“Brrr…” Cinder said to herself as the brisk wind cut her to the bone. I hurry through the streets, the sound of her high heels clopping loudly against the cement pavement below announcing her presence to passerbys at the corner. A few of the men turn around to gawk at her. I don’t pay them any mind. They’re no Gabriel Cartwright, that’s for damn sure.
Gabriel Cartwright. My heart raced at the sound of his name. He is a man like no other I have ever encountered. He is brilliant, beautiful, sophisticated and timeless. There was often a shrewdness to his gaze; other times his eyes appeared soft and sensitive, pools of emotional turmoil. His business acumen preceded him - everyone in town knew all about Gabriel’s business reputation. He was a shark in the boardroom, and he’d draw blood to ensure the success of his business. But as a man, I was certain that he let his heart guide his actions. Gabriel Cartwright was much too tempestuous a man to allow his mind to inhibit him. A man like him was driven by a forceful passion - a passion which I had my heart on experiencing first hand.
Throwing her right hand up into the air, she attempted to hail down a taxi cab. A few zipped by, each with a passenger inside, so she waited my turn for a free cab. After a few moments, a bright yellow taxi cab came to a screeching halt outside of the café. The driver rolled down the window and glared at Cinder with an impatient expression oozing from his dark eyes.
“Where to, darlin?” the cabbie asked as he peered at her up and down.
“55th and Broadway, in a hurry…” Cinder told him, sounding just as impatient as he had. It was an old habit of mine. Match everyone’s tone, word for word. You only give as good as you get. Try to play me, and I’ll teach you how the game is played. Bend the rules and I’ll rewrite them completely.
The cab driver nodded once and Cinder took this as my cue to get in. Swinging the back door open, Cinder climbed inside and repeated the address of the theatre just before slamming the door shut. In a second flat, the cabbie took off, screeching out of sight once more. He swerved through the streets, masterfully cutting through traffic and curling corners. In a record twenty two minutes, the cab pulled up outside of the theatre house with only minutes to spare before Cinder was due backstage to begin costume and make up. I can feel my anxiety kick up in my belly. I am usually never nervous before a performance, but tonight was not just any performance. Tonight, the Gabriel Cartwright would be in the audience. And he wasn’t attending the show simply to pass the time. He was coming to see me – Cinder Alexander, little nobody from Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. I pinched the flesh of my arm. Was my luck changing? It certainly appeared to be. Cinder Alexander may have been a unknown Southern sweetheart, but Veronica Westerley was coming into her own on the Broadway stage.
As the cab came to an abrupt halt, Cinder pulled out a twenty dollar bill and paid the driver.
“Need change?” the driver asked her in a thick, brusque New York accent.
Waving him off, Cinder replied, “No. Keep it,” shortly before swinging open the cab door and stepping back out into the cold autumn air. The wind swept my hair off her shoulder as Cinder made her way into the theatre. Disappearing behind the double doors, Cinder waved hello to the door man Raymond once, before sweeping down the hallway towards the dressing rooms.
Chapter Three
“So how long have you known this chick?” Decker asked Gabe, just before taking another swig of his Pabst beer. While Gabriel seemed to be nursing his Stella Artois, Decker had a small collection of PBR pounder cans on the table. The waitress had tried offering him a chilled mug, but he waved her off with a dismissive swipe of his hand. He was more of a chug from the can kind of guy. When the same waitress came by and offered to take away his empties, Decker again waved her off. “Hang on, honey. I want to see somethin’...” Gabe knew what he was doing. Decker was counting how many beers he could chug in the time it took Gabe to finish his bottle of Belgian pilsner. Gabe gave the waitress a sympathetic glance as she walked away whilst rolling her eyes at his friend.
Gabe raised his right eyebrow at one of his oldest friends, and stared at him with a look of mild irritation. Despite the longevity of their friendship, it seemed that Becker Campbell never did mature in all their years as pals. Gabe had no interest in playing catch up with Becker. He knew without a doubt that his buddy could drink him under the table - he had plenty of experience doing as much.
