Keep My Baby Safe

by Bella Grant

  Diana’s heart clenched a little at her words. “You know, it was a long time ago, but you don’t have to say that crap so callously. It still hurts my feelings.”

  Alyssa sighed. “The two of you split five years ago, Diana.”

  “Yes, five years ago today. Remember?”

  “I do remember because you remind me every year,” Alyssa grouched. She tilted her head and put a more sympathetic expression on her face when she saw a sheen glisten in her friend’s eyes. “I think it’s time you let go of that disaster and move on with your life.”

  “I have moved on with my life,” Diana grumbled, taking a longer sip of her drink than she meant to. Coughing a little, she covered her mouth delicately with her hand. “Damn. I think this drink is stronger than the last.”

  “That’s because I tipped the bartender to juice you up a bit,” Alyssa gushed, chuckling as she sipped hers carefully. After a shudder, she set her drink down. “I think he made mine stronger too.”

  “Well, hell,” Diana blurted with a snicker. “Who’s going to drive us home?”

  “We can Uber if we have to,” Alyssa assured her. “Our cars will be just fine here in the parking lot for one night. I’ll be right back. Have to go to the bathroom.”

  “You used to be able to hold your liquor better,” Diana called to her retreating back, and Alyssa flipped her off. Diana chuckled and shook her head, glancing around for any small children. They’d chosen to sit near the bar, though, so Alyssa hadn’t inadvertently corrupted a kid.

  As she scooped up a tortilla chip covered with spicy spinach dip, she allowed her mind to travel back in time to her life with Travis, despite the warning bells telling her not to. When they’d been dating and the first year of their marriage had been wonderful. They’d enjoyed each other and had spent every free moment together. But those free moments became fewer and fewer as he pursued what he called their dream. The idea of a big house with a pool and fancy cars and vacations had never been a part of her dream. She’d wanted to be with him, end of story, but he’d always wanted more.

  With a sigh, she acknowledged her part in the end of their marriage. She’d allowed her loneliness to whisper addiction in her ear, and rather than drugs or alcohol, she’d found gambling. Though it hadn’t destroyed her body, it had infected her mind as easily as a drug, and her credit had been destroyed. With her boss’ encouragement after a breakdown in his office, she’d attended meetings and classes once she realized her many mistakes would follow her for several years if she didn’t control herself. She never went to casinos or even bought lottery tickets anymore, but she was still at least a year away from paying off the debt she’d created.

  Thankfully, she had found a job that was high-paying and offered several benefits. The law firm she worked for was quite prestigious and handled high profile cases often. The specific lawyer she worked for, Cameron Rhodens, was a lesser partner in the firm and handled the lower profile cases, but he was rising slowly in the ranks and promised his staff they would rise with him.

  She received periodic bonuses, all of which she put towards her debt, and had insurance that rivaled the top companies in the country. Diana loved her job as an assistant to the lawyer whom she respected a great deal and who had helped her find the willpower to defeat her gambling issues. Many thought the two of them were having an affair until they realized Michael was gay and had a partner of ten years.

  The raucous sound of male laughter interrupted her reverie for the third time, and she wondered what the group of men could possibly find so hilarious, betting they were drunk and laughing at raunchy jokes she would appreciate more than she would admit out loud. Travis had always told her raunchy jokes, making her laugh and turn red at the same time. We had so much fun when we were young, she reminisced sadly as she sipped her strong drink.

  The man who sounded like Travis laughed again, but Diana shook her head. Her ex-husband—how she hated that term—wouldn’t be at a place like this. She had followed his career through mutual friends and knew that he had finally achieved his dreams. He’d made the money he had hoped for, bought the house he’d longed for, and was living in style while she lived in a crummy apartment in an effort to save money.

  When she heard about his successes, a twinge of jealousy had hit her briefly, but it had disappeared just as quickly. She was proud for him and of him. He deserved to be successful after all he’d been through. She reminded herself that while her life wasn’t exactly what she had expected it to be at thirty, she certainly couldn’t complain. Her only real regret was not having children yet, but her time would come, she was sure. He was single still as well, though she liked to think she really didn’t care about that fact.

