I flushed at her reference to their one night together, then surprisingly laughed. Kellan was trying to disengage himself from her, but every time he moved one hand away, she moved the other one right back. The annoyed frustration on his face made me giggle and he narrowed his eyes at my enjoyment of his predicament. When Rita laid her head on his chest and contently closed her eyes, Kellan sighed. I shook my head at him and gave him a, hey, buddy, you reap what you sow, expression.
Noticing my look, he smiled. There was a time when another woman snuggling on him would have had me in a jealous tizzy. I guess I finally trusted him, too. Gathering himself, Kellan firmly grabbed Rita's shoulders and shoved her back.
Her eyes flashed open at the unexpected movement and she stared at him with her mouth gaping. Hunching down to look her in the eye, Kellan quietly said, "I know we had a thing once, but that was years ago and I've moved on, we've both moved on." His eyes flashed down to her wedding ring. "But I'm with Kiera now and your constant flirting isn't appropriate. Neither is your gossiping about things we did together. I would appreciate it, if in the future, both of those things would stop...please."
Rita blinked at him as he released her shoulders. I blinked at him, too. Kellan had never, ever told someone to back off like that. Not that I'd ever heard, anyway. She didn't say another word as he scooted around the bar to meet me on my side. Untying his apron, he handed it to a still-stunned Rita. "Thank you, Rita, it was fun."
I had no idea if Kellan meant filling in for her at the bar, or the time that they'd shared together, but his tone clearly implied that both things were done. Rita took the fabric from him, her face glum. I felt a little bad watching her, but I supposed this had been a long time coming. Rita had always harbored a desire to sleep with him again, but that was never going to happen. Not while he was with me. And I planned on him being with me for a long, long time.
Warmed that he'd stood up for our relationship, I grabbed his hand and started to lead him back to Denny. That was when I nearly ran into Denny. He'd finally decided to come up and talk to us. He was holding Abby's hand, much like I was holding Kellan's. I laughed as Denny and I stumbled, trying to avoid colliding. He laughed, too.
Recovering, Denny smiled and put his arm around Abby's waist. "Kiera, Kellan, this is my girlfriend, Abby."
As Abby extended her hand to me, I subtly checked her out. She was adorably cute, with full pouty lips and twin dimples when she smiled. With her long blonde hair and pale gray eyes, she was almost the opposite of me, appearance-wise. But she was roughly my height and build so I felt on equal footing as we shook hands.
"Hello, Kiera, it's nice to finally meet you."
Her accent was just as charming as Denny's was. I instantly wondered if Denny and Abby found each other's accents endearing. Or maybe, since they sounded alike, they didn't even hear it. Seemed like a shame if they didn't notice that marvelous inflection.
I watched her absorbing me as carefully as I was absorbing her. Her eyes took in my plain jeans and red Pete's shirt as mine took in her cute gray skirt with a matching, tailored jacket. I couldn't help but think that I'd be so wary and suspicious of me, if our roles were reversed. Regardless of how much she trusted Denny, he'd been alone with his ex for months, an ex that he'd been considering marrying one day. That had to strain even the strongest relationship. It was one of the reasons that I'd never told Kellan Denny was home. But Abby only gave me a warm, carefree smile. She completely trusted Denny. That fact made me trust her. If she had complete faith in him not cheating on her, then she had to have complete faith in herself that she'd never cheat on him.
"You too, Abby. Denny talks about you all the time." Denny flushed a little after I said that, and I grinned at him.
He could be such a sap, and after recovering from the shock that Abby had been delayed for a few more weeks, he'd started talking to me about her whenever we got together. And he'd gushed about her whenever he did. Denny sort of had a point when he'd said that our disastrous breakup was a blessing in disguise-he was madly in love with the woman standing next to him, and I was immensely happy for him.
When Abby and I broke apart, Kellan extended his hand. "It's nice to meet you, Abby." Abby surprisingly didn't eye Kellan with the open appeal that most women eyed him with. Sure, her eyes flicked over his face, but that was about all the notice she took of his appearance. And with her, I had a feeling that she wasn't ignoring his looks because of me or because of Denny. With her, I more felt that she just wasn't interested.
