by Beth Rinyu
He shook his head and smirked. “Dr. Bendis.”
Dr. Bendis had been our dentist forever. And, ever since I could remember, he was always short and fat with more hair in his nose than on his head. I remember lying back in the chair with a perfect view of his nostrils as he worked on my teeth, wondering if he ever tried to braid that shit. “Shoot me now!” I threw myself back on the bed and placed my hands over my face. “This is all my mom’s fault. Who invites their dentist to their daughter’s wedding?”
“Ahh come on, Gia. You know that nose hair of his turns you on.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m glad I’m not the only one who noticed that.”
“Umm…..how could you not. It was always kinda right in your face whenever he was examining your teeth.”
“I need coffee….badly!”
“Okay, I’ll order room service.”
“Sounds good. I’m just going to jump in the shower really quick to wake up.”
“Okay, what do you want for breakfast?” he asked, looking over the room service menu.
“Umm….just coffee is fine.”
He raised his eyebrow at me. “Since when do you not eat?”
“Fine, you pick!” I grabbed my purse and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind me. I pulled out my phone to find a missed call and voice mail from Jasper. My heart raced with excitement in anticipation of what he had to say. I could tell that the connection was bad right away.
Hey sweetheart…..
And that’s all I heard. The rest of the one minute and twenty-seven second message was nothing but garble. I played it over and over again in hopes of deciphering what he was saying with no luck. I let out a deep sigh, counting down the days until he would be home and I could talk to him in person. I turned on the faucet and adjusted the water temperature, happy to see a fluffy white robe hanging on the back of the door as I suddenly remembered that I didn’t have clean clothes to change into.
As I stepped into the shower, the steady stream of water flowing over my body helped to clear my head. I hoped Carrie wasn’t mad at me for acting like a drunken fool. I hoped my mother wasn’t worrying about where I was since I was supposed to be spending the night at her house. I hoped Jasper didn’t say anything important in his voice mail. Suddenly, I was realizing that instead of clearing my head, I was just filling it with unnecessary worries. I needed to stop. If I had done something that bad to ruin Carrie’s wedding, I’m sure Cam would have told me….I hoped. I’m sure my mom knew I was okay or there would have been a million missed calls from her. And as far as Jasper went, I would send him a text, letting him know that his voicemail completely cut off. Problems solved.
I rinsed off, patted myself dry with the oversized towel and wrapped the bathrobe around me. “Okay I feel much better now,” I said, tightening up the belt on the robe as I exited the bathroom just as Cam was opening up the hotel room door for our room service delivery; but instead of it being our breakfast, it was my Aunt Jodi. Her eyes widened, giving me the once over as I stood there in just a bathrobe, shifting her attention back to Cam who was shirtless and in a pair of faded out jeans that made his ass look oh so fine.
“Umm….” Was all she could manage to get out.
“Relax, Aunt Jodi, it’s not what you think. I’m sure you know, I got a little drunk last night.”
“Sweetie, it was more than a little.” She snickered.
“Yeah, so I’ve heard.” I shook my head in disgust. “How pissed were Carrie and my mom at me?” I asked.
She waved her hand in a dismissive manner. “I think your mom was a little buzzed herself, and Carrie and Jason, well, they were in their own little world last night.” She smiled. “Besides you were fine! Nothing wrong with having a good time at your sister’s wedding.” She covered her mouth, trying to stifle her laughter. “And then serenading your dentist.” I rolled my eyes. “But… this….” She pointed at Cam, then me.
“Let’s just tell her the truth, Gia.” I looked at him in confusion. “We had mad, passionate sex last night. In fact, the people next to us were knocking on the walls for us to quiet down.”
“Oh, yeah, and don’t forget the people on the floor below.” I tried my hardest not to laugh, but couldn’t hold back any longer.
“Brats!” She shook her head and smiled.
“Uh, Gia can you get that?” Cam asked, handing me a twenty-dollar bill to tip the room service attendant. “I really don’t feel like dodging the press if anyone finds out I’m here.”
