Page 53

WASTED

VANESSA

“ I s that true, Bobby?” Virgil asked softly.

“I saw you staring at Ling at the concert, at my house. At poker. She’s a beautiful woman, so I’m used to her getting attention from other men.

Our relationship, as it stands, is undefined and I don’t know you very well.

But I didn’t think you’d try to play me under my own roof. ”

“Undefined?” Ling stared at Virgil with her lower lip quivering. “We’ve been together for over a year, Virgil, what do you mean undefined?”

“Undefined,” Virgil insisted, his teeth gritted.

“We date, we share a bed occasionally. But if tonight is a night for honesty, the truth is we don’t love each other.

We just don’t, not that way. Our parents can twist our arms behind our backs to get us to obey them in business, but they can only arrange but so much. ”

Ling winced as if he’d slapped her across the face.

“And that’s a good thing, because we’re in love,” Bobby declared flatly, his palms on the tablecloth. Zoe looked as though she’d been sucker-punched.

Vanessa turned to him, incredulous. “What? You just met her yesterday.”

“Oh my God,” Ling moaned, squeezing her eyes shut. “No, Bobby, we are not. I told you I was going to the concert in conversation, that’s all. I didn’t mean it as an invitation to —”

“I’m sorry Zoe, Virgil. But it’s true,” Bobby went on as if he hadn’t heard. “And it is mutual, despite what that bastard said.”

“It’s not, Bobby. I told you,” Ling interjected again, her face red. “I told you the second you said you were married that we’d only ever be friends. I adore you…. but as a friend only . I’m not sure how many different ways I have to say it.”

“But Zoe and I…we have an agreement. An arrangement,” he tried, steepling his fingers. They were unsteady. “And Virgil just told you he’s not committed to you. Not like I could be.”

And Vanessa’s heart broke to realize her brother was holding back tears.

Her brother, always cool, always confident, with the sun beaming down on him showcasing his glory, was now sitting in the middle of a restaurant with his nose running, risking it all for a woman who’d just rejected him.

This was not a ratchet reality TV show anymore.

There was not an ounce of petty left in her to see this happening to him.

“You weak bastard,” Zoe muttered through her teeth. “You’re in public. You are embarrassing me in public .”

“Right, because that’s what’s most important, Zoe. How things look.” Bobby wiped his face with a laugh.

“Bobby, we should go. Come on, let’s go,” Vanessa said, trying to take his arm.

“I agreed to your arrangement because that’s what you wanted!

” Zoe suddenly shouted at Bobby while Vanessa was trying to get him to leave.

“I knew you were hiding something. Someone. I knew it and you lied and said I was imagining things, when the whole reason you wanted to come up here was to fucking cheat on me. After everything I’ve given up for you, this is what you do? ”

Heads were turning in their direction despite the music and the noises of talking and dining.

“I think everybody needs to calm down. It’s been a fucked-up night but this ain’t the time or the place —” Santino tried.

Ignoring him, Bobby plowed forward. “I know you’ve made sacrifices.

But what have I given up for you? Do we want to start pulling out our lists because I’ve got one, and it’s long, Zoe.

” He turned his head from side to side as if worn out.

“Unless Malone was lying, you didn’t seem to have a problem with our agreement when you tried to fuck him.

Was that just something that started up here, or had you been doing it already back home? ”

“Don’t try to turn this back on me,” she hissed, her eyes in slits.

“Mom says you’re gone every morning, every afternoon.

But we get the groceries delivered, the laundry gets sent out.

Where do you go? When you’re gone for hours and no one knows where you are, what are you doing?

When you fuck yourself in the bathroom after we’ve made love and I’ve obviously not satisfied you, who are you thinking about? ”

Zoe’s face changed, something wild flickering behind her eyes. “Fuck you,” she spat out. “If you think this bitch here wants your delusional ass, be my guest. Take her and ride off into the goddamned sunset.”

Zoe got out of her chair and raced away, her face flaming, leaving a trail of Bobby’s unanswered questions in her wake. Santino closed his eyes for a moment and sighed.

