Reece's Faith (20 page)

"So, you guys, you gotta hear this. Reece was telling me about that new bartender.. she's a pip!"

"The bartender or Reece?" Faith laughed and handed over another beer.

"Thanks babe." Reece smiled. "I was telling her what happened the other night with Chris." she snickered.

"Well, I must have missed that one, boss, you mind repeating it?" Cori saw Faith's expression turn sour, and raised an eyebrow.

"Sure, well, there's this new dancer, Susan, and she's kinda shy..." Reece took a swallow of beer.

"If it's so funny, how come you didn't tell me?" Faith asked accusingly.

"I must have been preoccupied." she grinned at her lover. "So Chris got this idea..."

"Chris? You're good friends now?" Faith interjected.

Cori cringed at her friend's attitude.

"What? No, she just prefers to be called Chris. So anyway, she thought that if she gave Susan a drink or two to loosen her up, she'd feel better." The club owner stopped to snicker and drink some more beer.

Cori watched in confusion as Faith became increasingly agitated.

"But you don't serve alcohol." The actress pointed out.

"That's what makes it so funny! So after the third so-called drink, this girl gets up on the bar and starts stripping! Naked!" Reece was hysterical. "Chris tried to get her down and Susan climbed on her shoulders and started yelling, 'Giddyup horsey!'" She stuttered a bit before adding, "Facing backwards!"

Both Reece and Violet were in tears with laughter. Faith grinned a little trying to imagine Christina's embarrassment. But it did little to stop the jealousy.

"Honey left the stage in tears 'cuz all the guys ran to the bar!" The tall woman continued to laugh. "How would she know that the girl couldn't hold her
liquor
?" She roared.

"Liquor? I don't even know her!" Violet laughed hysterically.

"Ok you two, that's it, you're cut off." Faith took away their drinks.

Cori got up and rubbed Faith's shoulder. "Hey, what's the big deal? They're having fun. Besides, they'll be punished for it tomorrow."

"Well, I guess you had to be there." Reece snorted.

"Did you have fun peeling Susan off of
Chris
." the actress asked.

"Hey, what's her problem?" Violet pointed her thumb at Faith, then became intrigued with the digit, examining it intently.

"Maybe you're right, Faith." The dancer turned to her girlfriend. "No more drinks for you, babe."

"I don't have a problem. Should I, Reece?" Faith asked defensively.

"Faith?" The club owner was confused. "Why are you acting like this?" The smile faded from her face.

Cori started to panic. Reece was a fun drunk, unless someone pissed her off. Then she was a raging drunk, which was a very frightening thought.

"Acting like what? I asked a simple question, that's all."

"Why are you so bothered by the bartender? She's a good worker and she's perfectly harmless." Reece defended Christina.

"How would you know she's harmless? Have you tested that theory?"

"What's going on, Faith?" Reece sat up straight and cocked her head.

"Nothing, I was hoping you'd answer that same question." She said with anger.

"Um, Faith, why don't you let it go for now, huh?" Cori tried to end this argument before some regretful things were said, but nobody paid her any mind.

"Are you still stuck on thinking that me and the bartender are having a thing?"

"You said it, I didn't."

"You're talking crazy. Why would I want her if I have you?" Reece was serious.

"I don't know. Maybe because you can?"

Reece stood up and shook her head in disbelief. She could feel the familiar rage bubbling up, her fingers tightened around the bottle.
Is she fucking insane?!
She swallowed hard, trying to force the reflexive aggression that Faith's accusation triggered.

"Well Reece? Don't you even have some sort of an answer?"

The club owner looked to Cori, and shook her head.
Please Cori, make her go away.
Somewhere amidst the alcohol and the anger was the knowledge that this is Faith.
This is the woman I love.
Try as she might, she couldn't help the rage from surfacing.
The woman I love..and after all I gave her? This is what she does?
The adrenaline pumping out of control through Reece's body suddenly wasn't as welcome a feeling as it used to be. The need to lash out wasn't thrilling her as it should. In fact, it was scaring her. Reece realized the violent outburst was imminent and it made her feel sick.

"Faith, hon, let it go." Cori slid her arm around Faith and glared at her, begging her to stop. The look in those ice blue eyes frightened her. The dancer could see Reece at war with herself, and as much as she'd been intrigued about "The Animal", now was not the time to meet her. The dancer was afraid for her friends.

"Well, I guess her silence is all I need to know."

"I thought you knew me." The club owner hissed through gritted teeth. "I thought you noticed that I changed," she threw the beer bottle against the wall. "You know what? Fuck you, Faith! I don't need this crap!" The angry club owner swiped the bottle of wine off the table and stomped out of the house.

