Lost and Found

by Katrina Grillo

  “Okay fine, that’s fair.”

  “I really like him, Amanda,” I moan. “I know I shouldn’t, but I do. Which is why I’m trying not to let the whole Pete Crawford story bug me. But I don’t know. Am I being an idiot?”

  “You’re not being an idiot,” Amanda assures me. “You’re giving him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he’s changed.”

  “Yeah, maybe,” I say, but I’m still not sure.

  There’s a knock on the front door and I run out of my room to answer, knowing it’s Spence.

  Tonight is the first show Losing Streak is playing at Kincaid’s since me and Spence got together. Rather than head down to the bar with the guys, he’s going early with me.

  “Hey you,” I say when I open the door. I reach up on tip toes to kiss him. The novelty of getting to kiss him whenever I want still hasn’t worn off.

  “Hey, you almost ready to go?”

  “Yeah, let me grab my coat.”

  We head out to the parking lot where we squabble about who is going to drive. I win and we get in my car.

  “Question for you,” Spence says as we walk into the back hallway of Kincaid’s.

  “Shoot.”

  “Does your brother know about us?”

  “No, he does not.”

  Spence whips his head around to face me, a panicked look on his face.

  “He’s also not working tonight, so you have nothing to worry about.”

  “Oh, well, that’s good news,” Spence says, relieved. His eyes lock on mine and he puts his hands on either side of my face and kisses me. “Because there’s no way I could make it all night without doing that.”

  I smile and wrap my arms around his neck. “Someone could catch us back here.”

  “Then we’ll have to be quick,” he says, kissing me again. “Come here.”

  Spence reaches behind him an opens a door, pulling me with him into the room beyond.

  I laugh and push him away. “We don’t have time for that.”

  “Are you sure?” he says, leaning down and placing his lips on my neck. He knows how crazy that makes me, and I sink into him.

  “I’m sure. Save it for later, Hurley,” I tell him, trying to maintain my wits.

  He moves his way up my neck, nibbling on my earlobe and sending chills right to my core.

  “Wait until you see what I have in store for you later, Kincaid,” he whispers.

  “I’m looking forward to it,” I say, reflexively tilting my head to give him better access to my neck.

  “You should be,” he says, his voice husky. The look on his face almost convinces me to kick the door closed behind us and lock it, but I somehow manage to pull it together.

  “Where are we, anyway?” Spence asks, pulling away from me to look around the dark, cramped space.

  I chase his mouth with mine. “The old kitchen. This place used to be a diner before my dad bought it. He always planned on rehabbing the kitchen and serving food at the bar, but he never got around to it and Liam isn’t interested.”

  Spence looks thoughtful.

  “Come on, we can’t stay in here, I have to get to work,” I say, tugging on Spence’s hand.

  “Five more minutes,” Spence whines and leans down to kiss me again.

  “Your brother is going to kill you.”

  Spence leaps away from me like he’s been scalded and my heart nearly bursts from my chest. Dominick is walking past the open doorway, holding a box of liquor. He shakes his head and gives me a pointed look before disappearing into the bar.

  “Shit. I’ve got to go deal with that,” I tell Spence and follow after Dominick.

  “Please, I’m begging you, do not say anything to Liam,” I tell Dominick.

  “What? You think you can keep this a secret from him?” Dominick scoffs. “No way. You know how he is. He’ll find out.”

  “I know, I know. I’d just rather he hear it from me, okay? So keep your mouth shut.”

  “I’m no rat.” Dominick clutches his chest, faking outrage. “If you don’t want to tell him then don’t. Just be careful, that’s all.”

  Dominick is right. Liam will find out if this continues, and it will be better if he heard it from me than someone else. But I know he’s going to make a big deal about it, and since I’m not entirely sure how serious Spence is about this whole thing, I don’t want to tell Liam before I have to.

  Spence hangs out at the bar with me for awhile before the rest of the band shows up. A few minutes after he goes to help them set up, Amanda appears and secures herself a seat.

