City Of Dreams Ch 14

I sat on the rooftop and watched the sun set. It bathed the city in a warm, comfortable glow. The first few stars were beginning to show through the quickly darkening sky. A long, relaxing sigh slipped from my lips as I took a sip of my drink. The last few months had to have been the most hectic I've ever had. Somehow though I was able to make it through everything and still keep my sanity. I knew that there was only one explanation for this. My family.

My right hand unconsciously reached over and adjusted the ring that was on my left hand. Bailey always teases me when I do it, but it helps calm me. It helps me remember that no matter what type of day I am facing that there is something wonderful at home waiting for me. Every time I see Bailey it feels like the first time all over again. My breathing picks up and my heart rate increases. All that man needs to do is smile at me and my knees go weak. Of course things don't always smell like a rose. There have been some nasty arguments in our home. I think everyone has been at each other's throat at one time or another. Actually I think the only people that haven't fought are Austin and I.

Things were really rough for me after my mother had died. It was difficult to have someone come back into your life so quickly and then have them leave. Even finding out about Austin and our father wasn't as comforting as I thought it would be. They quickly became a part of my family, but it still didn't fill the void in my heart that was lost with my mother. She might not have been a large part in my life, but the little time we had to share with each other was something that I will always cherish.

"Penny for your thoughts." A voice echoed across the rooftop.

I turned to see Gina walking towards me. The fading light seemed to illuminate her and she looked like an angel. I was definitely lucky to have people like that in my life.

"Just relaxing, G." I said with a smile. She walked over and sat down next to me. I put my arm around her. "How are you doing?"

Gina had been so excited the past few weeks. The pregnancy test had come back positive. We were all excited for her and Austin because we knew they would make amazing parents. It seemed that fate had decided that they weren't ready for that yet. Gina started her period yesterday. She went to the doctor today and it was confirmed that she wasn't pregnant.

"I'm holding up, Miah." Gina said with a smile. She leaned on me and put her head on my shoulder. "Austin is really disappointed. We know that there will be other opportunities though. Now just wasn't our time."

"Maybe next time you take the test you'll remember which end of the stick to use." I said with a giggle. Gina reached out to smack me, but I was able to duck and avoid the hit.

"Maybe next time I'll just take a funnel in with me. You know I'm not equipped to aim." Gina snapped back.

We looked at each other for a few moments. Laughter erupted from us at the same time. I knew this was a tough time for her and Austin. We were trying to make the moment as light as possible to try and help them deal with it. After a few moments our laughter died out. We sat in silence and just enjoyed each other's company.

"We had a name picked out already." Gina said. Her voice was so quiet I was barely able to hear her. I looked down at her and waited for her to continue. "We didn't get far enough to pick out a girl's name, but we did pick a boy's name."

"What was it?" I asked her quietly.

It broke my heart to see her upset. She was always one of the strongest people I know, and to see her like this ripped me to pieces. She really didn't talk about it. So the fact that she was sharing this with me was very important. I felt Gina's arm tighten around me.

“It was Jeremy.” She replied with a soft sob. “Austin and I wanted you and Bailey to be the baby’s godparents. We liked how the name Jeremy was a combination of your name and Bailey’s.”

Tears welled up in my eyes and I hugged her close to me. That was probably the most amazing thing anyone had ever done for me. That simple act of kindness showed how truly wonderful Gina and Austin were. I didn’t even have to say anything to Gina. She could tell just by the look on my face what that meant to me.

We sat with each other for a little while longer, but then the chill of the night air started to get to Gina. She gave me a kiss on the forehead and headed back down into the apartment. I lit up a cigarette and listened to city as the nightlife began to come alive. I stood up to stretch. As my body tried to rid the tension from my muscles I felt a pair of arms snake around my waist.

“Hey, bro.” I said softly.

“Hey, Miah.” Austin said into my neck. “Were you on your way back inside?”

“I was.” I could hear the pain in his voice. I knew that he would come and find me once Gina left. He always came to talk to me after he talked to Gina. Sometimes even before her actually. That’s what brothers are for though. “We can sit out here for a bit if you want. You need to talk?”

