City Of Dreams Ch. 14

“I can pick this up, Miah.” Gina said with a smile. “No arguments either.”

“That’s fine.” I said. “We might as well pick up breakfast for the guys. I’ll place the order and pay for that then.”

It took about fifteen minutes for our take out order to be ready. We picked up the food on our way out. Gina and I started the walk back to the apartment.

“So,” She began. “Have we figured out what we are going to do with those two yet?”

“I don’t know.” I replied with a sigh. “Should we just let them off the hook, or should we let them suffer a bit?”

“I think making them sleep on the couches was punishment enough.” Gina said. “Hopefully that was enough to teach them their lesson. If it wasn’t then we’ll have to think of something else.”

“You know what I realized last night?” I asked her.

“That you hated sleeping alone as much as I did.” She replied knowingly. I nodded my head. “I couldn’t sleep either. You just get so used to having that warm body next to you in bed. It’s difficult to sleep alone after that.”

“So do you think we are going to get the apologetic puppy dog faces when we get back?” I asked. “Or do you think we are going to get the silent treatment?”

“It all depends on how upset they think we were, and how upset they are about sleeping on the couches.” Gina said. “I will admit that I’m hoping to get the puppy dog face.”

“Me too.” I said with a small sigh. “I hate it when we aren’t getting along. At least this wasn’t too big of a fight. Hopefully we can just brush things under the rug and move on from it. You and I have jobs to find.”

We stopped at a newspaper stand on our way back the apartment. Gina picked up the newspaper so we could start our job hunting. We walked back the last three blocks to the apartment in a companionable silence. As we walked up the steps to our floor you could see both of us visibly tense. We had no clue what would happen once we got back. We were gone for almost an hour and a half. So the question is have the guys even gotten up yet and realized we were gone.

Gina eased her key into the lock and quietly turned it. We stepped into the apartment to find that the guys were awake. They were sitting together under a blanket on one of the couches watching TV and nursing cups of coffee. Bailey and Austin looked like shit. It appeared that they got as much sleep last night as Gina and I did. They looked up at us the minute we walked into the living room.

“So, how did your mission go this morning?” Bailey asked.

“Was it successful?” Austin added.

Gina and I looked at each other and then back at the guys. You could see that both of them were holding back laughter. A quiet giggle escaped Austin’s lips and that did Bailey in. Suddenly they were both laughing their asses off.

“We were both up when you two left.” Bailey said as he laughed. “We weren’t sure what you were up to. When we heard the mission impossible music we figured you were going out the fire escape.”

“I have to admit that it was actually kind of cool watching you sneak down the side of the building.” Austin said. “With the music playing and those outfits it was definitely believable.”

“I guess we were successful.” I said with a smile. “If you think us bringing you two back breakfast is successful.”

The guys’ faces lit up as soon as the words left my mouth. I set the bag down on the coffee table in front of them, as Gina looked at them suspiciously.

“How long were you two watching us this morning?” She asked.

“If you’re asking whether or not we saw you hit the ground,” Bailey said with a grin. “We didn’t see that.”

I laughed. Gina shot us the bird.

“Fuck you, bitches. I might have fallen, but I got up a lot better than any of you could have.”

“She got us there, B.” Austin said with a laugh. “Well, actually, she got you two. I’m able to do that.”

“Oh really?” Gina asked. “Show us your stuff then mister smart ass.”

“I don’t think you want me…” Austin began.

“No no no.” Gina said interrupting him. “You’ve talked the talk now walk the walk. Show us your stuff.”

Austin sighed and stood up. Before anyone else could say a word he dropped his pants. All of our jaws dropped. Austin giggled and jerked his pants back up. Gina stormed over and popped him the shoulder.

“What the hell was that?” She demanded.

“Well, Gina, I think it was VERY obvious.” I said with a giggle.

“Honey, you told me to show them my stuff.” Austin said with a completely innocent look on his face. “What else could you have been talking about?”

I’m not sure if it’s what he said or the look on his face when he said it, but all of us started laughing. Though I couldn’t help the images that flashed back in my brain. Gina is a VERY VERY lucky woman. I went back to our bedroom and changed clothes. I slipped on a pair of gray lounge pants and a white tank top. I stopped to use the bathroom. I checked out my reflection in the mirror. I brushed my hair a few times and pulled it back off of my face. Everyone might think it looks better down, but sometimes it’s just a pain in the ass.

