by ANDREA SMITH
Libby had nothing more than a g-string on with some fig leaves affixed in a triangle in the front to cover her pubic area. Her butt cheeks were in full view. Of course, she had the perfect ass. Her top was the same with fig leaves covering a bit more than her nipple areas. Her long blond hair cascaded down to the middle of her back in curly waves. Hair extensions - there was no way her hair was that long or curly yesterday. Her breasts were ripe and round - just as one would imagine Eve’s had been in the Garden of Eden. She'd obviously used a self-tanner all over her body as it was sun-bronzed. Again, not the pale skin she sported only the day before. She carried a red apple with a bite out of it as a prop.
Tristan had a python snake wrapped around his neck which I was relieved to find out wasn't real. I heard Trey catch his breath as she turned to model for everyone. There were many appreciative whistles in the crowd. I jabbed my elbow into Trey’s rib.
“Ouch,” he said finally taking his eyes off of her. “What’s the matter, Wilma?”
“Cut the shit, Trey.”
I wanted to laugh thinking about how Trey had thought my Wilma Flintstone shift was too short and revealed too much leg. Hah! He certainly seemed to enjoy the view Libby provided. The band was playing a slow song outside.
“I think I’ll go ask Tristan for a birthday dance,” I said, heading away from the group towards where Tristan and Libby stood front and center. I immediately felt Trey’s arm hauling me back next to him.
“What’s the matter, Fred?”
I looked up at him coquettishly.
“I’m your dance partner tonight,” he said, all caveman style. “Come on, woman.”
We went out to the dance area that wasn’t too crowded yet. The fire pit going just off to the side of it kept the area fairly well-lit and warm. He took me in his arms and pulled me against him as we danced to the soft melodic tunes of the song. The song was called, “Beautiful Tonight.” Just then Tristan and Libby came on to the dance floor. Holy Shit! How in the hell are they going to manage dancing without revealing more than they already did?
It was then that I saw Tristan had on skin colored long johns under his loin cloth. Libby had no such protection. I was glad to see that at least Tristan hadn’t completely lost his mind. I'd been right. Tristan was all about her. I could see it as he held her closely, rubbing her back. I tried to watch under semi-closed lids so he wouldn’t know I was staring. I was sure at one point he whispered ‘I love you’ in her ear.
I then saw that she had a full few of Trey and was watching him intently with her eyes wide open. My eyes locked with hers and she didn’t bother to look away. She was sending me a message loud and clear.
After the song ended we went back inside. Tess was holding Preston who was starting to get fussy. It was probably time for her to go down for the night. I took her from Tess and told Trey I was taking her upstairs to put her to bed, relieved to get away from the party. Tess followed me upstairs taking off her Minnie Mouse head.
“God, it feels good to get that thing off,” she said. “I don’t know what Nigel and I were thinking getting costumes that required pulling a head on over our own,” she chuckled.
“Enjoying the party?” I asked her as we headed into our suite.
“Probably about as much as you are,” she replied. “Some costume, huh?”
“Oh, it’s not just that,” I said. “Last night, Trey went downstairs to get his Cell phone off of the kitchen counter and she was there. He said she accidently brushed her hand against his crotch.”
“What?” she sat up where she'd been reclining on the bed.
I laid one of Preston’s blankets on top of the bed placing her on it. “Will you watch her for a sec while I gather her stuff for bed?”
“Sure, no problem,” Tess said, smiling over at Preston who was sucking her thumb. I returned to the room and started undressing the baby. She was squirming around turning her head so that she could continue to watch Tess who was no longer ‘Minnie Mouse’ to her.
“Yes. Trey told me that when he came back up to our room. He was bothered by it I could tell but then he convinced himself it was an accident.”
I shared with her the rest of it about the apology and then about what I'd observed on the dance floor while I got Preston ready for bed.
“I can see that she craves male attention. Nigel said that the whole time they were touring the winery expansion, it was all about her. Did you know that once Tristan gets his staff hired he's moving to Atlanta to live with her?”