“Yeah.” He said with a sad smile.

“Let’s sit down then, Aust.” I sat down on a lounge chair that we left up here for sun bathing. It was pretty damn comfortable and I’ve fallen asleep in it more times than I can count. Austin followed me and sat down in between my legs. He laid back against my chest and pulled my arms around him. That was one thing that always surprised me about him. He was so comfortable with the people that he loved. Austin never thought twice about hugging or touching anyone he cared about. There were many times when Bailey wasn’t available after my mom died and I needed to be near someone. Austin was always there for me. He always found me and would wrap himself around me. He never left my side. It was an amazing thing to have that type of connection with someone. “How are you doing, bro?”

“It’s so tough, Miah.” Austin said. “It felt so right when she told me. There is nothing I want more in this world than to have a family with her. Well I want to marry her too, but that’s all part of the package. I didn’t believe it at first, but then as time went on I really liked the idea of being a dad. Did Gina tell you the name we picked out?”

“Yeah she did, Aust.” I replied. I tightened my arms around him a little bit. “That meant so much to me. You, Bailey, and Gina are the most important things in my life. You’re going to be a phenomenal dad.”

“How do you know?” Austin asked. He sounded so unsure.

“Because.” I said. I leaned my head down and rested it against his head. My voice was soft and calming. “You’re a sweet and intelligent man. When you love someone you do it with everything in your heart, and you give everything you can. Your baby is going to be very lucky to have you for a father. Just like I’m lucky to have you as a brother.”

“And the baby will have some awesome uncles.” Austin said with a smile.

“Thanks.” I said with a laugh. I quickly put a mock serious look on my face. “Let’s just hope and pray the baby doesn’t get Gina’s personality.”

“We better start praying now then.” Austin said. He sounded as serious as I did.

I tried to hold back my laughter, but I couldn’t do it. My chest started to tremble and I knew Austin could feel it. I heard a giggle escape his lips and I was done. Soon we were laughing so hard that tears were streaming down our faces. Once we got settled back down Austin turned on his side as he laid against me. I ran my fingers through his hair. We listened to the traffic blaring from the street below.

“Thanks, Miah.” Austin said. “I really needed this. I love you.”

“I love you too, bro.” I replied.

* * *

Gina and I walked in to find Austin and Bailey sprawled out on a couch together watching a movie when we got home from Diversity. It had to be one of the longest nights we ever spent there, and the kicker was that we were only there for an hour.

“What are you two doing home already?” Bailey asked from his position on the couch. Austin was sitting up and Bailey had his head on Austin’s lap. “It’s only midnight. You’re normally not home until at least 2:30.”

“Well,” I began. I exchanged a look with Gina. “We don’t have jobs anymore.”

They both leapt up from the couch and crossed the room towards us. Bailey and Austin started talking at the same time.

“I told you, Gina, that one of these days you were going to get in some serious shit for those pranks you two are always pulling.”

“How the hell could you get fired, Miah? What the hell happened?”

Gina and I stared at each other in shock. Do they really think that there was any way possible that we would get fired from our jobs? Sure we like to have a good time, but we would never do anything to jeopardize our jobs. Well, at least not that often. We actually didn’t have anything to do with our recent unemployed status.

The guys continued to rant and rave at us. Gina and I finally broke eye contact and looked at them. Neither of us said a damn thing. We crossed our arms and just stared them down. It took a few minutes before their rambling stopped. They finally stopped to take a breath and realized we hadn’t said anything. Bailey and Austin glanced at each other.

“Is someone going to say something?” Austin asked.

“Those couches look pretty comfortable.” Gina said and headed towards the bedrooms.

“Why don’t you two check that out for us.” I said and followed her. Bailey and Austin’s mouths hung open. “You can let us know what you find out in the morning.” I said to them without looking back.

Gina and Austin’s bedroom was the first doorway down the hall. As Gina closed the door I saw her roll eyes in anger. I heard the lock click into place as the door shut. I heard footsteps behind me just as I entered our bedroom. I almost had the door closed when Bailey and Austin appeared.

“What is going on here, Miah?” Bailey said.