After an interminable moment of silence, Virgil stood stiffly, running his hand down his cream shirt.

“Well. It’s been a night to remember. I’ll drop you home, Ling, unless you’re going with Bobby.”

Ling shook her head. “I think it would be best if I called a car.”

“Alright.” Virgil looked at Bobby wordlessly, then stood up and dropped another couple hundred on the table. He held his hand out to Santino. “Good night, Santino.”

Santino stood up and shook it. “Good night, Virgil.”

Vanessa didn’t even have the heart to try and shake his hand before he left.

Ling stood up. She kissed Vanessa’s cheek woodenly. “It was nice meeting you. The next time you’re in Montreal, let me know. We’ll have another coffee.”

Next, she shook Santino’s hand, but when she got to Bobby, the handshake was accompanied by a gentle kiss on the cheek. Softly, she murmured in his ear, “Don’t contact me anymore.”

She straightened her shoulders, and when she walked out, Bobby slumped in his seat.

Vanessa’s heart broke, for him, for herself.

A secret, wizened part of her heart had hoped to be there if the royals ever came down from their pedestal.

But now that she was witnessing it happen in real time, there was nothing but sorrow and grime coating the inside of her chest.

“What the fuck was that?” Santino asked Bobby quietly. “Didn’t you say you’d never leave Zoe for her?”

Vanessa turned to Santino slowly. “They met yesterday. What are you talking about?”

His answering admission came even slower. “Actually, they met a few years ago, last time Bobby was here for some medical conference. They kept in touch.”

“How did you know that? And when did you know?” Vanessa’s heart tumbled in her chest as she waited for his reply. She hadn’t thought it would be possible for his face to turn an even deeper shade of crimson.

“Earlier today. He told me after he invited himself to this dinner.”

She touched her forehead with her fingers, shaking her head and laughing.

She stood there, deflate,d in her beautiful dress and heels.

Something was close to bursting in her chest. It wasn’t anger, it was disappointment, in herself, in Santino, in her brother.

But the last thing she needed was another showdown in this place.

“Can we just go back to the hotel?” she asked, smoothing her dress down to cover her knees. It was too short. She was overexposed.

“Of course,” Santino agreed hastily, rising to his feet. “And in the morning, we’re heading to Toronto. This place is fucking done.”

Vanessa didn’t respond to that. She got Bobby to stand while Santino put the last of the money down, not waiting for a bill. She tried texting Zoe to see if she was still in the complex and got a “ Fuck off, bitch ,” in response.

Okay then. She kinda deserved that one.

Stiff, not speaking, she took Bobby’s keys when the valet brought their cars around and put him in the passenger seat.

Silent tears rolled down his face once she started driving, but she was suddenly exhausted and had no comfort left in her to give.

Not even enough for a small loan. Santino followed them out as they headed toward the bridge.

“I can’t go back to my hotel.” Bobby finally spoke. The sound of defeat, the shame on his face, were too hard to hear, too hard to look at. “Can I spend the night? A chair, the floor. I don’t care. I just can’t face Zoe right now.”

“We’ve got a living room and a couch.”

Santino’s comment when she’d first seen that couch came back to her suddenly. Just like that couch, he hadn’t pulled out, as he’d said. How the fuck had she allowed herself to go so far with him in a matter of days?

Not wanting to think about that or whether there would be any lasting consequences from her impulsive choices, Vanessa turned the radio on once they were on the bridge.

It managed to drown out the noise in her head with the thumping beats of random house music all the way back.

She was getting Bobby settled on the couch when Santino came into the suite.

“I stopped to get some sodas,” he said, showing her the cans. “Did you guys want to stay up and hang out for a little while? It’s still early.”

Bobby lay down on his side, facing the back of the couch.

Santino, seeing he’d gotten his answer, raised his eyebrows and took the drinks into the bedroom.

Since there was no door between the two spaces, he gestured to the vanity with a movement of his head and she followed, folding her arms and leaning on the counter.

“How is he?” Santino asked.