“Big tipper!” I teased, opening up the door and waited till Cam was out of sight before allowing the man in with the trays. “Coast is clear,” I shouted, once I tipped him and closed the door behind him.
“Thanks, girl,” Cam said, walking back into the room and making a beeline to the breakfast trays.
“Oh come on, Cam. Think of the story that would have made. Cam Hamilton caught in a Ménage a trois with a beautiful blonde and a red headed cougar.”
Jodi busted out with laughter. “Gia, I swear, sometimes I think you’re my daughter.”
“Ah gross!” Cam groaned.
“Hey now!” I scolded.
“That wasn’t directed at you….it was at her.” He pointed to Jodi.
“I beg your pardon!” She smacked him on the back of the head. “You’re not my type anyway.” She laughed. “But I will have you know, I’ve been a cougar many times and have had no complaints.”
“Mom! Enough!” Cam shook his head in disgust. “What are you doing here, anyway?”
“Oh, well, Herman and I decided to get a room after we had a little too much to drink and honey, we actually did wake the people next door.”
“Woo-hoo. You go girl!” I high fived her while Cam rolled his eyes in disgust.
“Oh, Cam, please, you’re not the only one who likes to –”
“Mom! Don’t say it!” Cam cringed.
“Say what, Cam? Fuck?” I giggled, and he reached over and tickled me to stop me from speaking. “Alright! Alright! I give!” I managed to get out through my bouts of laughter. “Seriously, though? Why is it okay for men to brag about their sex life but totally unacceptable for women?”
“I have no problem with it as long as it’s not my mother talking about it!”
“Oh, okay then. I like to fuck too, and Jasper…..well, let’s just say he is very, very good at it!”
“That’s my girl!” Jodi squealed.
“Gia, just eat your breakfast,” Cam scolded. “And don’t you have somewhere you have to be?” He asked Jodi.
“As a matter of fact, I do. I just wanted to see what time your flight was leaving?”
“Oh, not until six o’clock,” he replied.
“Okay, so you’ll be stopping by before you leave?” She raised her eyebrow, making it seem more like a demand than a question.
“Yeah, I’ll swing by.”
She seemed content with that answer and headed toward the door, turning back just as she was about to exit. "See ya, Gia, and just remember, a man that can satisfy you in the bedroom is worth holding onto."
“Love you, Cam,” she shouted just before letting out a loud laugh over the repulsed look on his face.
He closed the door behind her and sat down at the table. “She really needs to knock it off.”
“Oh Cam, come on! She just likes to have fun. There’s nothing wrong with that,” I said, taking a bite of my pancake. “Just because she’s a little older and a mom doesn’t mean she can’t enjoy a healthy sex life.”
“Gia, come on. Would you really want to hear about your Mom and Ben?”
I nearly choked on my coffee. “First off, I think my mom still believes that Carrie and I believe we were brought by the stork. She would never talk about that kind of stuff to us. I think it’s kind of cool that your mom expresses herself in that way. Sex is not a dirty word.”
“Well, it is when it pertains to certain people like my mom…..and you.”
“Me?” I let
out a giggle. “Umm…Cam. News flash: I am not a virgin. I happen to love sex almost as much as dancing.”
“Alright – Alright –” he held up his hand to stop me. “Can we just eat breakfast and not talk about this anymore. I don’t want to hear about it with my mom and Herman and I definitely don’t want to hear about it between you and what’s his face.”
“Jasper!” I shouted, sticking my tongue out at him as he took a sip of his coffee, actually seeming genuinely pissed.
Three
Cam
I dropped off Gia at Melanie’s house and killed some time talking to Ben, in an effort to spend the least amount of time as possible at my mother’s; I love her to death, but sometimes she could drive me absolutely crazy with always being on my case about everything. It was always the same old thing: I needed to call more. I needed to come home more. I forgot to send my grandmother a birthday card.
