Total Control (7 page)

“Could I use you
r computer instead?”

“Of course. Would it bother you if I put some music on?”

“Not at all.” He sat in front of the computer.

I put one of my favorite play lists on and went to my room. I opened my closet.
What does one wear to hang out with shrinks? Hmm…shorts, tanks, sweats and tees.
I’d need to do some laundry tomorrow but otherwise the packing was pretty simple. I decided on a couple of outfits for the weekend with the girls, threw in some shoes, and still had room in my suitcase for toiletries.

I went back to the living area and grabbed my bills. I wrote checks for what I had so far and signed a few mor
e to give Lill. I’d have to ask her to get my mail and take care of a couple more when they came in. I had some extra money I’d saved from the divorce settlement, but between missing a month of work, the flight, and therapy costs above what my insurance was covering, I was going to need to use all of that. I’d have to use my Visa card for incidentals while in California. Everything had been going so smoothly, but now I was a little stressed about money.

“Everything okay?” Ethan asked. My body language must’ve been telling.

“Yeah, it’s all good.” And it was. I’d get by, and I was sure I could put in some extra hours at work when I got back.

“Are you sure? I’m here
if you need me, let me help you,” he said.

“Really, I’m sure. What are you working on over there?” I wasn’t going to have a conversation about my finances and I sure as hell wasn’t
going to borrow money from him.

“Oh, just some stuff for The Lock
, I can stop whenever. Are you getting tired?”

“Yeah, I think I’ve got everything under control. It’s funny, I was stressing this morning about everything I had to do
, but there really wasn’t all that much.” I was looking around my apartment, wondering if I was missing something that needed to be taken care of before I left for a month.

“Good, you can relax tomorrow,” h
e said.

“Yeah. I just have some laundry to do and I need to give Lill my mail
key, house keys, and my checkbook. What are your plans for tomorrow?”

“Well, I definitely need to go home in the morning for a change of clothes. I have a couple of other things to take care of and then I’d like to spend as much time with you as possible.”

“Okay. Let’s split up in the morning, get our stuff done, and then meet back for the rest of the day.” I was getting better at making plans in advance and it made him smile.

***

We were both exhausted and fell asleep in each other’s arms. I dreamt about being at a concert with Dana and Jo in California. I had forgotten to pack something to wear and I couldn’t afford to buy anything new, so I was wearing a pair of sweatpants and Ethan’s t-shirt. My hair and makeup were a mess and I felt uncomfortable and ugly. Dana and Jo looked smokin’ hot and were having a great time dancing with all the guys who were flocking to them. I was alone in the corner. I looked towards the entrance and saw Ethan coming in! I ran toward him and when he saw me he got a disgusted look on his face. I stopped in front of him, but he looked right past me and a huge, heartwarming smile lit up his face. I turned to see who he was looking at and it was Jo! She walked by me and into Ethan’s arms and they made out like crazy. I started crying and then felt an arm around me. It was Vince and he reminded me about how he and Ethan shared women. He pulled me to him, put his mouth over mine, and started grinding on me. I could feel his hardness and his mouth tasted like whiskey and weed. I was trying to fight him off, yelling at him to leave me alone, but he was overpowering me and I didn’t stand a chance. He was laughing like he did in the camper that day. He shoved his hand down my sweats, into my panties, and stuck his finger in me!

“Gia!” Ethan woke me up. “It’s okay, I’ve got you.” He snuggled me.

That fucking Vince! If he ever tries anything else on me I’ll kick him in the nuts so hard he’ll choke on them!
I tried to get the image of Ethan and Jo kissing out of my head. It made me so sad and hurt that silent tears rolled down my cheeks. I nuzzled in even closer to Ethan and his warmth soothed me back to sleep.

When I awoke,
Ethan wasn’t beside me. I sat up and noticed a note on the dresser.

I wanted to get an early start. Call me later. Love, Ethan.

Hmm…
That was kind of unlike him. Short and to the point. It made me feel uneasy. I grabbed my phone and called
Your biggest fan.
I got his voicemail.

“Good morning. I just got up and
read your note. Is everything okay? Call me when you get this.”

I wondered why he didn’t a
nswer. I looked at the clock, it was 7:57. I assumed he’d be driving home when I called, but maybe he left before six, he’d be home by then if he had.
He was probably in the shower.
I put some coffee on and made the bed. He still hadn’t called.

I got my laundry together, took a shower, went t
hrough the stuff I’d packed the night before, still no call. It was 9:21. I headed to Lill’s.

***

She was happy to see me. I put my load of laundry in her washer and went over the bills she’d need to send for me while I was away. I told her about Ethan because she could tell something was wrong.

“Did something happen before you went to bed last night?”
she asked.

“No. He was using my computer, I packed and got my bills together
, and then we went to bed. I fell asleep in his arms. He woke me up in the middle of the night when I was having a nightmare, but then we just went back to sleep.”

“Well then
, I’m sure he isn’t ignoring you on purpose, Gia. I can tell he’s crazy about you, so just give him time. He’ll call,” she said.

I smiled. “You’re right. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

“I do.” She grinned. “You’re so flippin’ hot for him you’ve turned into a horny little emotional teenager!”

“Whatever!” I said
, giggling. It was true.

