  "Thanks," I replied with a smile. I knew they'd love it but then, I could roll around in oatmeal and if I liked it, they would, too. They were my friends.

  "Okay, honey, it's your meeting," Cait said, unwrapping her sandwich. "Spill!"

  "I was talking with Leila the other night and she asked me what I thought about having my own shop. Which got me thinking," I explained with a smile. "Got me thinking about what I really want to do with my life."

  Both of them went still as the stone we were sitting on, Marianne's sandwich halfway to her mouth.

  "I think I really want to do it. But, I want to do it right."

  I saw Marianne reach into her purse and take out her notebook, sliding the pen out from underneath the spiraled edge.

  "I want in," Marianne said. "I have some money set aside and I've been looking to invest. I lost a crap load in the stock market when even some banks were failing and I've been looking to invest in something else."

  "What?" I only understood about half of what she meant with all that.

  "I want to invest in your shop," she said, her curly blonde head bent over her notebook, where she was scribbling furiously.

  "Ohmigod," Cait breathed. "I can totally see it. Your own shop. Count me in! Let me help. You know how I love to decorate."

  "You can't turn that down, Crys!" Marianne exclaimed, her head shooting up from her notebook. "You should see what she's done with Jake's house."

  I sat back, my sandwich forgotten.

  This wasn't why I wanted to talk to them. I wanted to discuss it with them, hear the pros and cons, to have them shoot an injection of reality into my dream and see if it was even a possibility. But, these girls, MY girls, didn't even hesitate before they wanted to be a part of it. A part of my dream.

  "You both better shut the fuck up, right now." My voice was harsh around the lump in my throat.

  "Oh, Baby Girl," Marianne said, reaching across the table for my hand. "This is a good thing. Maybe the very best thing for you."

  I turned my head away and felt Cait's hand capture my other hand.

  "I agree with Marianne, honey," she said softly.

  My girls had my back.

  Shit, they had my front and both sides, too.

  "Thanks, guys," I mumbled, swallowing hard.

  We were quiet, the only sounds coming from the birds in the trees and the muted sounds from the street.

  "This is the place where Ram made his first move," Marianne sighed, her chin in her hand.

  I glanced at Cait and saw her eyebrows lift as she smiled.

  "First move?" she asked, crumpling up her sandwich wrapper and putting it back into her bag.

  "Yeah," Marianne breathed. "I even let him cop a feel, too."

  Ohmigod.

  I couldn't help it, I roared with laughter with the mental image of tiny Marianne and the gorgeous, though extremely proper, Chief making out in the tiny park, hands touching where they shouldn't.

  "In public?" Cait choked out between her laughter.

  I heard the birds leaving, our laughter disrupting their day.

  "It wasn't like we were rolling around naked or anything!" Marianne exclaimed, shoving the rest of her lunch into her bag. "Shit, it was a couple of kisses, him telling me he wanted me in his bed after we kind of touched…"

  I was bent over the table, my forehead pressing against the cool stone, laughing so hard I was silent in my mirth, my hands hitting the table over and over as I tried to get a grip.

  Cait's laughter just kept setting off my own and pretty soon I could hear Marianne join in.

  "Way too much info, Marianne," I said in between chuckles, wiping my eyes.

  "Been meaning to tell you, Crys," Cait giggled, taking out a mirror to see how badly her makeup was ruined . "Love the new makeup, too."

  "So, you're no longer lucky?" Marianne asked. It took me a minute to get her meaning but, suddenly I remembered. She and I, squished together in the tiny bathroom tucked under the stairs at Leila's house, our first ever Girl's Night In. Me crying because I'd just told Leila that Dex had scraped her off without her being told by him first.

  Hurting because I'd hurt my friend, my new friend.

  And Marianne crying along with me.

>   Marianne had asked me why I wore so much makeup as we both mopped ourselves up afterwards. And me, being me, told her that I was, 'Just lucky, I guess'.

  "More than lucky, Marianne," I said softly, knowing she understood.

  "Still no ring, I see," Cait said.

  I held my hand up. "Nope, no ring. But he did ask."

  "And what'd you say?" She pressed.

  "Told him that he needed to sort his shit out before I could consider it," I mumbled.

  "Shit?" Marianne asked, looking at Cait.

  So I told them. Told them about Trish and the drama she was trying to bring. I showed them the email and both of them were wide-eyed when I was done.

  "Goddamn," Marianne breathed.

  "There's still women out there pulling that kind of shit?" Cait asked.

  "Apparently," I breathed. So I told them the rest, the t-shirts and Gabe setting up the appointment.

  "God, you've got balls," Cait breathed.

  "Gotta hand it to you, kid. That was brilliant," Marianne said with a smile.

  I waggled my eyebrows at them. "I'm not just a pretty face, you know. I've got smarts, too."

  "No doubt, Crys," Cait said, glancing at her phone before she stood up. "We've got to get back, Marianne."

  Marianne sighed before gathering her stuff up.

  "I'll call you, Crys," Marianne said. "We need to talk more, but this is all so exciting!"

  I got hugs from my gals after we dropped our trash off in the round bin on our way out of the park.

  She wasn't kidding.

  This shit WAS exciting.

  Chapter Thirty One

  Dex was lugging the last bit of the trash out to the garbage and making his way through the now quiet shop, his mind reeling, trying to decide what to do.

  He could hear Benny talking although, in truth, it was like he was bellowing all the way down from reception as he closed and locked up the back door.

  Something was seriously wrong with Ben these days, and Dex wasn't convinced it was just because of whatever he might have contracted.

  Close to midnight, they'd just seen the last of the scheduled customers and probably wouldn't be seeing any drop-ins this time of year. When the university was in full swing, they stayed open late, inking as many customers showed up unexpectedly, but this time of year was the easy time. The slow time that saw them all doing most of their best work. Tattooing some of their best designs on a much more savvy client base, all accompanied by great music that didn't grate on Dex's last nerve.