Having Fun with Mr. Wrong (22 page)

Carmala sighed in relief. Maybe she’d skated by a potential fight. She finished her drink and felt the alcohol begin to take its soothing effect. “Enough business talk, let’s get this party started. We’re celebrating
us
too, you know. We took the plunge, moving in together.”

He widened his eyes and smiled. “I like plunging with you, babe!”

Out of the corner of her eye, Carmala spotted Jon Barlo. Of all people, she never expected to see him here. The Thai restaurant was nice, but not up to his usual standards. He strolled into restaurant decked out in all his designer glory. When he saw her, he waved and approached their table. She hadn’t seen him since the award night.

“Isn’t this quaint?” Jon said. “Two gorgeous people waiting to be entertained.”

“What a pleasant surprise, Jon. This is my boyfriend, Guido.”

They shook hands. Jon eyed Guido up and down. “You did
not
tell me how hot your man is. My goodness, he’s a Roman god.” With his arms in mock reverence, Jon bent toward Guido. Guido appeared embarrassed, but that didn’t stop Jon. “You have the most amazing bone structure with a strong jaw and those muscles. You should be a model. Where do you work out?”

Guido remained silent, turning slightly pale. He turned to Carmala. “Yo, Carm, what’s up with this guy?”

Carmala laughed and pressed Guido’s arm to let him know it was okay.

Jon ignored the comment and instead motioned to Carmala to move over and make room for him in their booth. Now she was sandwiched between Guido and Jon, but it was cozy.

Jon pointed to his chest. “This guy is going to show you the time of your lives tonight. You look like you’re headed out on the town and need a host. You’re in luck. I’m ready and able. The limo is waiting, and I have a private invitation to the Cheetah Club.”

Jon motioned to the waiter, who popped up immediately. “We’ll order another round of”—he gave an exaggerated motion of his hand—“whatever they were drinking, on my tab please.”

“No, Jon, come on,” Carmala said. She was glad to have Jon’s company, but she didn’t want to take advantage of his generosity.

“It’s my pleasure. I’ve got plenty to spare. And, as you see, I’m traveling solo tonight.”

Two more rounds of drinks later, complete with jokes and laughter, the mood became very spirited. They ordered a few more appetizers and dinner. Carmala marveled at how well Guido and Jon were getting along. She was shocked and somewhat bemused that Jon’s flirtations didn’t ruffle Guido’s feathers.

When they finished dinner, Jon rose. “If you’ll excuse me, it’s time to powder my nose.” He winked at Guido. “Come on, Guido, after all that food, I’m sure you could use a little pick me up, couldn’t you?”

“Why not?” Guido followed Jon into the bathroom.

Carmala was befuddled. What had gotten into Guido? The matter suddenly struck her as hilarious, and she cracked up. She laughed so hard tears streamed down her cheeks. She couldn’t believe her macho boyfriend was getting along with Jon so well. Yes, she was buzzed from the four Thai-tinis, but the scenario of the two of them in the bathroom, probably doing coke, kept her laughing until they returned.

Jon glanced at Carmala curiously. “What’s going on with you,
cherie
?”

Guido stared at her, silent, but also appeared interested in her response.

As if two men going to the bathroom together was normal.

“Oh, nothing.” Carmala had a hard time stifling her laughter. “You two are cracking me up. Going to the boys’ room together.”

“Well, I had to go.” Guido shrugged. He took a seat next to Carmala, and Jon resumed his seat on the opposite side of Carmala.

She delighted in the fact the men liked each other right away. Maybe now when she wanted to go out with Jon, for shopping or a show, Guido wouldn’t give her a hard time.

****

Guido liked Jon. In fact, before Carmala had gone out with him on the night of his gala, he’d checked him out on the Internet. Of course, he didn’t share this information with Carmala. He’d verified that Jon ran a successful business and that he was gay as spades. He didn’t have anything to worry about when Carmala was with Jon, and that was good.

And, just to satisfy his curiosity, he was able to confirm Jon was the real deal man-to-man in the men’s room. He could have done without the blow, but he took a little snort just to be social. He thought the drug went out with the eighties. Anyway, Jon passed Guido’s test with flying colors.

As for the rich guy in Palm Beach, he wasn’t so sure.