As she tentatively took Kellan's hand, she looked back at Denny. This must have been a weird moment for her, shaking hands with the man that had come between her current boyfriend and the ex love of his life. I couldn't imagine what she was feeling, except maybe grateful that she'd never hurt Denny like I had. I was grateful for that, too.
Denny nodded slightly and Abby looked back at Kellan. "It's nice to meet you, too, Kellan. Denny says...good things about you."
Kellan's mouth dropped open in surprise as their hands separated. Bunching his brows, he shook his head at Denny. "You do? Why? I was an a**hole to you..."
Kellan seemed genuinely bemused at why Denny gave him the time of day, let alone talked nicely about him. Denny stared at the floor for a second, before looking back up at the person he'd once been very close to. "And I nearly killed you." Denny sighed, running a hand through his hair. "In the end...whose crime was greater?"
Kellan shook his head and looked away. Feeling a tension building, I put my hand on Kellan's stomach. He looked down on me before shifting his attention back to Denny. "I still took something that wasn't mine. Even if you feel guilty for the fight...you really shouldn't ever talk to me again."
Kellan's eyes drifted to his boots, unable to keep Denny's gaze. Mutual guilt flooded me and I lowered my head as well. Happy ending or not, Kellan and I were jerks.
Denny surprisingly started laughing. Kellan and I both looked up at him. Grinning, he squeezed Abby tight and looked between the two of us. "You should see the looks on your faces right now." His accent curled around the words as he gave us a goofy grin.
Kellan and I glanced at each other, equally perplexed, and Denny laughed a little more. Clapping Kellan's shoulder, he shook his head. "Look, I know your life was hard, and I realize that Kiera must have been a...salve...for you." He raised his eyebrows. "I get it. I didn't like it, but I get it."
Kellan gave him a small smile and Denny shifted his attention back to me. "And you..." He bit his lip and sighed. "I know I put my job first." I shook my head and Denny cut me off. "No, I did, Kiera." He pointed to the ground. "I was coming to Seattle, with or without you. I was going to Tucson, with or without you. And, I may have panicked and come back to Seattle when I'd thought I'd lost you, but...my head was still on my job...not you."
Swallowing, he shook his head. "And I'm so sorry for that. And I don't blame you anymore, for falling for someone who could give you the attention you wanted, the attention you deserved."
I swallowed and nodded, slight tears in my eyes. A silence built up around our foursome. Finally, Abby was the one who broke it. "Oh my God, will the three of you just hug already?"
We all looked over at her and grinned. Wiping my eyes, I stepped up to Denny, giving him a warm, friendly hug. He wrapped his arms around me, and we both muttered apologies. Kellan sighed, then circled his arms over the both of us.
Nestled in the safety of the two men who'd nearly torn me asunder, I felt a piece of myself healing. I felt the guilt slowly leaving. We were all fine. We had all survived. And surprisingly, we were all still friends.
As the three of us pulled apart, Kellan and I rejoined. Smiling, he kissed my head. Abby rejoined with Denny and I smiled over at her, pleased that Denny had found someone as warm, caring, and trusting as she appeared to be.
Kellan pointed back at where Denny and Abby's table had been taken over by a group of boys that barely looked legal enough to be here. "Someone nabbed your spot." Running a hand back through his hair, Kellan shrugged. "The band's table has a couple of spots open...if you guys want to join us?"
Denny and Abby glanced at each other for a second, then Denny nodded. "Yeah, sounds nice...mate."
Kellan smiled, gave me a final kiss on the head, then clapped Denny's back. As they started walking back to where Matt and Evan were talking with each other, all smiles over being back home, I heard Kellan lean down and mutter, "Hey, sorry for being an ass a few weeks ago. That was a...misunderstanding."
Smiling up at him, Denny clapped his back. "Don't worry about it. I'm used to you being an ass."
Abby giggled as she clung to Denny's hand. Kellan shook his head, but eventually laughed. The sight of them bonding again brought tears to my eyes. I'd really never thought that they'd get their friendship back. It took a pretty big person to see past the pain and betrayal. But Denny...was a pretty big person.
