The Maverick Pride Tales - Chapter 64: Chapter 64

She had already pushed him out, walking him backwards to the door. Gretchen slammed it and threw the locks. Angry at herself and ignoring his knocks.
“I’ll go because you want me to, but we are not finished, shona,” he said through the closed door, but she was already walking away.
Emptiness threatened to consume her as she washed away the evidence of the night’s activities from her skin. Tears streamed down her face as she ripped the still warm sheets from her bed and tossed everything into the washing machine. She wanted no reminders of her stupidity.
Gretchen had heard some strange things before, but never had she had to deal with anything like this. The man was a lunatic. Or he was mean, picking up on her love of supernatural romance novels to poke fun of her.
Or even worse, he was both. Crazy and mean. She wouldn’t tell Elissa. One, because she didn’t want to upset her pRegnant friend. And two, she did not want to get him fired.
Whatever his delusion, he wasn’t a bad guy. Just crazy.
Gretchen would do well enough to just forget about Reginald Cray. At least that’s what she told herself while she tossed and turned that night.
Focus on Cut It Out, and cut all the bullshit out of your life, literally.
You can do it.
Gretchen heaved a sigh as she swept up hair and dirt from the day off the tiled floor of Cut It Out. The last few days had been rough on her, physically and emotionally. Who knew running a business could be so taxing?
Oh hell.
Who was she kidding? That wasn’t the cause of all her worries, and she knew it. She was missing Reg something fierce. Odd, considering their whole relationship, if she could even call it that, had lasted just one day.
She’d just never been so thoroughly and completely captivated by a man. He was on her mind every second of the day. His smile, his laugh, his sexy as fuck body.
But even when she forced herself to stop thinking about him, there was another horrifying fact. Gretchen had felt physically sick ever since he left that night.
Not just her heart, which felt as if she’d split it in two, but everything else. Even her hair hurt.
She had the worst stomach cramps ever. Maybe it was something she ate? Her period wasn’t do for another few days, and she doubted her one-night stand with Mr. Sexy-Crazy-Pants had made her pRegnant. A home test confirmed she was not knocked-up. Thank goodness. But for some reason, the thought made her sad.
OMFG. Now, you sound crazy, she thought to herself.
“Okay, boss lady. I am done! You have a good one, chica,” Marion called out.
He interrupted her train of thought and waved as he took off for the evening. He’d followed Bonnie by just minutes, and now, she was truly alone in the salon.
Gretchen smiled and waved goodbye. She was so happy she had found the two of them. They were hard workers, friendly and easygoing too, which was a huge plus in her world.
The other new girl, April, was a bit quiet, but she did good work. After supervising her for her first few cuts, Gretchen approved and offered her a position. The young woman immediately accepted. It was another win-win. Unfortunately, Gretchen didn’t feel like she’d won anything.
It had been three days since she’d last seen Reg. Three days since he’d wined, dined, then proceeded to fuck her stupid. She’d been uncertain, and a little worried about what would happen afterwards. She’d always hated awkward mornings after, but they didn’t even get that far.
He’d made her feel so special, and just, well, good, with his over the top attentions, and the amazing way he seemed attuned to her every want and need. But those things had never lasted for Gretchen before, and this was shorter than any other past dating fail. She was sadly lacking romantically speaking.
Maybe it was a blessing in disguise. Maybe she’d saved her heart from taking a huge blow by cutting things short.
Nothing could have really prepared her for the bomb he’d dropped on her. Nor for the consequential kicking him out of her apartment that occurred only minutes later.
Ever since that night, Gretchen had been dodging his calls and messages. She’d even locked herself in the bathroom the two times he’d come to the salon to try and talk to her.
At least he had enough couth not to cause a scene at her place of business. She’d even been dodging Elissa’s calls in order to avoid having to talk about Reg.
She shook her head and wiped the stray tear that rolled down her face. Did he really think she was going to believe him?
A Shifter? And not just any Shifter, but her favorite animal. A Tiger. Really?
The man was playing on the fact she’d told him about her affinity for the majestic creatures, and he must have seen her bookshelves to boot. A simple google search would have told him what any of the titles were about.
But really? Claiming to be A Shifter after taking her to bed was beyond a joke. Maybe that part was not true. Maybe the guy was just plain old-fashioned crazy.
The bells above the salon door sounded, and she turned to see her shop being invaded by none other than Elissa, Jessica, and Kylie. Shoulders slumped, she turned to the women, and waved half-heartedly. Pretending to be happy would have taken too much energy, and her stomach still hurt.
“Hello, ladies. Was there a get-together tonight that I forgot?”
“I’m gonna pretend you didn’t just say that, young lady,” Elissa scolded and paused with her hands on her belly.
Her bestie exhaled then walked over and wrapped Gretchen up in a big hug. Dang it, now she was gonna cry. Gretchen bit her lip, and hugged her friend back, careful not to smush the little ones.
“I know what you really meant to say was, thank you, beautiful Elissa for coming by to check up on me, even though I’ve been acting like a bitchy heifer, refusing your phone calls, and not returning your texts! You broke our snapagram streak, Gretch! That is a blockable offense,” Elissa glared at her, and Gretchen covered her mouth to hold in a laugh.
They’d had a long one going too. 1298 days of texts and pictures back and forth. Snapagram was a popular phone app that could, unfortunately, cost many a job since it was a rabbit hole you could not easily crawl out of. Sigh. But it was still fun.
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry,” Gretchen apologized. “Of course, I love you Elissa, and I am glad you came over to cheer me up. I am glad you all came, really, but where is Hunter?” Gretchen asked while placating her temporarily emotionally unstable friend.