Now that he’d finally moved in with Carmala, even though it took four years, they had taken their relationship to a deeper level. Periodically, he’d check her personal e-mails, Twitter, and Facebook activity. He promised himself he’d only check up on her when it was necessary. And Carmala coming into contact with new men made it necessary. He wished she’d give up Facebook all together—nothing but temptation. But he didn’t expect her to give up all contact with the outside world just because he was in her life.

When he returned to the table, Guido was surprised to see Carmala laughing. Maybe she was already drunk from all the tinis. Or maybe she was laughing at him for going to the john with Jon?

Hey, that rhymed
. Okay, he had better hold onto his control. His brain buzzed.

Guido hadn’t done coke in years. Funny, but it made him feel happy, and he wanted to go out and dance.

Jon paid the tab. Guido couldn’t help but notice that the bill was over five hundred dollars, but Jon seemed unaffected and whipped out his platinum credit card to settle it.

Jon looked around at the art hanging on the walls. “You know, the Thai Bistro used to be located right outside the Twin Towers. After nine-eleven, it relocated here and reopened only nine months after the attacks.”

“I know. It’s amazing. We love it. We come here almost every week. Don’t we, Guid?”

Guido nodded. “Actually, I’m involved with the World Trade rebuild.”

“Oh really? Do tell me all about it.” Jon leaned toward Guido.

Guido gave a few details about his work.

When the waiter returned, Jon quickly signed the credit card slip and pushed it to the edge of the table without taking his receipt. “Let’s not waste any time. We’ve got places to go.”

“What’s going on at the Cheetah Club?” Carmala said.

“A disco revival party. Yours truly will be showing you the red-carpet treatment.”

“Will they let you bring both of us on the invite?” Guido asked.

“I really don’t need an invite. Usually, I come with an entourage of one sort or another,” Jon said.

“I’ve seen him get the red-carpet treatment before. It’s quite a sight,” Carmala added.

Jon pulled his cell out of his pocket and made a call. “Eric, we’re ready. Can you bring the car around?” He disconnected the call. “Come on, guys. He’ll be out front in a minute.”

In the limo, Jon popped the cork on a bottle of Don Perignon and poured everyone a glass of champagne. He and Guido got into a conversation on men’s fashion.

Initially, Guido had ramped up his wardrobe to impress Carmala. But as he got into the shopping bit, he enjoyed dressing well. He decided to take advantage of Jon’s knowledge. “I find that if I spend my hard-earned money, I need to spend it on quality that will last. So for dress occasions, I own three Bill Bass shirts that I wear with this Calvin Klein basic black suit. It goes with about everything. I’ve acquired a variety of designer ties. I get them when they are on sale at Macy’s or Saks.”

“I think you have a good game plan. Add a couple of pair of designer jeans to mix. You can be stylish and practical with a polo pullover, for example, to dress it up. Then dress down with a tee. I could get you some good quality things at bargain prices on Seventh Avenue. We should go shopping together.”

“You two sound like girls.” Carmala appeared annoyed with them and downed her champagne. He hoped she wouldn’t get too drunk. She overindulged on a rare occasion, and he feared she was well on her way.

But her irritation bothered him. Sometimes Guido couldn’t figure her out. She should be happy he was getting chummy with Jon. Still frowning, she waved her empty flute in Jon’s face.

“Coming right up.” Jon filled her glass. Without losing a beat, he continued his conversation with Guido. “One of my frustrations with men’s fashion is how fast it gets boring, yet I’m not particularly interested in men wearing anything too feminine. But
you
don’t have anything to worry about that. How often do you work out?”

“I work out three to four times per week. Carmala is my trainer. But the real secret is in the diet.”

Guido glanced at Carmala, drinking her champagne, swaying back and forth. She slipped off the seat and quickly sat herself back on the bench. Yep, she was drunk all right.

Carmala peered up at him. “What? I can handle my booze. The driver is going too fast.”

“Sure you can. I just don’t want to see you wake up with a bad hangover, honey.” Guido rubbed her arm.

“I can take care of myself.” She drained her champagne glass and held it out to Jon. “Fill me up.”

Jon complied, then topped off Guido’s glass and his own.

“Don’t worry about Carmie. She
can
take care of herself. Besides, we’ve got the limo all night. I’ll make sure you get home safely. She can always nap in the car while we party on.” Jon winked at him.

Guido hardly paid attention to the gesture, more concerned with Carmala. He watched warily as she slipped off the limo sofa again and onto the carpeted floor. She recovered pretty quickly and settled back into her seat.

