“Yes, I get that, but that, that slut…” I sputtered.
“Well, that was uncalled for, but I’d bet it was some weird male ritual to initiate him into the club, you know how guys are, always have their chests puffed out and their dicks swinging,” she added with a laugh. “Just don’t give him any for a while, make him suffer, and trust me, he won’t do it again.”
Her big blue eyes locked onto mine, and I watched as her lips curled into a frown. “Whitney!” she exclaimed. “You gave him some after all that?”
“This morning,” I admitted. My face flushed with heat, and I didn’t know what to do with my hands so I shoved them behind my back. “It had been so long, and he felt so good.”
She shook her head but wasn’t able to contain a smirk. I’d missed her so badly. Even though it was only a couple days since I saw her last, it felt like months.
She calmed me down with the realization that it was probably the guys prodding Calvin to drink shot after shot. He did tell me last night that he was trying to leave, but I didn’t want to hear it. Her advice about holding out was good advice and would have given me some leverage, but it was a little too late. So, now what do I do?
“You’re not gonna leave him over this, are ya?” she asked. “I mean, if ya wanna come home, I can get us two tickets right now.”
“No, of course not,” I said. “Besides, if we left now, neither of us would have seen New York City.”
“You mean you haven’t been exploring the city yet?” she asked as she rose to her feet and placed her hands on her perfectly tiny waist.
“I walked down to the pizza place last night, and well, I got to see inside the club for a few minutes.” I laughed, feeling better already.
“Oh, honey, we have to do New York in style,” she said. “Central Park, Rockefeller Center, shopping, some of the best spas in the country, and of course more shopping!” Holly squealed.
She looked so at ease, and here I was sheltering myself in the apartment fearful of venturing out on my own. I reached onto the table and picked up the gold card Calvin had given me.
“I have this,” I said, showing her the card.
Holly’s eyes widened. “Oh hell, yeah. Calvin deserves to pay for some fun after the stunt he pulled.”
It didn’t take her any time at all to dig through her bag for a new outfit and then change. Her excitement level was exactly what I needed. She was always the wild one, the more adventurous one, while I preferred to play everything safe. I couldn’t imagine where I’d be without her. She was fearless, and I’d been afraid of my own shadow before we became best friends in grade school. She was the one who pushed me to talk to Calvin when she found out I had a crush on him, and in high school when he wanted to go all the way, and I was afraid, she was the one who told me to go for it.
“Okay, let’s go!” Holly urged as she tugged at my arm and headed towards the front door. She hailed a cab like a native New Yorker and told the driver to take us to Fifth Avenue without any hesitation. He didn’t even ask for an exact address, pegging us for tourists who wanted to shop and the taxi zoomed off into traffic.
My face was glued to the cab’s windows, staring out at all the ads flashing on screens that appeared to float from the tall buildings. This must be Times Square! It was just like the movies and my heart fluttered. The cab finally stopped and we stepped out onto iconic Fifth Avenue. Yeah, he’d pegged us alright as I looked up to see we were in front of Saks Fifth Avenue.
Holly didn’t flinch at the price tags on the sexy dresses we tried on at Gucci, and when we entered Jimmy Choo, I lost all worry about cost and fell in love with the Romy pumps that perfectly matched my new dress as well as the Rebel Soft Mini bag to complete my ensemble. As I handed over Calvin’s credit card to the snobbish blonde sales lady, I felt a sense of empowerment that was deliciously new.
“Now, didn’t that feel good?” Holly asked, slinging her bag over her shoulder as we walked out the door. It did feel good, but it just wasn’t me. I suddenly felt guilty for splurging on Calvin’s card and wanted to see him.
“You wanna check out their practice?” I asked.
“Snoresville. Don’t ya wanna do some more shopping? I mean, he kinda deserves more punishment than this,” she said with a smirk.
“Ace Newman will be there,” I said with a smile and a wink. I knew that was all it would take to change her mind.
“Okay, you twisted my arm.” She giggled and gripped my wrist. I hailed a cab and gave him instructions on where to go. I was beginning to feel like a real New Yorker myself.
My nerves were getting the better of me as we pulled up in front of the stadium. “Do you need me to wait?” the cabby asked. I shook my head, swiped Cal’s credit card, my eyes going wide at how much it cost to get us here, and got out of the car. I hadn’t told Calvin about Holly’s visit yet, and I couldn’t imagine he would be very happy about seeing her walking into the stadium by my side.
“This is incredible.” Holly looked up and twirled in a circle as she took in the large stadium’s presence. “I can’t believe he’s actually playing in the majors!” she exclaimed.
I’d never doubted Calvin would make it; his accuracy and velocity were always impressive, even back in high school. College had excelled him into a league of his own, and now he was finally where he belonged. We were finally where we belonged.
I wasn’t pleased about the droves of women who lined the fence near the dugout, but I was pleasantly surprised to find Calvin nowhere near them. He was practicing his fast ball while the coach clocked him. Ace, on the other hand, was hanging over the fence chatting with one of the bustier blondes that had come to watch the new team.
“Why the Beasts?” Holly whispered in my ear as we neared the dugout.
“The owner has an energy drink company. Ya know, the Release the Beast?” I did my best impression of the overly exaggerated commercial for the drink.
“Is that him?” she asked, pushing into my side with her pointy fingernail.
“Yes, that’s him.”
His weathered good looks were rugged, and he did ooze a certain amount of sexuality without even saying a word. I got it, women loved him, and it was obvious why. But, my stomach didn’t get butterflies when I saw him. No, sir. That was the man who corrupted my Calvin. The one who dumped shots down his throat and tried to teach him his own whorish ways. I was sick just looking at the man.
“Whitney!” Calvin waved as he ran towards the dugout.
I watched his expression change as Holly stepped out from behind me as we neared the fence. “I’m glad you made it,” Calvin said, leaning over the fence to give me a kiss. “What’s Holly doing here?” he asked with caution in his voice.
Yeah, you better tread lightly, party boy.
“I just wanted to see New York,” Holly answered for me.