by Gerri Hill
Gina burst out laughing, causing those around them to turn and stare. “Mark is a queen?”
“He pretends to be bi so mom and dad can still hold out hope for marriage, but yeah, he’s a big homo.”
“And Courtney is a gynecologist? Wow, lucky gal,” Gina said with a grin.
“Perhaps a profession you should have gone into,” Ashleigh teased. “Speaking of which, what did you end up doing?”
“Advertising.”
“Really?”
Gina took Ashleigh’s hand and pulled her into deeper water, away from the others. They were bouncing on their toes, necks just above water. “Remember how I liked to draw?”
“Yes, you used to sketch all the time. I thought you’d be an artist. You had the temperament for one.”
“Funny.”
“Sorry. Go on.”
“Well, I never really knew what I wanted to do. I was just taking classes, hoping something jumped out at me. Tracy talked me into taking some marketing classes. I got introduced to advertising there. But the business side of things didn’t interest me like the design did. I got a job doing ad design in Austin at one of the top firms and I was happy enough there.”
“Collecting a paycheck without a whole lot of responsibility?”
“Pretty much. But my personal life sucked,” she admitted. She saw the questions in Ashleigh’s eyes but she wasn’t prepared to admit that she was still trying to chase Ashleigh’s memory away at the time. “That’s when I ran into Tracy and took a trip down to Corpus. I fell in love with the place. Tracy worked for a marketing firm and got me a job, but it was just a job. Nothing I enjoyed, certainly. One night I was over at their house for steaks and while Sammy—that’s her husband—was doing the cooking, we were downing a couple of bottles of wine. We decided to start our own advertising agency.”
“Oh, wow. That’s wonderful.”
Gina moved, guiding them back into the shallow water again. “Yeah. A few lean years at the beginning, though. But we’re doing good now. We actually have enough business to employ another designer, so I’m not strapped with it all. Tracy pretty much handles the accounts and business side of things. It’s worked out good for us.”
“That’s great. You love your job now, right?”
“Yeah. I can’t see myself doing anything else. What about you?”
“Oh, no. I hate my job.”
“The attorney part or the job part?”
“Both. Unfortunately, I’m very good at what I do and they pay me accordingly. Our firm specializes in the oil and gas industry.”
“Oh, no.”
“Yes. I’m afraid so.”
“What’s your specialty?”
“Loopholes.”
“Writing them or finding them?”
“Both.”
“Wow. Carly would hate you.”
“Carly?”
“She’s a wildlife biologist. She and Pat run a private sanctuary down close to Aransas. She’s always fighting with your oil and gas folks over drilling rights, environmental protections, things like that.”
“Friends of yours?”
“Yeah. Pat has a beach house in Port Aransas. I actually met her jogging one morning.”
Ashleigh made a face. “You jog?”
“Yes. I still bike some too, but mostly take a run.”
“I hate running. My workout partner loves it. We trade off. I prefer to bike.”
Gina laughed. “So this weekend, you aren’t going to hit the trails.”
“There are no trails in Calloway.” She moved closer. “But tell me about your friends.”
“Pat and Carly? They’re crazy in love. They’re my closest gay friends, although I don’t get to see them that often. From my place in Corpus to the refuge is over an hour and a half drive. I get out there probably twice a month or so, depending on the season. Sometimes they’re too busy. Spring and early summer are nearly impossible to get together.”
“What does Pat do?”
“She’s a photographer. Does awesome work.” Gina reached out and brushed a water droplet from Ashleigh’s face. She was surprised by the darkening of Ashleigh’s eyes. “Beautiful,” she whispered. “I had forgotten how brilliant your eyes are. Like an indigo bunting.”
“A what?” Ashleigh asked, her voice low.
“A bird. A tiny little blue bird. They migrate through by the thousands.”
Ashleigh smiled. “You’re a bird-watcher? Seriously?”