Denny and Abby left an hour or so later. Arms wrapped around each other, they seemed the picture of merriment. I smiled and waved as they disappeared out the doors to head back to the home that I'd helped Denny prepare for her. I wondered if he'd done what he'd said he'd wanted to do, and filled the house with flowers on the day of her arrival. Being the sap he was, I figured he had.
Justin's band and Kellan's band closed out the bar. In fact, Jenny and I had to force most of the boys to leave. Justin in particular had seemed happy to stay put until morning. It was so typical of a guy his age that I instantly felt even more relaxed around him. He was just another drunk guy, like all the other drunk guys I'd ever met. And as Matt and Griffin had to physically help him into Griffin's van, I wondered why I'd ever been nervous around him.
My own D-Bag was the last to leave. Sitting on the edge of the bar, Kellan chatted with the weary bar owner as I cleaned up the mess everyone had left behind. Clapping Kellan on the shoulder, Pete thanked him again for lining up a new band. Pete hated looking for talent, but liked the draw of a live act. And Rain's band was really starting to bring in the crowds-guys and girls alike. From what Cheyenne had confessed to me one afternoon, her crush had now moved on to Poetic Bliss's drummer, Meadow. I was relieved that not only was she not crushing on me anymore, but that she hadn't fallen for Tuesday. I'd just never be able to keep a straight face during any conversations revolving around her.
When I was finished wiping spills and refilling salt shakers, I smacked Kellan's thigh and wished Pete a goodnight. Pete waved us off and grumbled something about me not letting Kellan tend bar anymore, since he technically didn't work here. By the way he said it, though, it was clear that he'd hire Kellan on the spot, if Kellan were interested.
Waving goodbye to Pete, Kellan ignored his comment and any implied offers of employment. He had a job, one that about to explode on him. Holding my fingers tightly in his, Kellan hummed a song as he walked us to his car.
Loving the peace in his voice, the merriment in his eyes, I leaned into his side. His eyes brightened when they came upon his "baby." As promised, I'd taken good care of her. I'd used only the best gas when filling her up and even had her waxed the other day, in preparation for Kellan's homecoming. The orange lot lights cast a glow over the car as it shined beneath them.
Noticing my look, he smiled. There was a time when another woman snuggling on him would have had me in a jealous tizzy. I guess I finally trusted him, too. Gathering himself, Kellan firmly grabbed Rita's shoulders and shoved her back.
Her eyes flashed open at the unexpected movement and she stared at him with her mouth gaping. Hunching down to look her in the eye, Kellan quietly said, "I know we had a thing once, but that was years ago and I've moved on, we've both moved on." His eyes flashed down to her wedding ring. "But I'm with Kiera now and your constant flirting isn't appropriate. Neither is your gossiping about things we did together. I would appreciate it, if in the future, both of those things would stop...please."
Rita blinked at him as he released her shoulders. I blinked at him, too. Kellan had never, ever told someone to back off like that. Not that I'd ever heard, anyway. She didn't say another word as he scooted around the bar to meet me on my side. Untying his apron, he handed it to a still-stunned Rita. "Thank you, Rita, it was fun."
I had no idea if Kellan meant filling in for her at the bar, or the time that they'd shared together, but his tone clearly implied that both things were done. Rita took the fabric from him, her face glum. I felt a little bad watching her, but I supposed this had been a long time coming. Rita had always harbored a desire to sleep with him again, but that was never going to happen. Not while he was with me. And I planned on him being with me for a long, long time.
Warmed that he'd stood up for our relationship, I grabbed his hand and started to lead him back to Denny. That was when I nearly ran into Denny. He'd finally decided to come up and talk to us. He was holding Abby's hand, much like I was holding Kellan's. I laughed as Denny and I stumbled, trying to avoid colliding. He laughed, too.
Recovering, Denny smiled and put his arm around Abby's waist. "Kiera, Kellan, this is my girlfriend, Abby."
