Conklin's Blueprints (34 page)

“Hey Becca.  Have any plans for Thanksgiving?” he asked.

“Yes, I will be going to my family’s house, you?” I asked, even though I knew he would be in Chicago with Tyler.

“Oh just spending time with family.  By the way, I love your shoes, red suits you, and the jacket is nice too.”  He stated while looking over paperwork that Jessica had handed him.

Funny, I don’t remember him looking at my shoes?  “Um, thanks… have a good rest of your day.”

“You too,” he said while smirking at his paperwork.

Chapter 19

I called Lauren to see if she would be willing to pick me up on her way.  It was bitter cold outside, and I didn’t feel like walking.  She was delighted and picked me up at quarter to 7:00pm. 

“I’m so glad you decided to come out tonight Becca!  So what have you been up to since high school?  I know you went to Florida.  What happened there?” she asked, her sapphire eyes sparkling. 

“Oh, just got my Master’s from FSU, met some people, nothing too crazy.”
What a lie. 
My whole life in Florida was one big cluster fuck.

“Yeah, I stayed home and went to Kendall.  Had a few relationships, never really went anywhere.  What about you?  Did you find any love in Florida?”

Wow, I guess no one told her about my messed up love life.  Ashlynn never talked to Lauren and Lauren never cared about the popular loop, so it figures she would be clueless. 
Hmm…
I could see myself hanging out with her more now that I was back in town.  This thought made me wonder which crowd was going to be at McFadden’s.

“Yeah, I found love.  It was good, then it was bad, then it was over,” I shrugged.

She laughed at my expression.  By the time we got to McFadden’s, I had heard all about how Lauren lived with a roommate on Heritage Hill and was dating a tattoo artist who was getting his fine arts degree at Kendall.  She was sad because he was from up north and left to spend Thanksgiving with his family.

We walked out of the car and into the busy bar.  I had dressed very casual, in simple worn boot cut jeans and a fitted light blue and white flannel shirt.  I re-did my hair in curls and freshened my makeup.  Lauren was wearing skinny jeans with holes and a very tight black top.  Her black hair was long and blew wildly in the early winter wind.  We walked past the long line of people waiting to get in. 

“Don’t we have to wait in line?”  I asked Lauren.

A sly grin spread across her face.  “I know the doorman.  Come on!”  She said looping her arm with mine.  It was different going out with Lauren versus Jamie.  Lauren was giddy and school girlish while Jamie was confident and beat to her own drum.

We walked up to the doorman who gave Lauren a huge smile and a hug then waved us in.

The bar was packed with party goers and loud music was blaring.  There wasn’t a dance floor but an array of tall cocktail tables.  The walls were dark green with a dark wood railing.  The back wall was a light brick, matching the outside of the building.  Towards the back there was a pair of billiard tables.  Lauren pulled me over to a pair of tables that were bunched together.  Familiar faces were all over.  I hadn’t really hung out with anyone who was there.  I normally would only hang out with Ashlynn outside of school.  The waitress came over and brought a round of shots.  I passed, wanting to keep a clear head.  I constantly checked my phone in between small talk with my past classmates. 

By 9:00pm I was constantly checking the door, hoping Tyler would magically show up and surprise me, but a different surprise came walking through the door.  I felt a lump catch in my throat as I ducked behind the group of people I was talking to.  I couldn’t handle seeing him right now, the only other man who could ever make my skin feel like it was on fire. 
Gage.
  There he stood in a short sleeve shirt and faded jeans with frayed holes.  He was sporting a backwards Tigers hat, and I could see he had added a few tattoos to his forearms.  He wasn’t overly tall or broad, but his muscles were toned.  He looked older and more rugged.  I closed my eyes, and I was brought back to the last time I was with him.

You’re going to need a drink.

No, I needed to get the hell out of here.  I needed to get into the arms of the only man I wanted to be with and not deal with any temptations from my past.  I stopped the waitress and ordered a round of shots for the people I had been talking to.  They all looked at me like I had grown two heads by how I feverishly dove out of the conversation and hid behind them.

