YOURS TRULY

by Bella Grant

  “We will be! Thank you!” Diana called, snickering behind her hand as the man’s eyes dipped briefly to Alyssa’s cleavage, which was on display. She turned to Alyssa, who had opened her Facebook app to share the pic. “Oh, Alyssa. Please don’t put that on Facebook. I don’t want Travis to see me here.”

  “He doesn’t have to know you went inside,” Alyssa argued, looking at her friend.

  Diana gave her the puppy dog look she’d used on her for years. “Please. I’ll tell him we were here tomorrow and then you can post it.”

  “Ugh, whatever,” Alyssa grouched. “I can’t believe I’m letting you dictate what I can’t post based on what a dude thinks.”

  “You’ll forgive me later,” Diana said with confidence.

  Alyssa threw her arms around Diana’s neck and whispered, “I always have, always will.”

  Diana kissed her best friend on the cheek, and they followed their new friends inside. A nervous jump of her stomach occurred when she heard the bells and whistles of the slot machines, and she felt a pull towards a blackjack table, her favorite game. But the pull was minimal, and the nervousness vanished as they explored the casino and found a hip jazz bar, decorated like a speakeasy, with a live band and flowing drinks.

  After an hour, she didn’t feel the least bit worried about her former addiction. The bar had slot machines off to the side, and they compelled her not at all. She decided this had to mean she was free of the addiction, that the monster which had lived inside her no longer existed, and she cheered for herself because she was so proud.

  The rest of the night was spent with her best friend and a couple of new friends, drinking and talking, ogling hot dudes and dancing with them or by themselves. She texted Travis a handful of times until he told her he was going to bed so he could drive back early. She couldn’t wait to see him and wished again he was with her.

  Travis had laughed at the hilarious pictures Diana sent throughout the evening. Funny selfies, candids of Alyssa when she wasn’t looking, plenty of pictures of Ed Sheeran, who hadn’t been quite close enough to touch but was still pretty damn close. He’d seen the Facebook picture Alyssa had added and had commented on it, calling both women beautiful, even though Diana was so much more stunning than Alyssa. But he was supposed to think that.

  He’d shown Michael as well as the city manager and his wife, who were charmed by his adoration of the pretty blonde woman on his phone. So charmed, in fact, that the man agreed to stop barring the way for the renovation. After a successful night, he and Michael enjoyed a drink at the hotel bar before heading to bed.

  Diana texted him until almost two, when he finally told her he had to go to sleep. She had awakened him three times, and he was worn out. He couldn’t wait to see her the next morning. Driving straight to the hotel was the perfect idea. He’d be there a little before lunch, and hopefully she’d be stirring by then. And not so hungover she couldn’t function. Her texts had seemed normal, so he assumed she hadn’t had too much.

  When he got up the next morning, he was jittery with anticipation. He showered quickly and hurried down with his bag to check out. He texted Michael and let him know he was leaving, but he didn’t get a reply. After having drinks with him, Michael had left the hotel to stay with his new chick and planned to stay the rest of the weekend.

  While he waited for the clerk to print his receipt, he scrolled through Facebook to see if Diana or Alyssa had posted any other pictures. He found only one posted by Alyssa, and he frowned at the background. Is that… He realized he was staring at a picture of Diana and Alyssa with two strange women in front of a well-known casino. What the hell is she doing at a casino? he asked himself, his frown becoming a scowl. His concern about her gambling, which had abated to almost non-existent, rushed back into his brain.

  I can’t be with her if she’s gambling, he thought, as upset as he was angry. He reminded himself that he had deserted her to work this weekend, so she went with her friend. He needed to give her the benefit of the doubt. Maybe they had just taken a picture there, not gone inside. The sign was pretty and colorful, and the picture of the four of them was hot. Maybe it was just a picture opportunity, he told himself, forcing his anger to a simmer rather than the boil it had been headed to.

  He signed the receipt with a curt thanks to the clerk, lifted his bag, and hurried out of the hotel. He would drive to the hotel and talk to her about this. If she was gambling again, he would say goodbye. Just remember, she had every right to be mad at you this weekend and wasn’t, not really. But the rational thoughts weren’t as calming as he would have liked, and he drove somewhat erratically as he thought about having to spend the rest of his life without her.

