Chapter 8
When Robin was going to return to New York, Barney actually felt excited. They had their time to get over things, and they could both move on with their lives. Except, he wasn't actually excited about that. He was excited because it meant that David was out of the picture. He lived in London, and he had a job in London, and Robin was coming back to New York without him. At least, that was what Barney thought.
Robin arrived at Maclaren's with that jerk at her side. He was even more handsome in person, and he seemed like the type of guy who knew it, too.
"This is David," she introduced. "David, this is Ted, Tracy, Lily, Marshall, and Barney."
"The ex?" he asked, but he didn't sound worried.
"Yep."
"Sorry." He didn't sound sorry. He sounded smug. Barney wanted to punch him in his perfect face.
"Why are you sorry? I don't care."
"You don't?" Robin asked.
"No, I don't. In fact, I'm seeing someone." He didn't know why he said that. He was just feeling down because of David, and he didn't want any sympathy. Still, it was a pretty stupid to thing to say because they were going to ask questions.
"Really?" Lily asked. She sounded unconvinced. "What's her name?"
Barney said the first name that popped into his head, "Gayle." That was the name of the redhead he slept with a few days ago, and luckily, he happened to spot her by the bar. "In fact, she's over there." He got out of the booth, nearly knocking David down in the process, and approached her. "Hey."
"Oh, hey," she said, surprised to see him.
"You want to go out in a bit?"
"Listen, Barney, I just wanted one night. I don't…"
"Gayle, my ex-wife is over there," he said, jerking his head toward Robin. "She's with her new guy, and I feel… not so great. I kind of told her I was seeing you. So, if you could play along, that'd be great."
Gayle studied him for a moment before smiling softly. "Alright."
"Thank you. And if you're in the mood for a good time…" He winked.
"Let's just stick with fake dating, okay?"
Was she dissatisfied with his performance the night they were together? He tried his best not to look offended. It didn't really matter if they slept with each other again or not. This was just a way to show Robin that he didn't care she was going out with that prettyboy.
"Hey, guys!" Barney said with his arm around Gayle. "This is Gayle."
"Hi." Gayle smiled.
"Didn't you guys meet, like, three days ago?" Lily asked.
"So, what?" Barney demanded. "Didn't you start sucking face with Marshall the day you met?"
"I wish," Marshall murmured as Lily's mouth fell open in offense.
"It's nice to meet you, Gayle," Robin said politely. "Your hair is gorgeous." It was a dark copper color, a little darker than Lily's. While Lily wore her hair straight down to day, Gayle opted for a side ponytail that fell across her right shoulder.
"Oh, thank you."
Barney pulled her to him. "Yes, she's gorgeous, in every way." He leaned in slowly, waiting to see if she was going to play along. Luckily, she leaned in as well, allowing him to kiss her.
Robin was glad Barney had someone. Gayle seemed like a really nice person, and she was beautiful, too. When Lily said they had met only three days ago, she bet their relationship started in the bedroom. She wasn't disturbed by that. After all, that was how her relationship with David started.
Except, she was disturbed. Not how their relationship started, but that it started at all. She shouldn't be feeling like this. She was quite happy with David. He was attentive and funny and very good in bed. He was just what she needed. So, why did she hate the way Barney was looking at Gayle? He had his arm around her, and he was gazing at her like they were the only two people in the world, like she was the most precious thing in his life. He used to look at her like that…
Stop it, she told herself firmly. She was over this. She had to be over this.
In an effort to rid herself of lingering feelings for Barney, Robin pressed her body against David. He seemed confused, but then he smiled and kiss her hair. Robin felt a smile tug at her lips, and she found herself looking at Barney out of the corner of her eye to see if he noticed. He didn't; his eyes were on Gayle.
"I saw you," Lily said when she and Robin made a date to go shopping. Robin, who was looking through a rack of jackets, looked at her friend, questioning what she meant. "At Maclaren's the other day. You and David were cozying up, but you were looking at Barney."
Robin sighed and pulled a jacket off the rack more forcefully than she meant to. The garment fell off the hanger and onto the floor. She bent down to pick it up, wondering if she should deny Lily's accusations or tell her to mind her business. When she got back to her feet, she put the jacket back on the rack. It wasn't even one she was interested in. It was too itchy and fuzzy and frumpy. Who in their right mind would wear something like that?
Robin decided to just ignore the question. "Look at this," she said. "What a mess."
"Yeah, it's disgusting," Lily agreed, and for one, foolish moment, Robin thought she was off the hook. "So, I saw you."
"What, I can't look at anyone now?"
"I'm not saying that. But, your gaze did flicker up to him more than a few times." She pursed her lips as she looked through the jackets, her fingers running over the fabric of a few. "I don't know… It was as though you wanted to see if he was affected by it."
Robin squeezed the sleeve of the jacket she had chosen; it was actually one she was interested in. It certainly wasn't intentional, her looking in Barney's direction. Though at that moment, she felt upset about him and Gayle, she was fine now. She was sure Barney was the same way when he found out about David, and it was obvious he was fine, too. Everything was fine, and she hated that Lily wanted to make it more than it was.
"Lily, it's nothing," she said.
"It didn't seem that way…"
Robin had started to pull the garment, and she had to stop herself before tearing anything. "For god's sake, would you leave it alone?" She asked loudly, causing the eyes of every other person in the store to snap in their directions. "Are you really seeing these things, Lily? Or are you trying to create some scenario so you can 'fix it' or gossip to Marshall about it?" Lily was stunned by Robin's sudden outburst, but Robin was so angry that she didn't feel any guilt.
It was only when she saw Lily's shocked expression turn into a frown did she realize what she had done. Lily put her clothes back on the rack and said, "I'm sorry, Robin. I just wanted to help." She walked away to the exit, but before leaving the store, she turned to her friend and said, "By the way, Barney threw his wedding ring off his balcony." Robin stood frozen to the spot.