By the time I looked back to where Gage was standing, he had moved and I didn’t know where he was.  I kept an eye on my surroundings and continued chatting.  The waitress came with our shots, and we all took them.  Lauren counted to three, way too loudly, and I poured the burning liquid down my throat.  A pang of ease spread through my body by the time the liquor hit my belly.  The ease quickly faded when I felt a strong hand on my back.  Chills went through me, afraid to see who it was.  I wanted Tyler, but I knew it wasn’t his hand; that would have been too simple for my complicated life.

The hand on my back reached for my wrist and swung me around.  Gage’s big brown eyes were taking me in with an ear-to-ear smile plastered on his face.  “Becca!  What the hell are you doing here?” he exclaimed.  He still had his dimples, and my mouth betrayed me by going into a full on Orbit gum smile.

“I came with Lauren.  I ran into her today.”

“How long have you been in town?”

I bit my lip, trying not to look so happy to see him. 
I just want to be home with Tyler
, my heart kept saying.  “Since the end of September.  I work for Conklin.”

“Why the fuck haven’t you called me!?” he said with excitement and shock.

I shrugged my shoulders.  I had thought about calling him numerous times before I had gotten involved with Tyler.  But once Tyler and I started to hang out, thoughts of Gage went out the window. 

“Well, we need to hang out now that you are back.  I miss hanging out with you Bs,” he said putting his arm around me and leading me away from the crowd of former classmates and to the bar. 

“Can I get two Three Wisemen shots, please!”  Gage yelled across the bar to the bartender. 

“Whoa, whoa… I can’t do one of those shots, Gage!  I’m not out to get drunk tonight,” I said, nudging myself out from under his arm.

He scrunched his eyebrows and gave me a puzzled look.  “Since when?  I thought you were Miss Wild Thing out in Florida?  At least you were when you came home to visit those few times,” he teased.

I laughed, “I’m not that girl anymore.”

Gage waved his hand, “Oh please, Bs!  I will take you home.  Don’t worry about it,” he smiled.  Even though he laughed and sounded sincere, he had hidden meaning with his intentions.

I stood up straight against the bar.  “Gage, I don’t think that is such a good idea.”

Gage stood up with me and leaned in close.  I could smell his scent, a hint of fuel, cigarettes, and beer.  Normally I would hate all three of those smells, but on Gage… it was far too tempting. 

“Why?” he simply asked with a grin.  I hated that he could get to me, and I hated that I was smiling like an idiot back at him.

“Because you and I know what happens when we hang out.”

He cocked his head to the side and bit his lip, his dimples making an appearance.  “I still don’t see what the problem is.”  He wiggled his eyebrows, and I shook my head back and forth at him, trying not to grin.  He had charm, that was for sure.

The shots he ordered had arrived and he took them, handing me one.  I looked down at it in contemplation. 

“Come on Bs, just one shot.  I won’t bug you to do anymore,” he coaxed.

I rolled my eyes and threw the shot back.  He followed suit and slammed the glass on the counter.  The dangerous shot calmed me even more, and I was going to have to stop right then and there with the drinking, otherwise Tyler would have to carry me to bed.

We started to talk how we used to talk, catching up on old times.  He was still living at his mom’s house and worked as a mechanic at a shop on the south side of town.  He was always good with cars and had fixed mine a few times.   It was nice to talk with him; I did spend an entire summer practically glued to his side.  Yes, it was a very physical summer, but we did other things.  He was the closest friend I had ever had that was a guy and conversation was easy.  My mother had a fit when she had realized who I was spending my time with the summer before college.  Gage’s family wasn’t like mine.  He was raised by his mother and had a dead beat dad.  They were lower class in my mother’s eyes, and Gage didn’t have the best track record at school.  He was a bit of a hot head and got into a lot of fights.  He was a troublemaker, always getting into mischief.  He wasn’t like that with me though, he was always calm and cool, and you would never know he was a hot head when we were together.

I realized I hadn’t checked my phone in a while and pulled it out of my back pocket.  Shit.  I had a few texts from Tyler and a few missed calls.  The first text was from 45 minutes ago,
crap!

“What’s the matter?  Mom still keeping tabs on you?”  Gage teased as he took a sip of his beer.

I glared at him.  Frantically pressing the keyboard on my touch screen I said, “I was going to meet someone tonight, and I missed his call.” 
Not just someone; your boyfriend!

His eyes shot up, “Well I think you should ditch them and hang out with me.”  He switched hands with his beer and put his hand on my thigh.  I froze but then gently moved his hand.  He gave me a surprised look.