“No,” I said aghast. “It must be way serious.”
“Hmm - on Tristan’s part maybe, but certainly not on hers.”
“Thank you,” I said, picking the baby up preparing to nurse her one last time before bed. “That's exactly what I told Trey; Tristan's all about her; she’s all about something else.”
“I agree with you.”
Just then there was a tap on the door.
“Who is it?” both Tess and I called out together.
“It’s Bonnie,” the voice slurred. Caroline!
“Come on in,” Tess invited. “It’ll be okay,” she said quietly to me.
Caroline came in with a glass of wine in her hand. “I've one question,” she slurred. “Who in the hell is that bitch that's all but naked down there shaking her fig leaves at every guy in the room?”
Tess and I both snickered. Libby’s ears had to be burning. It was kind of comical to see Caroline appearing to be just a normal drunk jealous wife. “She’s got Landon out there dancing now. She’s already been shaking her booty out there with Nigel and then with Trey,” she said.
“What!” Tess and I both shrieked at the same time.
“Yep,” she said, shaking her head up and down then taking a gulp of her wine. “Just thought you girls would want to know. I’m headed back down to make sure my man isn’t pruning her fig bush. I suggest you two do the same.” She walked out of the room keeping her staggering to a minimum.
“Hey, she’s right; we need to get back down there, Tylar,” Tess said.
“I’ve got to nurse Preston now. You go ahead.”
“Okay,” she said reluctantly. “Just know that I have your back.”
“Thanks, Tess,” I smiled as she left.
I lay Preston on the bed while I slipped out of my costume and pulled the covers back on my side of the bed. I lifted her up and into my arms, snuggling beneath the covers with her. I flipped the television on and nestled her against me. She nestled down against me. I looked over at the bedside clock. It was only 10:30.
Of course, everyone was drinking alcohol except me. I’m sure it made for a great party. It pissed me off to know that Trey had danced with her, drinking or not. I looked down at Preston and her little brows were furrowed as if she sensed I was upset about something.
“It’s okay, baby girl,” I said to her smiling. “I warn you though, Mommy better never find out that you were in public wearing nothing but fig leaves. Do you hear me?”
She stopped nursing to give me a smile. I kissed her forehead and we both drifted off to sleep.
I wasn’t sure how much later it was when Trey stumbled into our bedroom, flicking on the overhead light. “Why the hell didn’t you come back down to the party,” he asked, slightly inebriated.
“Shhh, Trey,” I cautioned. “You’re going to wake the baby up.”
“What the hell is she doing in here? Her crib's in my parents’ room.”
“We fell asleep,” I said, irritated with his attitude about Preston being in here with me.
“Here baby,” he said, reaching for her. “Let me take her on down to their room. They’re getting ready for bed so they'll be in there with her.”
“Are you drunk?” I asked.
“I’ve had a few,” he admitted, “but no, I’m not drunk-drunk, just a little buzzed-buzzed is all.”
If I hadn’t been butt naked under the sheets, I'd have carried her down. As it was, I felt he could manage getting her there in one piece. I
climbed out of bed and got into my nightgown and finished up in the bathroom before he got back. When he returned I was still under the covers.
“Jesus Christ,” he commented, getting out of his costume and into his pj pants and a tee shirt. “Mom and Dad are fit to be tied about Tristan’s girlfriend. I had to listen to them go on for a full ten minutes or more.”
“Why are they fit to be tied?”
“Why do you think? They didn’t exactly appreciate her costume.”
He went into the bathroom where I heard him brush his teeth. Once finished, he climbed into bed with me. It was after 1:00 a.m. “Hey, you missed the best part of Tristan’s party,” he commented, pulling me next to him so that he could caress my breasts.
“Oh? What part was that?”
“When they sang Happy Birthday and toasted him. Then he made a toast and announced his engagement to Libby.”