  “Where’s Sophie?” I ask as I make her a drink.

  “Sick,” she says, pouting. “I’m holding down the fort alone.”

  Me, Amanda, and Sophie have gotten close over the last few weeks. Once the whole Lucas and Amanda situation calmed down, and Spence and I finally hooked up, Sophie embraced us into this weird band family.

  “Hey,” I say to her, “do you think I need to tell Liam about me and Spence?”

  “Yes,” she says without hesitation.

  “Ugh, Dominick said the same thing. I just think it’s too soon. I don’t even know how serious this whole thing is.”

  Amanda looks confused. “He called you his girlfriend. It’s at least serious enough that he was okay putting a title on it.”

  “I don’t know.” I bite my lip. I’ve been thinking about this a lot the past few days. “What if he only said that to get Pete to leave me alone? What if he didn’t really mean it?”

  Amanda shakes her head. “Gemma, you’re thinking about this too much. Just relax and enjoy it. Spence likes you. It’s obvious. Stop worrying.”

  “Yeah. I know. You’re right. Still doesn’t mean I want to tell Liam.”

  “God no, I don’t blame you.”

  Losing Streak starts playing and the bar gets busy.

  “You’re going to have to tell Liam sooner rather than later if you’re going to stare at Spence with that look on your face every time they play here,” Amanda says.

  “What look on my face?” I say. “I’m watching the band like everyone else.”

  “That look you’re giving him like you want to go over there and rip all his clothes off.”

  I reach over the bar and whack her.

  “Though to be fair, you’re right, that’s exactly the way most of the girls in this bar are looking at him, too,” Amanda says.

  I whack her again.

  But she’s right. I’ve been trying to ignore it, but I’m hyperaware of every girl in this room that’s looking at Spence. Amanda and I both watch as a girl reaches toward Spence like she wants to pull him on top of her on the sticky bar floor.

  “He’s taken!” Amanda holds a hand to her mouth and yells over the din.

  “Amanda! Knock it off!” I say, but I’m laughing and so is she.

  The band finishes their set and starts to pack up their stuff. It’s late, but the bar is still pretty crowded, so it takes me a minute to spot Spence when I look for him.

  Finally I see him wedged in a corner by the stage. Standing way too close to him is the girl from earlier. The one that looked like she wanted to pull him off the stage and fuck him in the middle of the bar.

  Spence is unplugging his guitar, getting ready to put it in his guitar case and she’s talking to him. He nods along like he’s listening. He bends over to grab a water bottle on the floor by his foot, and as he does she reaches out and puts a hand on his arm. Spence looks up at her, and she keeps her hand on his arm.

  She’s just talking to him. It’s just a hand on his arm. So why am I so panicky? Why do I want to run over there and slap her hand away and yell “mine!” like a spoiled little kid?

  I turn my back to them, I too scared he’ll do something I didn’t want to see. But now that I’m not watching, I’m terrified something is happening.

  Without stopping to think about it, I march out from behind the bar and shove my way over to where Spence is standing with that girl. They’re still talking.
>
  “Hey, babe,” I say, squeezing myself between them. Standing on tip-toes I kiss Spence long and hard.

  “Hey you, what was that for?” He seems confused but not upset.

  “Just wanted to remind you you have a girlfriend.”

  Now he looks even more confused, and a little annoyed.

  “I haven’t forgotten,” he says. “I’ve been thinking about you all night.”

  Out of the corner of my eye I see the girl he was talking to slink away. Good.

  “Really?” I say, accusing. “Then who was she?”

  “Who was who?”

  “Uh, that girl you were just talking to before I walked over here.”

  “Oh I don’t know, she just started talking to me,” he says casually, like it’s no big deal. It probably isn’t a big deal to him. I’m sure it happens all the time. But his nonchalance irritates me. I push away from him.

  “Well it looked like she was getting awfully cozy with you.”

  Spence has the nerve to laugh at this. He goes to pull me back into him, but I dart away and cross my arms over my chest.