  Alyssa slipped back into her side of the booth and blew out a breath. “There was a drunk woman puking in the bathroom.”

  Diana snorted derisively as she glanced at her watch. “It’s not even eight yet! She must have a weak constitution.”

  “I felt kind of sorry for her, but her friends were with her,” Alyssa said as she scooped up some dip and shoved it in her mouth, a long string of cheese on her chin. She wiped her chin with her napkin and looked around. “This place is crazy busy.”

  Diana joined her scan of the bar and said, “And not a good-looking guy in sight.”

  “Not that I saw, but I didn’t get to see the hidden pair at the loud table,” Alyssa replied, leaning precariously out of the booth to look at the table. She sat up with a huff. “Nope. No luck.”

  With a shrug, Diana mused, “Wasn’t meant to be, I guess.” She finished her drink and frowned into the glass. “You know, these are way too good and go down way too smoothly. I think I’ll have some water.”

  Alyssa shook her head. “It’s early! Have another.”

  “I don’t want to be the next embarrassing chick in the bathroom, thanks,” Diana asserted with a lifted eyebrow. “Who knows what’s on that floor? And kneeling there to puke where a million people have peed? All the bacteria! I’m literally making myself queasy.”

  Alyssa giggled like a silly girl and hiccupped. “Hmmm. Maybe I should have a water as well.”

  “Water with dinner, then back to drinking?” Diana asked, smiling broadly.

  “Amen!” They clinked their glasses together and signaled the waitress, who was at the next table.

  “Ladies, your food will be out momentarily,” the waitress began. “More drinks?”

  “We need a couple waters to balance the alcohol,” Alyssa told her.

  “Oh, good idea! I’ll be right back,” she chimed and hurried away, returning quickly with two tall glasses of water. “I checked and your food is just about ready.”

  “Perfect, thanks,” Diana answered, swigging nearly half the water as soon as the waitress turned away. “Damn, I was thirsty.”

  “All the salty chips,” Alyssa said, eyeing her. “You seem a little down. Are you still thinking about the asshole?”

  Diana decided to leave out Travis. “Actually, I was thinking I’m thirty and still don’t have a husband or children.”

  “Ew, why would you want either of those things?”

  Diana laughed at the horrified expression on her best friend’s face. “Because I want to grow old with someone, and I love babies and children.”

  “No thanks,” Alyssa said. “I like my life the way it is now.”

  “You meet the right guy, and I bet you change your mind.”

  “I doubt it,” Alyssa argued. “Men are good for one thing, and when they’re done, they need to go on back home.”

  “Slut.” Diana giggled. “No, I’ve had my single time. I think it’s time to start dating, not simply messing around.”

  “Well, good luck. The dating pool at our age is shallower than a Kardashian,” Alyssa quipped, pursing her lips at her joke. Diana snorted and rolled her eyes as the waitress reappeared with their food. The pair dug in, chatting about nonessential topics. After finishing their dinners, they ordered more drinks and sat back to rel
ax and enjoy some people watching.

  “Look at that guy with the mullet,” Diana whispered, using her chin to point in the man’s direction. “Is that the new style?”

  “Apparently. I’ve been seeing it more and more,” Alyssa added as she glanced at the man. “It’s a shame, too. He’d be good looking without it.”

  “Eh, I don’t like the beard. I like men clean-shaven so his face feels smooth against my cheek,” Diana commented, leaning her hand against her face.

  “Nope. A beard is the way to go,” Alyssa replied, giggling when she added, “Tickles the inner thigh, if you get my drift.”

  Diana snickered behind her hand. “Oh, my God! You’re dirty!”

  “I wish I could be,” Alyssa grumbled, looking around them again. “And there’s nothing here at all interesting.”

  Diana chuckled again, jerking her head around at the sound of a man’s voice yelling, “Everybody listen up! We’ve got a birthday in the house!” She glared at Alyssa.

