Circling

Tristan Trilogy- Story 3

CHAPTER 15

Kevin fought to clear his head from the cacophony of words and images that suddenly filled it. Some of the images were imagined and formed only to illustrate and underscore Tristan's description of her history with Asa and of the night they had spent together. He laid down with me…he held me….he got hard…. He remembered watching him go to her dressing room before the concert and he remembered Asa kissing the palm of her hand on stage. He's loved her for years….

"Congratulations, Kevin.."

There was no warmth behind Asa's tight-lipped smile and Kevin could not bring himself to play the role of the generous conqueror. He said nothing.

Asa glanced casually around the room. "So where's your bride hiding? I haven't heard of her making a public appearance since she left her tour."

Kevin felt an implied criticism in Asa's offhand remark but refused to take any bait.

"She's here. I have feeling you'll find her…"

"Yes…." Asa nodded. "Perhaps you'll permit me a dance."

Kevin's eyes hardened. "That's up to her."

Then Kevin said something he never wanted Asa to have the satisfaction of hearing him say but he refused to let this man think that Tristan had married a fool. Kevin knew that Asa felt that he was sub-standard and unworthy of Tristan.

"I know about that night at the St. Charlotte, Asa. Tristan told me about it."

This information seemed to surprise Asa a bit. He looked away, took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

"I didn't know she was a married woman." He explained.

Kevin studied him carefully. "Would it have made any difference?" He asked.

Asa turned back to Kevin and looked him directly in the eye. "You ask good questions, Kevin. To be honest - no. It wouldn't have made any difference to me. Not then…" He paused. “… and not now."

Kevin felt his stomach flip with Asa's admission. Son of a bitch…. He fought to remain cool and collected. He sensed some sort of challenge in Asa's deliberate remark and Kevin forced himself to chuckle at Asa's blatant arrogance.

"She doesn't want you, Asa. She wants me."

"She didn't want you that night at the hotel." Asa smiled.

"And you're a fuckin' liar…" Kevin hissed.

Now Asa chuckled. He had seen evidence of Kevin's insecurities before. This guy was covered with buttons, all waiting to be pushed. He was planning to push a big one later.

"Am I?" Asa rattled his empty glass. "I need a refill. Tell Trissy I'll see her in a bit for that dance." With that, he turned and disappeared into the crowd.

***

By the time Brian and Leighanne finished their dinner, Kevin still hadn’t returned to the table. Holly was showing Leighanne her engagement ring as Nick laughed at one of Brian’s silly jokes. Tristan was beginning to wonder if she had a sense of humor. She rarely thought that Brian was funny when he was being silly. Maybe it was because she wasn’t all that familiar with his imitations and movie references. Howie and his date were on the dance floor. Amanda was whispering in AJ’s ear, making an effort to pull him out of the pouting spell he’d had since Amanda cut in on Holly and J.C. Mason and Jack were each on their fourth or fifth Wallbanger and Old Fashioned, respectively, and Jack was feeding Mason popcorn shrimp and giggling. Kevin would have loved that.

Tristan was searching the crowd when Kevin came up behind her with a small plate of food that he practically dropped onto the table in front of her. Her head spun around to him, startled. He didn’t look as relaxed as he had when he left her a little while ago.

“I guess you were too preoccupied to hear me. Are you looking for someone special?”

His voice was low and even, but Tristan detected a sarcastic edge. She looked past Kevin’s shoulder in time to see Leighanne glance at her and then look away.

“You’re special…" Tristan smiled. “I was looking for you.”

Kevin just nodded as he speared a cherry tomato. His eyes never left his plate. Suddenly Jack’s slightly slurred voice bounced across the table.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you guys… You’ll be staying in the same villa you had the last time you were in Stockholm. Wasn’t there, but I’m gonna be this time! Is it nice?” He asked no one in particular but his eyes set themselves on Holly.

She looked surprised. “I… I wasn’t there, Jack.”

“Oh…" His eyes moved over to Tristan, silently soliciting an opinion. She faltered a bit and then swallowed the olive she’d been chewing when he asked. “Yes… Very nice. I’m sure you’ll like it..”

“Guess what, Precious?” Mason grinned. “I’m going too! While they work, we can shop! And we can check out the Opera House….”

Tristan laughed. “You know I don’t like opera, Mason. Besides, I’m not going.” Her eyes fell back to her plate and she began to push a strawberry around with her fork.

The table was silent for a moment, no one knowing exactly what to say. Everyone knew how excited Tristan had been about the prospect of a trip to Sweden. They all knew that Stockholm was the birthplace of ‘Kevin and Tristan’. Kevin was still staring at his plate, expressionless.

"Is anything wrong?" Holly asked quietly.

"No, no… The doctor just doesn't like the idea of all that flying right now. He thinks I should stay close to home for a little while longer. That's all." Tristan put on quite a show, acting as if she hadn't given the trip a thought. "We'll make it over there later. Right, Kevin?" she asked, smiling in his direction.

"Sure, baby.."

Nick shook his head as he leaned back in his seat. "I'm really sorry, Tris. I know Max will be, too. I saw him a couple of days ago in New York."

"You did? How's Max doing? I wish he'd come down here and see us."

"Hey, I invited him! Anyway, he said that Kevin had told him that you weren't interested in doing any mixing this time but I think he was planning on sneaking you into the studio anyway…" Nick laughed. Everyone chuckled at Nick's comment and murmured about Max - everyone but Tristan and Kevin.

Tristan was in a mild state of shock. Kevin hadn't said a word about her helping in the production of the new album. He didn't want her to mix and had made the decision for her. She looked down at her lap and began to straighten the napkin there as she tried to blink away any indication that this news had disturbed her. She felt Kevin's hand brush against hers under the table and jerked it away, out of his reach.

