Secrets of the Past

Chapter 65

Less than a week into the new year the guys flew over to the UK for a series of dates. They would be gone for nearly two weeks. None of the women would be going and Brian was glad that his cats would have company while he was gone, as opposed to someone just checking on them every few days.

When they returned from overseas they had a few days off then they were right back to filming the TV show. In February Brian invited Giovanna to come with him to a taping of his podcast. She'd gone with him before but it had been a while. She liked his friends/cohosts and happily accepted.

When they got into Red Bank they met Bryan and his girlfriend Suzanne at Surf Taco which was right next door to where they recorded the podcast. After they ate they headed over to the store to meet up with Walt.

Giovanna always liked coming along to these because she loved seeing how happy it made Brian. He loved recording the podcast more than making the TV show. She'd also been there when he and Sal had recorded their podcast, and while she knew he loved doing it, nothing seemed to mean more to him than the one he did with Bryan and Walt.

She and Suzanne sat in chairs a few feet away from the poker table the guys recorded at, not wanting to get in the way.

"Hello, and welcome to this week's edition of Tell 'Em Steve Dave," Bryan started. "It's me, Bry. And I'm here with Q."

"Hello."

"And Walt," Bryan continued.

"Hey," Walt said in his usual low key voice.

"We also have with us today the lovely Suzanne and BQ's lovely friend Giovanna. And they both look thrilled to be here," Bryan said.

"Without a doubt," Brian said, smiling at Giovanna.

"So what are we talking about today boys?" Bryan asked. "Oh, Valentine's Day was yesterday. Did you do anything special with your ladies?"

"Well," Brian said, "you already know how I feel about Valentine's Day. It's bullshit. It's a day for suckers. I don't celebrate it. And I have said before that I would never be with a woman who wants to celebrate it. So no, we didn't do anything special. In fact, we hardly saw each other yesterday. I had to work late."

"And you're ok with this?" Bryan asked looking at Giovanna. She nodded. "Really? Doesn't bother you at all?"

"Not at all," she said.

"Why are you trying to stir the pot?" Brian asked. "She doesn't care."

"She's lying," Bryan said, making them all laugh. "All girls care about it."

"I really don't care about it," Giovanna said. She knew Bryan was just playing around but still felt the need to justify it. "I agree 100% with Brian. It's a scam. If you really care that much about someone why is that only celebrated one day out of the year? It should be celebrated every day."

"That's deep," Walt said with a laugh.

"See?" Brian said. "She agrees with me. That's why we get along so well."

"Alright, I'll give it to you. What about you Walt? Did you take Debbie out?"

"We went to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants."

"That's it?" Bryan asked.

"I got her some flowers and a little something else," Walt said.

"Little?" Bryan asked. "So that's confirmation then that you have a small dick?" They all laughed.

"That was later in the evening and that was not a small gift," Walt said, and they all laughed again.

"What about you?" Brian asked. "Did you do something nice for Suzanne?"

"I made her cook me dinner and clean the bathroom. Does that count as nice?" More laughing. "No, we went out to dinner and then I gave it to her good."

"You're such a romantic," Walt said with a laugh.

"Hey, I didn't hear her complaining," Bryan said.

The podcast ended nearly ninety minutes later. It was nearing 9:00 and Brian and Giovanna both had to work the next day so they left straight away.

They were quiet in the car and after a few minutes he sensed that she was looking at him. He glanced over at her.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Why are you staring at me?" he laughed.

"I just like seeing you so happy."

"What do you mean?"

"When you do the podcast. You're SO happy. Your whole face lights up."

"Really?"

"Yeah," she said. "I don't think you love anything as much as that podcast."

"Oh, I don't know about that. I'd say I love my cats more than the podcast."

"Your cats? Really?"

"Well sure," he said. "They're living creatures."

"I see. What about actual people?"

"Yeah, I'd say my family. My parents, my brothers, nieces and nephews..."

"Oh ok. So I guess I'm below the podcast then?"

"Well you came along after the podcast so..."

She swatted his arm playfully, knowing he was kidding.

His phone rang and he looked and saw it was Sal.

"Sally Retro!" Brian answered.

"Hey. What are you doing?"

"Driving home from Red Bank. What's up?"

"You wanna give me a ride to set tomorrow?"

"When are you gonna drive ME to set?"

"I know, I know," Sal said. "It's my turn. But we have to be there so early tomorrow. And it's pointless for us to drive separately. Unless you have something going on after work."

"Nah. Not a thing. I'll be there at 8:00. You better be ready."

"I will, buddy. I will be."

They hung up and Brian shook his head.

"What?" Giovanna asked.

"He'll sleep all the way to set and I'll have to drive in silence."

"Why?"

"Won't want to wake Sleeping Beauty."

"Fuck him," she said, causing Brian to laugh. "If you're the driver he'll have to deal with it if you want to listen to music. The instant he starts to nod off blast some Wu-Tang."

"Why all the anger at Sal?"

"I'm just fucking around. But seriously, if you're going to cart him around he shouldn't be allowed to dictate what you can and can't do."

"It's fine. I can deal with him."