I finished my laundry and had an emotional good-bye with my little sis
. I headed for home. I couldn’t believe I still hadn’t heard from Ethan and I started to feel sick.
What the hell is going on?!

By the time I got home my sadness had turned to anger.
I called again. No answer.

“Ethan, I’m worried about you. Please
, just call and let me know you’re all right.”

I knew then
that something was up, because we’d made plans to take care of our stuff and then spend some time together. It was almost noon and no word from him. I curled up into a ball on the couch and waited.

Chapter 7

Ethan

I awoke
to Gia thrashing around and mumbling. I knew she was having a nightmare and I tried to wake her. “Vince, stop,” she mumbled. “Vince…” she said again.
Why the hell is she having a nightmare about Vince?
“No, please,” she said as she began to cry.

“
Gia!” I was more aggressive. She woke up. “It’s okay. I’ve got you.” I pulled her close. I felt bad for her. She was so used to having her sleep interrupted by nightmares that she acted like it was normal. I said a prayer that the therapy would help Gia have sweet dreams. She fell back to sleep pretty quickly, but I couldn’t.

I kept thinking about
Vince and why Gia would have a bad dream about him.
Could it be a different Vince than the one who worked for me? It could be, but that would be unlikely. Vince had made a couple of comments I didn’t like and even told me Gia had made a move on him. I didn’t believe him then, and I still don’t. He’s such a douche when it comes to women.

I couldn’t get it out of my head. I had to know what had happened between them, if anything. I had to know what Gia did to make Vince think she was hitting on him and I had to know if he’d done something to her to make her have a bad dream about him. As I
laid there, I thought of all kinds of different scenarios. I was getting angry. I waited until it started to get light outside, and then I quietly got up and got dressed. I wrote Gia a note and headed home.

***

By the time I got there, I was so worked up I knew I had to calm down before I confronted Vince. I’d gone over everything again and again in my mind and I wasn’t sure what to believe. I should’ve asked Gia about it before she fell back to sleep. I should’ve put an end to it the day Vince said she’d made a move on him. I headed to the gym.

I worked out fo
r two hours. I was exhausted. I felt like it had been one rollercoaster ride after another since I’d met Gia. Some rides were better than others. I was in love with her though, and I wanted to be with her more than anything. I had to take care of this so I could enjoy the last day with her before she left.

When I got home I noticed my cell was dead
, so I plugged it in before I jumped in the shower. I made a smoothie and walked over to Trey’s.

“Hey, man. I figured you’d be in the cit
y until the girls left tomorrow,” he said.

“I
figured I’d better come home and take care of a few things before this weekend. I’m gonna head back to the city when I’m done. Have you seen Vince lately?”

“I saw him yesterday afternoon but
I haven’t been out yet today. What’s up?” He could tell I was irritated.

“I just wanted to have a little chat with him about Gia. He told me the other day that she had come on
to him. Then last night she said his name while she was having a nightmare and I need to know what the hell is going on.”

“Shit, man! Gia making moves on Vince? I don’t think so! I mean, I don’t know her all that well
, but come on! You know damn good and well that if anyone was making moves on anyone it was the other way around!” He wasn’t crazy about Vince. Hell, neither was I, but he did his job and his personal life was none of my business, until now.

“That’s what I was thinking
, too. I need to find out what happened and I need to control my urge to knock him out if he mouths off about Gia. Do you mind coming along?” I knew if things got heated, I should have someone there to step in.

“Sure
.” He grabbed his phone and keys.

We drove over to Vince’s trailer behind the stage and knocked on his door. No one ans
wered, so I knocked again, harder. I heard footsteps and then the door swung open. He looked pissed until he saw that it was me.

“Ethan
—hey, man. What’s up?” He glanced back down the hall where his bedroom was.

“Hey, Vince. Get dressed. Let’s go for a little walk, I need to talk to you about something.” I could tell he had company.

“Okay, sure. I’ll be right out.” He took off back down the hall to his room. Trey and I glanced around his place. He kept it fairly clean, but Playboy magazines and an empty box of condoms were on the coffee table. The overpowering smell of incense always made me wonder what he was trying to cover up.

“Ready
,” he said when he came back and put his shoes on.

We walked through the backstage area and out into the arena. “Vince, do you remember what you told me the other day about Gia?” I asked him.

He looked at Trey and then back at me. He seemed a little nervous. “Uh, I’m not sure.”

“You told me that she had come on to you the other morning. Do you remember telling me that?”

“Oh, yeah.” He nodded.

“Okay, good. I want you to tell me exactly what happened.”

“Well, uh, you dropped her off at the motorhome and I was there because I’d spent the night with her friend, um…”

“Jo,” I said, “her name is Jo, Vince.” He was a real piece of work.

“Yeah, that’s it, Jo. Well, anyway, I came out of the room where Jo and I had slept and Gia started flirting with me. I can’t remember exactly what she said but you know how women tease and flirt when they want something.” I was staring into his eyes. He kept looking back and forth between Trey and I. “Then she lifted her little mini skirt and showed me she didn’t have any panties on.”
What the fuck?
“I would say that’s a pretty good sign someone’s coming on to you, wouldn’t you?”

I was seeing red. I grabbed Vince by the front of his shirt and got right in his face. “If I find out any of what yo
u just told me is a lie, you’re going to be looking for a new job. Do you want to change any of that story, now that you know that?” He didn’t move. He was thinking.