“Dude!” Decker cried out dramatically. “Earth to Cartwright! You with me?!” He knocked three times on the wooden table between them.
“What?” Gabe asked, his irritation becoming more evident in his tone of voice.
“This chick you’re going out with tonight… How long have you known her?”
“Oh, umm,” Gabe said in hesitation. Decker noticed.
“Yeah?” Decker asked, casting his buddy a perplexed look.
“I don’t know. A while I guess,” Gabe added, not going into further detail.
Decker narrowed his eyes upon his friend’s face. “Uh huh… a while… right.”
“It’s true,” Gabe remarked with a quick shrug of his shoulders.
“You’re awful… quiet on the subject…” Decker suggested. He appeared hell-bent upon trying to pull more information out of Gabe than he was willing to give up freely.
“Who is she? Where did you meet her?” Decker pushed on.
Once again, Gabe rolled his eyes. “Grade A nag, you are… Giving my mother a run for her money in that department,” Gabe joked.
Crossing his arms over his chest, Decker appeared to be quite happy with himself. The smug smile that was growing across his face told Gabe everything that he needed to know. “It’s in the best friend handbook… I get to vet the women who want to try to take on the all-coveted role of Mrs. Gabriel Cartwright.”
Gabe nearly choked on his beer. “They’ll be waiting a long time for that position to open.”
“Mr. Big Time CEO with all the ladies in waiting…” Decker teased his buddy.
“Jealous?” Gabe asked with a wink. The corner of his mouth curled up into a sly smirk.
“Fuck yeah, I’m jealous!” Decker admitted. “I don’t know how you just don’t come back around to some of them chicks you’ve been with. Brooklyn was hot. Jamie was fucking gorgeous… But Kaitlyn… you knocked it out of the park with that one…” Decker opined as his gaze seemed to trail off as his mind recalled some of Gabe’s former flings.
“You know my rules,” Gabe said tersely. “One and done.”
The look on Decker’s face was nothing short of comical. While Gabe brushed his buddy’s comments off like they were nothing, Decker was in a state of bewilderment.
“Dude! But-” Decker began to protest, but Gabe wasn’t trying to hear it.
“One and done, man. That’s how you stay out of trouble. No feelings. No obligations. No attachments,” Gabe explained. “Once they’re attached, you’re done for. You’re never getting rid of them. First she takes your name…”
“Then your money,” Decker added as he rubbed two of his fingers together.
“Next thing you know, you’re signing divorce papers and half of all your shit is gone,” Gabe went on, agreeing with his buddy Decker. “I keep things simple. Her needs get met. My hunger gets satisfied. Then we go on about our lives like nothing ever happened.”
“Did you ever get a clinger?” Decker asked as he pounded another empty beer can on the table.
“Yeah…” Gabe replied with a chuckle. Although he did not elaborate, Decker knew an epic story would be the reason behind his devious grin.
“C’mon…” Decker begged as he cracked open another brewski. “Out with it.”
“What?” Gabe asked innocently enough. The glint of excitement in his eyes did not match the innocent expression he was trying to give.
“This I gotta hear,” Decker admitted. “Stage 5, high alert, danger danger clinger alert story. Now,” Decker demanded.
He could really be a persistent bugger when he wanted to be.
“
Pushy!” Gabe replied in an exasperated tone of voice. “Fine. It was this chick named Sophia. I met her one night at Salon,” Gabe said referring to a night club that was situated across town. “We hit it off immediately. We have a few drinks, hit the dance floor. You know. The usual for Salon. It’s going great. I ask if I can give her a ride home, and she declines. Shocked the shit out of me, I could have sworn that she was down for a good time.”
“Lame, dude,” Decker replied, casting an agitate look at his friend. “So what happened?”
“The next morning is a Sunday. You know that is my one day a week where I can actually sleep in, relax, veg, and prepare for the work week ahead…”
“Yeah… you get pissed at me if I even suggest we do something on a Sunday…” Decker admitted, shaking his head. He didn’t quite understand Gabe’s need for a full day of nothing, but he was not about to question his friend’s reasoning behind it.