What she failed to realize was that I was a grown man with my own life. I didn’t need to answer to her with where I was going on vacation, who I was dating, and why I chose not to come home for the holidays. I knew that part of it was her own guilt. She had more men in her life than I could remember as I was growing up, but it never bothered me because she always made me her number one priority. She was a great mom who worked hard to make sure that I didn’t want for anything, and I know that if it wasn’t for her and her support, I wouldn’t be where I was today. But, every now and then when she would have a little too much to drink, she’d start to get all sentimental and confess her regrets that she had with raising me, apologizing for bringing men into my life that I’d start to bond with, only to have them leave when she got sick of them. I wished that she could see that it didn’t have any long-term effects on me. In addition to her, my dad was a pretty awesome guy too, so I didn’t need any of the men in her life to be my role model. What did bother me was the way she would meddle in my life, especially during college. Every girl I’d bring home was never good enough, and I knew in her eyes no girl would ever be. So I just stopped telling her anything that was going on in my love life, letting her believe all of the ridiculous articles she read in those rag magazines.
“Cameron James! Is that you?” I heard her calling from the kitchen as I walked through the front door.
“Yeah Mom, it’s me,” I mumbled, dragging my feet into the kitchen where she was sitting at the table behind her laptop. She shifted her glasses to the top of her head and looked down at her watch. “Where have you been all day? I was expecting you hours ago!”
“Oh, I was talking to Ben and kind of lost track of time.”
“Well, do you have to go back so soon? It’s not like you have anything to rush back for, baseball season is over.”
I ran my hand through my hair and let out an exhausting breath. “Umm…I have a life I need to get back to,” I mumbled.
“Oh, and spending time with your family isn’t part of your life?”
“Mom, come on! Do we always have to get into it like this? Just stop, okay? In case you haven’t noticed I’m twenty-eight years old, not five.”
She shook her head and moved her glasses back to her eyes, focusing keenly on her computer screen. Here we go with the silent treatment. Fine by me, that was less time I had to listen to her rag on me. I got up and looked out the kitchen window. “The new patio looks nice.”
“Oh, yeah, Herman had all that stonework done over the summer,” she responded as though she was more interested in what was on the computer screen than the conversation she was having with me.
I turned back around. “Well, if we’re just gonna make small talk, I may as well head to the airport now.”
She closed her laptop and motioned for me to take a seat. “Are you hungry?” she asked.
“Nah, I’m good,” I replied, sitting back down.
“So, what’s been going on with you…..off the field?”
I shrugged. “Not much.”
“Well, are you seeing anyone?”
“No one in particular.”
She nodded, looking deep in thought. “Cam, are you sure that nothing happened between you and Gia last night? I mean, you were both pretty drunk and –”
“Geez, Mom! Nothing happened.”
“Okay. It’s just - I love Gia like she’s my own daughter, and I wouldn’t want to see her get hurt.”
I shook my head and looked up at the ceiling. “What makes you think that I would ever do anything to hurt Gia? I care about her too. A lot. That’s a line I would never cross. God, I can’t believe you would even –”
“Look Cam, I’m sorry. I know you care about Gia. It’s just, Mel is like my sister, and she would flip her lid if I ever allowed that to happen.”
I couldn’t take anymore. I’d only gotten a few hours of sleep, and it was starting to wear on me now. “If you ever allowed that to happen? Geez Mom, nothing happened! And, even if it did, I don’t think it’s up to you or Melanie to have any say in it! This is why I don’t ever want to come around.” I stood up and began to walk out.
“Cam! Come on, don’t leave like this.” She followed behind me.
“Look Mom, I’m just really tired, and I’ve got a full schedule this week.” I bent down and gave her a kiss. “I’ll call you when I land.”
I could tell she wasn’t happy about me leaving, but I didn’t feel like arguing anymore. Normally, I’d let this kind of shit roll off my back, but I was beyond exhausted, and I didn’t feel like hearing a lecture. Especially one about Gia. I loved that girl like she was my own sister and my mother knew it. So for her to insinuate that I would just use her like she were any other girl was like a slap in the face. I hopped into my rental car, wondering if I should go back in and make things right, but then thought better of it. I would call her tomorrow, after I had gotten more sleep and was better equipped to deal with her.