Okay.
He decided to leave her alone. If she got trashed, so be it.

For the rest of the ride, they chattered senselessly and laughed at nothing and everything.

****

The line outside the Cheetah Club wrapped around the corner. Jon had the limo driver stop in front, and they scrambled out. He told the driver to give them a couple of hours. Jon directed Guido and Carmala to the front of the VIP line. The doorkeeper smiled at Jon and gave him air-kisses to his cheeks. He gave Carmala and Guido the look-over, nodded, and lifted the red velvet rope to give them entrance. Guido had never received star treatment. He had to admit it was nice. Once inside a host escorted them to the VIP lounge up the rounded staircase. A little table decked with a vase of three red roses and a bottle of Don Perignon on ice sat at the top of the stairs waiting for them.

The beat of the old-school disco with new remixes vibrated loudly throughout the club. On the stage, dancers twirled and lifted their partners in wild movements. The dance floor below the stage was filled with elbow-to-elbow people, spinning and gyrating. Carmala chair danced to the music. Guido could tell she was dying to get out on the floor.

Jon winked at Guido. “You don’t mind if I take her to dance?”

“Go right ahead.” He wasn’t ready to dance yet. The coke had made his heart race. No more for him. He’d drink a little more champagne to calm down.

“Bye, honey.” Carmala gave Guido a sloppy kiss.

Although it was a rare occasion, he hated to see her drunk. Plus, she seemed wild. At least he could trust her with Jon and knew no other guys would try to pick her up. He drank a glass of champagne in one shot and poured another as he watched Jon and Carmala dancing on the floor.

He tried hard not to get irritated with Carmala because he knew she was excited about that client in Palm Beach. He made a mental note to investigate the guy in Florida. If he found one thing he didn’t like, he’d hop a plane to Palm Beach.

Despite his worry, Guido enjoyed watching Jon’s excellent dance movements. He was a regular John Travolta. And Carmala followed along fairly well, considering her state of inebriation. Hell, he hoped the dancing would sober her up. He’d make a point of telling Jon to slow down on the drink orders. Guido certainly wanted no more after the bottle he was working on.

Suddenly, the dance floor got foggy as the DJ sprayed mist into the air. He lost sight of Jon and Carmala. As long as she stayed with Jon, she’d be safe. He finished his second glass of champagne, a little more slowly, and when he finished it, he poured another. Jon returned, flushed and smiling, minus Carmala.

“Where’s Carmala?”

“Potty break.”

“I hope some guy doesn’t grab her. She’s pretty lit tonight.”

Jon cocked his head and studied Guido.

“I think she’s had enough to drink. I don’t want her to get sick. Let’s not order any more champagne,” Guido said.

“Aren’t you acting a little overpossessive?” Jon slapped him on the back. “Come on, you need to loosen up. How about you? You can have a little more champagne, no?” Jon looked around, apparently in search of a waiter.

“No, I’ve had enough. When Carmala gets back, I’m going to test out the dance floor with her.”

Ten minutes passed, then fifteen. Where the hell was she?

“Hey, Jon, I’m going to find her. You’ll be here?” Guido said.

“No problem, buddy. I’ll occupy myself.” Jon gave him a sly smile.

Guido waited outside the ladies’ room for a bit, but no Carmala. He asked a random girl on her way in to call out Carmala’s name. The girl obliged but returned and said no one answered. He milled about the dance floor, searching for Carmala. Their favorite song from the disco era buzzed from the speakers.

He circled the dance floor three times frantically searching for her. No luck. Then, he caught a flash of red and black. Carmala. Twirling, laughing, and dancing with another guy.

Son of a bitch. Not just any guy. Marc Blass.

Guido closed in on them and grabbed Marc’s shoulder, shouting over the music. “Hey, you’re with my girl.”

Marc’s eyes widened. He stopped dancing and stood stock still, continuing to hold Carmala’s hands. Guido disengaged Carmala’s hands from Marc and turned to her. “We’re so out of here.”

She shook Guido’s hands from hers and rubbed her forehead. She listed to the right and lost her balance. Marc steadied her, but Guido shoved the other man’s arm away. “I’ve got her. She’s coming with me now.”

He pulled Carmala away from Marc before she could say anything. She had a lot of nerve. When they got to the lobby, he couldn’t hold his tongue. “What the hell were you thinking, Carmala? After the last fight, you’d think you’d use some common sense.”