  “Gemma,” he says. “You’re being ridiculous. Some girl talked to me. It’s not a big deal.”

  “I just don’t know with you,” I tell him, exasperated.

  “Don’t know what?” He says, starting to get annoyed.

  “How do I know you’re not talking to other girls all the time? How do I know what happens at all the shows you play that I don’t go to?”

  Spence shakes his head and steps away from me. “Seriously Gemma? I told you this wasn’t going to be like that.”

  “Yeah, but then tonight happened.”

  “Gemma, girls are going to talk to me. How many guys talked to you tonight? How do you think it feels for me to see you talking to every guy who comes up to the bar to order a drink?”

  Oh. I hadn’t thought about that.

  “Yeah but I’m working. They’re just ordering drinks. It’s not like I can avoid them.”

  “None of them act inappropriately around you? You’re telling me you work at a bar and you’ve never been propositioned?”

  I grind my teeth together, annoyed. “Okay fine, you’ve made your point.”

  “None of it means anything. It’s just talking.”

  He reaches for me, but I lean away from him, my arms crossed in front of me.

  “Come on,” he says, and reaches for me again. “Come over here.”

  I cave and sink into his arms. His shirt is damp with sweat but he still smells like Spence. Cold and clean.

  “You’re the only girl that matters to me, okay?” he says into the top of my head.

  “Okay,” I reply, letting myself sink further against him and wrapping my arms around is waist.

  “When can you get out of here?” he asks.

  “Not for awhile.”

  Spence pouts, and I feel my phone buzz in my pocket. I’m immediately on alert since it’s late and nearly everyone I know is here at the bar with me. I pull my phone out of my pocket and see Liam’s name on the screen.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Gemma

  “Hello?” I answer, figuring there’s something he wants me to get done at the bar today since he knows I’m working.

  “Gemma?” Liam sounds panicky.

  “Yeah, what is it, what’s wrong?”

  Spence looks at me, his brows knit together in concern. I clutch the phone tighter.

  “Macy’s in labor. We’re at the hospital,” Liam says, and his voice is shaking.

  “What! But it’s like, two weeks too soon!”

  “Yeah, I know, apparently due dates are just guesses. Guesses! Modern medicine and they’re guessing.” He’s verging on hysterics.

  “Okay, okay, that’s normal,” I assure him. “How’s Macy?”

  He ignores my question. “I’m not ready for this. I thought I had two more weeks. Two more weeks to prepare myself, you know?”

  “I know,” I tell him. “But it’s fine, it’s all going to be fine. What do you want me to do?”

  “I need you here. I need you to get here. I don’t think I can do this.” His voice makes me break into a cold sweat. Liam doesn’t panic. He is level headed, even-keeled. But right now he sounds like he’s shutting down, and this is not a good time for him to shut down.

  “I’m coming, I’m on my way right now.”

  “What’s going on?” Spence asks when I’ve hung up. “Is everything okay?”

  “Macy’s in labor. Liam is freaking out,” I tell him. “I have to get to the hospital.”

  “Okay,” he says. “Let’s go.”

  “What? No, I’ll go, you stay here, it’s fine.”

  “You’re shaking like a leaf, I’m not letting you drive like that,” he says, his tone final. My eyes narrow and I’m about to tell him he doesn’t get to “let” me do anything, but I realize he’s right. My hands are shaking.

  “Fine,” I relent. “Let me tell Dominick, see if he can cover me.”

  I find Dominick and he tells me to leave immediately, he’ll call in backup if he needs it. It’s almost closing time anyway. We get in the car and Spence races us to the hospital. I don’t even think half an hour passes from when I hang up the phone with Liam and I’m running down the hall in the hospital towards him.

  “Thank god you’re here,” he says, wrapping me in a hug. I hug him back, squeezing as tight as I can.

  “I’m here, I’m here,” I tell him. “How’s Macy?”

  “She’s fine,” he says, smiling a little, though he still looks panicked. “She’s fine. I’m the one that’s freaking out.”