“Not good. Zoe’s been texting us both. Ranting. She’s losing it. I took his phone from him and shut it off. Hopefully, Mom won’t be needing to reach him until tomorrow morning.”

Vanessa bit her lip, suddenly thinking of Nadine and Everly. The shitstorm that was waiting as a result of all this…

“At the risk of sounding like a selfish dick, should I even ask about our Toronto plan?” Santino asked.

“I think we already know the answer to that. He didn’t leave me hanging when I was hurting, and I can’t leave him. If he’s still like this tomorrow morning, I’m going to see about getting him a seat on my plane in the afternoon, so he won’t have to go on the late flight with Zoe on Saturday.”

“We’ll work it out so the three of us can be on the same flight at least.” Santino cupped her face with his palm and kissed her. He pulled back slightly to look into her eyes. “We good, tesoro ? After everything that fucking asshole said tonight —”

“I’m fine.” Vanessa pulled a small smile from somewhere and nodded slightly.

Before she could replay Scott’s words in her head, before that critical inner bitch could come creeping out from the depths of her soul, she kissed him again with a soft press of her lips.

“I’m really tired. We should get some sleep. ”

They undressed quietly in the bathroom and Vanessa put her pajama set on.

So much for the hot, lacy panties she’d slipped on only hours earlier, anticipating Santino pulling them off her with that wicked grin.

Bobby was soundless on the couch, most likely already asleep, but any sort of sex was off the table while they could literally see him from the bed.

Santino’s arm went around her waist. She drifted to sleep with him pressed along her backside and burrowed in, seeking comfort which he gave freely.

In the morning, she awoke to an empty bed and urgent talking in the living room. She sat up and peered through the vanity into the bathroom. No Santino. Out in the living room, Bobby was up, having put his shirt and pants back on. He was pacing and talking loudly on his phone.

“No, no, I said I’m coming over. I’m coming over there. I —” He paused to listen to the other person speaking, rubbing the short waves of his hair with agitation. “Look, I know, okay? But you have to —"

Confused, disoriented, Vanessa looked around, then back at her brother.

“Where’s Santino?”

Bobby kept pacing like he didn’t know she was even there, but then he went to the coffee table, picked up a note and shoved it into her hand.

“ Went to work out, didn’t want to wake my sleepy. Be back with breakfast for me, you and B-Man. Love you. ”

A sound of frustrated rage erupted from Bobby, making her jump.

“Ling. Ling ,” he shouted into the phone. “Goddammit!”

“What the hell is going on now?” Vanessa demanded. “I thought Ling said not to call her anymore.”

“I just wanted to check on her and see if she was okay. She was crying when she picked up. She cursed me out and said Virgil went over to her house and broke it off last night. She blames me. He’s done with her because of me. I’m going over to her place to see her.”

Shocked (not shocked), Vanessa spluttered, “No, you’re not. If you should be talking to anybody right now, it should be your wife, not someone who already said she wants nothing to do with you.”

“Oh, please cut the bullshit, Van. You can’t stand Zoe.

You’ve never liked her, and the feeling is mutual.

I thought if we ever broke up, you’d be the first one to bust out the cake and champagne,” Bobby uttered sourly.

While she stood there open-mouthed at the accusation, which happened to be true, he looked around, hunting the floor with his eyes.

“What the fuck did you do with my shoes?”

“Okay, you got me. Zoe was never my favorite. But y’all have a baby to go home to.

” Vanessa followed him from the living room to the closet near the front door, where he discovered his shoes with wild triumph on his face.

“I don’t know if you’re having some kind of crisis, but why do it over someone you barely know?

Like, stop for a minute and make it make sense.

Is there something else going on? Is it the baby or work —? ”

“I am not having a crisis ,” he enunciated loudly. “Where are my keys?”

Vanessa raced to the bedroom while he started the search and hastily pulled on a top and a pair of shorts. No bra, boobs jiggling, hair in a fucked up half bun, she was just in time to see the front door swinging shut. Bobby had apparently found his car keys in her purse on the table.

There was no time to leave a note for Santino. She shoved her feet into her sneakers, grabbed the purse, and took off after her brother.