Hidden Depths (25 page)

Kelly just laughed as she walked in dropping her purse on
the couch before pulling Gia into a quick hug. "I took the afternoon off,
and we are going shopping."

"Uh huh... and why exactly are we going shopping?"

Shopping was not one of Gia's favorite past times, a fact
which Kelly was well aware of.

"For the ball, silly."

"The ball?"

"Yes, the ball. The Black and White ball the club
always has on Halloween."

"No, I know what ball you're talking about, I'm just
not sure why you think I'm going."

"Oh... well, didn't Josh ask you?"

"Yes. I'm still not going."

"You're not? How come?"

"Because I have no desire to go to a ball at a country
club."

"You have no desire to wear an amazing little black
dress, put your hair up just so Josh can pull it down later, and wear the kind
of makeup that screams 'look at me... perfect and untouchable'?"

Laughing, Gia answered, "Well, when you put it that
way..."

"Okay, good. Then grab your purse, we are going
shopping."

Shaking her head, Gia pulled her hand out of Kelly's grasp.
"No, Kell. Seriously, I am not going to this thing with Josh. It's not a
good idea."

"You're right, it's a great idea."

When Gia merely stood in place, crossing her arms across her
chest, Kelly sighed and sat down on the sofa. "Okay Gia. What's this
really about? Did you guys have a fight or something?"

"No, nothing like that. Things with Josh are...
fine."

"Mmmm. Fine isn't good, Gia."

"No, it's good. I just don't want to go to this
shindig. It's not my cup of tea, Kell. Hell, it's not even my brand of
torture."

Kelly laughed a little, but still said nothing. When the silence
stretched on too long, the discomfort drove Gia to spill the truth. "I
don't belong there, Kelly. You know it. I know it. And if I go to this damn
thing, then Josh will know it too."

"Okay. So, now we have at least found the root of the
problem. You still think that Josh is going to drop you at any given
second."

Gia twisted uncomfortably under Kelly's even gaze,
eventually flopping down into the chair. "Yeah. I guess I do."

"He won't. I know that hearing the words from me won't
really help, but he's not going anywhere, Gia."

She smirked a little, the corner of her mouth shooting up
into a wry grin. "So says you. But, reality is a little different. We
don't fit together. Not really. He's going to figure it out sooner or later. If
I go to this dance, surrounded by a group of people that will spend the
majority of the evening staring at me, it will just prove to him just how wrong
we are. I'm not in a hurry to end things any sooner than they will on their
own."

"I don't think you're giving either Josh or yourself
enough credit. You may be more unique than some of the cookie cutter socialites
that typically grace the country club, but you are also so much more amazing.
And Josh is not only smart enough to see that, but smart enough to want you for
who you are."

"Thank you... but what if you're wrong?"

"I'm not. But on the off chance that I am, then what do
you really have to lose? Let's say you show up to this thing, and people stare,
and Josh runs away as fast as his feet will carry him. If he does, and that's
not going to happen, but if he does then he's not the man I think he is and he
is definitely not the man you deserve."

Getting up from the sofa, Kelly grabbed her purse before
placing her hand out in front of Gia. "So, let's go shopping. We are not
only going to find you a dress, but we are going to find you an amazing dress.
One that suits you, and to hell with what anyone else thinks. Including Josh.
You are going to the ball, Gia, and you're coming as my date."

Grabbing Kelly's hand, Gia let her pull her to her feet.
Maybe she was right. Maybe she should just suck it up and get this over with.
If Josh couldn't handle what his friends and family thought of her, it was
better to know now.

It might actually be the perfect opportunity to show Josh
just how different they really were. A chance to prove to him, once and for
all, that this was nothing more than a fling. An aberration before he settled
down with the woman he would eventually marry. Someone more like Deb than Gia.

The thought of him with another woman brought a stabbing
pain to her chest. Maybe this would be a good chance to convince herself they
didn't belong together as well. It seemed her traitorous heart had other ideas. 

