Chapter 12
Gabriella
The clinking of coffee cups, grinding of beans, and milling chatter of coffee shop patrons fade to the background. Even the warm and inviting, rich smell of coffee is drowned out by my growing anxiety.
Silence. Uncomfortable silence is all I simmer in, while I wait for Trina to respond to my recap of the weekend with the team and their wives, along with the…
proposal. Her big hazel eyes blink at me over the steaming mocha latte she’s holding in front of her face.
Trina’s elbows are pointedly resting on the small, dark wooden table, both hands grasping her cup, which is blocking her mouth.
The one body part of hers that usually exposes her mood and reactions.
Unlike most people who show their emotions in their eyes, Trina’s mouth tells everything without saying a word.
Don’t panic. If anyone knows what to do with this information, it’s Trina.
Just as I take a breath to calm my nerves in what feels like the longest moment of silence I have ever lived through in my life, Trina simultaneously nods her head, puts her coffee down, and clears her throat, like she’s just come to a decision.
“Okay. So, I have a few questions.” She states as a matter of fact.
“Are you willing to answer questions, babe?” Her eyes are a bit softer now. I nod once.
She takes a sip of her coffee, then clears her throat again. The suspense is making my stomach roll. “First question, do you want to stay married to Vic?”
That question catches me off guard. I was expecting something more along the sex issue with other people. Nevertheless, I don’t have to think about my answer. “Yes, I want to stay married to Vic.” Pause. “I think?”
Groaning, Trina puts her face in her hands. “Babe, this is a huge deal. You need to know what you want before even thinking about doing this. I mean, inviting someone else into your bedroom, into your marriage, is MONUMENTAL!”
My eyes go wide at her raised voice as I look around the coffee shop and see that every table has gone quiet with her last comment.
I push out a laugh, “Ha. Ha. Oh, Trina, you’re right,” I speak loudly for the onlookers to hear.
“Inviting someone else to design our bedroom is a monumental decision. Ha. Ha.” I swiftly turn back to her as people start to sink back into their conversations.
“For real?” I whisper yell. “Do you think you could keep the insanity of this conversation to a dull fucking roar?” I throw my face into my hands in exasperation.
“I’m sorry, Gabbs. I didn’t mean to embarrass you, but you really need to think this through.
” When I look back at her through the forced crack in my fingers, a grin starts to break out across her face, only getting wider as she says, “I mean, I, personally, am all for it.” My response is a groan, and my face is back in my hands.
“Okay, okay.” She reaches for my hands across the table, pulling them away from my face, but keeping them softly nestled in hers.
“Gabbi, I can see how this might be a lot for you, and I know I was in a bit of shock when you first told me, but only because that is a huge offer for someone to propose.” My face deadpans at her comment.
“I’m serious. Think of how strong Ty and Emma would need to be to offer that kind of help and to share in their intimacy.
I don’t know a lot of friends who would do that for each other.
” She leisurely lets go of my hands and picks her mug of coffee back up.
“But don’t you think it’s weird? I mean, what would other people think if they knew? What kind of person would I be, what would Vic be, if we decided to do this?”
She quickly sets her coffee cup down a little too hard, causing a noise that gets a couple of surrounding eyes back on us.
Leaning in closer to my face and looking directly into my eyes, she says something that I will always admire her for, “What other people think of you is none of your fucking business, Gabriella Scott. You and Vic do whatever you and Vic want to do or need to do.”
“Here’s a question for you. You’re on the precipice of a divorce from Vic. You’re closing in on the deadline that you set. You’re lonely. You’re sad. You haven’t had an orgasm with anyone else in the room in over…”
“Get to the point, Trina!” My voice rises above socially acceptable levels.
“The point is, there are all these unknowns, but the knowns point to a very unhappy you. What if there was a way to change your circumstances? What’s the worst thing that could happen if you said yes to this?” Her eyes are so warm and full of hope as she looks at me.
Tears start to prick the back of my eyes. After a few seconds of letting her words sink in, “I’m scared, T. What if we say yes to this and it doesn’t work?”
She sits back in her chair with a knowing smile on her face and smugly crosses her arms. Before I can ask what that’s all about, she shrugs her shoulders and says, “Babe, I think the more important question here is, what if it does?”