She’d read somewhere that pRegnancy did that to people. Something about the ups and downs caused by the hormones needed to grow a perfect tiny little human. Unfortunately, that turned usually normal people into homicidal maniacs who alternately craved ridiculous amounts of carbs while binge watching sad as fuck TV series.
Elissa had watched the Thorn Birds saga six times already according to Jess. That was not good for anyone’s emotional health. So, no, Gretchen wasn’t taking any chances with her friend. She would placate her whenever necessary.
“Oh, I left him at the house. But look, I invited someone here that I think you should finally meet,” Elissa said while Gretchen greeted the other two women.
The bells jingled once more over her door and Gretchen turned to see an older man walk in. He looked friendly and stylish with a thick mane of white hair and a matching beard and mustache. Very elegant and sophisticated, and yet, he exuded a platonic warmth she had never felt. The man walked into Cut It Out, looking around first with a smile in his sparkling blue eyes before he turned to them.
“Am I late?”
“Not at all!”
Gretchen watched curiously as Elissa smiled and walked to the man, giving him a hug and kiss on his cheek. Elissa’s eyes were wide with pleasure as she chatted with the man with the electric gaze.
Wow. There must be something in the air Maverick Point. Everyone had the most fascinating color eyes. Elissa turned her head again and smiled at the younger man standing just behind the strange older one. He was holding a large box filled with containers of what smelled like Chinese food.
If that was true, the two gentlemen were about to be Gretchen’s new best friends. She hadn’t been able to eat all day, and she was suddenly starving. Her stomach growled and she covered her mouth in embarrassment.
“Excuse me,” she said to no one in particular.
“Thank you for coming. Gretchen, come over here and meet Uncle Uzzi,” Elissa said, and waddled over to tug Gretchen by the hand.
“Where can I put this?” the other man asked.
“Hello, Hank. Um, right there,” Elissa smiled, and gestured for him to drop the box on the coffee table that Gretchen had just wiped clean. “I think that should be fine.”
“Hello Hank, um, Uncle Uzzi. I’m Gretchen Kaepernick and yes, that would be perfect, thank you so much.” Gretchen smiled and shook hands, gesturing to the table.
Hank, dressed in a driver’s uniform, nodded, and began unpacking the goods before he stepped back outside and returned to the stretched limo waiting outside.
“Don’t mind, Hank. He always drives for me when I am out this way, but he prefers to stay with the car. Big reader, you know,” Uncle Uzzi explained and walked over to look Gretchen over.
“Now, my dear, I am Uncle Uzzi and you, Gretchen, sent me an email a few weeks ago. I only realized yesterday that my reply did not send, you see, I am not used to these confounded vunderboxes,” he said, pulling his phone out of his pocket. “Anyway, since you already had your date, I wanted to check in⁠—”
“I am sorry,” Gretchen said, not bothering to hide her shock. “But what date? You never got back to me.”
“Hello Uncle Uzzi,” Jessica said, interrupting after returning from the restroom.
“Hello, Jessica! How is that bear of a man treating you, well I hope?”
“Brayden is a dream, thanks.”
“That’s good, dear. Hello Kylie, you look lovely.”
“Oh, you tease! By the way, Mr. StRegovich, I have the material for your order coming in this week. I’ll be able to ship it by the end of the month,” Kylie added.
“Kylie that is perfect, but didn’t I tell you to call me Uncle Uzzi? Anyone who makes me pajamas must be on a first name basis with me. I insist,” she barked out a laugh and everyone joined in.
Apparently, Kisses by Kylie offered custom pajamas for men as well.
Note to self, Gretchen thought and laughed along with the other women.
“But back to you, Miss Gretchen, you had a date with Reg Cray a few days ago I had already talked to the man, of course, but I have a feeling that things did not go all that smoothly,” he began.
Everyone sat down around the large coffee table and handed out napkins and plastic forks as the group chatted and exchanged pleasantries. They started filling their plates with Szechuan chicken, pork dumplings, vegetable lo mein, chicken fried rice, and so many more delicious dishes.
She was still trying to gather her thoughts, but because she hadn’t realized how hungry she was her stomach grumbled uncontrollably.
“Um, I think, I need to eat,” she said, her mouth was watering at the sudden whiff of the spicy, garlicky deliciousness.
“Of course, dear,” Uzzi said, eyes narrowing as he watched her inhale two egg rolls and a whole order of dumplings before she knew it.
“Thank you so much for bringing this, Uncle Uzzi. I guess I was starving,” Gretchen said by way of apology.
“OMG! These spring rolls are da bomb. So Gretch, you gonna tell us what happened,” Elissa asked and moaned as she took another bite.
Jessica and Kylie were eating and talking lowly, not rushing her like Elissa. But Gretchen was used to her BFF’s impatience. She just shrugged it off and took a sip of iced green tea Uncle Uzzi had brought to compliment the meal.
“Oh, it’s my pleasure,” Uncle Uzzi said, replying to her earlier thank you. “So, tell me why you think I didn’t reply to your email if you had your date already?” Uncle Uzzi asked while nibbling an egg roll of his own.
“Well, you didn’t,” Gretchen said and looked around at the amused faces of her friends.
“Actually, Gretchen, Uncle Uzzi doesn’t always answer in the traditional way. Sometimes Fate decides how things play out,” Jessica said, hinting something she could not quite comprehend.
“What the heck are any of you talking about?”
Embarrassment, hope, sadness, and curiosity all warred within her. How was Gretchen supposed to tell them about Reg? She supposed she should confirm what they were talking about before she worried for nothing.
Take it one step at a time, Gretchen.