“What?” I sat up in bed. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah,” he grinned, “you should see the rock he gave her. I told you they were all about each other.”
“I’d rather have seen your mother’s face after the announcement. How did she take it?”
“I don’t know. I mean I wasn’t specifically watching everyone’s reaction. My brother is happy. I think we should wish them well.”
“Whatever. Goodnight.”
I wasn’t going to argue with him. I wasn’t even going to bring anything up about knowing he danced with Libby. What was the point? I either trusted him or I didn’t. Anything outside of that was simply drama.
“I don’t want to sleep, baby; I want to fuck.”
“Go next door,” I answered rolling over onto my side with my back to him. I heard a mumbled curse. He turned on his side pulling the covers up and went to sleep. A short time later, Trey and I were both roused out of our sleep by the noise next door.
“Oh yes, baby!” Libby was screaming. “Keep fucking me Tristan; just like that. Pull the ass beads out now - oh yeah, aarrrgghhh!”
“Good God ….not again!” Trey hissed, pulling the covers up over his head. The headboard was slamming against the wall in a steady rhythm that seemed to go and on. It continued at a slower pace as Libby’s orgasm apparently was winding down. Someone was now knocking on our door.
“What the hell now?” Trey grumbled, throwing the covers off and going to the door. It was Clive asking that Trey and I keep it down.
“Jesus Christ Dad, it’s not us! It’s Tristan and that nymph he’s engaged to.”
Clive apologized for the interruption. By this time, things had quieted down next door. Within twenty minutes it started up again; by this time Trey had passed out so I was left to listen to it alone. They had finished their second round. I'd finally drifted back to sleep when more noise came from the room next door. It sounded as if there was an argument ensuing. My female ears perked up. This was way more interesting that listening to sex.
“What do you mean that I’m too friendly, Tristan?” Libby yelled. “No, I'll not keep it down. You need to explain yourself to me.” Evidently Tristan’s answers were in a quiet tone, so I didn’t get to hear them. Libby however wasn't pleased with them.
“What the fuck! So I danced with Trey - what of it? I danced with Nigel, too. Oh and I danced with Landon and some other guy named Ray. Why are you making a federal case about my dancing with Trey? Someone had to, I suppose. I just felt so sorry for him.” I didn’t hear anything further for several seconds.
“Quit shushing me,” she hollered. “You’re the one that's making a big deal out of it. His wife deserted him for the most part during your party to play wet nurse to that baby of theirs. I felt sorry for the poor guy. Christ, don’t you trust me?” Tristan must've put her mind at ease with his response. “I love you, Tristan, and only you. You have to believe me.”
Oh, Christ - what an actress.
Tristan must've bought off on her explanation because I didn’t hear any further argument. Within minutes, the music of their slamming headboard against our wall was all I heard. Trey had managed to sleep through it all.
CHAPTER 19
I'd never been so glad to be home than after that long weekend in Bristol. I'd called Gina during the following week while Preston was napping to fill her in.
“No fucking way!” she said as I told her about the sex in the next room, their costumes and Tristan’s sudden engagement. The crème de’ le crème was when I told her that Tristan was moving to Atlanta to live here because of her job. When Gina asked what Libby’s job was I told her about Sexabella. Gina knew of the company. Why had I not been surprised?
“Oh, yeah,” she said excitedly, “they distribute a lot of that stuff we saw in the Sextique Shop at the mall in Bristol, remember?”
“How could I possibly forget, Gina?”
I remembered the Jack Rabbit Wallbanger w/Suction Cup she'd bought for me as a Christmas gift last year from that store. “So, how's it going with you?” I asked.
“Well, we're sort of at a standstill with the division of property. We have the condo and the business. With what we owe on both there's no even split of equity or liability. It’s a quagmire, I guess. In the meantime, I’m still living at the condo, of course, and Ian is paying the bills. I still work at the club on days, but it’s hard, you know? I mean everyone knows what Ian did and continues to do with that skank. I’m not one for pity, girlfriend.”