“Why isn’t anyone telling us anything?” Austin asked.

“Neither one of you gave us the chance to tell you anything.” I said as I glared at them. “You both assumed that we got fired. Which I will admit is understandable. The fact that the two of you went off on us like that is what I don’t understand. You didn’t even let us get a word in edgewise. For your information we did NOT get fired. Duke, the owner, wasn’t able to pay the loans he took out and the bank closed Diversity. If the club isn’t open that means we don’t have jobs.”

Bailey and Austin’s faces both immediately flushed. I knew that both of them had to be feeling guilty. The fact that they were going to be sleeping in the living room didn’t help matters for them either. Gina and I might have been overreacting to this whole situation, but Bailey and Austin acted like big jackasses. They both jumped to the same conclusion and ran with it. I could understand their anger if we had gotten fired for some stupid prank. That was not the case though. They could have just asked us what happened, and then started going off if needed. Neither one of them gave us that chance. I was sure that Gina was hurting as much as I was.

“Miah…”

“Bro…”

Bailey and Austin both started to talk at the same time. I gave them a cold look that interrupted them.

“If you’ll excuse me gentlemen it’s been a long fucking night. I’m going to take a hot shower and go to bed.” I said as I started to close the door.

“Baby,” Bailey began again. “You’re not really going to lock me out of our bedroom. Are you?”

I didn’t even respond to him. I shut the door and flipped the lock into place. I leaned back against the door as a long sigh slipped from my lips. I knew things would get taken care of in the morning, but that didn’t stop the anger and pain I was feeling tonight. I could hear their hushed voices as they went back down the hall. I kicked off my shoes and decided to skip the hot shower. The bed looked too inviting, and I was exhausted. I crawled into bed and sleep quickly overtook me.

* * *

I woke up to the sound of birds chirping in the morning. I rolled over with a groan and pulled my pillow up over my head. I tried as hard as I could, but I just could not fall back asleep. After a few minutes I sat up in defeat, as the sun was streaming through the windows. I glanced over and saw that Bailey’s side of the bed was empty. It took a moment for my brain to register why.

My brain finally woke up when my eyes landed on the locked bedroom door. Another massive sigh escaped my lips and I fell back onto the bed. I really didn’t want to deal with this right now, and I was contemplating hiding under my covers for the rest of the day. My thoughts were interrupted as my cell phone started ringing. After the incident with our fathers, Bailey insisted I get a cell phone. I looked at the caller ID and recognized the number immediately.

“Good morning, angels!” Gina said as I answered the phone.

“Gina, why are you calling me so early in the morning?” I asked with a yawn.

“Because we need to get out of here before the guys wake up. I really don’t feel like dealing with them right now. Let’s go out and get some breakfast and then we can deal with it. I’ll even leave them a note so they won’t worry.”

“You finally thought up a plan that just might work.” I said with a laugh. “Ok, I’m game. How are we going to get out without them noticing?”

“I’ve got it all figured out. I’ll get ready and then meet you in your room. We’ll go out your window and down the fire escape.” She said.

“How very mission impossible of you.” I said dryly.

“Great idea! Make sure you dress all in black! I’ll be there in fifteen minutes and you better have your candy ass ready!”

I tried to stop her but the line already went dead. I shouldn’t have opened my big mouth. Knowing Gina she’ll come in here with mountain climbing gear and expect me to rappel down the side of the building with her. I took the fastest shower in the history of the world. I quickly brushed my teeth and brushed my hair back out of my face. I quickly tied it back and got dressed. Well if we were going to be spies I might as well look the part. I slid on a pair of black leather pants and a black cable knit sweater. I pulled on a pair of black boots. Just as I was grabbing my wallet and sunglasses there was a quiet tap on the door.

I quietly eased the door open to make sure it was Gina. I swear this girl and I were separated at birth. She was wearing a practically identical outfit. The only difference was that her sweater was more formfitting. Her blonde hair cascaded around her shoulders. She already had her sunglasses on. As I put on my sunglasses she tossed my black leather jacket to me. As I slipped the jacket on she quietly closed my door.

