I walked away from Grey and headed directly towards the bar. I had just taken my first sip of the mountain dew with vodka that I had ordered when Sydney stepped up next to me.
“Hey there, Cameron, are you enjoying the party so far?” She asked with a smile.
She really was beautiful. I am positive that Dale’s heart must melt every time he sees this smile.
“I am, Sydney, I haven’t had this much fun in a long time. I’m glad that Grey brought me along.”
I returned her smile.
“Tell me something, Cameron, do you handle Zack at work the same way you handled Lucas tonight?”
I kept my face as smooth as possible, but I was floored. How the hell did she know that I worked with him? Houston we have a problem!
“I don’t know what you mean, Sydney?” I asked in what I hope was a confused tone.
Sydney smiled at me again and leaned over and whispered in my ear.
“Ariel Grey happens to be my best friend in the whole world. So let’s just say that I am in the know, and leave it at that. I will say this though. You really should handle his highness the same way you handled Lucas tonight. He needs a friend, and I think you just might be strong enough to crack that suit of armor he wears all the time.”
A tug on my pant leg stopped me before I could respond to Sydney. I looked down to see Madison sitting next to me. Madison’s tail was swinging back and forth. She was obviously happy about something. I leaned down and picked her up in my arms. She butted her nose against my check. I could see something black hanging out of the corner of her mouth. I reached up and gently pulled it from her. She immediately began licking my face. I looked down in my hand and saw a black piece of material. I looked at Sydney with a curious expression.
“What’s this, girl?”
“Where the FUCK is that bitch of a dog???”
I looked across the room and could see Lucas ranting and raving to a group of people. He pointed down towards his feet. The laugh that escaped my mouth was loud. Lucas was missing a chunk of his pant leg around his right ankle. I looked at Madison and she seemed to look back at me proudly.
“Did you do that, girl?”
She responded by putting her paw against my cheek and licking me again.
“I really can’t believe she has taken to you like this, Cameron, she is never this friendly. It’s almost like she understands exactly what you are saying.”
I grinned at Sydney.
“You can call me Cam, any friend of Ariel’s is a friend of mine. Let’s see just how smart she is, Sydney.”
I shoved the piece of material in my pocket and reached up and scratched behind Madison’s ears.
“Hey, Madison…”
She cocked her head and looked me expectantly.
“Do you remember who Grey is?”
A soft, low puppy growl rumbled through her little body.
“You want to go get him?”
She let out a little bark. I set her down and she took off through the crowd.
Sydney laughed.
“You are wicked, Cam, I love it! I still can’t believe how she’s attached herself to you. I also can’t believe how attached Zack is to you either.”
I choked on my drink, but managed not to get it all over myself.
“Excuse me?”
Sydney took me by the arm.
“Let’s step out on the balcony where we can have a little more privacy. Okay?”
I nodded my head and followed her out a set of french doors into the cool summer night. We sat down around a table and I waited for her to begin.
“First let me say that I’ve known the Greys for most of my life. We grew up living next door to each other. You could say that I am an expert on the subject actually. Now I didn’t mean that Zack was attached to you in a romantic sense. I meant that he really does see you as a friend. He just has problems expressing that.”
I laughed.
“No offense, Sydney, I am far from being his friend. If this is how he treats his friends, then I would really hate to see how he treats his enemies. He’s a cold hearted son of a bitch and hasn’t shown me any reason to think otherwise.”
Sydney nodded her head.
“No offense taken, Cam, I understand what you mean. I just wish you could have known Zack before he turned into a jerk. He was one of the sweetest guys you could ever meet.”
“Then what happened?”
“Lucas happened. It was about six years ago. Zack was just coming to terms with his sexuality. Somehow he ended up meeting Lucas, and everything changed after that. Lucas took control over him. He ended up getting Zack to out himself to everyone. A lot of people didn’t understand, and quite a few actually shut Zack out completely. It would have happened eventually, but Lucas used the situation to take over Zack’s life. He got Zack to think that he was the only person that cared about him. That he was the only one Zack could trust. After a few weeks Zack shut all of us out of his life. It wasn’t until a few months later that Zack caught Lucas cheating on him that he realized what had happened. Well that and the fact that Ariel ripped him about four new assholes.”
We both laughed. Ariel can be a very formidable woman.
“It took some time, but we slowly saw the old Zack coming back. He tried dating some more, but he seemed to get burned all the time. It was around that time that he gave up dating and men. Center Stage was born. It was his baby. He put every ounce of effort he had into making it successful. CSP is a huge success now, but it came at a cost. Zack stopped trusting people. He stopped letting people into his life. Now he only really deals with Dale and I. Of course there is Ariel as well, but he still isn’t the same person anymore. He doesn’t allow anyone to see what’s inside of him. That is why it was important for you to be here tonight. He knew you were strong enough to keep Lucas at bay, and that would give him the chance to relax and maybe just be himself for a bit. Acting like a bastard asshole all day long can really take it out of you.”
I sat back with a thoughtful expression on my face. I do admit that hearing all of this does explain Grey’s attitude, but it still doesn’t excuse it. Everyone gets dealt a shitty hand in life from time to time. That doesn’t mean he has to act like that towards people.
