Chapter 41
Mariah had been released on her own recognizance, being she had no prior record and the charges of public intoxication and disorderly conduct had been minor. Luckily, Brian had a relatively low bail and was asked to leave the hotel.
Of course, both of them had gotten the railing of a lifetime from Paul on the way back. Brian had taken it well and checked into his room at the new location, used to his longtime friend’s rant and ravings.
But Mariah yelled at him to fuck off and slurred racial epithets before slamming the door to her room.
“Guapo,” Shaun had warned him quietly, “let it go. She’s upset and probably still drunk and means nothing by it all.”
“She’s being an irresponsible bitch, Shaun,” Paul complained. “Just like she was when I met her and she was doing drugs. I just hope to Christ Mimi isn’t using again.”
“If it helps, I can talk to her when she calms down. Just give Mariah her space right now and maybe she’ll sober up by then too.”
“Thanks, Shaun, that might be a good idea, come to think of it. Oquela. I’ve had enough drama for one day and we have a show in a few hours.”
“I know. And that is what you should be concentrating on right now. The last thing we all need is you getting in hot water again with management.”
Paul then looked over and saw Montana engaged in conversation with a couple of men he had never seen before.
“And who the hell are they?” he asked Shaun in an annoyed tone.
Shaun shook her head; her long time friend could be so jealous. “Oh, probably a couple of fans or maybe some visitors she‘s showing around. You know how friendly Montana can be with people. I guess some things didn’t change when she left her job.”
“Well, one of them is getting a little too friendly with her and if he doesn’t get that hand off of Montana’s ass, I’m breaking it the fuck off of him and shoving it down his throat.”
With that, he stomped over before Shaun had a chance to say anything further.
“Oh God,” she moaned to herself, “as if this day couldn’t get any worse.”
Later:
“I cannot believe you had the temerity to make a scene and embarrass me like that,” Montana snapped.
“What was I supposed to do?” Paul asked. “That guy was practically pawing you!”
“Eric was not ‘pawing’ me, as you eloquently put it. The man barely touched me and it wasn’t on my ass; it was slightly below my waist. Come on, you know me better than that; if it had been my ass, I’d snapped his arm in two myself.”
“Still, I’m not going to stand by and do nothing while some dude is trying to grope my fiancee.”
“God, you’re impossible.” She rolled her eyes. “Kind of funny that it’s perfectly fine for you to be around all those bimbos and teenyboppers, but God forbid a guy shows me a little attention, you have a holy fit. Just so you know, just because we’re getting married doesn’t mean you own me. In addition, there are some of us out there that don’t either have to be totally made of plastic or be under 21 to be worthwhile people.”
“What the hell…Christ, are you starting this shit again? Didn’t we talk about this before?”
“Sure. But present company has a way of saying one thing and doing another. Not exactly a good thing to be teaching your children, by the way”
“Apparently you still think I'm some fucking pedophile, as if I flirt with these girls or talk to them dirty. Christ. I happen to have been married before and raised two kids practically myself the last three and a half years. Montana, I’ve been past my immature days for a very long time, so I don't appreciate being targeted like I am some kind of sick pervert. I love you. What the hell will it take to convince you of that?”
Montana glared at him, raising an eyebrow and crossing her arms.
“Seriously, Mon, we need to get past this shit; there’s a wedding coming up soon. So if you seriously have a problem with me, let’s talk about it. Don’t be holding it in, going to bitch to your girlfriends or your sister in law, or this thing of throwing it in my face later when I’m upset with you about something. Got it?”
“Maybe.” She still wasn’t fully convinced.
Paul sighed and dropped his head. “All right, I’m sorry for being an ass earlier.”
She brightened a little, touched by the apology. “And I’m sorry for going off on you. You’re right; we should discuss things before I jump to conclusions, especially since we will be married soon. I’ve had some trust issues in the past and—”
“I know,” he nodded. “Me too.”
“Obviously. I thought you were going to break poor Eric in two!” Montana began to laugh.
“Yeah, I did get kind of rough at first, didn‘t I?”
“You really need to keep the Mexican temper checked and stop going on the warpath, though you are getting better at improving on both. But really, he and Gary were just old college friends of mine. Gary has a family of his own and Eric always was affectionate. I thought nothing of it. You shouldn’t either.”
“You’re right. And again, I’m sorry. It’s been a shitty day and I guess I went off when I shouldn’t have.”
“Well, don’t worry about it now, what’s done is done. And besides, we will need to check on a couple of possibly hung over creatures later anyway.”
“Provided Mimi doesn’t rip my balls off and shove them up my ass while we’re at it. I wasn’t very nice to her earlier either. Oquela, I have a lot of making up to do for being an asshole.”
Montana raised an eyebrow again, but this time sporting a mischievous smile on her face. “Well, you know, I have a certain man to make something up to myself. And you have a show to get ready for. I think you may need some help with that.”
Paul got the message right away. “Oh ho!” he grinned back, “Come to think of it, baby, there might be one thing I could use some help on…..”
Further down the corridor:
Shaun glanced over after seeing movement out of the corner of her eye, seeing Paul and Montana heading into the locker room.
“I don’t even want to know what is about to happen there,” she said to herself, heading to her security post.
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