by L. T. Kelly
He closed his eyes in sweet relief as Alex charged through the door Evan had left slightly ajar for easy access.
“What the fuck are you playing at, boy wonder? It’s…it’s…” Alex lifted his hand and squinted at his wristwatch. “Four, fucking, AM.”
“You know what they say. The early bird catches the worm.”
Alex bared his teeth and flew at Evan. Evan quickly leaned over his guitar and protected the back of his head with his forearms.
“Hey, buddy, stop,” he bellowed as the first blow landed. “Stop, okay? I wanted to show you something.”
Luckily, Alex heard him, because he stopped hitting Evan. Evan regained his upright position and looked at Alex. Wearing only a pair of tight-fitting boxer shorts, his friend rested his hands on his hips while his chest heaved
“Hey, you could have gotten dressed first,” Evan said playfully. Alex made a growling noise and flew toward him again. Evan quickly held out his palms. “I’m sorry, man. I’m sorry for waking you, but I got overexcited, okay?”
“What do you fucking want?” Alex spat, his eyes so wide Evan could make out the whites around his pupils.
Evan wanted to laugh, but he swallowed it quickly. Alex had never been a morning person, and he thought better of provoking him further.
“I think I’ve finished the album, man,” he whispered, his eyes widening to mimic Alex’s. He held up the pieces of paper, offering them to his friend to look at.
Alex snatched the papers from him and glared down at the first one. Evan held his breath as he watched Alex’s eyes scan from left to right over the page. Alex quickly moved on to the second one, walking backward to sit on the bed and landing with a bounce. But, his eyes never left the treasured pieces of paper.
It seemed as if hours had passed before he looked up at Evan, though in reality it had only been minutes.
“Fuck,” he whispered. “How did you do this?”
Evan shrugged. In a few short hours, he’d done what had taken them months to do previously.
Alex looked down at the last page and held out his hand. “Pass me the pen.”
Evan grinned and did as he'd been asked, knowing Alex could improve any lyric Evan had written and he hadn’t been wrong yet. If Alex said it needed changing, then it needed changing. They worked methodically through two of the songs, Evan strumming out possible music to accompany them. Alex offered suggestions and fine-tuned the words to go along with it. Neither gave a damn about anyone trying to sleep nearby. They were going to be stars, and that’s what fucking rock stars did, wake people and cause mayhem.
“Fuck, man, you look like shit,” Alex said after a while.
Evan rubbed his stinging eyes and glanced at the alarm clock. “Fuck, it’s nine AM, and I haven’t slept all night.”
“It was worth it, though, boy wonder.” Alex waggled his eyebrows.
“Wow, that was fucking weird.”
“What was?” Alex screwed up his face in confusion.
“You saying that to me when you’re only wearing your panties and sitting on my bed.” Evan managed a fatigued-sounding chuckle.
“Fuck you,” Alex said in breathy laughter, getting to his feet. “I’m going to take a shower and head to the studio with the others. You earned a break today, dude. Besides, I don’t wanna have to spend the day tripping over your tired, ugly face.”
“Hey, I can get some fucking sleep, but you’ll always be ugly,” Evan called out, the last piece of wit drained out of him. Alex flipped him the bird then stepped into the corridor, shrouding the room in a fuzzy, warm silence. Evan barely made it to the bed and removed his T-shirt before passing out on top of the covers.
* * * *
Evan flinched awake and searched for the red glow of the alarm. It was a little after one in the afternoon. He groaned, wiping the drool from his chin with his fist, then rubbed his fingers over his eyes. He was suddenly aware of a dull rapping on the door and the soft voice he longed to hear announcing housekeeping. He jumped up to answer when the door opened. Katie’s eyes flew wide when he emerged from behind the door, causing her to stumble backward.
“Shit, I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were here,” she said before her eyes wandered over his bare chest and down his torso.
“That’s a nice way to greet me,” he drawled. “Aren’t you pleased to see me?” He rubbed a hand self-consciously over his abs.