“Well,” Gabe continued. “That Sunday was not a quiet Sunday. Sophia, apparently likes to chat by text. Sophia sent me no less than three thousand text messages that day. I soon found out the reason why she did not want me to take her home the night before. Sophia was a ultra conservative bible thumper who was saving herself for marriage…”
“Wait,” Decker said, pulling Gabe’s retelling of his dating horror story to a full on stop. “A holy roller…. At Salon. Are you fucking shitting me?!”
“That was my exact reaction. Apparently her friends took her out for a night out on the town… and she thought I looked respectable enough…”
“Clearly she doesn’t know you…” Decker said with a smirk.
“Fuck off, man,” Gabe said with a laugh. “Anyhow, moving on… Apparently, Sophia thought that after spending a whole three hours with me that I would be a suitable match for her, and she wanted to talk about our “future.”
“Oh, this keeps getting better and better…” Decker said as he flagged down the waitress. “Another round…” he said to the waitress in a crude manner. Nodding her head, the blonde waitress turned, rolling her eyes as she went. Decker, as per his usual, was batting a thousand with the ladies. He did not have the luck that his buddy Gabe did in that department. To say he was envious was an understatement of epic proportions.
“So what did you tell her?” Decker asked, knowing full well what actions Gabe took when anyone tried to control any part of his life.
“Well, that’s where things got interesting…” Gabe added. “I eventually got bored and blocked her number. I thought that would have been the end of it… but then, the next day at work…”
“She showed up at your job?!” Decker said with a howling laugh. “Haha! This chick’s got balls!”
The irony of Decker’s statement was lost on him but it was not lost on Gabe who was staring at his buddy with a look of total mortification. “I swear, man… the shit that flies out of your face. It does not even hit a filter, does it?”
Shrugging his shoulders, Decker didn’t bother to answer Gabe’s question. “C’mon… Tell me what happened at work!”
“Oh, this keeps getting better and better…” Decker said as he flagged down the waitress. “Another round…” he said to the waitress in a crude manner. Nodding her head, the blonde waitress turned, rolling her eyes as she went. Decker, as per his usual, was batting a thousand with the ladies. He did not have the luck that his buddy Gabe did in that department. To say he was envious was an understatement of epic proportions.
“So what did you tell her?” Decker asked, knowing full well what actions Gabe took when anyone tried to control any part of his life.
“Well, that’s where things got interesting…” Gabe added. “I eventually got bored and blocked her number. I thought that would have been the end of it… but then, the next day at work…”
“She showed up at your job?!” Decker said with a howling laugh. “Haha! This chick’s got balls!”
The irony of Decker’s statement was lost on him but it was not lost on Gabe who was staring at his buddy with a look of total mortification. “I swear, man… the shit that flies out of your face. It does not even hit a filter, does it?”
Shrugging his shoulders, Decker didn’t bother to answer Gabe’s question. “C’mon… Tell me what happened at work!”
“Well, I got a call from security saying that a little brunette woman had slipped past security and was asking anyone who would listen to her where her ‘boyfriend’ Gabriel Cartwright’s office was.”
Decker’s eyes bugged wide as he let Gabe’s words sink into his mind. “This bitch is crazy!” he exclaimed loudly. Gabe noted that Decker appeared to be highly entertained by his misfortune in the murky scene of the dating world. If he had a bowl of popcorn he would have passed it right to him. Decker would have looked like he was watching one of his favorite flicks on the big screen.
“Anyway,” Gabe continued. “Not thirty seconds after I hung up the phone with the inept security guards, there was a knock on my office door.”
“Sweet Jesus, this couldn’t be any better if it was scripted,” Decker said with a laugh. “Go on. I need to know more.”
Gabe laughed. “For fuck’s sake, you’re like a little old lady catching up on her soap operas…”
“My Ma calls them stories… but go on,” Decker said, clearly not at all phased by Gabe’s attempt at an insult.