I walked back down the hallway and saw the guys eating their breakfast. Gina was sitting in the kitchen having some juice and a smoke. I walked over and sat down next to her. I grabbed one of her smokes and a big gulp of her juice.

“If you really wanted some juice you could just get some.” Gina said to me sarcastically.

“Why would I do that?” I asked innocently. “There was a glass of it sitting right here.”

“Fight nice kids. Throw bricks.” Austin voice echoed into the kitchen.

“When did we start really talking to them again, G?” I asked. I made sure my voice was loud enough to be heard in the other room. “They haven’t even thanked us for breakfast, let alone apologize for last night.”

“We’re sorry about last night. Thanks for breakfast.” Bailey and Austin said.

“Are we going to let them off that easy?” Gina asked me. Her voice was low so the guys couldn’t hear her.

“We might as well, but if they ever do it again, we are going to pound their asses.” I replied.

At that moment Bailey and Austin walked into the kitchen and only caught the very end of what I said.

“Ass pounding? Now that sounds like a punishment I can handle.” Bailey said with a wicked grin.

Austin reached over and grabbed Gina’s juice. He started to take a long drink of it. His timing couldn’t have been any better.

“No Bailey, you won’t enjoy it because I’ll make Austin use that monster he flashed us before.” I deadpanned to him. Austin had the exact reaction I was expecting him to have. Juice was pouring out of his mouth and nose. Gina, who must have been reading my mind, moved while I was talking and avoided the eruption. Bailey wasn’t as fortunate. “Well, Austin, Is that a preview of things to cum? That was rather impressive.”

Austin and Bailey just looked at me in shock. Sweet Jesus. Those two act like they’ve never heard me say anything dirty.

“That was just in poor taste, Miah.” Gina said in a mock serious voice.

I caught her look and knew she was setting me up.

“If you ask me it looked pretty tasty.” I shot back at her.

“Why do we put up with these two?” Austin asked Bailey. He was cleaning up the juice that was running down his shirt.

“Because you love us.” Gina said on her way into the living room.

I stood up and followed her.

“And because we are the best sex you two will ever get.” I tossed over my shoulder as I followed Gina.

“I think they got us there, Aust.” Bailey said.

“Dirty bitches.” Austin mumbled back.

* * *

Gina and I spent the next few hours looking over the paper looking for jobs while the guys went out. She had a few interesting prospects, but so far I hadn’t found anything. I got really luckily when I was hired at Diversity because I never attended any type of bartending school. I haven’t actually even gone to college yet. I just haven’t had the time to. When I got to the city I had to start working as soon as I could. Luckily Duke thought I was hot and would pull in some crowds after word got out. I learned as I went. I flipped the newspaper page and stumbled upon another ad Gina could respond to.

“Hey G,” I said. “This sounds like the best one so far. It’s for a company called Center Stage Productions. The company is looking for an executive assistant for the president of the company. It has full benefits, 401K, and vacation time. They want at least a bachelor’s degree in business admin. And take a look at the salary offer.”

I passed the page over to Gina. Her eyes bugled a bit. This Center Stage place was offering a hefty salary for the position. Just the starting offer was almost four times what we made a year at the club. This was too good an opportunity for her to pass up.

“I wonder what the catch is.” Gina said thoughtfully. “You can’t be offering all of this without there being something wrong. How much do you want to bet that this president is a major pain in the ass?”

“With the salary that’s being offered who the fuck cares?” I said. “I really need to go back to school if I ever want to do anything besides bartend for the rest of my life.”

“That’s it, Miah!” Gina exclaimed. I looked at her questioningly. “You were going to take some time off anyways. So why don’t you go back to school? I know that Bailey would love that idea!”

“I don’t know, Gina.” I said with a sigh.

“I think it’s a fucking great idea.”

Our heads turned to see Bailey and Austin standing by the front door. They were both smiling and their faces a bit red from the chill outside. Bailey came up behind me and gave me a hug. He slid his ice-cold hands under my shirt and over my chest. I yelped and tried to get away from him.

“You fucker!” I yelled. “Your hands are cold.”

Gina was laughing her ass off. That is until Austin slid his hands down her back. Bailey and Austin took off their coats and sat down with us.