She smiled and dipped her head shyly for a moment before appearing to find herself. “Clearly, not when you’re scaring the shit out of me.”
He noticed the top of Mel’s blonde head on the other side of the cart and spotted an opportunity. He lunged and grabbed Katie’s wrist, yanking her fully inside and kicking the door shut. She squealed as it slammed loudly behind her.
Mel shouted, “Oi,” at the top of her voice, locked on the outside.
He trapped Katie against the wall with his body, rubbing his chest over hers, bending at the knees so he could look her in the eyes.
“Hey, you.” He kissed her full on the mouth, tasting mint on her tongue and suddenly feeling disgusting for not having had the chance to brush his teeth. She didn’t seem to notice. Her hands were all over him, the same way they’d been the night before, and she pressed harder against his body. He groaned into her mouth and lapped at her probing tongue before drawing back to flutter kisses all over her face, his hands enjoying the feel of her waist.
“Now, I could use that the morning wake up call all of the time.” A lazy smile crossed his lips.
She giggled. “Babe, it’s after lunch, hardly what I’d call a morning wake up call. Why aren’t you at the studio? We saw the others leaving this morning.”
“I stayed up writing all night,” he mumbled distractedly, inspecting her neck before dipping to plant kisses along the side of it. He took her earlobe into his mouth, enjoying her shudder of pleasure as he licked.
“As amazing as this rendezvous is—”
He smiled to himself as she stopped speaking to whimper at the fresh kisses he landed along her jaw line. He moved to squeeze her stunning backside but stopped, sensing she wanted him, to and looked into her eyes. They were ablaze with desire, glinting like sapphires even in the dimly lit room.
She cleared her throat. “I’m at work, and Mel will bloody kill me if I don’t get out there and give her a hand. Do you want your room cleaned?”
He shook his head, the satisfied smile never leaving his lips. “The only thing I want around here, or anywhere in fact, is you.”
She looked away from him, a blush seeping into her cheeks. He could tell she wasn’t used to this sort of attention. It should have made him back off. Instead, it made him want to show her more of it. He held her tightly to him before stepping back and running a hand through his disheveled, bed hair. “I’d say sorry, but I’m not sorry for wanting you so badly.”
“Thank you, it’s nice of you to say that.”
“Hmm, nice?” He raised an eyebrow. The atmosphere thickened, their eyes burning into each other’s. Her lip quirked first then his until they were both laughing. The awkwardness between them had somehow inspired amusement, though he couldn’t figure out how it had happened. Something about her made him want to smile, and he couldn’t help hoping she felt the same way.
He caught his breath finally. “Can I see you tonight?”
She shook her head slowly. “Sorry, I have something I have to do.”
“Sounds ominous.”
“It’s really not.”
“Are you working tomorrow?”
She nodded, but he didn’t miss the sly smile she wore as she did.
“Here or your other job?”
She held her palms up. “Okay, you got me. I swap to Fridays at the other place over the school holidays.”
“So, when do I get to see you?” Pressure built up in his chest as he asked, desperation clawing at his insides, but the last thing he wanted was for her to notice it.
Her eyes rolled skywards in thought. “T
omorrow night?”
“Sounds good to me,” he said, suddenly feeling lighter than he had moments before.
“See you Friday,” she said, turning to open the door.
“Do I get your number now?” he asked quickly, shoving his hands into his jeans pockets, fearful she’d say no.
“Give me yours. I’ll text you.”
He walked to the desk and gave her another of the same card he’d given her on the train the day he met her. She cringed, a flicker of recognition in her eyes.
“Yeah, sorry about that,” she said.
“I figured you had no intention of calling me.” He shot her a sexy smile.
“It won’t happen again.” She held her hand over his as she collected the card from between his fingers. “I promise.”
“That’s what I like to hear, angel.” He dipped his head and grazed his lips over hers as an assault thudded on his door.
“I’d better get going.”