The afternoon shopping spree had been not only productive,
but kind of fun in a totally girly kind of way. Gia wasn't normally too much of
a shopper, preferring to limit her options to her favorite haunts, so shopping
for a formal evening dress was a little outside her normal spectrum.

They had even managed to squeeze in some time for a
mani/pedi and a little waxing. Most importantly though, they had found a dress.

Not just a dress, but the dress. It was not only perfect for
the ball, but utterly perfect for Gia. Can we say Pinup, anyone? It was an off
the shoulder, completely fitted, stopping mid calf. Black satin, with a thin,
high-waisted red patent leather belt that buckled just below her boobs. It was
appropriate for the black and white ball, yet somehow managed to still be
something that suited her personality. Besides, a little splash of red never
hurt anyone. Neither would the four inch red patent leather peep toe stilettos
she intended to wear with the dress.

If she were being realistic, she could show up wearing
anything she wanted and it wouldn't draw any more attention in that crowd than
her tattoos were going to. So, she may as well own it.

With the dress hanging, pressed and ready for wear in her
closet, she was actually, possibly, just the teeniest bit excited about this
party on Saturday night.

Gia was being weird. Even by Gia standards. And not weird in
the fun, quirky slightly off the norm way he loved. Weird as in not acting like
herself.

She had seemed a little distant after the lake trip, almost
like she was pulling away from him. Josh had assumed it was simply because she
was angry with him for deliberately outing them as a couple. She hadn't really
done or said anything specific, it was just a feeling he'd had.

After a few days, everything had seemed fine again. Until
this week. She hadn't stayed at his house, nor had she invited him to stay at
her house since Sunday. It was now Friday.

That's not to say they hadn't had sex. They had. Multiple
times. However, each time they were done, she would cuddle for a while then
mumble some bullshit excuse and head back to her own home. And the excuses were
bullshit. Some were so bad it was almost like she was deliberately trying to
make them awful.

One excuse was that she slept better in her own bed and she
had a busy day tomorrow. One was that she had an early morning client and
didn't want to be in his way while showering and getting ready. Those he might
almost have believed. However, she had also mumbled something about sleeping
better alone one night, and the next told him she was an insomniac and didn't
want to keep him up all night. Apparently she'd had too much caffeine.

He had no idea what had happened, but something was clearly
up with her. He just didn't have a clue what it might be.

If this had happened right after they'd told everyone, he
could understand it. Hell, he'd almost expected it. But the timing seemed off.
So, he was at a loss.

And he didn't like it at all.

Josh had met up with Blake for a beer after work, so he
decided to just leave his car at The Tavern and walk down to Gia's shop. The
weather was finally starting to change into true Fall, at least by California
standards. The weather here was considerably milder than most parts of the
country.

He swung into the coffee shop and picked up a cup of decaf
for himself, as well as a decaf mocha for Gia. He knew she loved her coffee,
but she wouldn't drink caffeine this late at night. He was hoping that maybe,
just maybe, she would see this as a peace offering and hopefully tell him what
the hell was going on with her. Or with them. Or... anything.

When he showed up, Aaron was at the front desk. They had
managed to come to an unspoken truce between them. He seemed to accept a
potential friendship with Josh, and Josh understood the implied threat should
he happen to do anything to hurt Gia. It worked for them.

So, when Josh entered, he merely nodded his head in greeting
before nodding to the back of the shop, indicating that Gia was in her office.

Perfect.

Josh headed back, stepping in and closing the door behind
him, set the coffee on Gia's desk and propped himself against the wall, all
before she managed to get out the words.

"What are you doing here?"

Biting his tongue at her brusque tone, he forced a smile.
"I came to see you and bring you a decaf mocha. I just wanted to say
hello."

"Oh, hey. Sorry, I was just a little surprised. We
hadn't really made any plans for tonight."

"I didn't know we needed to 'make plans'. I was under
the impression that it was implied. My mistake."

