Keep My Baby Safe

by Bella Grant

  “Yeah, he does!” Alyssa exclaimed, chuckling evilly as she typed at warp speed.

  “What are you writing over there?” Diana asked as she shed her work clothes and changed. They had agreed they would change quickly and do makeup so they could get to dinner. They didn’t want to miss a second of Ed Sheeran. Of course, he wouldn’t come on until ten, but the opener was excellent as well.

  “Just where we are, and I said thank you to Travis,” Alyssa said, showing Diana her phone. “See, I’m being good. But I might not be all night.” She laughed maliciously.

  Diana stopped and pointed at her. “All right, missy! You’d better behave! How about we make a no posting pact?”

  “What?” she shrilled, her hand on her chest. “We’re going to see Ed Sheeran! I have to post!”

  Diana smirked at her dramatics. “Yeah, I guess so. I planned to post as well. Just behave! Do not get me in trouble!”

  “In trouble? With who? Cameron?” Alyssa scoffed, waving her hand dismissively. “Cameron doesn’t care.”

  “But his partners might, and his clients. I have to remember to be professional,” Diana reminded her. She slapped her ass. “Now get up and get dressed. I want plenty of time for dinner and drinks.”

  Alyssa laughed and jumped up. “I’ll be ready in ten.”

  Diana watched her leap into action, grabbing her massive makeup bag and hurrying to the bathroom. She glanced around the room. Travis must have spent a fortune, she mused as she drank some water from the bottle she’d snagged before leaving her apartment. The main area of the room was like her living room, though much nicer. A small bar was to the left, and to the right was the door that led to the bedroom and bathroom. The bedroom was lovely, though nothing a normal hotel didn’t have, but the bathroom was fantastic. The shower was a stand-up and big enough to comfortably fit two people. The jacuzzi could hold at least four, and she could easily imagine she and Travis in it, fucking like newlyweds.

  Giggling, she pulled her phone out of her bag, making sure it was fully charged. She put it on the charger, thanking God she had a long cord so she could take a quick selfie and send it to Travis.

  DIANA: Thank you for this night. I wish you were here!

  She set her phone down and stared out the window, mesmerized by the view. She could see the ocean, barely, but she could see it. The building where the concert was being held was empty right now, but in two hours, it would be crawling with women hoping to win Ed Sheeran’s heart the way he’d won theirs.

  TRAVIS: Aw baby, I wish I was there too. Believe me.

  Diana sent the selfie and waited patiently for him to get back to her. She stared into the mirror, turning her face from side to side, and decided she looked damn good. Travis is missing out, she thought with a grin, telling herself to have Alyssa take a full body shot to send to him.

  TRAVIS: Dear God, you look hot! Don’t get picked up by another guy!

  DIANA: Haha! Well, you’re out of luck if Ed looks my way.

  TRAVIS: I wouldn’t expect anything else.

  He added a winky face, eliciting a little giggle from Diana.

  DIANA: If he falls in love with me, maybe you can be my tennis pro, if you know what I mean.

  TRAVIS: Share you? Never!

  DIANA: Yeah, I don’t want to share either. So it’ll just be me and Ed.

  TRAVIS: I want my tickets back.

  DIANA: Whatever. You love when I tease you.

  TRAVIS: I love YOU.

  Diana smiled, giddy with happiness.

  DIANA: I love you, too.

  “Based on the ridiculous look on your face, you’re talking to Travis,” Alyssa grunted. She put her makeup away, smiled, and said, “Let’s go!”

  “Yes, it’s Travis,” Diana told her, sticking her tongue out. “He loves me, you know.”

  “Yes, I know, I know,” Alyssa grumbled. “Can we go?”

  Diana rolled her eyes and replied to Travis rather than to her friend, hoping Alyssa wasn’t a jerk every time she mentioned Travis. Of course, she would try not to constantly talk about him. Alyssa had already accused her of that, and she’d heard herself doing it. She would try her best not to be annoying, but she couldn’t help it. She was so happy to have him back in her life.

  DIANA: We’re headed out.