  Diana heard her phone pinging through the haze of sleep. She had no idea what time it was, but she knew what time they’d wandered into the hotel. Four a.m. She hadn’t stayed out that late in years, and she’d enjoyed every minute of it. Especially her newfound freedom from addiction. She was really free, not just counseled, and she felt wonderful.

  Her phone pinged again, and she lifted her hand and grabbed it. The bright light pierced her eyes, and she groaned as a sharp pain shot through her head. She’d had plenty to drink, but she had also been sure to drink plenty of water as well. And since they’d been at a casino, they had taken advantage of the buffet and eaten their fill around two. She wasn’t hungover, just sleepy.

  Travis’ name popped up on her screen, and she noted it was after eleven. Chuckling, she rolled over and opened the text, which told her he’d be upstairs in the next fifteen minutes. Gasping, she jumped up, hoping she didn’t wake Alyssa, who slept beside her, and hurried to the bathroom to make sure she was presentable.

  Fifteen minutes later, she was waiting in the little bar area, a cup of coffee she’d brewed in the little pot in her hand. She’d washed her face and pulled her hair up in a messy bun, brushed her teeth and put on a clean t-shirt over her sleep shorts, the best she could do with fifteen minutes’ notice. She sipped her coffee and wished for something to eat, hoping Travis hadn’t eaten so they could order room service.

  When his knock sounded on the door, she bounded to it after setting her coffee down. When she opened the door, she launched herself into his arms. He laughed and held her with one arm, though the hug was briefer than she was used to. He also didn’t kiss her after releasing her, just walked in and set his suitcase down.

  Diana looked at him, her head tilted to the side. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, but we need to talk about something,” he said, his voice low and serious. His gaze was sullen, and the scowl on his face was a look she hadn’t seen in five years.

  “What’s wrong? Why do you look like you might kill someone?” Diana asked, her voice shaking.

  “Let’s sit down.”

  Diana’s heart began racing, and her stomach clenched painfully. “Okay.” She led him to the sofa, but he sat on the chair across from her. With wide, fearful eyes, she said, “Travis, you’re scaring the shit out of me. What the hell is going on?”

  “I saw the picture of you at the casino,” he stated tonelessly, his eyes boring into hers.

  Diana breathed a sigh of relief, which immediately became an exclamation of disgust. “Oh, my God! I told Alyssa not to post that!”

  “Why?”

  With one word, Diana recognized she’d made a mistake. She lifted her hands towards him and shook them. “No, no. Not because I was going to lie to you or not tell you about being there—”

  He interrupted. “Not telling me is lying, Diana.”

  Diana’s temper flared at his tone, but she forced herself to remain calm. “Yes, Travis, I’m aware of that. If you’ll let me continue.”

  “Please. Continue,” he challenged, and she heard the challenge but refused to be goaded into an argument.

  “Thank you. I asked her not to post it because I didn’t want you to see it and react exactly as you’re acting right now,” Diana explained in a reasonable tone.

  Travis
exploded off the couch. “What the hell am I supposed to think? That you were simply visiting the one place on Earth a person with your addiction should never go?”

  Diana stood and countered, “I thought you would have given me the benefit of the doubt!”

  “Hey.” Both whipped their heads around to look at Alyssa. “What’s all the yelling?”

  Diana put her hands on her hips. “I asked you not to post that damn picture, and you did it anyway.”

  Alyssa looked from Diana to Travis and back, then shrugged. “I post what I want. If your boyfriend is going to get pissy about it, dump him.”

  “Alyssa!” Diana cried, shocked by her friend’s attitude. Travis remained silent.

  “What? Okay, what?” Alyssa yelled. She gestured at Travis and continued her rant. “I have never liked him and he has never liked me! He ruined your life, broke your heart, and you let him back in your life like he’s some goddamned hero!”

  “You know I broke his heart, too,” Diana said slowly, staring at her best friend as if she’d never seen her before. “We ruined our lives together.”