Cori and Faith cringed in preparation for the slam and were surprised when Reece didn't even bother closing the door at all.

 
*  *  *

Reece stormed out of the house and jumped on her Harley. She had no idea where she was going at first, but her bike must have because she turned onto the highway and headed out of the city.

 
*  *  *

Faith just sat there staring at the beer as it dribbled down the wall. Cori felt bad for her friend, but couldn't understand why she had acted as she did. She knew Reece would flip out. She knew the tall woman had no patience for confrontation. Especially drunk. She also knew that Faith was aware of these things. It was like she wanted this fight to happen.
Didn't she just say how much she trusted Reece in the kitchen?

Violet went over to the actress and squatted down in front of her, lifting her chin to face her.

"Wanna tell me what that was all about?" The piercer asked harshly.

Faith shook her head and fought back tears.

"Vi?" Cori wanted to know why her girlfriend was being so hard.

"No, wait, Cor, hear me out. Do you know what we were talking about in here first, Faith?"

"You're going to tell me anyway aren't you?" The actress sighed in defeat, looking to the ceiling to staunch the flow of tears.

"I thanked Reece for introducing me to Cori. I told her how much Cori means to me, and how much better my life is because she's in it. Look at me, Faith."

Faith looked into Violet's eyes and saw sincerity.

"Do you see the truth in there?" When the actress nodded she continued. "Reece told me the same about you. She told me how much you mean to her. She told me how she trusts that you will always be there, and how hard it must be for you to put up with the likes of her. And how scary it was to let go of her demons."

"Oh no.." Faith sobbed.

"She told me how unreasonable and stubborn she is, what a hardass she can be, and still, through it all, you never give up." Violet wiped Faith's face with her sleeve and smiled.

"But the best part is, that hardass, stubborn, unreasonable woman told me that she'd die without you. Now, you wanna tell me what that was all about?"

Faith cried her heart out. Cori cried with her. Never did she think that Reece would spill her guts like that to any one. She was proud of her girlfriend for getting Reece to open up like she did.
Jesus, just add alcohol...

"I'm such an asshole. I probably just blew everything!" The actress wept loudly in the arms of her two friends.

"No, I think you can fix it. But you'll have to let her cool off."

"I don't think she'll ever forgive me! I love her so much! What the hell is wrong with me?"

"No, she will forgive you, she's just hurting right now. After how she put you on that pedestal, she has to be smarting pretty bad. Just give her time."

"Oh god, I really hurt her!" Faith panicked.

"Shh, babe, it happens, it's normal." Cori comforted her friend.

"Normal? You're talking about Reece.. " The actress sniffed.

"You'd be surprised at how deep her feelings go for you, Faith."

"But she's really upset! She does irrational things..."

Everyone looked at each other, unable to argue with that statement. "She's going to take it out on someone, somehow..."

"Oh no... Christina!" Cori and Violet spoke in unison.

 
*  *  *

Reece downed the last of the wine and threw the empty bottle, the crash barely satisfying her. "And to top it off... she accuses me of fucking the bartender!" She threw her helmet in anger, watching it smack into the neighboring marble cross.

The tall woman had been there nearly half an hour, pacing, ranting and raving about what happened since the last time she was here.

"I have never felt like this in my whole goddamned miserable life! I feel like a piece of my chest was ripped out.. like my heart hurts!" She punched herself in the chest as she spoke.

She walked in circles for several minutes, winding down. Once the rage had silenced, Reece could hear his voice in her head.

"Siddown or I'm gonna hog tie ya to that ugly freakin' cross over there!"

"Sorry, Uncle Frankie," her words slurred slightly as she relaxed. Feeling the need to be closer, she squatted over his grave.

"You know, there's plenty of people who'd kill you to have me in this position. That's if you weren't already dead, you asshole. I miss the shit out of you."

"Ay, such an ugly mouth on such a pretty face!"

The club owner smiled briefly and began to feel very drained. She turned around, leaned her back on the stone, and slid down.

"I know she's just being jealous. I know what jealousy can do. So why did I react the way I did?"

She stretched her legs and pressed her cheek against the cool marble.

"I love her, Frankie, I really do. I'm not afraid of it anymore. I trust her... more than anyone in this world. How come she can't trust me?" She closed her eyes and pictured Faith's face. "I gave her everything. I may not know how to tell her how much she means to me, but I sure can show it." She grinned with the memory of hours before and how she had demonstrated her love.

"And I can honestly say she loves me just as much."

The tall woman looked sadly off in the distance.

"I'm no angel, I know why she said those things. So why did I react like that? Jealousy isn't new to me. What is wrong with me? And why haven't I fired that bartender yet if she's making so much trouble with my woman?" She scowled and made a mental note to do just that when she got home.