He sighed heavily and looked at the door, fearful that Mel might actually come through it any moment now. “Guess you’d better, before I get billed for a new door.”
Katie hotfooted it out of there, giggling all the way.
Chapter Ten
“Have you got your things, bunny?” Katie ducked her head into Jessica’s room ten minutes after she’d been dispatched to collect some of her favorite toys and movies to take to Helen’s with her.
Jessica perched on the edge of her bed, pouting and cuddling her oldest and most treasured possession, the pink bunny rabbit Lee had purchased for her before he’d gone away.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Katie sat beside her daughter and pulled her into a hug. “Is it that you’ll miss me? I’ll see you the weekend after next. It’s only one week.” She’d reluctantly agreed to let Helen take Jessica for the solid week. It would mean that Katie would have to work at the center tomorrow and come home without having Jessica to cheer her up. Then again, she’d have Evan this time.
Jessica shook her head slowly in response, indicating that Katie hadn’t yet discovered what the problem was.
“Oh, thanks a bunch, bunny!” Katie laughed.
Jessica’s head snapped back, her sky-blue eyes wide with fear. “I’m sorry, Mommy. It’s just that I’ll miss Evan.”
Katie shifted uncomfortably on the bed. “Yeah, about Evan…” She took a deep breath. She’d been thinking about what would be for the best and saving the conversation for the train ride, but now seemed as good a time as any for this discussion.
“What about him?”
“Well, I think it might be best that we don’t mention Evan to Granny for now.”
“Why?”
Katie winced. It was the dreaded why word. “It’s because we don’t want to get her upset do we?”
“Why would Granny get upset about Evan? He’s lovely,” Jessica asked in a high-pitched voice, with a scrunched up little face.
Katie sucked a breath between her teeth. “It’s extremely difficult to explain to you right now, but will you do this for me?”
Jessica narrowed her eyes as though she were considering it carefully. “Okay, as long as Evan can come over for a movie night when I come home next weekend.”
“What is it about him that you like so much?” Katie couldn’t help but ask.
“He’s kind.”
“Because he took you to the zoo?” Katie tipped her head to one side and raised her brow.
“He took you to the zoo, too,” Jess said with a huff. “It’s not that anyway. He makes your face softer.”
Katie squeezed her brows together.
“Your face never looks all crumpled like that, when he’s around.”
Katie fell back on the bed, her laughter echoing around the room. “Oh trust me, bunny, my face looks like that a lot when he’s around.”
Jessica huffed again. “Do we have a deal or not?”
She was being bribed by a six year old. However, a helpless feeling of pride comforted her. Her daughter knew how to look after herself. “Hmm, well, I don’t think Evan would really like your sort of movies.”
“Don’t be silly, Mommy.” She giggled as though Katie may be completely stupid. “Evan totally loves Christoph and Sven from Frozen. He told me so.”
Katie sat up straight, her eyes wide. “Really?”
“Of course. Who doesn’t?” Jessica shrugged nonchalantly
Having been totally coerced, Katie gathered up Jessica’s stuff, and they headed off. They reached Helen’s house in Southend-On-Sea a few hours later. Katie usually dropped off Jessica, and Helen always returned her.
“Cup of tea before you go, Katie?” Helen offered gracefully after hugging Jessica and settling her down for her hour of permitted TV before bed. Stringent, but Katie figured it was good for Jessica to have that influence in her life. Katie had always known Helen wasn’t keen on her, but as far as mothers-in-law went she’d done well to keep her mouth shut and her nose out of Katie’s business. Helen never criticized her for anything and never asked any questions regard her personal life. Katie couldn’t have asked for more. However, that gave her the fear of the unknown. What if she got involved in a serious relationship? How would Helen react? Happy, sad, angry? She didn’t know.
“That would be lovely thank you.” Katie smiled tightly. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something, if that’s okay, Helen?” Her throat started closing up, inwardly strangling herself with nerves.