  “Oh, bullshit!” Alyssa bellowed, her bitter anger spilling out of her like lava. “Did you know that after the divorce he tried to fuck me?”

  “What?” Diana asked, jerking her head around to stare at Travis, who looked as bewildered as she felt.

  “What the fuck?” Travis glowered at Alyssa, his expression murderous. He looked at Diana after his face settled, and said, “I did not try to fuck her. She tried to seduce me.”

  Diana’s head swiveled to stare at Alyssa, who scoffed. “Oh, please. You’re going to believe him over me?”

  “Diana, I didn’t try to sleep with her. You know how much I hated her. I never hid it,” Travis defended, pointing out the obvious.

  “Why would you hate me? Because you couldn’t have me?” Alyssa spewed, nearly spitting at him. Diana had never seen her look so ugly, so mean and hateful, and the expression on her face was frightening.

  Travis glared at her. “I think you’ve got it backwards.”

  “You fucking liar! You’ve been trying to boot me out of her life since you walked into it!” Alyssa screamed.

  “And you helped boot me out of hers, didn’t you?”

  Alyssa opened her mouth to argue with him, but Diana yelled, “Stop it! Just stop it!”

  Both Travis and Alyssa looked at her, frozen by her outburst. Diana looked back and forth, then her eyes settled on Alyssa. “What does he mean, you helped boot him out of my life?”

  “I have no idea,” Alyssa answered, though her eyes were looking at the wall behind Diana’s head.

  “Dammit, Alyssa! Tell me the truth,” Diana yelled. Alyssa stared at the wall, and a single tear slipped down her cheek. Diana sucked in a breath, disbelief flitting through her. “We’ve been friends for so long. What did you do?”

  Alyssa sighed, put her hands on her hips, and let her head fall forward so she stared at the ground. A moment passed, and she looked up. “The night you two ended your marriage, I bribed one of the guys you were dining with, Travis. To hold you up.”

  “You paid some man to make Travis late? Where did you get the money?”

  Alyssa threw her hands out and marched to the couch, where she flopped down as if all her energy had dissolved. “I was dating him, didn’t actually pay him with money, if you know what I mean. I found out who Travis was working with and asked him out. Talked him into doing me a little favor. So he did.”

  “You…prostituted yourself in order to ruin our marriage?” Travis asked, sneering.

  Alyssa shot off the couch. “Shut up, asshole! I was dating him, not just fucking him. Diana probably remembers him.” She rattled off a name Diana vaguely remembered as Travis cursed.

  “Alyssa…” Diana stared at her as tears began to flow, “Are you serious? You did that on purpose?”

  Alyssa nodded her head and gazed at Diana. “Yep.”

  “Is that the only time?”

  Alyssa shrugged but didn’t answer. “He took you away from me. You’re literally my only friend.” She threw her hands up and yelled, “Your marriage was dying anyway. It would have ended, so I helped it end sooner rather than later.”

  Silence fell over the group. So many emotions flitted through Diana’s heart that she didn’t know how she felt. Disappointment. Anger. Sadness. Disgust. All battled for her full attention, but disappointment was strongest amongst them.

  “You stupid bitch,” she whispered. “I loved him. Love him more now. And you tried to destroy our relationship. You succeeded once, and you tried to do it again by using the one thing that nearly killed us last time.” She glared at Alyssa and yelled, “You knew I would doubt him because of his work, and that he would doubt me because of the gambling! You are a horrible person!”

  “Diana, please. I’m not a horrible person,” Alyssa begged, stepping forward until Diana lifted a hand.

  “How many other friendships have you ruined for me?” Diana shook her head as tears raced down her face. “I can’t look at you right now. Get your shit and leave.”

  “Diana, please. Let’s talk about this,” Alyssa pleaded. “I admit I posted the picture so he’d think you were gambling.” She looked at Travis as she wiped tears and last night’s mascara off her cheeks. “I swear she didn’t. We went inside, went straight to the bar, and listened to jazz. When we left, she didn’t even look in the direction of the slots.”

  Diana had watched her recite the truth, a truth she had been ready to tell Travis. She looked at him and said, “I was getting ready to tell you that when you started yelling. I’m healed, clean, whatever the right word is.”

