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Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.


I got trouble, trouble, trouble
Always knockin’ at my door
Yes Im a whole lotta trouble baby
Like a kid in a candy store
Well Im nothin’ but trouble baby
Now since the day that I was born

Well Im as good as it ever gets
Give you something you wont forget
If you wanna spell trouble babe
We’ll send out an S.O.S., yes
This baby’s got something
Something you just cant ignore
And yeah it sure is likely babe
You’ll keep on coming back for more

Ive got a wicked taste for trouble
And Im never, never satisfied
Yeah Im a whole lotta trouble baby
And my evil ways cant hide
Oh my my
Well I been itchin’ for some trouble babe
Every single day that Im alive

Come on baby
Come on darling
Come on suga

Now listen
Cant you see the way I move?
Cant you read it in my hips?
Theres lots that’s goin’ on
In my pocket full of tricks
Got some secrets up my sleeve
If you know just what I mean
Got places you’ve never been
I’ll take you out of your skin

Well Im trouble, trouble, trouble baby
Always knockin’ at my door
Yeah Im a whole lotta trouble babe
Oooh, since the day that I was born
Oh yeah

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

“Hmm?”Salomi asked as she heard a voice within the dream world that she currently was residing. She could feel herself slip away, she saw the light and then she saw his face and smiled,”Hi”she whispered

“You slept good yes?”Gabriel asked as he leaned in and gave her a good morning kiss. He hoped she did because he knew that he did, surprisingly so. She nodded,”Good, well, Leon and I want to have breakfast with the two most gorgeous women in the hotel, do you mind?”he asked her

Salomi frowned,”Who?”she asked him

Gabriel laughed,”Oh wake up Lomi, you of course. And Darla. Get dressed, they are serving breakfast now in the dining hall. We don’t have much time”he said to her. They both got ready and met Leon and Darla in the dining hall, or at least just Darla. She was sitting at their table, looking around for someone,”Morning Darla, where's Lee?”he asked her

“That’s what I was wondering”she said quietly and then gave Salomi a look. Salomi also gave her a look, a I-don’t-want-to-deal-with-trouble-this-early-in-the-morning look. “How did ya sleep sweetheart?”she asked her as she patted the chair on the opposite side of her

“It was fine. The mattresses here feel like heaven. I slept quite well”Salomi said. Gabriel nodded in agreement.

“When did you two get in? Are you both alright?”she asked

“A little after 3, but that’s due to stopping at some service stations. I got 5 hours of sleep in at least”Gabriel commented

“I think we got two”Darla said with a wicked smile,”The bed was marvelous, especially the man in it”she added when Leon sat down next to her. “Where have you been?”

“The little boys room of course like I said”he said to her with a clueless smile,”And how are you two this morning, you seem well rested”

They both nodded,”Yes we are, we were talking about how soft the beds were” Gabriel said as a waiter asked them what he and Salomi wanted to drink. Salomi asked for tea and so did Gabriel. Once their food arrived, there were two separate conversations going on at the table.

“So…are you really alright?”Darla asked her as she played with her oatmeal

“Really Darla Im fine. Drunk outburst and all that, you know”Salomi said as she ate her eggs. She was starving.

“But you didn’t tell me that you and Gabriel had a-“

“Because its something that I would much rather not talk about”Salomi interrupted her. She and Gabriel talked about maybe seeing a counselor or something. It seemed like a good idea this morning, but she didn’t know if she was ready to open that up to anyone. Every time the thought hit her head, she needed a drink. Which was also something they both discussed, he didn’t want her to drink her sorrows away or to drink at all for that matter. She promised that she wouldn’t but she already felt that promise to be empty. She quickly changed the subject,”Now our two fellas are going to be rehearsing all day. What shall we do?”she asked her

“Oh I was talking to the maitre’ d about the fun happenings around here and there are many attractions close by. Theres even a jazz club downstairs. We should go there tonight if those two don’t have anything planned”Darla said

Salomi nodded,”Sounds great. But what can we do before the sun sets. You know jazz don’t start until after 9 o clock”she said with a smile.

“Why don’t we watch their rehearsal?”Darla asked as she nodded her head to the two men. “We can get a sneak peek, a world premiere”

Salomi shook her head,”Oh we can do that at anytime. We need to explore. We should take pictures too. One from every different state we go to. How about the beach? Long Island has lovely beaches”

“Sal, its not even April yet, the waters are freezing”Darla said with a laugh,”Come on, why not?”she also asked

“You just said, the waters are freezing”Salomi said as she started to eat the huge sausage on her plate.

