Shattered Dreams (Dreams Series Book 1)

by Hicks, Braxton

  His look was serious and I dreaded what he was going to say. “I’m apprehensive about you working around all those horses. How would you feel about focusing solely on getting Derringer ready for dressage competition?”

  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. This was an once-in-a-lifetime chance! But I knew my limitations with dressage. I wasn't to training status. He read my mind.

  “We have a dressage trainer starting Monday at the Belle. You'll work with him and he will train you to be a trainer, and also you'll be the one riding Derringer in the competition. He'll get you prepared for that as well.”

  “Are you serious?” I squealed, jumping up to hug him. “Thank you so much!”

  “It’s not a favor I’m doing for you. My plan is that you'll learn and then later you will train. The competitions have nice purses and I expect you to win some for Sinclair Stables.”

  “I will,” I promised, grinning.

  “Good,” he said. “You start at the Belle on Monday.”

  “Will we board Derringer there?”

  “No, I'd prefer he stay in the stables close to you so that you can continue to watch his care. You can ride him over each day on the trail.”

  “Perfect,” I said smiling.

  His serious tone returned. “I’m going to be fairly tied up for the next couple of weeks. I really need to be able to depend on you to be careful, be watchful, and focus on Derringer, okay?”

  “Absolutely. You have nothing to worry about.”

  We left the restaurant and returned to the Crowne Plaza. I got ready for bed. I was waiting to see what exactly Trey had in mind as far as sleeping arrangements. Once I had my pajamas on, ready to hit the sheets, I saw Trey was on his laptop typing away.

  “Are you going to be much longer?” I asked.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, distracted. “Is this disturbing you?”

  “Well, not really,” I replied, kind of embarrassed.

  “Go on to sleep,” he advised. “I’ll be to bed shortly.”

  I crawled under the covers and was asleep within minutes. I never heard Trey come to bed, though I was happy when I awoke the next morning to find him curled around me sleeping.

  Chapter 21

  Everything would be perfect tonight at the Sanctuary, Gina and Ian’s hot-spot club.

  Gina and I had shopped all morning for my birthday celebration, and then we treated ourselves to an afternoon at the spa. I'd splurged on sexy skyscraper mirror heels at Gina’s urging. My dress was a tight white strapless number, with a colorful abstract splash print at the top in yellow, fuchsia, indigo, purple, green, and orange. There was a hint of the same splash pattern at the hemline. The satiny fabric had an elastic top and banded hem for a secure fit. I told Gina she would likely have to peel it off of me if I had too much to drink at the party. She laughed wickedly and replied it wouldn’t be her peeling it off of me, with any luck.

  The manicurist had painted my toenails and fingernails in yellow, fuchsia, indigo, purple, green, and orange to blend with the splash print colors of my club dress. Gina had given me a toe ring for my birthday that had a small diamond stud encrusted in the gold band. I loved it.

  Gina’s dress was white at the top with spaghetti straps, and black from the empire waist down. Ruffles with raw edges adorned the bust line, and elastic side shirring ensured a sexy fit, showing all of her curves. She'd expertly done my hair and make-up. I hardly recognized myself when I saw my reflection. She'd piled my hair loosely on top of my head with a bejeweled clip, letting some of the escaping layers cascade out messily. I accessorized with gold dangling earrings, a delicate gold choker, and matching ankle chain.

  This was my night as Gina had declared it and we'd party ’til we puked if necessary. She'd promised me that my 21st birthday would be one to remember. I'd hold her to that promise. I gave myself one more assessment in the mirror. Gina knocked on the door between our adjoining rooms.

  “It’s unlocked, come on in,” I yelled. “I’m in the bedroom.”

  Gina’s jaw dropped when she saw me. “You look fucking awesome,” she said. "I have a feeling all eyes will be on the birthday girl."

  “Well I'm not sure about that,” I replied, spritzing a small bit of shining mist on my hair.

  “I’ve got another surprise for you, birthday bitch,” she laughed.

  “Oh yeah? I think you've done quite enough, Gina, with the rooms, the limo, and the toe ring! What's the surprise?”