Gina laughed. “Hardly. Only what I’ve learned from Carly. I’m kinda like Pat. She’s an extremely talented wildlife photographer, but she couldn’t name a bird to save her life.” Gina was surprised to feel Ashleigh’s hand touch her arm, even more surprised to feel her fingers wrap around it.
“You’ve changed. You seem much more introspective.”
“You mean as opposed to an eighteen-year-old obsessed with sneaking off and having sex with you?” Gina pulled herself out of the pool and sat along the edge, her legs dangling in the water. She looked down at Ashleigh. “Or were you referring to my antics in college?”
“Both, I guess.” Ashleigh moved closer, standing between her legs. “I really need to talk about that, Gina. I’ve hated you all these years and I don’t want to hate you. But I was just left with so many questions.” Gina felt the fluttering of her stomach as Ashleigh’s hands clasped around each of her ankles. “Can we please talk about it? Please?”
Gina wasn’t sure what it would accomplish to talk about their past, but obviously they had two different versions of their breakup. Because in all honesty, Gina had hated Ashleigh, too, all these years. But the woman she saw now wasn’t the young teen she’d fallen in love with, and she wasn’t the girl who had broken her heart either. Ashleigh had grown into a beautiful, confident woman. And much like the young teen she’d been, she was still able to turn questions into commands...ones Gina was never able to refuse.
“Okay. We’ll talk. How about after hot dogs, we take a drive?” Gina suggested.
“Thank you.”
Chapter Nineteen
Twenty years ago
“What’s your hurry?”
“You know what my hurry is,” Ashleigh said, ignoring the slower pace Cheryl tried to set.
“Oh, yeah, you haven’t seen her in like three hours,” Cheryl teased. “However did you stand it?”
Ashleigh grinned. “I’m in love. I can’t help it.”
“I can’t believe you two have been sleeping together since high school and you still have the hots for each other. It’s crazy.”
“Not crazy. We’re going to be together forever.”
“Yeah, right.”
“We are,” Ashleigh insisted. Why wouldn’t they? She and Gina were perfect for each other. Best friends and lovers. They never argued. They talked and laughed and made love. She took a deep breath. Boy, did they make love.
“There’s tall, dark and beautiful now,” Cheryl said. “I’ll catch up with you this afternoon. And hey, thanks for talking with me earlier.”
“Yeah, okay,” Ashleigh said, but her eyes were already locked on Gina. Something was wrong. There was sadness in her eyes that Ashleigh had never seen before. She waited for her, searching her eyes. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
“We need to talk,” Gina said. She shifted her feet nervously, then shoved both hands into the pockets of her jeans.
“Okay, but what’s wrong. Did something happen? You look so sad. Did someone—”
“Come here,” Gina said, pulling her to the side, away from the sidewalk as students rushed by on their way to class.
“Gina, you’re scaring me.”
“I’ve been...I’ve been thinking,” she said. “We’re so young. We haven’t really, you know, had an opportunity to get to know other people. I think—”
Ashleigh grabbed her arm and squeezed. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Maybe we need to take a break.”
“Take a break?”
&nb
sp; “Hang out with other people for awhile. You know...”
Ashleigh dropped her arm. “You want to break up?” she whispered. Her chest was so tight she could hardly breathe. “Is that what you’re saying?”
“Yeah. You know, we’re young. We should...branch out. Experience life.”
Ashleigh couldn’t contain her tears any longer. “Are you serious? You want to be with someone else? You want to sleep with someone else?”
“Ashleigh, I’m doing this for you,” Gina said. “Please don’t cry.”
“You’re doing this for me? Well, that’s just bullshit,” she said, her voice loud. “What happened, Gina? We were together last night. You told me you loved me. We made love last night and you said you loved me. Suddenly today, you want to break up?”
Gina took her hands and held them tightly. “I do love you,” she whispered. “And I want you to be happy. And I want you to be able to do what you want.” She stepped away and Ashleigh saw she was fighting her own tears. “I’ll never forget you.”