“I can’t do that,” I said with soft eyes.  They weren’t soft for Gage but for Tyler.

Familiar hands were on my shoulders, and I relaxed.  Finally, my Ty was here. I stood up and turned to him.  His eyes were fixated on Gage at first.  I wrapped my arms around Tyler’s waist and snuggled into his chest.  He softened a bit to my touch and looked down at me with a half-smile.

“Sorry I’m so late,” Tyler said.  His eyes shifted from me to Gage.   Gage was nonchalantly drinking his beer, not having a care in the world.  “Are you going to introduce me to your friend,” Tyler asked, his eyes turning cold as they watched Gage.

“Yeah, Gage this is Tyler.  Tyler, Gage.”  Tyler stuck his hand out to Gage, holding his chin high and broadening his shoulders.  Gage let out a soft chuckle and turned on his stool to face Tyler.

He stuck his hand out and smirked.  “I take it this is the ‘someone’ you were going to meet,” Gage said.

I closed my eyes tight then opened them again.  Tyler’s jaw was clenched, and his scowl was in full force.

I shot Gage a death glare.  He let go of Tyler’s hand and shrugged his shoulders then turned to talk to the person that was sitting on the other side of him.

“I can see why you haven’t been returning my messages,” Tyler seethed.

I pulled my arms from around him and frowned.  “I’m sorry.  It’s loud in here, and I lost track of time because I was catching up with old friends.”

Tyler huffed, “You mean old
friend?”

I rolled my eyes at Tyler.  “No, everyone at that table over there.  Come on, I can introduce you.”

Tyler’s jaw clenched.  “Can we just go home, please?  I’m not in the mood to see you flirting with anyone else.”  His tone was dangerously low.

I stood up and pushed him a few feet away from the bar where Gage was sitting.  Although I knew Gage couldn’t hear us over the noise, I didn’t want Tyler to say something to set Gage off.  “I wasn’t flirting with him!  We were really good friends before I went to Florida.  Honestly, he was the only one I would call to hang out with when I would come back and visit.”

Tyler narrowed his eyes.  “You used to fuck him, didn’t you?” he hissed.

Holy shit.
  Where was this coming from?  Why was he so mad?  I stood there with my mouth gaped open.

Tyler rolled his eyes and sighed.  “Come on, let’s go,” he said turning to head for the door.  I didn’t have time to say goodbye to everyone because Tyler was stomping off and throwing a tantrum.  I stormed after him, practically having to run to catch up to him.

He walked to the passenger side and opened it for me.  He wouldn’t even look at me.  I slid into the car and put on my seat belt. 

Tyler got into the car without saying a word, and we drove in silence.  I rubbed my arms, trying to warm up from the frigid November air.  Tyler noticed and turned the seat heater on but then continued to keep his eyes on the road.  Not being able to stand the silence, I finally started to talk as we were pulling into the parking ramp at River House.

“So… how was work?  Did you get everything done?”  I said shakily.

Tyler pulled into the parking spot where Jamie normally parked and shut off the car.  He buried his head in his hands.  “Becca, who was that?” he mumbled through his hands, clearly dismissing my small talk.

“I told you, an old friend.  What are you so upset about?”

He pulled his hands from his head and looked over at me.  With tired eyes he said, “He looked like more than just an old friend to me.”  Rolling my eyes I let out an exasperated sigh and opened my door.  Tyler followed suit as I entered the building and pushed the elevator button.

“So he was more than just an old friend wasn’t he?”  Gosh why wouldn’t he drop this?  The elevator arrived, and we both rushed on. 

I finally looked up at him.  “We were always just friends, why don’t you believe me?”

“Maybe because he put his hand on your leg and looked at you like he has had a taste before.”

Crap, he saw that?

My eyes softened.  He was jealous.  I reached for his hands and squeezed them.  His scowl was still plastered on his face.  When the elevator got to my floor, I pulled him out and let go of his hands long enough so I could get my key from my bag and open the door.

Once we were inside I walked in the kitchen and put my bag on the table.  Tyler took his coat off, set it on the hanger, and followed me with the same pout glued to his face the entire time.  I pulled him towards me and cupped his face in my hands. Before I could say anything, he spoke menacingly quiet.  “Did you sleep with him?”