“Well, after busting through security, taking the elevator up 49 flights, and completely bypassing my secretary…” Gabe continued.
“You have a secretary?” Decker asked, wiggling his eyebrows in a suggestive manner.
“Yes. Mildred Packabee… 67… I think you’re a bit young for her… Anyway, back to the topic at hand. Sophia brought me a basket lunch. A pastrami sandwich, some fruit, and a bottled water.”
“That was… uh… sweet,” Decker said, unsure of how to react.
“And a bit creepy,” Gabe added.
“So how was the sandwich?” Decker asked.
“I didn’t eat it,” Gabe admitted.
“After all that?!” Decker exclaimed.
“What if it was poisoned?!” Gabe asked his friend. “I understand that you’re not really out there in the dating game much… But when a woman texts you three thousand times in one day, you block her, and then she shows up at your job… Bypasses security… Just to bring you a pastrami sandwich… Something is fucking off.”
“Well yeah, I guess when you put it that way,” Decker admitted. “Well hey, at least you don’t have to go out with her again.”
“Thank God for small miracles…” Gabe replied. “This next one should be fine…”
“Where’d you meet this one at?” Decker asked. After hearing about Sophia, anything would be an improvement.
“Coffee shop. Down the street from my office building… She’s a barista.”
“You’re fucking a barista…”
“No. Not yet at least. She’s a stage actress, too…”
Gabe looked down at his watch and realized that he was running late, and had to be going.
“Wait, a stage actress? Which one?!” Decker demanded to know.
As Gabe scrambled to collect his things off the booth and from the surface of the table, he muttered, “Veronica Westerley. Shit, I gotta go. Running late.”
“Wait!” Decker called out to his friend as he rushed out of the restaurant. “The Veronica Westerley?!” But before Gabe could answer his friend’s question, he was gone, the doors of the restaurant swinging idly in the wind.
Chapter Four
Cinder stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes traced the supple curve of her lips, the dark line of winged liner over her eye, the smoky shadow that colored her eyelids… She was satisfied with the way she looked. She hoped that Gabriel would be, too. She had waited a long time for this day. She had watched him from a far, hoping that one day the handsome man in the designer suit would pay attention to her. Her day had come. Now, she had to keep his attention… and Cinder thought she knew j
ust how to obtain a level of affection that she deemed sufficient. Many women had come before me, Cinder thought. Many women have failed. But none have loved Gabriel Cartwright in the manner and in the intensity that I do.
You see, I’ve watched Gabriel Cartwright for a long time. He is a man of discerning taste and simple needs. He’s taught me a lot in the short time that I have known him… and this time, I will give him exactly what he needs.
Smoothing her glossy red hair, Cinder allowed the tresses to fall gracefully down her back. Reaching for a white gown encrusted with crystals, she stepped into her ensemble, pulling the dress over her supple curves. Once again, Cinder stared at her reflection, and admired her likeness in the floor length mirror. She twirled once, smoothing the fabric of the form fitted dress over her stomach. Bringing one hand to her mouth, Cinder traced the line of her lips with one perfectly manicured finger.
“This time, Gabriel Cartwright will receive the love he deserves.”
Chapter Five
Gabe arrived at the theatre on time, thanks to the cab driver who had ran through no less than seven red lights. Promptly, Gabe picked up his ticket at Will Call, just as Cinder had promised. Walking into the theatre that Gabe had been to so many times before, a feeling crept over him. Somehow, someway, this trip to the theatre felt different. He was spectating alone. He was here as a guest of one of the actresses. There was no pressure. He would not have to see his date until after the performance. Meanwhile, all the pressure was on his date to impress him. Gabe Cartwright knew a thing or two about performing under pressure. He was curious if sweet little Cinder was up for the challenge.
The theatre was dark. Many of the seats remained open as guests filed into the mezzanine area. Gabe, however, had scored box seats all to himself courtesy of Cinder. He raised his eyebrow as a smirk curled up from his mouth.
Love is Strange: A Taboo Anthology Page 20