  “Just maybe some special friends stopping by.”

  “What friends?” I asked.

  “If I told you, then it wouldn’t be a surprise now would it? Grab your purse and your cell. The limo awaits us!”

  “Let’s do it,” I replied. The white limo pulled up to the overhang of the hotel just as Gina had promised. The limo driver opened the double doors, allowing us to take our seats across from one another.

  Inside was a flat screen TV, a wet bar, and the typical sound-proof glass divider between the driver and coach area. We settled in and Gina immediately adjusted the climate control, the lighting inside the car, and tuned the stereo in to an all-music satellite station for ’70s and ’80s music. “You're going to hear a lot of this tonight at the Sanctuary,” she explained. “It’s a dance club and what better to dance to than ’80s hits, right? I really think you'll like the emcee and the bands. The sound system alone cost us almost as much as the building.”

  I could tell Gina was proud of what she and Ian had done with the club. They were young and they had really put it all on the line. She continued talking about Ian and how his younger brother Piers was in from San Diego. She said that she really wanted me to him because she was certain that he and I would hit it off. I listened to her go on about Piers and suddenly there was quiet.

  “Stop it,” Gina said abruptly.

  I was totally caught off guard. “Stop what?”

  “You know damn well what," she said accusingly. “You've got to stop thinking about Trey or it'll ruin your night.”

  “Who said anything about Trey? I wasn’t thinking about him at all,” I lied.

  “The fuck you weren’t,” she snapped. “You need to let it go. Forget about him. He hasn’t called you all week, and he's totally blown off your birthday. I don’t get it, is the sex that good?”

  “Look,” I replied, “things are more complicated than that.”

  “What’s so complicated about it? He’s a fucking control freak who wants to pin you to his wall like some butterfly that he’s caught in his net. Does he ever tell you how he feels? Does he ever give you a clue as to where he sees your relationship going?”

  I sighed and remained silent.

  “He doesn’t even ask you to come to Atlanta with him, does he?”

  I gave her a look of warning; she needed to back off a little. “It doesn’t matter how I feel about him anyway,” I replied. “Trey has never once told me that he loves me, so really it’s a moot point.”

  “So, maybe he hasn’t, but he sure as hell wants you tucked away in Bristol, waiting for him when he makes it back occasionally,” she countered. “It just pisses me off that you allow it, too.” She mimicked his voice: “Tylar be here when I get back; Tylar, why would you desecrate your navel like that? Tylar get in bed and spread your legs.” Her imitation of Trey’s voice was actually pretty good, but she still didn’t know that Trey and I had never been sexual.

  “We don’t have that kind of a relationship. I’ve told you it’s not that serious.”

  “Or what about him telling you he’s in fucking Atlanta all this week, what about that? If Ian and I hadn’t had to visit his firm on Tuesday to sign the quit claim deed transferring the Sanctuary into an LLC with one of his partners, you'd never have found out he wasn’t even in the state, would you?”

  “Probably not,” I replied. “It’s not my style to check up on him.”

  “Well, I’m sorry, friend, but it is my style, at least with a guy like him,” she scoffed.

  �
��I didn’t ask you to check up on him did I? But when he gets back and finds out what you did, he’s going to think I asked you to and I'm just not that worried about where he is or what he does. I don’t roll that way.”

  “Hey,” Gina snapped, but not really pissed, “I don’t do things so as to be obvious about it. I just happened to ask his assistant if Trey was in, I said I was an old neighbor from Bristol, which is sort of the truth.”

  “Okay,” I responded, “so what about when he gets back and his assistant said that an old neighbor was asking about him? He knows that you and I are friends, what conclusion do you think he'll come to then?”

  “No worries,” she giggled. “I told her a fake name.”

  Fan-fucking-tastic…

  “Besides that,” she said, “why are you defending him? You’re pissed at him most of the time anyway.”

  “We have a complicated relationship. I care deeply for him, but I’m also put off by his need to control me. So, I give him space and looks like he’s giving me mine. You know, it’s not like I expected that he'd do anything for my birthday.”

  “It doesn’t matter, Ty. Let’s not mention the asshole for the rest of the night. Tonight's all about partying!”