As Abby extended her hand to me, I subtly checked her out. She was adorably cute, with full pouty lips and twin dimples when she smiled. With her long blonde hair and pale gray eyes, she was almost the opposite of me, appearance-wise. But she was roughly my height and build so I felt on equal footing as we shook hands.
"Hello, Kiera, it's nice to finally meet you."
Her accent was just as charming as Denny's was. I instantly wondered if Denny and Abby found each other's accents endearing. Or maybe, since they sounded alike, they didn't even hear it. Seemed like a shame if they didn't notice that marvelous inflection.
I watched her absorbing me as carefully as I was absorbing her. Her eyes took in my plain jeans and red Pete's shirt as mine took in her cute gray skirt with a matching, tailored jacket. I couldn't help but think that I'd be so wary and suspicious of me, if our roles were reversed. Regardless of how much she trusted Denny, he'd been alone with his ex for months, an ex that he'd been considering marrying one day. That had to strain even the strongest relationship. It was one of the reasons that I'd never told Kellan Denny was home. But Abby only gave me a warm, carefree smile. She completely trusted Denny. That fact made me trust her. If she had complete faith in him not cheating on her, then she had to have complete faith in herself that she'd never cheat on him.
"You too, Abby. Denny talks about you all the time." Denny flushed a little after I said that, and I grinned at him.
He could be such a sap, and after recovering from the shock that Abby had been delayed for a few more weeks, he'd started talking to me about her whenever we got together. And he'd gushed about her whenever he did. Denny sort of had a point when he'd said that our disastrous breakup was a blessing in disguise-he was madly in love with the woman standing next to him, and I was immensely happy for him.
When Abby and I broke apart, Kellan extended his hand. "It's nice to meet you, Abby." Abby surprisingly didn't eye Kellan with the open appeal that most women eyed him with. Sure, her eyes flicked over his face, but that was about all the notice she took of his appearance. And with her, I had a feeling that she wasn't ignoring his looks because of me or because of Denny. With her, I more felt that she just wasn't interested.
As she tentatively took Kellan's hand, she looked back at Denny. This must have been a weird moment for her, shaking hands with the man that had come between her current boyfriend and the ex love of his life. I couldn't imagine what she was feeling, except maybe grateful that she'd never hurt Denny like I had. I was grateful for that, too.
Denny nodded slightly and Abby looked back at Kellan. "It's nice to meet you, too, Kellan. Denny says...good things about you."
Kellan's mouth dropped open in surprise as their hands separated. Bunching his brows, he shook his head at Denny. "You do? Why? I was an a**hole to you..."
Kellan seemed genuinely bemused at why Denny gave him the time of day, let alone talked nicely about him. Denny stared at the floor for a second, before looking back up at the person he'd once been very close to. "And I nearly killed you." Denny sighed, running a hand through his hair. "In the end...whose crime was greater?"
Kellan shook his head and looked away. Feeling a tension building, I put my hand on Kellan's stomach. He looked down on me before shifting his attention back to Denny. "I still took something that wasn't mine. Even if you feel guilty for the fight...you really shouldn't ever talk to me again."
Kellan's eyes drifted to his boots, unable to keep Denny's gaze. Mutual guilt flooded me and I lowered my head as well. Happy ending or not, Kellan and I were jerks.
Denny surprisingly started laughing. Kellan and I both looked up at him. Grinning, he squeezed Abby tight and looked between the two of us. "You should see the looks on your faces right now." His accent curled around the words as he gave us a goofy grin.
Kellan and I glanced at each other, equally perplexed, and Denny laughed a little more. Clapping Kellan's shoulder, he shook his head. "Look, I know your life was hard, and I realize that Kiera must have been a...salve...for you." He raised his eyebrows. "I get it. I didn't like it, but I get it."
Kellan gave him a small smile and Denny shifted his attention back to me. "And you..." He bit his lip and sighed. "I know I put my job first." I shook my head and Denny cut me off. "No, I did, Kiera." He pointed to the ground. "I was coming to Seattle, with or without you. I was going to Tucson, with or without you. And, I may have panicked and come back to Seattle when I'd thought I'd lost you, but...my head was still on my job...not you."