  TRAVIS: Have a great night, be careful, and send me occasional pics.

  DIANA: Will do! Love you!

  TRAVIS: Love you, too, babe.

  “Okay, let’s go!” Diana yelled, hooting loudly with Alyssa as they headed out the door. “Are you ready for dinner and the best concert of your life?”

  Alyssa shouted in the hallway, “Yeah, baby!”

  “Oh. My. God!” Diana screeched as they left the venue surrounded by hundreds of women making the same or similar exclamations. “That man is the sexiest man alive!”

  “Those pipes!” a stranger hollered above the din. “I nearly fainted every time he held a note!”

  Alyssa added, “And when he played that guitar? Damn, I wish those hands would play me!”

  Diana screamed with laughter, as did several women around them. They’d had more fun than they’d ever had, and though it was late, neither of them were tired. The excitement of the evening prevented the normal exhaustion of 12:30 after a day of work.

  “Let’s find a bar!” Diana suggested. “There’s no way I’m ready to head back to the hotel.”

  “Doesn’t the hotel have a good bar?” Alyssa asked as they set off on foot, following the majority of the crowd.

  “Probably, but it’ll be nothing but businessmen,” Diana complained. “Let’s find a place to dance.”

  “Hey,” the woman they’d been talking to said, “my friend and I are headed to the casino. Why don’t y’all come with us?”

  “Oh, well,” Diana hedged, but Alyssa’s eyes lit up.

  “What fun! I forgot there was a casino close by!”

  “Alyssa, that’s not such a good idea,” Diana said quietly.

  Alyssa waved her hand. “Oh, please. You won’t do anything you’re not supposed to. You’re past all that.”

  The woman said, “Hey, I don’t want to get you in trouble.”

  “Oh, you won’t get me in trouble. I tend to do that myself in casinos, if you know what I mean,” Diana told her. She held her hand out. “I’m Diana.”

  “Christy, and this is Bailey.” They shook hands after Diana introduced Alyssa. “So are you a gambler or something?”

  “Or something,” Diana said with a self-deprecating laugh. “Had some issues with gambling a few years ago. Haven’t been to a casino since.”

  “She’ll be fine,” Alyssa announced, turning as the other two turned. She grabbed Diana’s wrist and pulled her along, reassuring her. “You’ll be fine. I won’t let you do anything you’re not supposed to.”

  “I’m not supposed to go into a casino,” Diana reminded her as she allowed herself to be pulled along. Her biggest fear was not that she would gamble. She had no desire at all to play the slots or sit down at one of the tables. No, her fear was that Travis would find out.

  “So what if he does?” Alyssa complained, stopping and putting her hands on her hips. Christy and Bailey kept walking, leaving them to their argument. “He’s not your owner.”

  “That’s not what I mean,” Diana replied. “My gambling ended our marriage.”

  “No,” Alyssa said immediately, glaring defiantly at her. “His workaholism drove you to gamble, and the two things combined fucked up your marriage. You can’t take all the blame.”

  Diana thought about the truth in her friend’s words. She hadn’t ruined their marriage alone, and her slightly inebriated mind reminded her that he was supposed to be with her, not Alyssa. That he’d had to work and had left her again. I won’t gamble if we go, but I also won’t tell Travis, she decided.

  She looked Alyssa in the eyes and said, “Let’s go.”

  “Yay!” Alyssa clapped her hands together, then grabbed one of Diana’s and ran
after the other two women. “Bailey! Christy! Wait for us!”

  “You’re coming?” Bailey asked, smiling broadly at Diana.

  “We’re coming,” Diana said, shrugging dramatically. “I’ll just behave myself.”

  They walked the three blocks to the casino, gabbing and giggling, and waving at passing cars that honked. When they reached the casino, Alyssa wanted a picture in front of the giant marquee out front with the name of the casino emblazoned across it. All four of them posed after asking a tourist to take their picture.

  “Four hot women out on the town!” the older man who offered to take their picture called, laughing with his wife at the antics of the young. “You be careful tonight, young ladies!”

  “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?”