  As a troop of waiters and waitresses scurried around tables to reach their booth, Diana tried to scooch down in the seat so they couldn’t see her. Alyssa clapped her hands and pointed with both at Diana. She screeched, “It’s her! Diana! My best friend!”

  “Up in the seat, Diana!” a handsome waiter announced when the group reached their table. He helped Diana sit up, then stand and climb onto the seat of the booth.

  “Want to wear the hat?” their waitress asked, brandishing a huge, furry alligator hat in neon green with red, flashing lights for eyes.

  “Um, no. This is embarrassing enough as it is,” she replied, smiling broadly when they began serenading her with some weird version of “Happy Birthday.”

  “Shake that ass!” Alyssa yelled, standing to record a video with her phone.

  “I’m not that drunk!” Diana laughed, though after another second, she began dancing on her seat and laughing louder. “Too much fun!”

  Travis heard the loud yelling of the waitstaff pronouncing the birthday of some unlucky patron who would be forced to embarrass herself. The name Diana caught his attention, and he jerked his head around to watch. A pillar blocked his view, so he stood and stepped to the other side of the table to see. His eyes widened when he saw her, laughing beautifully as her face reddened with slight embarrassment. When she started shaking her butt playfully, his groin heated with the lust he used to feel for the magnificent woman he had been married to.

  The jeans she wore were tight and dark, probably what women called skinny jeans. Her figure, always slim, was willowy and a model’s dream. She wore a loose-fitting top, modest in its cut but so sexy on her he wondered if she’d had it specially made. Her face, also beautiful enough for a model, shone brilliantly with her laughter, and he stared at her as if she were a goddess deigning to visit the earth to bestow her beauty on their eyes.

  As the song ended and she climbed down, he jerked back behind the pillar so she wouldn’t see him. He wasn’t sure he wanted to see or speak to her so suddenly. The woman had broken his heart as surely as he’d broken hers, and seeing her both hurt him and elated him. That’s the problem, he mused as he resumed his seat. She evoked such opposing feelings in him that he didn’t really know how he felt about her anymore. But the tug in his groin had been matched by a tug in his heart.

  “Travis?” his business partner, Michael Stein, called, interrupting his thoughts. Travis’ head swung towards him, and Michael’s eyebrows were up in question. “The clients are leaving.”

  “Oh!” Travis rose again, shaking his head. “My apologies, gentlemen. Got a little lost in thought.” He held his hand out and shook each man’s hand warmly. “We look forward to pursuing this business venture with you.”

  “We’ve heard wonderful things about your company, gentlemen,” Dr. Cartwright commented, stepping back to let his partner speak.

  Dr. Smith shook Travis’ hand. “So next week, right?”

  “I’ll be at the site first thing Monday morning to look at the building and start preparing a list of construction that will need to be done to make it appropriate for a medical facility,” Travis assured the doctors, smiling brilliantly. He’d learned early in his life that his smile often won him his way.

  Both doctors, older men with graying hair and jowls, returned his smile and took their leave, weaving carefully through the tables. Travis glanced again at the table with Diana now seated though still laughing. Alyssa sat across from her, and he frowned. The woman was poisonous, but Diana loved her, which had always shocked him.

  “I think that went very well, don’t you?” Michael asked as he sat down again. Travis didn’t answer and remained standing with his head facing away from their table. “Why are you staring at that table?”

  “Huh?” Travis murmured, shook himself, and said, “What? I’m not.” He sat down quickly and grabbed his bottle of beer to take a drink.

  “You were,” Michael accused, drinking a long, slow drink, eyeing his friend. “Who are those women?”

  Travis cleared his throat and downed his beer, avoiding Michael’s gaze. Michael leaned over and looked again, a smile crossing his face slowly, and Travis growled, “No one.”

  “No one,” Michael repeated with a snort, leaning on the table and gesturing with his beer bottle at his friend. “I’m going to bet that one of those women is the lovely Diana, goddess of your heart after all these years.” He leaned over again and looked. “Let me guess which one.”

  “The brunette,” Travis supplied reluctantly. “The other is her best friend.”