Tristan cleared her throat and spoke, hoping that no one would detect the waver in her voice. "So who is mixing?"she asked casually.

"Damn…what's his name, Brian? I can't remember…"

Brian didn't seem to be paying much attention to the conversation. He was playing a drum roll with his fingers on the rim of his plate when he realized that he was being spoken to.

"Huh?… Oh, um… I think his name is Dan..no..Danny Kelly! That's right!"

"Don't know him…" Tristan smiled, bringing her elbows to the top of the table and her hands away from Kevin's grasp.

An awkward silence was averted when the table was suddenly surrounded by a group of musicians from the Orlando Symphony, all descending upon Tristan and Kevin to congratulate them on their marriage. The good wishes soon turned into a few minutes of backstage gossip. Kevin still hadn't said much and had no interest in what Tristan's friends were talking about - until they started giggling about the mysterious discovery made in the grand balcony of the theater. It seemed the cleaning crew that had come in early last Tuesday morning had found evidence of a tryst on the floor of the first box. Not only had a chair cushion been removed from one of the seats, but it had to be cleaned 'if you know what I mean' one of the horn players smirked. The most damaging piece of evidence, however, was a pair of blue lace panties that had been found underneath the cushion.

"Oh my God…"Amanda choked across the table. AJ started pounding her on the back.

Kevin shot Amanda a warning look and then cut his eyes to Tristan

"How could someone forget their panties?" Kevin asked pointedly. He was miffed.

Tristan answered his question with a point of her own.

"Maybe they were in a hurry to leave…" she spit, not looking at his face.

"Well," the horn player went on, laughing. "We had them pinned to the bulletin board but nobody claimed them. I think they were starting to bug the maestro, just hanging there like that so he said 'Somebody take them - please!"

"And so I did…." Asa Whitmore smiled and pulled the blue lace panties out of his pocket, displaying them proudly. The group of well wishers broke into laughter.

Asa had been standing to the side and behind the group, unnoticed, when the panty story began. He had been visiting the conductor during rehearsals when he heard the story of the amorous balcony adventure and was shown the panties still pinned to the board. He had guessed whom the panties belonged to when he was asking about Tristan and one of the tech people said he had seen her come into the theater on Monday night. In an unrelated conversation he had overheard later that same day, he had learned from a nicotine-addicted harpist that he had seen one of the Backstreet Boys at the theater that same night. Still, it was just an educated guess - until he saw the look on Kevin Richardson's face when he announced that he now had possession of the blue lace panties. The 'guess' suddenly became fact. This was a great big button…… Unfortunately, the benefits of watching Kevin squirm were tempered by the sadness he caught on Tristan's face. The panties quickly disappeared back into his pocket.

"Actually, I came over to ask the bride if she would give me the pleasure of a dance…" Asa smiled.

Tristan felt the heat of over twenty people staring in anticipation of her response. She glanced briefly at Kevin, seeking direction but receiving none. He seemed to be staring at the centerpiece. She was in a slight quandary. Her friends at the table were saying nothing. Her friends from the symphony were encouraging her to share a dance with Asa.

"I'm a little tired…" she said softly…"

Asa held out his hand. "Aww, come on, Trissy. Just one little dance…."

Tristan felt she had no choice. Kevin wasn't offering her an escape and she didn't want to create any speculation by refusing an innocent dance with an old friend. Asa stepped around the table, took her chair and Tristan rose. She looked once more at the faces around the table. Most were unreadable, but she thought she caught a glimmer of understanding in Holly and Leighanne's eyes. Kevin still stared at the flowers that decorated the table.

Kevin's gaze shifted to the dance floor when the music began again. Tristan placed one hand on Asa's shoulder and he took her other hand in his. They began to move together and Kevin felt as if he had been transported into another dimension. He could see Asa talking and laughing as Tristan nodded and smiled demurely. She glanced to the table and Kevin caught a pleading look in her eyes. He made no move and his face betrayed none of the anger and jealousy that raged in his heart as he watched his wife in the arms of man who wanted her. When Tristan looked to him a few moments later his chair was empty. Kevin had disappeared.

*******************

"Hi. Kevin…"

Kevin stopped at looked at the small brunette standing before him and began to search his brain for a name to go with the face. She looked familiar but he couldn't place her. He didn't know the guy she was with, either - a rather wild looking sort with long hair and multiple piercings. In deference to the recommended dress code for tonight's party, he wore a tie around his neck with a wifebeater. The girl had a pierced eyebrow and wore heavy make-up. Her leather pants hung so low on her hips that Kevin was sure she must have shaved or waxed her pubic hair before she could wear them.

"I'm sorry…" he smiled apologetically. She laughed at his lack of recognition. "Theresa - from the front office, remember? This is my boyfriend, Stan." Stan nodded and crossed his arms.

This wasn't the Theresa that Kevin knew. The Theresa that Kevin knew was conservative and had no discernable holes in her body. She saw the surprise on his face and giggled.

"I know." She laughed. "Quite a change, huh?"

"I'll say…"

"This is the real me!" Theresa held out her arms and twirled. When she stopped, she had to hang on to her boyfriend's arm for support. "Yuck - too many shots, too little time…" she muttered, holding her head.

Kevin smiled patiently. He really wasn't in the mood for small talk.

"Seen Brian around?" he asked. "Haven't really had a chance to talk to him tonight…"

"Is that the short one with the blondish hair?" Stan cut in.

Kevin nodded.

"You might try room 610." Stan grinned as he and Theresa stumbled back across the dance floor. "There's a private party goin' on up there… Tell 'em 'Stan sent 'ya.'"

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Tristan Trilogy - Story III

"Circling" is a work of fiction.
The characters and events portrayed are fictitious.
Any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental.

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