  He sighs and covers his face with his hands. “I can’t do this. I’m not ready. This whole dad thing? Being responsible for a kid?”

  I take one of his hands in mine and hold on tight. “Liam, yes you can. You’re going to be fine. No, you’re going to be better than fine. You’re going to be an amazing dad.”

  “This kid is going to rely on me. Going to expect me to be there for him…” he trails off, his voice breaking. “What if something happens?”

  “You can’t think like that,” I say sharply. “Nothing is going to happen. You’ve always been there for me, you’ve always been there for Macy, and you’re always going to be there for your son. I’m not worried. You shouldn’t be either.”

  He looks at me, eyes shining with tears, and yanks me back in for another hug.

  “I’m glad you’re here,” he says.

  “I wouldn’t miss this for anything,” I tell him.

  He opens his mouth to say something else, but then his expression changes and his eyes narrow at something over my shoulder. “What’s he doing here?”

  I turn around and see Spence, standing a few yards away from me, trying very hard to make himself appear invisible. He holds up a hand and gives us a weak smile.

  “He gave me a ride,” I say quickly. “You freaked me out a little with that call and I didn’t think I should be driving.”

  Liam makes a disbelieving face at me, but I know he won’t argue with that. “How convenient that he was around.”

  “Yes, it was.”

  “Gemma,” he says, using his best serious-big-brother voice, “tell me the truth.”

  I turn beet red. My first instinct is to lie to keep Liam from going into severe overprotective mode, but I decide that severe overprotective Liam would be better right now than on the verge of a breakdown Liam, so I tell the truth. “Okay, fine. We’ve been seeing each other.”

  Liam sighs. “When were you planning on telling me?”

  “Um, I wasn’t, actually.”

  He crosses his arms and raises his eyebrows at me. “Seriously?”

  “Look at you!” I say brightly, patting him on the shoulder. “So dad-like already. Good job. I think that’s enough practice for today, though.”

  He shakes his head at me, but he’s smiling a little. “I’ve got to get back in with Macy. She caved and got the epidural so she’
s resting until go time.”

  “Tell her I say hi,” I say, and give Liam’s hand one last squeeze before he heads back to the delivery room. I go back out to the waiting area with Spence.

  He’s gotten us coffees and a pack of cookies to share.

  “Your brother still doesn’t like me, does he?” Spence asks.

  “My brother doesn’t like any guy that speaks to me, ever.” I roll my eyes and take the coffee he’s offering me.

  “Well, we’re going to have to work on that. It hurts my feelings when people don’t like me,” Spence says with an exaggerated pout.

  I laugh. “Good luck with that. I told him about us, though. So now he knows.”

  Spence goes pale.

  “So I’m dead, basically?”

  “You might be.”

  “Ah, well. Good thing we’re already in a hospital. No better place to be if you’re about to get murdered, right?”

  “That’s the spirit.” I clink my coffee cup against his. “You don’t have to stay, you know. This isn’t like the movies, she could be in labor for hours and hours.”

  Spence shrugs. “Let’s hang around for a bit and see.”

  It is hours and hours. We play several rounds of “Never Have I Ever” and “I Spy”, even though there’s not much to spy in a hospital waiting area. Eventually, we fall asleep in the uncomfortable waiting room chairs, my head on Spence’s shoulder. I don’t know how much time has passed when a nurse comes over and shakes me awake.

  “You’ve got a nephew,” she tells me, grinning. “Your brother is looking for you.”

  I’m wide awake and leaping off the chair, Spence groggily standing up behind me. He follows me down the hall but doesn’t come inside the room. Macy is in bed, looking flushed but happy, and holding a teeny, tiny pink baby in her arms. Liam is beaming down at them both and the look on his face immediately makes me cry. He looks so happy.

  Macy smiles up at me when I come in. “Gemma, come meet your nephew!”

  I hurry over and perch on the bed next to her, looking down at him. His eyes are closed, and he has a little tuft of light hair on top of his round head and the cutest button nose.

  “He’s perfect,” I tell Macy, tears running down my face.