“Of course, that would be okay. Shall we step into the kitchen for our tea?” she asked, raising her dark, penciled-in brow.
Katie nodded and followed her from the neat, old-fashioned living room. Luckily, Jessica appeared to be glued to whatever cartoon whizzed across the screen.
“What is it you wish to discuss?”
Every time she had to tackle an awkward conversation with this woman, Katie wanted to cry. It reminded her of standing in front of the head teacher at school.
“Oh, it’s nothing serious.” She flung a hand around and cleared her throat, standing straighter when Helen’s expression hadn’t changed in the slightest. She squinted, wondering if the woman had accidentally drawn on one eyebrow in a raised position.
“It’s just that, well, I’m concerned about Jessica. She's been worried about the summer. About, well…”
Helen had stood stock, still wearing an expectant expression the whole time. Katie cleared her throat again.
“It’s the pictures, Helen. She loves the pictures, but she’s only six years old, and it’s getting a little too much for her. I’ll never allow her to forget him, okay?”
She gulped when Helen’s head dipped, and the woman appeared to age ten years before her eyes.
“Thank you for bringing it to my attention. I trust you know I’d never intentionally do anything to harm Jessica’s emotional wellbeing.”
Katie nodded furiously, guilt tugging at her heart. This was the closest she’d ever come to seeing Helen upset. “Of course, I know that. You do a wonderful job of looking after her. I want her to continue enjoying the time she spends with you, that’s all.”
“Yes, you did the right thing in letting me know. Would you still like some tea?”
Katie fumbled awkwardly with the sleeves of her jacket. She felt her phone buzzing in her pocket, and judging by the long and deathly silence in the room, so could Helen. Katie’s fingers tingled with the urge to snatch it from her pocket, but she was terrified it would be Evan. She’d text him on the train. She wished she hadn’t forgotten to put her watch back on, so she could look at it and do some sucking noises and plead that she’d miss her train.
“Though, I understand that you must be tired. I’m sure you must have work in the morning?”
Bingo.
“Yes, yes, I do. You’re right, of course. I guess I’d better be off. I’ll nip and say goodbye to Jess. I’ll see you next Friday.”
“You will indeed. Safe journey.”
Katie breathed a long, slow breath on the way back to
the living room, kissed Jessica on the cheek, quickly whispered a reminder about their deal then got out of there as fast as she could.
Her shoulders straightened out on the way home. They’d sagged with the weight of having to speak to Helen the entire way there. She’d miss Jess like mad, but at least, she knew Helen wouldn’t be torturing her little girl anymore, intentionally or not. She tugged her phone from her pocket. There was a missed call and a text from Evan. Her shoulders hunched up, as though to hug herself. It was strange to feel like this, but she couldn't help but be bloody glad that she did.
I hope whatever it is you’re doing is good because I crazy, mad, miss you.
She immediately replied. She figured twenty minutes of waiting for a reply coupled with her not answering her phone had been enough torment for him.
That’s all done with now. Headed home. I’m tired and hungry.
She added the tired part in case he asked to come over. She still had a while before she’d be home, and she might cave if he pushed her hard enough.
Hungry, huh? Well, if you’re hungry for me I can be there in twenty minutes.
She recalled the amazing kiss and the feel of his body pressed against hers earlier that day and longed for it to happen again. She really was tired though, and she had to be at the center early the next day. Going there required a clear head.
Love, if I’m hungry for you then you must be starving! I can’t tonight. But, I’m looking forward to tomorrow. She giggled as she hit the send button.
Angel, I’m so famished Bob Geldof is currently writing a song about me.
Katie laughed so hard she nearly dropped her phone as she stepped onto the train. She fell onto the first available seat still staring at the message while people around her shot her sideways glances as if she were a raving lunatic.
Her phone buzzed again.
If you’re looking forward to seeing me tomorrow, take that feeling and times it by infinity…then you’ll have the answer to how much I’m looking forward to seeing you. And Jess, of course.