Leave it to Gia to put a smile on my face when I looked down at my phone to find one of the many selfies that she took last night of her and I. She was sitting on my lap, making the cutest, goofiest face I had ever seen.
My smiled widened when I read the message underneath:
So, I deleted the rest of the evidence of my drunkenness from my phone, but I had to save the one of my favorite baseball player! Have a safe trip home my sexy shortstop! Love ya lots!
I quickly texted her back before backing out of my mother’s driveway
Right back at ya, my tiny dancer.
That’s what was so special about my relationship with Gia, she loved me for the “Cam” I was my entire life, not star shortstop Cam Hamilton, and that meant more to me than anything. As hard as it was, I tried not to let fame change me. I wanted to be the same person that I’d always been, but sometimes it was hard to remain grounded when I was making more money than I’d ever imagined and had beautiful women throwing themselves at me every day of the week. But one thing was for sure, every time I was with Gia, she always snapped me right back to reality, bringing me back to the person I once was….the person who, underneath it all, I still really wanted to be.
Four
Gia
It was only Tuesday, and so far this week had been kicking my ass. And at the moment, I wanted to kick Carrie’s for sending me all of her beautiful pictures from Key West while I rushed back to my apartment like a crazy lady to get changed for job number two. The only bright side was Jasper would be home tomorrow, and the only thing on my schedule was morning dance practice. I had landed the part of the Sugar Plum Fairy in a showing of the Nutcracker, and I was more than excited to take it. It meant a lot of early mornings and late nights, but anything that had to do with dancing was worth it to me.
“Miss Chi-a,” Mr. Sanchez called in his thick Spanish accent when I stepped into my apartment building just as I almost managed to escape him.
I let out an exhausted breath before even turning around, knowing exactly why he was summoning me. “I know….I know. I’ll have it all for you by the end of the week.” I didn’t know how that wa
s going to be even possible. I’d skipped out on two nights at the bar last week because of rehearsals, and I knew I had to do some serious ass-kissing with my boss when I got in tonight, just to make sure I still even had that job. But if it would buy me time with Mr. Sanchez, then I’d let him keep thinking I’d have the rent by the end of the week.
“Miss Chi-a, I can only give you until the end of the week. I have lots of people who could pay the rent on time that would be willing to rent that apartment.”
“Got ya!” I shouted, running up the stairs and simultaneously tearing off my dance clothes in an effort to save time. What I wouldn’t give just to have five minutes to sit down and clear my head, but duty called, and at the end of the week, Mr. Sanchez would be too. I stood quietly for a moment, staring into space, wondering how I was going to come up with the rent money. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” I mumbled to myself before changing into my bar tending garb which consisted of my faded ripped up blue jeans and a Patriot Tavern Tee-shirt that seemed to be two sizes too small on me. I was pretty sure that Sal, the owner of the bar, ordered them that way on purpose. He was a huge flirt, bordering on pervert. He freaked a lot of the girls out with his off-color comments, but I knew how to handle him. It also came in handy when I had to request time off at the last minute or on the few occasions when I needed an advance on my pay. All I’d have to do was bat my eyelashes, stick out my boobs a little, and he was putty in my hands. He was definitely harmless, and deep down inside, he really did have a good heart.
I grabbed an apple on my way out the door, hoping it would curb my hunger pangs. Luckily, the bar was right on the corner of my street, but even with it being so close, I still managed to always be late.
“Gia!” Sal shouted from behind the bar.
“I know, I know! Calm down!” I yelled back, looking around at the only three regulars who were more like permanent fixtures. The crowd normally didn’t start picking up for another hour, so I didn’t know why he even cared that I was a few minutes late. I walked behind the bar and bent over to pick up the napkin on the floor, hoping that Sal would take advantage of the view and forget about my tardiness.