Ashleigh was speechless as she watched Gina walk away...walk away and out of her life.
Chapter Twenty
Present Day
“I never would have pictured you for a Bimmer,” Gina said. “At least not a sedan. Maybe a ragtop.”
“I just bought it last year.” Ashleigh grinned. “BMW is not really my style. I had a truck before that.”
“My, aren’t you the lesbian,” Gina teased.
“Right.” Actually, Ashleigh could play the girlie-girl when the occasion called for it, but she liked being the sporty lesbian, something she wasn’t when she was younger.
“I can’t believe how much Calloway has changed.”
“I know. Past our hotel, it’s really crazy. It’s almost like another town.”
“But we’re heading where?”
“I thought you’d like to see the old high school,” she said.
Gina raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean old?”
“It’s a middle school now. They built a new high school a few years ago.” Ashleigh turned off the highway and slowed, going down the old strip. “Remember that?” she asked, pointing.
“The Burger Spot. Damn, is it still open?”
“Yeah. But since the high school moved, it’s not the hangout like it was when we were here.”
“It was never really my hangout anyway,” Gina said. “I wasn’t one of the cool kids.”
“Only because you didn’t want to be.”
Gina laughed. “Neither did you.”
“No. I only wanted to be with you,” she admitted.
Gina nodded. “And vice versa.”
Ashleigh took a deep breath as she turned down the street where the old high school had been. The building was the same, but it appeared much smaller now. She drove around the back where the practice fields used to be.
“A baseball field?”
“It’s not the school’s. They built a new field up north. This used to be the practice field, remember?”
“Of course I remember. There was a lovely hidden spot behind the bleachers. We used to—”
Ashleigh laughed. “I know what we used to do there.” She pulled to a stop. “This field is used for Little League mostly.” She opened the door. “You want to walk around?”
“Sure.”
They were silent as they walked past the baseball field and headed to the tennis courts. They appeared to be the same courts that were there twenty years ago, the surface showing signs of age as cracks snaked through the concrete. Ashleigh stopped, ready to talk.
“Tell me why.”
Gina looked past her, her gaze going to the old school. Ashleigh wondered if she was thinking about the breakup or taking a trip down memory lane, remembering their time together here in this building.
“I knew you had another lover,” Gina said finally. “I was trying to spare you from having to sneak around.”
Ashleigh frowned. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Gina shrugged. “I don’t remember her name. Some cute little short chick. Blond. You had a class together. You went to lunch nearly every day with her.”
Ashleigh had tried to erase that time from her memory so she had a hard time recalling anyone she knew back then. “Cheryl?”
“Yeah. I think that was her name.”
Ashleigh felt her anger surface. “You thought I was sleeping with Cheryl? That’s why you broke up with me?”
“Look, I didn’t believe it at first, but people kept telling me it was true.” Gina paused. “So one day I waited for you after your class...I saw you together.”
“Together? You’re out of your mind. Cheryl was crazy about ...oh, what was her name?” Ashleigh closed her eyes, trying to remember. “Amanda something or other. I was trying to give her pointers, trying to help her, trying to get her to ask Amanda out. When she finally did, it didn’t go well.”
“Amanda? Who do you think first told me about you and Cheryl? It was Amanda. They were best friends.”
“What? Are we talking about the same Amanda?”
Gina walked closer. “Amanda told me right where you’d be, what time, everything. And there you were. You were hugging. Then she pulled you to the side near some shrubs, and you kissed and hugged again.” Gina shook her head. “Wasn’t just a friendly hug, Ashleigh. It was a full body I’m about to jump your bones hug.”