“No, why not see their rehearsal?”Darla asked

Salomi sighed,”Because I know why, it isn’t for a good reason. You just want to spy. Darla, I already told you, Im not going to help you do this. Lay off will ya? After the tour? Why don’t you spy on him after the tour is over? When hes never around, when hes not making as much money. Any sign of scandal could ruin them. Lets just enjoy ourselves”

Darla looked at her with dark eyes, she then sighed and ate her oatmeal. Not saying anything. Salomi sighed, great the silent treatment and it wasn’t even 9 am.

“Well you two are awfully quiet”Leon said when he and Gabriel took a break from their business conversation

“We are trying to figure out what to do today”Salomi said

“Have no fear”Leon said,”Well at least one hopes. I already found the perfect place for you two. You’ll have lots of fun”

“Where?”Salomi asked with wide eyes. Darla just sat there silently, eating her oatmeal.

“Horses”he said as he handed them a pamphlet. “I bought you both full day tickets to the Wantaugh Ranch. Its about a 15 minute drive from here. They will give you riding lessons, theres also a lake nearby, you can picnic, ride, swim. Inside, the ranch has a library, bar, the works. You two will be professional cowgirls when your done. I also made dinner reservations at the restaurant on the ranch and we will meet you there to eat later on tonight after our rehearsal. 7:00”

Salomi smiled,”Oh how wonderful!”she said excitedly,”I have always wanted to ride”

“That’s great Lee, thanks”Gabriel said,”I was starting to worry because I don’t know what there is to do around here.I didn’t want you two to be bored”

“Oh stick with me”Leon said,”I know lotsa people, they know where all the great spots are. And that’s just the beginning”he said and gave Darla a kiss on the cheek, she smiled. Still saying nothing. The two men prepared to leave and a car picked them up and took them to rehearsal.

“See? Great, we have something to do that will take up our whole day”Salomi said to Darla with a smile,”I still think your crazy to think that Leon is fooling around”

“This just furthers my suspicion Sal. You just don’t understand”

“How?”

“He went through the trouble to send us away, so we wouldn’t even think about watching their rehearsal, and if we did, which I did, he would have a backup plan. A ranch that would keep us busy all day that’s 15 minutes driving distance? He can do whatever or whomever he wants in that amount of time without me knowing because I will be riding some stupid horse”Darla said

Salomi shook her head,”I have nothing to say to you. Does that mean your not going?”

“Oh of course I am. I’ll spend all his money too. Once I spend too much, he’ll think twice about sending us off, besides it will be much cheaper to watch their rehearsals”she said as they went to their rooms to change.

And when Darla said she would spend Leon’s money, she meant it. She put everything on his tab. They had three separate riding lessons that he already paid for. The first was in a small and closed fenced area for beginners training, the second was in a field and the third was a course through the woods all the way to the lake and back. Darla also bought plenty of paraphernalia from the ranch, stickers, shirts, she even bought them both riding outfits and gear. They ordered a huge lunch as well.

“I do not want to be around when Leon sees the bill”Salomi said as they sat at the dinner table waiting for both Gabriel and Leon,”I cant believe that you bought so much! The only thing that you didn’t buy was a horse!”

“I was thinking about that, you think I should?”she asked her wickedly. Before Salomi could answer, Leon and Gabriel came over and they dropped it. They talked about the rehearsal and whom they would be working with. Leon mentioned that they had 10 ‘beautiful’ chorus girls. Darla didn’t like that at all and shot Salomi an evil I-knew-it glance.

“Goodness Darla, you are eating like a horse”Leon replied jokingly,”In the most beautiful way possible” She ordered a steak and potatoes, a glass of champagne and dessert.

“Its just my special way of saying thanks”Darla replied sweetly

“Well then that makes me worry about you”Gabriel said to Salomi who only had a light salad, a side of bread and champagne.”Are you alright?”

“Oh Im fine, Darla and I had a big lunch earlier today, didn’t we?”she asked her, glaring at her,”Im still stuffed”she said. Darla coughed a little and went back to eating. Leon and Gabriel split the bill but then the maitre’ d came back with yet another bill.

“Whats this?”Leon asked

“Oh the bill for the days activities, the lessons and all the goodies these two bought. They had a great time didn’t you ladies?”he asked them. Many others saw the many bags the two carried and thought that they were millionaires and asked him who they were, he didn’t know.

Darla smiled,”Yes we did”she said. This was the moment she had been waiting for.