Gia must have heard the sarcasm he was trying but failing to
hide since she immediately started back pedaling.

"No... that's not... I know we don't need to 'make
plans', just Fridays are usually late nights, and I had just figured I would go
home when I got off. And tomorrow we open early for us, and you have that
thing, so I just thought I'd see you Sunday."

Silence.

Josh waited, counting his breaths, in and out, while he
tried to get control of his temper. On the fifth breath, he realized he was
actually getting progressively angrier. He also realized that if he stayed
here, they were going to have a fight. Probably a very nasty fight.

Some inner sense was telling him that if they fought right
now, it was over. In the battle between fight or flight, self preservation
finally won out.

Josh gritted his teeth. There was no way that Gia could
possibly miss his anger, but that simply couldn't be helped. "I see. So,
then... I guess I'll see you Sunday."

Josh gripped the door handle, throwing over his shoulder,
"Have a good weekend, Gia."

He heard her scramble in her chair, and follow him out into
the shop calling his name. He wanted to turn around and scream at her to tell
him what was wrong. He wanted to grab her and throw her against the wall and
kiss her until she started to act like herself. He wanted to spank her again,
to see her ass flushed pink and hear her begging him to take her.

What he did was stare straight ahead and walk out to his car
without ever looking backward.

Chapter 35

Saturday afternoon Gia left the shop early, around three,
and headed home to get ready for the party.

She had managed to get through last night and today without
tears. Also, without caving in and calling Josh. She knew he'd been angry last
night, but there was really nothing she could do about it. If anything, it
would actually make things easier for him tonight. Just further proof that they
didn't belong together.

Shuddering out a long sigh, Gia stepped into the absurdly
hot shower hoping she could steam out all her worries. She was terrified of
going to this party tonight. Kind of foolish for someone who prided themselves
on not giving a flying fuck what anyone thought, but tonight was just...
different.

Tonight she was going to step into Josh's world. His club.
His friends. His family.

She knew she didn't belong there. Never had, never would.
She almost understood the nerves. She felt a little like she was dressing up
just to head into a pit of vipers. In four inch heels, there was no way she
could even run.

The fear... that was another matter all together. She knew
that tonight was going to be the end. She had been trying to prepare herself
for this all week. She had slowly pulled back from him. She hadn't even spent
the night with him since Sunday evening. She needed to get used to sleeping
without him. They had gotten too close, too fast. She had hoped that by easing
away from him, it would make things less painful for both of them tonight.

Somehow, she didn't think it was going to work.

She took her time, shaving her legs, scrubbing every inch of
her body. By the time she stepped out of the shower, the water ran cold. She
should have been loose as a wet noodle.

No such luck. If anything, her muscles felt even more tense
than when she'd gotten in.

With a deep sigh, Gia just accepted the fact that the only
way she was going to calm down tonight was alcohol. Luckily, Kelly was driving.
And she would be here in just over an hour, so Gia had better step up the pace.

She blew out her hair, making sure every piece was dry
before she threw some hot rollers in it. Her hair was naturally a little crazy,
not really wavy but not really straight either. She had a kind of weird wave to
it. Tonight, rather than straightening it out or tying it back in a braid, she
wanted to enhance the curl. Pulling out some twisty rollers, she let them heat
up while she tackled her makeup.

An hour later, she was as ready as she was going to get. Her
hair was done in some crazy spiral curls that had the shots of color
corkscrewing through the black. Her makeup, while still maintaining her
personal sense of style, definitely held the look of a pinup from the forties.
Perfect to complement her dress.

She had just slipped on her shoes when she heard the
doorbell ring. Grabbing her mask she opened the door to Kelly who, as usual,
looked stunning and perfect. Except for the rather stunned expression on her
face.

"Damn! If I were into women, I would definitely date
you!" Kelly said.

The comment startled a laugh out of Gia and did wonders to
settle her nerves.