  “I’m not the one who brought his name up in the first place,” I pointed out. “I’m with you; this is my night that you've made possible. I love you for it. Please, let’s not argue?” I gave her a hug and we finally changed the subject.

  The Sanctuary was located in the trendy Buckhead district of Atlanta. Our limo pulled up to the club’s entrance and idled. The beats from inside filtered out onto the sidewalk and groups of young patrons patiently waited in line; one in, one out. The chauffeur exited our limo and opened the doors for both of us. We took our time stepping out, loving our chance to make an entrance.

  Inside, the spacious club was packed. There were various levels of the club with tables, booths, a bar area, and a multi-level dance floor that was already flooded with people. I noticed that there was a mezzanine that bordered the entire club with two separate staircases leading to it. Gina read my thoughts.

  “Do you want to sit at a table on the mezzanine?” she yelled over the music. “It’s roomier and we can at least hear each other talk!”

  “Sounds good to me,” I yelled back.

  We headed up that way and right before we got to the wide staircase, Ian came up to Gina, grabbed her from behind, and gave her a giant kiss. I had to smile as I watched them in action. Ian stood back and admired how sexy she looked. Then he came over to give me a hug and wish me a happy birthday.

  “You look fantastic, love,” he hollered. I loved his British accent. What a match, Gina from Jersey and Ian from Manchester, England.

  “Thank you!” I yelled back. Finally the song stopped and we had a few moments until the next set played.

  “Where’s Piers?" Gina asked. "I want to introduce him to Tylar.”

  Ian shook his head. “Giner (that was British for Gina I presumed) you need to let things be with that,” he said.

  “Hey it’s her birthday and she's going to want to dance. Who better than Piers?”

  Ian laughed and smacked her tight ass. “He’ll be along, I’ll send him up. I should be relieved here in about thirty and then I’ll join you up there, love.”

  “I can hardly wait,” Gina giggled. “C’mon Ty, let’s get some drinks.”

  Gina got us the VIP table up on the mezzanine. There was an alcove on the mezzanine that was located above the band stage. The mezzanine alcove jutted out a bit over the dance floor, and had its own staircase leading to it. Gina explained it was usually reserved in advance, but she and Ian had kept it available for us. She pushed the button on the wall next to our table to summon our waiter.

  Before we were finished with our first round, Ian and Piers had joined us. Piers was extremely good looking and possessed the same hot British accent as Ian. He was about 5'11" in height, lean build, and had dark, almost black hair that was neatly trimmed in what I'd call a business cut. He had dark brown eyes, and a very relaxed demeanor about him.

  The next group up was a Scottish boy band that Ian discovered in Atlantic City. They were called “Johnnie and the Self Abusers.” I had a fairly good buzz going, and Piers leaned over the table and asked me if I wanted to dance.

  “Sure, I said, grabbing his outstretched hand as he helped me up. We descended the stairs to the lit dance floor.

  As the song ended, I raised my head from Piers shoulder. He had his head bowed slightly toward me. Suddenly his lips were brushing mine in a sweet kiss.

  Seriously?

  “Happy Birthday, Tylar,” he said, smiling.

  I returned his smile. He put his arm around me and we headed back up the staircase. A tray of Jell-O shots had been set at the table. Oh God, the dreaded Jell-O shots, my downfall from senior prom. I pushed that memory from my mind and tossed the shot back. Right then someone came up from behind me put his arms around me with a squeeze and gave me a “Gotcha!”

  “Oh my God!’ I squealed, turning around to see Luke, Clint, and Rodney. “Gina didn’t tell me you were coming!” I jumped up to hug them.

  “Whoa,” Clint whistled, checking out my outfit.

  “I see that ‘Whoa,’ and raise you a ‘Wow!’” said Rodney.

  I blushed.

  “You guyyzzz” I gushed, feeling no pain. “C’mon it’s my birthday, let’s toast!” We all grabbed a Jell-O shot and toasted. The band below was keying up for another tune. The lead singer had the mic, announcing the next song.