  “I’m so proud of you,” Travis murmured, a sparkle in his eye that might have been a tear. “I’m sorry I jumped to conclusions.”

  “We’ll work on that, in both of us,” Diana told him. She wanted to walk over and kiss him more than anything, but she had to deal with Alyssa first. Her eyes were trained on the woman she’d thought loved her.

  When Alyssa looked at her again, she whispered, “I’m so sorry, Diana.”

  Diana nodded. “Okay. But I can’t forgive you right now. I need some time to calm down. Go get your stuff. You can take my car back and I’ll get it from you tomorrow.” Alyssa rose and walked towards Diana, who stepped back and lifted a hand. “No, I don’t want you to touch me or hug me or anything today. I just want you to leave.”

  A sob slipped through Alyssa’s lips, but she turned and walked into the bedroom to get her things. Diana looked at Travis, who watched her, and she was so grateful that he knew her well enough not to walk over to her and hug her. She’d lose it if he did.

  When Alyssa returned to the living room, she said, “I’m really sorry.”

  “I’m not the only one you should apologize to,” Diana informed her staunchly.

  Alyssa looked at Travis, her scowl of hatred back in place. “I won’t apologize to him.”

  Diana’s spine stiffened. “Get out. My keys are on that table.”

  Alyssa opened her mouth to speak again, saw the look on Diana’s face, and walked out, grabbing the keys to Diana’s car on the way. Diana, who remained rigidly straight until the door closed behind her, lost the rod in her spine and crumpled. Travis rushed forward to catch her, and he lifted her as if she weighed nothing and carried her to the bedroom where he laid her gently on the bed. He kicked off his shoes and climbed in beside her, holding her as she sobbed.

  “I love her,” Diana whimpered when she could speak again. “She’s my best friend. My only friend, really.”

  “Not true,” Travis whispered. “You have me, and Cameron, and Ronnie.”

  Diana let out a watery chuckle as she looked at him. “So funny. Alyssa said the same thing to me when you and I split.”

  “Maybe that’s why we don’t get along…because we’re alike,” Travis said, though he grimaced playfully.

  “No, you’re nothing alike.” She rolled over on her back and wiped her f
ace with her hands. She stared at the ceiling as she told him, “She’s always been a step away from being a total bitch. Snarky comments about everything, rude looks. I was her only friend because I could put up with her.”

  “I think you need to sleep on it before you make a rash decision,” Travis said sagely a few minutes later. “Let’s you and I have a great night, and tomorrow, when you go to pick up your keys, you can talk to her.”

  Diana frowned at him. “Did she really try to seduce you?”

  “Um, sort of,” Travis admitted. “She showed up at my parents’ house right after I moved out of our house. She offered subtly but clearly. I said no.”

  “I had no idea,” Diana murmured, staring hard at the ceiling so she wouldn’t cry. “If you had fucked her, we would never have gotten back together. And it would have ruined my friendship with her as well.”

  “I would never have slept with her. She’s your best friend,” Travis explained. “No one should cross that line.”

  Diana turned so her face was in his chest. She breathed deeply, enjoying his scent. “You smell like home.”

  Travis chuckled, deep in his throat. “I want to be your home.”

  Diana looked up at him. “I want that, too. More than anything.” She snuggled against him again. “I’m glad you’re here.”

  “I’ll always be here. For the rest of your life.”

  BLACKMAIL AFFAIR

  BELLA GRANT

  Robyn

  “Come on, come on,” I mumbled to myself as I hastily typed words that did not exist in the English dictionary. In any dictionary, for that matter. Pressing the backspace tab, I deleted more than I intended to and had to type the sentence again. I was trying to get the summary finished and printed so I wouldn’t be late.

  Glancing at the bottom right hand corner of the computer screen, I noticed the time. Fifteen minutes to four. I’d worked through my lunch so I could leave work an hour early. Although my boss had approved my leaving before five, he had handed me a report to summarize for him just half an hour ago. While Gregory Halliday wasn’t the easiest man in the world to work with, he paid well but expected his employees to work for every penny. Working as his assistant for the past two years could have been worse, but I was making the most of it.