  “Oh, that was bitter!” Michael laughed. “Don’t like the best friend?”

  “I do not,” Travis answered. He had leaned forward, and his black ponytail fell over his shoulder. He’d let his hair grow long after he and Michael had established their company and it had become well-respected in the medical field. As the boss, his appearance was his decision rather than company policy. “She and I never got along.”

  “That’s weird.”

  “Why is that weird?”

  “Because everyone likes you,” Michael informed him with a shrug. “Why didn’t she?”

  “Now she hates me because of the divorce and because I rejected her afterwards when she hit on me,” Travis intoned.

  “Holy shit!” Michael exclaimed, his eyes widening at the same time as his grin. “The best friend hits on you after the divorce. Jesus.”

  “The ink was barely dry on the papers,” Travis added, his discomfort with the insane moment clear on his face.

  “Details?”

  Travis smirked. “Not really any to tell. She showed up at the apartment I’d rented, with wine, and told me she’d always wanted to fuck me.”

  “Goddamn! That’s pretty hot, but also really shitty,” Michael commented, glancing around the pillar at Diana and Alyssa. “I’m assuming your ex doesn’t know about the Brutus she has as a best friend.”

  “You know, I don’t think Alyssa really wanted to fuck me. I think she wanted to add to the rift between us,” Travis admitted. “She never liked me. Hated me, really.”

  “What a bitch.”

  “Diana would never be friends with her if she knew about that,” Travis assured him. “She thought I was having an affair while we were married.”

  “Hmm, I remember,” Michael hummed, losing interest in the topic. “I think this venture is going to be our best yet. With Smith and Cartwright’s recommendation, we’ll win at least two more contracts from their group.”

  “Yeah,” Travis agreed, his lack of interest perturbing his friend.

  “Dude, if you’re going to brood over her, either go talk to her or let’s go to a different bar,” Michael suggested in a heated tone.

  “I’m not brooding,” Travis argued, looking up at his friend, who stared and waited. “Okay, yes, I’m brooding.” He swung his head toward Diana’s table though he couldn’t see her and said quietly, “Today is her birthday.”

  “Yes, I heard the announcement,” Michael repl
ied sarcastically.

  “And it’s also the day we decided to get a divorce,” Travis revealed, a sadness slipping into his voice.

  “Jesus, man, you left her on her birthday?” Michael shook his head. “That’s cold.”

  “The decision was mutual,” Travis defended, wishing the waiter would swing by and interrupt this uncomfortable conversation.

  “Hey, why don’t you send her a drink? Kind of a ‘no hard feelings’ sort of thing,” Michael quipped, preparing to signal the waiter though he wasn’t visible.

  “I haven’t seen her since our court date five years ago,” Travis said quickly, shaking his head. “I don’t think that would be appropriate.”

  “Not appropriate?” Michael asked skeptically. He shook his head as if he thought his friend was an idiot. “Whatever. I gotta take a leak. If the waiter stops by, order another round.” He stood and retreated to the bathrooms at the back of the bar.

  Travis glared at his buddy’s retreating back. The man had never been in a serious relationship, enjoying his good looks and the women who appreciated them since before Travis had met him. Michael had attempted to pull Travis into the same different-woman-every-weekend lifestyle when they’d begun working together four years ago, but Travis didn’t like trying to remember the names of the women he’d met and eventually dove head first into his work. He had no wife or girlfriend to complain about how much he worked anymore, and he used his freedom to build his company, of which he shared ownership with Michael. It was the most successful company of its sort in this part of Louisiana, having built several stand-alone ERs as well as two small hospitals in small, rural communities that had lacked local medical care.

  Travis was incredibly proud of the business he and Michael had built, but in the last six months or so, he’d grown lonely. He wanted someone to come home to, even if he was only home an hour or two before he went to bed. He often wondered if, now that his business was more successful than he’d dreamed, he would be able to work less and actually enjoy life. His first million had been made the year before, and he was well on his way to making two this year, but he’d barely spent a dime.