“I really think it’s a great idea if you want to go back to school, Miah.” Bailey said. “You’ve got a few weeks before the fall semester starts. That leaves you plenty of time to figure out what you want to do.” He held up his hand as I opened my mouth. “And I don’t want to hear a damn word about money. If I can’t spend what I have on the people I love then why bother having it. You know I love you more than anything. So why wouldn’t I want to spend it on you?”

Bailey could tell that I was about to object, and he did the most underhanded thing. He gave me the puppy dogface. His beautiful eyes widened and his bottom lip poked out. His lip even trembled a bit. There was no way I was going to win this fight now. That bastard knew it too.

“Ok. I give in. I’ll look at courses and figure out what I want to take.” I sighed.

“Hell yeah!” Bailey screamed. He grabbed me and pulled me into his lap. His lips crashed into mine. Bailey’s tongue slipped into my mouth and I was in heaven. Every time we kissed it was almost like that first time all over again. My heartbeat raced and my toes curled up. “We need to celebrate tonight!”

“You got that right, B!” Gina cheered. “Not that we need a reason to drink, but this definitely calls for a night of partying!”

I glanced over at Gina and Austin. They were sitting together on the other couch. Gina had a huge smile on her face, but Austin looked upset. I opened my mouth to say something, but Bailey squeezed me.

“Don’t say anything.” Bailey whispered really softly into my ear.

“I’m so excited!” Gina continued on. “First thing tomorrow, Miah, you and I are going to check out courses. Well after you figure out what school you are going to. Hey! You should go into business admin like me! That would be so cool! And…”

Gina was being classic Gina; she got on a subject and was going to run it into the ground. As Gina was going on and on I looked at Austin again and he was taking slow deep breaths. I could see him fidgeting with something in his pocket. He kept glancing at Gina and then looking away. After a few moments he finally glanced my way and our eyes locked. He had a weird look on his face. Something was tugging at the back of my brain. I’ve seen that look before. I just couldn’t place where.

It finally clicked into place. I’ve seen that same look on Bailey’s face before. My face immediately broke into a huge smile. Austin’s eyes widened a little. He looked at me curiously and I slightly nodded my head, just enough so he would catch it. Austin’s face relaxed and he smiled back at me. Gina was still going on and on.

“Gina…” Austin began. She didn’t even hear him. He tried to interrupt her a few more times, but she just kept waving her hand at him trying to quiet him. Finally Austin got fed up. He caught her hand in his and got down on one knee next to her. Boy did that get her attention!

“Austin, what are you doing?” Gina asked. She was looking at him like he suddenly grew a second head.

“Gina,” Austin began. “My life has been completely turned upside down since I met you. At first I thought you were just this crazy, fun person that I would have a good time hanging out with. After a few weeks I realized that there was so much more to you than that. You are one of the most beautiful women I have ever laid my eyes on, but more importantly you have an even more beautiful soul. You’re so loving and tender. You care about people with a ferocity that just blows me away. I want you to be the mother of my children. I want to spend the rest of my life worshipping you. I love you with every ounce of my being. Gina Sands, will you marry me?”

Gina looked at Austin with a complete look of surprise. I could see the tears well up in her eyes. I could feel my own throat start to close with the emotions that raced through me. I knew that this moment was coming. It filled my heart with so much happiness that it finally came.

“Yes.” Gina choked out.

I couldn’t help the tears that started pouring down my face. As I felt Bailey’s arms tighten around me Austin slipped the ring onto Gina’s finger. She launched herself at him. Gina covered Austin’s face with kisses. Austin got a bit unbalanced and they tumbled to the floor.

“Look’s like we’ve got another thing to celebrate!” Bailey cheered.

“You bet your sweet gay ass we do stud!” Gina said from the floor.

Bailey and I exchanged a look. We grinned at each other and then launched ourselves off of the couch. We jumped onto Gina and Austin. We were one big tangle of arms and legs. Our laughter rang out throughout the apartment. This was truly a night to celebrate!

* * *

I surveyed the pile of pamphlets and booklets that scattered across the coffee table. I spent the last few days getting information from all the colleges in the city. I knew that it would be a difficult choice, but I had no fucking clue it was going to be this tough. I leaned back on the couch to relax and lit up a cigarette. Gina should be getting home from work any minute. She landed that position at Center Stage Productions, and I was excited to see how her first day went. It was only a few minutes before Gina breezed into the apartment.

