“What are you waiting for?”
Beth spun around and there was Trent. She smiled. “I’m just gathering courage.”
“The Beth I know has plenty of that.”
He didn’t approach her so they stood feet apart on the sidewalk. The line for the audition snaked out of the hotel and down the black. Beth wasn’t sure she was even seeing the end of it. “This is a whole new career for me. I’m putting it all in one basket.”
“You did that with nursing didn’t you?” he said.
He looked yummy and she wanted to hug him. She wanted him to hug her more. After the defeat of the goblins life had been a whirlwind and they hadn’t talked. She didn’t know what he wanted.
“Will you wait for me?” she said.
“I can’t. I have a meeting.”
She nodded. “Understood. Thanks for being here.”
“Any time.”
***
Trent hoped that Beth would be successful, but he also hoped that she would come back to him. He missed her and he hadn’t even kissed the woman.
Now he waited for his partners as he sat at the island at Deke’s place. Deke cooked lunch for them. Whitney, Deke’s wife and fairy, had taken their child out to the park and would be back at some point.
“Thanks for letting me use your place, Deke.”
“I’m always the one cooking. We might die if you did it.”
“I’m not that bad. You are just that much better than I am,” Trent said.
“It’s all in the details.”
Kel was the first to show up. He was back only a few days from his honeymoon with his wife and fairy, Maggie. Pete and Ben arrived at the same time. Both of them were single and Trent hoped they at least would be on his side.
“So why are we here other than Deke’s great food?” Ben asked.
He would be the one to start the conversation. Pete was probably the quietest of them all so he wouldn’t. Trent wiped his hands on his napkin then looked around the island at his business partners and friends. “I’ve been thinking that we should find a permanent place for Grotesque.”
“Then it wouldn’t be a pop-up nightclub,” Deke argued.
“That’s the point. We wouldn’t have to unpack and repack every time we wanted to run it. We would limit the hours if we wanted and make it exclusive, but we wouldn’t have to pay for the storage place. Or the truck.”
“Did you have a place in mind?” Kel asked.
“Yes. I have a building. I bought it. It has a great roof that we can turn into a bar if we want. I’ve started the renovations to make it happen.”
“What if we choose not to do it?”
“Then I’ll rent the space to someone else. Think about it guys. No more setting up once a month,” Trent said.
Ben shrugged. “I don’t mind set up. It’s a good work out.”
Ben was always concerned with his work out. He worked part time as a paramedic and often had to lift patients. Of course he would love the physicality of the set up. Trent looked at his other partners. They all shook their heads.
“I’m not ready to make this permanent, Trent. Sorry,” Kel said.
They all murmured the same thing. Okay. That was that. “Okay. Well if you ever change your minds, let me know.”
***
Trent walked from the bus stop, having left his truck parked at home. It was easier to take public transportation into Center City. He had hoped to convince his partners of a permanent home for Grotesque, but they weren’t buying it.
He didn’t know what lay in his future then. With Beth pursuing her career as an actress, he doubted she would stay put. Not many movies were made in Philadelphia anymore. He stopped when he saw someone sitting on his stoop.
Beth stood up, a smile on her face. “Hi.”
“Hi.”
He walked up his short walkway and stood close to her.
“I got the part.”
“You did? That’s wonderful.”
It wasn’t, but he wanted her to be happy. Even if she wasn’t willing to be with him or believe that she was his fairy. He suddenly knew it in that moment. It all made sense.
“They gave it to me on the spot.”
“When do you begin filming?”
“Two days. In Georgia.”
His heart sank. She wasn’t even going to be in the same state as he was. He pasted a smile on his face. “At least summer is ending and it won’t be so hot.”
She laughed. “You think I’m leaving.”
He didn’t understand. “You are taking the part right?”
“Of course, but I was thinking that maybe I knew someone who could come with me. Explore the south on weekends with me. Someone who had a vested interest in protecting me.”
He cocked his head. Was she asking him? “Explain.”
She stepped into his personal space and he couldn’t contain himself. He took her into his arms. She looked up at him. “I want you to come with me, Trent. See what this fairy/gargoyle thing is all about.”
“You don’t feel any pressure?”
She shook her head. “No. It’s kind of freeing. We’re meant to be together and let’s get started on that. We have so much to learn about each other.”
He couldn’t help smiling down at her. “I like that idea a lot.”
“Good. Now kiss me.”
He did just that, leaving no doubt how he felt.
The end.
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Donal Foley was born in a time when magic ruled the Earth.
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He must do that without falling in love with her.
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Stone Defender Page 8