“I know that, Gina - I’m sorry about all of this. Hey, let me talk to Trey.”
“Why would you talk to him about my problems?” she asked.
“Well, he mentioned something about buying shares of Tristan’s winery; what if I could convince him to invest in the Sanctuary instead and buy Ian’s interest out?”
“Oh, Ty, I mean I love you for thinking about me on this, but that's a lot to hope for from a friend. Given the Hot Nazi doesn’t care for me, I don’t think you have a snowball’s chance.”
“We’ll see,” I replied. “It couldn’t hurt.”
“Hey,” she said changing the subject. “How's your house coming along?”
“It’s on schedule,” I replied. “Want to ride out with Preston and me today?”
“Absolutely,” she said.
I picked Gina up after lunch and we drove out to the house in DeKalb County. She'd been there with me before several times but it was nearly finished with the exception of the flooring and final trim. We toured the house and Gina marveled at the layout.
It was two-story with a partial walk-out basement. It was approximately 3500 square feet. The master suite upstairs was in Gina’s words ‘to die for.’ Our room had a working fireplace, ‘his’ and ‘her’ dressing room/closets and a master bath that had a sunken Jacuzzi tub, double marble showers, double vanities and ‘his’ and ‘her’ enclosed commodes. The horse barn was nearly finished. Trey was making arrangements to have Derringer and a couple of other horses brought out after the first of the year when we moved in. Gina had promised to help me furniture shop after Christmas.
I asked Trey at dinner that evening about the possibility of buying out Ian’s interest of the Sanctuary.
“Are you crazy? Absolutely not! Do you realize that restaurants and night clubs are the most risky types of investment? Aside from that I can’t imagine being in business with Gina. Dumb idea, baby.”
“But just think about. . .”
He cut me off with his usual, “End of discussion, Tylar.”
Sometimes Trey’s closed mindedness really pissed me off. He hadn’t even given me the courtesy of pretending to consider it before he gave a definitive no. So much for it being “our” money, I thought. Perhaps I could find another investor. I really hated to see Gina lose that club. She needed something to occupy her time and the social environment there was therapeutic for her.
I was folding clothes in the laundry room when it dawned on me that I could be an investor without Trey. I'd put all of the money that I'd cleared from the sale of the house and furnishings in Radcliff into my own s
avings account, along with the money I'd earned from the dressage competitions, the left-over money from the sale of my car and the ten grand I'd received from Maggie’s previous employer.
I went to the bedroom and got my savings passbook out of my underwear drawer. I had over $200,000 in my savings account. I'd offered to buy the furnishings for the new house with it. Screw that. Gina was more important. I smiled at my ingenuity. I put my passbook back in the drawer. I'd tell Gina the good news tomorrow while Trey was at work. She and I were going to be partners.
I finished up in the laundry room and went to check on Preston. She was in her swing in Trey’s office, chewing on her pink rubber clothespin. She smiled when she saw me, dropping her toy and holding her arms up for me. Trey was typing away on his laptop. He looked up as I lifted her from the swing. He was trying to figure out whether I was pissed at him for blowing off my suggestion about investing in the club. I decided to keep him guessing.
“Do you want a bath, Preston?” I asked, totally ignoring Trey. She still had slobber on her chin from chewing on the toy. She grinned up at me as I picked her up.
“Tylar?” Trey called after me when I reached the hallway with her. I stepped back into his office and glanced over at him. “Oh, I see. This is how it's going to be now,” he stated simply.
“Excuse me?”
“I’m going to get the silent treatment, aren’t I?”
“I've no clue as to what you're talking about, Trey. I simply finished my chores for the day and decided to bathe my daughter. Is there something you need?”
“Don’t let me keep you,” he replied frowning.
I bathed Preston and dressed her in one of the new nightgowns Susan had bought for her. I cradled her against me in the rocker and unfastened my nursing bra allowing her to nurse.