“Hey hun! How was your first day of work?” I asked, while humming the song 9 to 5 under my breath.

“Bite me, Miah.” Gina said. She flopped down on the couch with a dramatic sigh.

“Did my little working girl have a bad day?” I asked.

“The job itself is awesome,” Gina said as she kicked off her shoes. I raised my eyebrow at her in question. “The problem is the boss. I’m sure he’s normally a great guy, but Zack was a cranky son of a bitch today. I wonder if it has to do with the fact that I’m filling his boyfriend’s old position.”

“I’m sure you’ll get to the bottom of it, Nancy Drew,” I said with a giggle. “Just don’t let yourself get too involved. You don’t want to get fired for butting into his personal life.”

“Any decision on which school, Miah?” Gina asked. Her eyes glanced at all the information that was spread across the table.

“Not yet, Gina,” I said with a sigh. “I honestly thought it was going to be much easier than this. Boy, was I ever wrong. It is going to take more time than I thought to go through all of this.”

Our conversation was interrupted as the guys came into the apartment. They looked pretty excited. I knew that they went to meet up with Ian, one of Austin’s old friends, but they wouldn’t divulge anything more than that. Austin planted a kiss on Gina, as Bailey did the same to me.

“What are you two so excited about?” Gina asked.

“Well, it seems that I am going to be getting a new job,” Austin replied. “It turns out that Ian has decided to buy Diversity from the bank and reopen it. He hasn’t picked out a name yet, but he has asked me if I wanted to manage it.”

“Oh, honey!” Gina exclaimed. “That’s awesome. You’re going to kick ass for sure!”

“I have some news too,” Bailey tossed in. “Ian happened to be looking for a partner and made me an offer. I told him that I would get back to him, after I talked to you of course hun.”

I grinned up at him. There are so many things I love about Bailey, but one of the biggest things was the communication we shared. I think that is one of the main reasons why our relationship works. We try to be open and honest with each other as much as possible.

“What do you want to do, Bailey?” I asked him. I knew that Bailey would have gone through every scenario his brain could think of before he made a decision. He looked at me thoughtfully.

“I really think this can work, Miah,” he responded. “Ian went over his plans for the club with me, and I think it can really be successful. I wanted to check with you, though, before I did anything else.”

“Baby, if this is something you really want to do, and you think it could work, then I say go for it.” I said with a smile.

Austin and Bailey danced around the room happily. Gina and I looked at each other and rolled our eyes.

“I’m going to go call Ian,” Austin said. “He’s going to be so pumped! I knew there was a reason for you being the best man, Miah!”

He mussed up my hair on his way down the hallway. I mock growled at him, but his comment made me smile. Bailey and I were asked to be the best men for their wedding. We said yes, of course. Bailey slid up next to me on the couch and nuzzled my neck.

“Miah, do you know how much you turn me on when you growl like that?” He whispered into my ear.

“Why do you think I do it all the time?” I asked with a giggle.

“Stop it you two!” Gina yelled at us. “We need to discuss something before Austin gets back.”

I glanced over at Gina because of how serious her voice sounded. I caught the glance that was exchanged between her and Bailey.

“What’s going on?” I asked. My eyes darted between the two of them. If they were both involved in this then it must be something big. Gina moved over and sat next to me.

“I want you to sleep with Austin.” She said, almost like she was asking me to take the trash out.

Laughter immediately fell from my lips. When I saw the serious expressions on their faces the laughter stopped.

“You can’t be fucking serious.” I hissed at her. I certainly didn’t want Austin overhearing this conversation.

“Miah,” Gina said as she raised her hand at me. “Just let me explain everything first, before you start flipping out. Okay?”

“I can’t wait to hear this.” I replied. I crossed my arms across my chest.

“Do you remember that prank we played on Austin? When you kissed him in the kitchen?” Gina waited for me to nod my head before continuing. “Well, that night Austin and I had a very, very long talk. We had to have been up until four in the morning. Austin admitted to me that night that he was a bit curious. Well, a little bit more than curious. He didn’t want to leave me, though. Austin said he knew that I was the only one for him, but he was afraid that this curiosity would get the better of him. He was so open and honest with me, Miah. His honesty made me fall in love with him even more. I don’t want this to cause problems for us in the future. I know that he’ll never act on his curiosity, but I also know that he’ll always wonder about it.”