Leon opened the bill and stared at it for awhile. Darla grinned. “Is there a problem sir?”the maitre’ d asked

Leon laughed,”No…its just these two have very expensive taste, but its nothing that I cant take care of”he said,”I accept all charges”he said to him and the maitre’ d walked away

“Im sorry Leon, we just got a little carried away, if you wanted to return anything-“

“Oh no”Leon said,”Don’t think of it, its out of the question. We both brought you here so we can spoil you because we wont be around due to rehearsals. We want you both to have fun”he said,”So spend, spend, spend, I don’t care because this tour is going to make us rich!”he said and Gabriel laughed,”Lets get a glass of champagne, we need to make a toast”he said. The maitre’ d poured them all glasses and they raised theirs,”To the tour, pretty women”he said looking at Darla and Salomi,”And to seeing the East Coast”he said

“Cheers”they all said as they clicked glasses. Darla was the only one that wasn’t in a cheerful mood.

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

When Leon said that he would keep them busy, he did. After the ranch, they returned to the hotel and had a few drinks. The next morning, they awoke for breakfast again, Leon had bought them tickets to the fair, which was another all day affair. The day after that, a film festival. They spent the next day on the beach and the boardwalk, but never got close to the water. The next day, shopping, which is another all day affair. Then the fellas had the day off so they went to see Babe Ruth play with his baseball team, the Yankees. The day after was another one of Jay Gatsby’s parties. It was later that night and it took all day to get glammed up for it.

“Ahhhh! It burns, oh it burns”Darla said as she waved her arms around and hopped up and down. She put a lot of peroxide in her fading blond bob. It needed to be in top shape for one of Gatsby’s parties.

“I say, you should be a brunette”Salomi said to her,”Its less painful”

“Im alright”Darla said as she winced

“Suit yourself”Salomi said as she put on some hose and a silk teddy underneath,”Thank you for this gorgeous dress by the way”she said to her as she held up the green sparkly dress with lots of fringe,”You didn’t have to, you know. Gabriel was disappointed that he couldn’t buy me a dress for our first Gatsby party”

“Well since dear ole Leon is so rich now and is going to be so much richer later… it shouldn’t be a problem should it?”Darla replied

“I really think you should lay off with all these expenses”Salomi said,”Its useless, you don’t even need or want most of the things you bought”

“I know, but it just feels so good”Darla said. Her head stopped burning now and she started to style her hair.”I will feel even better when I catch him in the act”

“Then what happens after Dar?”Salomi asked her,”You’re gonna leave him right?”

“Leave him? No way, hes going to be rich. I’ll just teach him a lesson, give him an offer he wont refuse. He wont leave me. He cant”

Salomi frowned,”But Darla, you….if you find him cheating on you, you should leave. You don’t deserve a man that cheats no matter how much money he has or if its Leon or not”

“Says the girl with the perfect relationship and the ring on her finger”Darla said cynically. Salomi decided to keep quiet. She didn’t want to get upset. She kept on getting dressed. Darla closed the bathroom door behind her and locked it,she turned on the faucet,”Leon is gonna be sorry that he ever thought about cheating on me. He’ll be sorry. Salomi will see and then she will be sorry for not believing in me. She’ll see”

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

“Wow so this is the famous Gatsby mansion”Gabriel said as they walked inside. However, they were quickly ushered outside in the backyard. There was a huge tent and that’s where many tables were situated around a dance floor and a huge jazz band. “What does Gatsby look like?”he asked

“I don’t know”Leon said,”But I bet if he walked in, we would be able to guess as much”he said as they sat down at a table. Two other gorgeous women were at their table as well, which didn’t ease Darla’s spirits at all. They introduced themselves, they both were dancers on Broadway and one was an understudy to one of the Follies. So Gabriel and Leon had met her once before. The four of them talked about the tour and everything dealing with Broadway. Salomi listened intently,always wanting to learn about Gabriel’s craft like a dutiful future wife should be. However Darla gave the women evil glances. Has Leon ever been with these women at all? Lately?

“He’s a bootlegger you know”said the Follie understudy,”I even heard that he killed a man once. The man found out that he was second cousin to the devil. Oh Leon darling can you pour some more champagne into that there crystal glass?”she asked him

“That’s ridiculous”Darla said to her. She was staring at her evilly not only because her story, her dress and her whole entire self was stupid, but she called Leon darling and he was actually pouring champagne for her. “You don’t actually believe that do you?”

“Well what else could he be? A lot of people,such as myself, have never seen him. They are brought by guests. Lucille here has seen him once”she said nodding to her friend.

Lucille nodded,”Its true. He bought me this dress because at the last party I tore mine. He asked me for my name and address and here it is”she said with a smile,”$265. You have to adore a man like that. He doesn’t want any trouble with ANYbody”

*____________________________*





Chapter End Notes:

Lyrics Featured" "I Got Trouble" by Christina Aguilera





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