Ashleigh clenched her fists, surprised at her anger. “You have got to be kidding me. You broke up with me because someone told you I was sleeping with Cheryl? Did you ever think to ask me?” Ashleigh poked Gina’s chest with her finger. “God, your communication skills always did suck.” She turned away. “I was so in love with you, I never even looked at another girl, much less entertained the idea of sleeping with one.” She turned back to Gina, holding her eyes. “You were my world. I loved you,” she whispered. “And I was floored when you came to me with your little speech about needing to see others, needing to spread our wings, needing to experience life. I was devastated. I thought I was going to die. Hell, I wanted to die.” She took a step back, away from Gina. “Every time I turned around, you were with someone else. And I hated you. I hated you so much.”
“Ashleigh, look, I’m sorry if—”
“No. I’m so pissed at you right now, I don’t want to talk to you.” She spun around and headed back to the car, her pulse pounding so fast, so loud, she was afraid she might have a stroke right there. She thought I was cheating on her? “Fucking unbelievable,” she muttered.
“Ashleigh, wait.”
“For what? Wait for what?” She stopped, glaring at Gina. “Why couldn’t you talk to me about it? Why couldn’t you ask me? You ended our relationship based on a rumor?” She took a deep breath, trying to curb her anger. “Were you that insecure about us, about our relationship?”
“Ashleigh, you were a cheerleader. You were popular. Your parents gave you a brand-new sports car when you turned sixteen.” Gina looked away. “I came from the south side of town. My parents got me a beat-up Toyota when I was seventeen. I—”
“You didn’t think you were good enough?” Ashleigh’s anger disappeared as fast as it had come. She finally understood. “I’m sorry.” She walked closer, pulling Gina into her arms and holding her tight. “I should have seen that. But you of all people should have known that none of that mattered to me.”
“She drove a Corvette. She—”
“Oh, Gina. She was hardly even a friend. You were my world. I fell in love with you. You. I didn’t care who your parents were or where you lived. I didn’t care what kind of car you drove. I never cared about any of that.”
Gina looked away. “I was always awed by the thought that you wanted to be with me,” she said. “You could have had anyone. Anyone in high school, certainly in college. So when Amanda said that Cheryl, the rich kid from Dallas, was sleeping with you—”
“You believed her.”
“I believed her. I didn’t at first, but it all
added up. You had a couple of classes together. You went to lunch with her. You met up at the library. She called you all the time.”
“Which is what people do when they have classes together and they study.” She shook her head. “All these years I’ve tried to figure out why. I thought maybe I was lacking, maybe you had your eye on someone else. Hell, maybe you did want to spread your wings. God knows you slept with enough girls after us.”
“I was stupid. I should have talked to you. But Amanda and Cheryl—”
“Set us up,” Ashleigh finished for her. She saw it now. All the attention Cheryl used to pay her. All the touching, the impromptu hugs, the phone calls. Yes, she could see Gina getting suspicious.
Gina nodded. “Cheryl wanted you. It turns out Amanda wanted me.”
Again, Ashleigh felt a stab of jealousy. “Well, at least one of them got their wish.”
Gina grabbed her arm when she would have turned away. “I’m sorry, Ashleigh. You’re right. My communication skills sucked. I was lost without you. And so I tried to forget you.”
“By sleeping with everyone within—”
“Yes.”
Ashleigh pulled away from her. “It was two years before I would let anyone touch me. And even then, it was a disaster.” She laughed quietly. “I even tried guys, thinking...well, I don’t know what I was thinking,” she admitted. Talk about disaster.
“Guys?”
“I know. It was stupid.” She looked away. No, what was stupid was that after twenty years, she was still trying to forget Gina. And her sexual encounters were still disastrous. Of course, there was Faith, she recalled, trying to find some humor in the situation. Good old Faith.
“So, do you hate me more or less now?”
Ashleigh tried to smile. “I’m not sure. Of course, I guess you were right about some things.”
“What do you mean?”
“We were awfully young. We were the only partners either of us had ever had. I guess it was crazy to think we’d actually stay together. I mean, college and all. Chances are, we would have met someone else and ended up breaking up anyway.”
Gina nodded. “We’ve both changed. I’m sure we would have grown apart.”