Swallowing, he shook his head. "And I'm so sorry for that. And I don't blame you anymore, for falling for someone who could give you the attention you wanted, the attention you deserved."
I swallowed and nodded, slight tears in my eyes. A silence built up around our foursome. Finally, Abby was the one who broke it. "Oh my God, will the three of you just hug already?"
We all looked over at her and grinned. Wiping my eyes, I stepped up to Denny, giving him a warm, friendly hug. He wrapped his arms around me, and we both muttered apologies. Kellan sighed, then circled his arms over the both of us.
Nestled in the safety of the two men who'd nearly torn me asunder, I felt a piece of myself healing. I felt the guilt slowly leaving. We were all fine. We had all survived. And surprisingly, we were all still friends.
As the three of us pulled apart, Kellan and I rejoined. Smiling, he kissed my head. Abby rejoined with Denny and I smiled over at her, pleased that Denny had found someone as warm, caring, and trusting as she appeared to be.
Kellan pointed back at where Denny and Abby's table had been taken over by a group of boys that barely looked legal enough to be here. "Someone nabbed your spot." Running a hand back through his hair, Kellan shrugged. "The band's table has a couple of spots open...if you guys want to join us?"
Denny and Abby glanced at each other for a second, then Denny nodded. "Yeah, sounds nice...mate."
Kellan smiled, gave me a final kiss on the head, then clapped Denny's back. As they started walking back to where Matt and Evan were talking with each other, all smiles over being back home, I heard Kellan lean down and mutter, "Hey, sorry for being an ass a few weeks ago. That was a...misunderstanding."
Smiling up at him, Denny clapped his back. "Don't worry about it. I'm used to you being an ass."
Abby giggled as she clung to Denny's hand. Kellan shook his head, but eventually laughed. The sight of them bonding again brought tears to my eyes. I'd really never thought that they'd get their friendship back. It took a pretty big person to see past the pain and betrayal. But Denny...was a pretty big person.
Denny and Abby left an hour or so later. Arms wrapped around each other, they seemed the picture of merriment. I smiled and waved as they disappeared out the doors to head back to the home that I'd helped Denny prepare for her. I wondered if he'd done what he'd said he'd wanted to do, and filled the house with flowers on the day of her arrival. Being the sap he was, I figured he had.
Justin's band and Kellan's band closed out the bar. In fact, Jenny and I had to force most of the boys to leave. Justin in particular had seemed happy to stay put until morning. It was so typical of a guy his age that I instantly felt even more relaxed around him. He was just another drunk guy, like all the other drunk guys I'd ever met. And as Matt and Griffin had to physically help him into Griffin's van, I wondered why I'd ever been nervous around him.
My own D-Bag was the last to leave. Sitting on the edge of the bar, Kellan chatted with the weary bar owner as I cleaned up the mess everyone had left behind. Clapping Kellan on the shoulder, Pete thanked him again for lining up a new band. Pete hated looking for talent, but liked the draw of a live act. And Rain's band was really starting to bring in the crowds-guys and girls alike. From what Cheyenne had confessed to me one afternoon, her crush had now moved on to Poetic Bliss's drummer, Meadow. I was relieved that not only was she not crushing on me anymore, but that she hadn't fallen for Tuesday. I'd just never be able to keep a straight face during any conversations revolving around her.
When I was finished wiping spills and refilling salt shakers, I smacked Kellan's thigh and wished Pete a goodnight. Pete waved us off and grumbled something about me not letting Kellan tend bar anymore, since he technically didn't work here. By the way he said it, though, it was clear that he'd hire Kellan on the spot, if Kellan were interested.
Waving goodbye to Pete, Kellan ignored his comment and any implied offers of employment. He had a job, one that about to explode on him. Holding my fingers tightly in his, Kellan hummed a song as he walked us to his car.
Loving the peace in his voice, the merriment in his eyes, I leaned into his side. His eyes brightened when they came upon his "baby." As promised, I'd taken good care of her. I'd used only the best gas when filling her up and even had her waxed the other day, in preparation for Kellan's homecoming. The orange lot lights cast a glow over the car as it shined beneath them.