  “Okay everyone, we’re going to do a two-song tribute right now to the ‘King of Funk.’ So, I want everyone to hurry on down to this dance floor. That’s right, for the late great, King of Funk, Mr. Rick James his 1981 hit, “Super Freak!”

  “C’mon,” Gina, said, grabbing my arm as the band struck the first note. “Everybody!” she commanded.

  Maybe it was the alcohol, or my friends around me, or the way I was dressed, but all inhibitions left me when I stepped on the dance floor. Gina was freak-dancing with Luke, so I grabbed Rodney and started freaking. I was bumping and grinding against Rodney, then turned and he did the same to me. At one point I was down at his ankles working my way back up his body to the beat when I froze around his mid-section. I was being watched by a pair of very familiar, very emblazoned sapphire blue eyes. Trey sat at the bar adjacent to the dance floor, leaning back with a beer in his hand and a blonde on his left. I couldn’t tell if they were together or not.

  Rodney noticed I'd not come back up all the way, and bent down to face me. “Are you all right? Are you going to be sick?” he asked, concerned.

  “I may be,” I answered, “Don’t turn around Rodney, but Trey's sitting over at the bar, and he’s looking over this way.” Naturally, Rodney turned and saw him.

  “Fuck that,” he said. “I’m outtie.”

  Lovely.

  I wasn't about to be intimidated by Trey so I danced over to Clint and joined them.

  As “Super Freak” ended, the band immediately cued up another Rick James song, “Party All the Time,” as in ‘my girl wants to.’

  Perfect.

  Clint and I danced to the tune, along with Gina and Luke. We were bumping and grinding and I was getting the ultimate pleasure watching Trey squirm in my very astute peripheral vision. I made sure, when the song ended, to wrap my arms around Clint in a big hug. I think he was a little shocked.

  As we climbed the stairs to the mezzanine, Gina nudged me with her elbow. “That was quite a little show you put on down there for Trey. You looking to get Clint and Rodney’s asses kicked tonight?”

  My look of surprise and shock didn’t fool Gina at all.

  “Don’t bother,” she said. “I know how you roll, and I’ve got no problem with the dude sitting over there watching you and feeling like his heart's being ripped out, believe me. But c’mon, Ty, you know that's not really fair to Clint and Rodney when he chews them out later, right?”

&
nbsp; “I was dancing with Piers, too,” I argued. “So you think Trey’s going to take a piece out of his hide, too?”

  “Doubtful,” she answered. “I don't think he was even here when that happened, but even if he was, you weren’t dry-humping Piers like you did with the others.”

  “It’s called ‘freaking,’” I argued, “and it’s a perfectly acceptable dance.”

  “Uh huh,” Gina replied. “I'm not the one you have to convince. I was doing it too, you know. It’s just that, well…” Gina started giggling almost uncontrollably, “My partner didn’t leave the dance floor with a hard-on like both of yours did!”

  “Shut up! No they didn’t!” I laughed. “You're making that up.” I was laughing so hard that I didn’t notice that Trey was walking to the dance floor with the blonde who'd been sitting next to him at the bar. Gina hadn’t missed a thing, though, as she glanced at me.

  “Showtime,” she said, nodding her head toward the dance floor. I turned to follow her gaze and my heart sank to my knees. We hurried the rest of the way up the steps. As the slow song played, I felt like my party bubble had burst. He was here, but not with me. I felt the warm tears brimming in my eyes, threatening to spill. Gina saw it, too.

  “C’mon,” she said, taking my hand, “let’s go to the little girls’ room.”

  We'd barely made it inside the restroom when the floodgates opened. Gina found a box of tissues and was trying to do damage control to the eye make-up she'd so carefully and expertly applied earlier.

  “It’s okay, sweetie. You're going to be fine, no need for tears.” She was trying her best to soothe me.

  “Why is he here?” I blubbered. “And he brought a fucking date."

  “Now you don't know that he brought that chick. Come on, don't cry, your make-up is gonna run.” Gina was dabbing away.

  “I don’t care what I look like. I want to leave.”

  “Oh, no, we're going nowhere, girlfriend. Now you just take a minute and calm yourself down and listen to me. I mean it.”