Georgia
Just then my phone rang. I racked inside my old white and black nylon excuse for a bag and brought it out. My face contorted when I saw the caller ID.
Like reflex, I brought the phone to Michael's face. Drew leaned in from the back seat, sighing when my phone screen was in his face.
"You didn't block his sorry ass after what he did to you?" Michael wasn't happy about it, and it showed.
I continued to look at my screen.
"Give me that." Drew tried to grab the phone from me, but I moved my hand away before he could.
"No. I'll deal with him myself."
I jumped out of the car and took the call.
"Georgia, I know you probably don't want to talk to me but please, let me explain." Tommy said the second I accepted his call.
"There's nothing to explain. But you know a postcard would have worked just as well for a breakup speech. Smoke signals too. I hear they're really effective these days." I tried to sound chirpy and not like the heartbroken girl I was.
"I couldn't do it. That's why. I really didn't mean to hurt you. I have... obligations I cannot ignore. If I had a choice I would choose you over and over again. But I don't. The minute I chose to go back to my family, I lost my right to choose everything else. Please, give me a chance to explain."
The sadness in his voice tug at my heart strings.
"Tommy—"
"Georgia, you have every right to be furious. I don't deserve to be forgiven. I won't even ask you for that. All I beg is that you see me one last time. In an open place." He added quickly, " A restaurant. Any restaurant of your choice. Let me just explain myself before we go our separate ways. I don't want your memory of me to be bad. I loved you, you know I did. Just one last chance to explain... please."
"Fine."
"Thank you so much. Where are you right now? I'll come pick you up."
"I'll send you the address."
"Really Georgia, you're the absolute best."
The call came to an end.
Michael and Drew came down from the car.
"What did you do?" Michael squeezed.
I knew they'd been watching me.
"He wants to talk. That's it."
Drew's hands folded into a fist in anger. I was sad about this decision and I hoped they wouldn't make it worse.
"And you agreed. Why?" He said with gritted teeth.
"Because... because... I just..." They were staring at me with so much condescension and I lost it. "He wants to talk okay? And I, I want to hear him out. What's so wrong about that?" I shouted.
"He fucking married someone else yesterday while dating you. He couldn't even respect you enough to break up with you before saying 'I do' to somebody else and you still wanna talk to him?" Drew yelled. He was so furious it was frightening.
"Chill, Drew." Michael intervened.
"Chill? Did you not fucking hear her say she wants to meet the bastard."
"I did. And i'm also surprised. I am totally against her seeing that jackass even for a split second. But don't forget, this is still Gia's life. She calls all the shots. And I trust that she knows what she's doing." Michael couldn't hide the deprecation in his voice if it cost him his life.
My attention shifted to Drew when he kicked the tire of the car.
"Fine then. I hope you enjoy being a fucking mistress." He spat venomously before jumping into the car and slammed the door.
I was too overwhelmed to speak. And I was also afraid that if I did, I would cry. The last thing I wanted was for Tommy to assume I'd been crying because of him. Not that it wasn't true, but I had my dignity to protect.
I knew how badly it looked. It wasn't normal that I accepted an invitation from Tommy after what he'd done to me, but I knew the man. Tommy was a good person. If I wasn't certain of anything, I was certain of this. He loved me. He was patient. Waited for me to be ready for sex. He never forced himself on me. Never hurt me, until yesterday that is. All in all, he was the best first boyfriend any girl could ask for. He deserved a chance to be heard even though seeing him would hurt as hell.
"He's just being protective. Don't take what he says to heart. You know he loves you." Michael spoke again, but this time there was more kindness and love than disapproval.
I nodded.
"You be good. And call us if anything happens."
Michael hugged me before jumping into the driver's seat. I looked through the window at Drew, but he kept his head forward until they drove away.
***
I had been standing for about ten minutes when a familiar black Ford Maverick pulled up in front of me.
I took a deep breath to steady my emotions. Drew's words had kept my mind pretty occupied while I waited. And now I felt a type of way I didn't want to feel.
Angry at Tommy and hurt all over again.
It was stupid how even though I knew he'd said those words in anger, I still took them to heart. Especially because I thought he understood me. I thought he knew me well enough to understand that I don't just cut people out of my life like that. He more than anyone should know that I give people chances to explain themselves. At least once...
I hopped into Tommy's car. Though the car Ac was on, his perfume clouded my nose the second my ass touched his leather seats.