“Ok. Everything is set. I put the note right on my door. They can’t miss it if they go to the bathroom.” She walked over to me and undid the tie in my hair. Gina ran her fingers through it so it fell around my shoulders. “I keep telling you that it looks better loose, ya big mo!”

We headed over towards the window that led out onto the fire escape. I was about to open the window when Gina’s hand reached out and stopped me.

“What?” I asked her. She held up a finger telling me to wait. Gina reached into her jacket pocket and pushed something. It took a moment but then I heard it. The mission impossible theme song was playing from something in her coat. I giggled. I gently eased the window open. The chill of the morning air blew through the opening. We zipped up our jackets a bit and climbed out the window.

We maneuvered quickly down the fire escape and dropped to the sidewalk below. I dropped down first and luckily landed on my feet. Gina wasn’t so lucky. Her feet hit the ground, but then slid out from underneath her. I tried to grab her, but she still went down. The mission impossible music was still playing.

I couldn’t help the giggle that slipped from my lips. I went to help her up, but she surprised the hell out of me. She did a perfect kip up and was suddenly standing up. A kip up is when you’re flat on your back and your pull your knees up towards your face. Then you pop up and land on your feet. Kip ups are very difficult, but Gina did it. In fact she did it in a pair of four-inch heeled boots.

She grinned at me and slapped my ass.

“I’m not an Angel for nothing. Let’s move out!”

I can’t believe she slapped my ass. I growled at her. Gina made a cute yelping noise and took off down the street. I immediately took off after her. I chased her for about two blocks until she started to slow down. By the time I caught up to her she was doubled over from laughing. We continued our way to breakfast. Gina and I were headed to Early Birds. You could eat there any time of the day, but the place got its name because of the awesome breakfast that was served.

We got a table and placed our orders. While we were waiting on our food we checked out the other people in the place. It was always fun being with Gina. It was great to have someone that you could just look at and they knew exactly what you were thinking. Gina and I cracked up a bunch of times just from the looks that passed between us. Our food finally showed up after about fifteen minutes.

“You know it was a shame that Sara had to go back to school.” I said between mouthfuls. “We had such a great time when she was here. I hope she was serious about coming back to pursue her career in the city.” I would like to say that Gina responded to me, but it was more like a few grumbles and odd sounds. Of course she was eating like a supermodel on vacation. “Chew. Swallow. After you complete those tasks then you can speak. Your grandmother would have kittens if she saw your table manners.”

“I think she really will come back. I think performing in that show really boosted her confidence.” Gina finally answered. She took a drink of her juice. “Though she did say when she comes back she wants to find her own place. I told her she was more than welcome to stay with us, but she wants to be on her own. I can understand that.”

“What are we going to do with the guys?” I asked as I took another bite of my breakfast. “I’m still angry at them, but to a point I understand.”

“I know what you mean.” Gina replied with a sigh. “I understand their side, but I still think they were totally wrong. They could have at least let us explain. Then if they wanted to rip us new assholes they could have. We really need to start job searching too. I know we both have money saved up, and I’m definitely going to take a little time off. We have to eventually find something though.”

Gina definitely had a point. Living in a rent-free apartment was definitely a huge blessing for us. Our monthly bills weren’t that much, and we made a killing in tips when we worked at Diversity. So between our paychecks and tips I knew we were making very good money. By my calculations I probably could live for close to two years on what I have saved if I budgeted correctly. Gina and I were just very lucky that people found us attractive or we wouldn’t have raked in those tips.

“You really should think about using that degree of yours.” I said to Gina as I lit up an after breakfast smoke. “You have a fucking masters degree in business. I am sure you won’t have any problems finding a job.”

“I’m sure you can get a job just as fast, Miah.” Gina said after sipping her juice. “And if not B’s got money. You know you really don’t have to work.”

“That’s not the point though, G.” I said with a sigh. “I really don’t want to have to depend on anyone. I know Bailey doesn’t care about supporting me. He’s told me enough times already to just quit my job, but I need to do something. I would be bored out of my mind just sitting around all day.”

Our conversation was interrupted as the waitress returned to clear off our table. She left our bill on the table, and Gina and I both reached for it at the same time.