That familiar smell. It brought memories. Memories I'd rather forget.
"Gia." He said with his eyes.
It's funny how I could still hear his eyes call my name even though just yesterday he'd said I do to another woman.
A woman who I got nothing on.
Maybe it was stupid to dwell on the fact that she was an image of a sculpture sculpted by the sculptor, but I wanted to believe that if she'd been less beautiful, less rich, less sexy, I would have been hurting less. Maybe...
During the ride to the restaurant, we stayed in solitude. I honestly thought there would be a lot to talk about. Like for starters why I wasn't the one on that altar pledging my vows yesterday, or why I had to find out last that he was getting married to someone else. Me, the girl who'd assumed the role of his girlfriend for two years. In secret...
"Give me a second," he said, hopping out of the car and walking around it to my side.
There was no need for this gentleman charade anymore. If he really respected me he'd have told me he was getting married. Or at least had the decency to not come to my house the night before his wedding.
I pushed the door open and jumped out.
With eyes lacking emotion, I said, "which way?"
He was about to say something, probably an apology. I just began to walk.
The more I shared a space with him, the angrier I got.
He'd tricked me. Deceived me like I was some child who was easily manipulated.
I'm too timid. Michael always said. And only now I realize how bad a thing it was. To have been dealt such hands by the man I'd loved with all of my heart for two years, it was truly an eye opener.
I came in front of a stairwell and stopped.
"It's the opposite side." He barely got out.
Tommy was walking on eggshells around me. Good. I didn't feel bad about it for one second.
I looked to my back and only now noticed the elevator. I'd come in from the side, it was easy to miss.
Tommy pressed on the button and after a few seconds it came open. We stepped in and I looked everywhere except at him. The doors closed and I heard the sound of a button being pushed. Another few seconds later the elevator dinged and came to a stop. The doors opened and we stepped into this amazing and elegant restaurant.
It was definitely a sophisticated place. I could recongnize it in one glance because Tommy had taken me to a lot of these during our time together. So much so that I wasn't even ashamed of the Jean shorts, white tank top and black leather jacket and boots I was wearing. Not even the fact that I did not put on a bra shook me out of my wits. I was used to coming to places looking the way I did.
"Your table is right over here, sir?"
We were ushered to our table the minute we stepped in.
It seemed to me like he was well known here. I didn't know this place, which meant this was where he took her...
Tommy pulled out my chair and I sat down. Then he took his seat.
"What would you like?"
"Can we skip all of this and you tell me why you brought me here? You said you had something you'd like to say to me. What is it?"
"We had so many good times, didn't we?" His eyes twinkled despite how rude I'd sounded.
"Yeah... until you hurt me the way you did."
"I'm sorry, Gia."
"Do you know what hurt the most? I gave you two years of my life. I loved you. So much that I dated you in secret like I had no pride whatsoever. Now that I think about all the times I was forced to explain to people that I was either a friend or a baker or some stupid events contractor discussing details with you, I feel even more stupid. After everything I went through those two years, Tommy, the least you could have done... was not make a fool out of me the way you did."
"I didn't have a choice, Georgia. I really didn't. It was either I marry their choice or lose everything. You saw me. You met me when I was struggling to make it on my own. It didn't work out. That life is not for me. Without my family's wealth, I'm useless... even to you."
"You think I dated you because of the fancy restaurants and expensive gifts?"
"That's why I loved you. I know for a fact that those were not the reason why you were with me. You did nothing wrong Gia, it was all my fault. I couldn't be content with just the little I had."
"I deserve better than this, than you."
"You do. I won't ask you to come to me. That would not be fair to you and it would be an Insult to you and our memories. That's not why I asked you here."
"So why am I here then?"
Tommy dipped his hand into the pocket of his suit jacket and brought out a small white paper. He placed it on the table and my stomach tightened at what I saw.
"What's this? 'Thanks for your services'?" I hissed.
"Gia," he shook his head. "No. Never."
"I don't want your money."
"Let me do this last thing for you. Please. It's the only thing I can do for you. After hurting you the way I did."
"You want to feel less guilty? That's why you're doing this?"
"Gia..."
"Thank you Tommy. I don't regret the times we spent together. I only regret that I'd been happy for so long being with an asshole like you. I wish you all the happiness your evil deeds can afford you."
With that, I stood up, my bag in hand, I stomped out of the restaurant.